Our Big 3 Makes The Hot Wheels List

It brings me great joy to see my youngest child collecting Hot Wheels cars like I did when I was his age. I’m not sure you could credit those miniature die-cast toy cars that were first introduced by Mattel in 1968 with starting me on the path to my love of diesels (probably had more to do with my dad working as a mechanic before my teenage years), but I know Hot Wheels played some type of a role. My son has quite a collection of vehicles as well as a list of which cars and trucks he would like to get next.

However, there is a different “hot wheels” list that I’m not nearly as happy about. It’s the annual report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NIBC) of American’s top ten most stolen vehicles, and Ford, Chevy, GMC and RAM pickup trucks all made this “hot wheels” list.

For the second year in a row, the Ford full-size pickup was the model most targeted by thieves, followed by the Chevrolet full-size pickup, which supplanted the formerly second-place Honda Civic. Is it wrong that I find some pleasure in Chevy beating Honda in anything, even on a most stolen vehicle list? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

What Sam Scott built with his 2003 RAM 2500 can’t be quantified by how high off the ground the bed sits. You can’t take a quick peek under the hood and understand how the changes made to the Cummins created changes in the owner as well. You’d have to talk to Sam directly to fully comprehend that.

Changing Alongside A Diesel

During my conversation with Sam it became abundantly clear he’s not a flashy kind of guy and his diesel reflects that. Subtle, yet cool. A simple Banks cold air intake and 5-inch straight pipe covers the performance side of the build. Instead of the massive lift you see on many Instagram builds, Sam instead went with a 3-inch Supreme Suspensions level.

Reflecting back on how Sam grew up, things begin to click. His favorite hobby was fishing and while fishing can be a social experience, Sam preferred it as a solo activity. He wasn’t very social and didn’t like presentations in school or spending time around large groups of people. That is, until he got this diesel four years ago.

To go snowmobiling, you need more than just your sled. There is a lot of equipment necessary to participate in this amazing sport, including a sled deck or trailer, snowmobile, riding gear, etc. The part that most people forget to mention is that when you’re headed where few people dare to go, it’s essential to have a truck that is purpose-built for those who live to explore. This, for Boondock Nation, is probably the most important part. Throughout the course of winter, December – May, we put tens of thousands of miles on our truck, hauling our snowmobiles around North America. When traveling in freezing temperatures and poor driving conditions, it’s critical to have a truck capable of conquering any terrain, and the GMC Sierra HD Denali with the powerful 3.0L Duramax Turbo diesel engine lived up to the hype.

Last season, we had a GMC Sierra HD Denali as our road warrior and sled hauler. The way it towed our fully-loaded 34-foot Trails West trailer was nothing short of amazing. We were seriously impressed with the new 10-speed Allison Transmission and overall power delivery. Not only did it do a great job hauling our sleds around, but it was a very comfortable ride to say the least. We endured multiple trips over 20 hours in length, so having all the refined comforts and advanced technology the Denali offers made the long hauls much more enjoyable.

Dance. Cheer. Firefighting. Trucks. Christine Reid does it all.

This 25-year-old is a woman of many talents. She started dancing at the age of three, taking tap, jazz, lyrical, ballet and even line dancing with her grandma until her passing when Christine was 12. She now teaches dance, passing the skill on to the next generation.

Christine started cheer at the age of five. She progressed in the sport throughout middle school and high school until eventually becoming a cheer captain at Johnson College in Scranton, Pa.

The theme of excelling from a young age continues into the firefighting scene, where Christine got involved at age 14. She’s stayed with it and is now a volunteer firefighter at her station.

Hornady Security

RAPiD VEHICLE SAFE

I’ll admit, I probably didn’t ask enough questions before ordering the RAPiD Vehicle Safe since a couple of concerns came up when I was first unpackaging it. Online it appeared to be exactly what I’ve been searching for, so I went ahead and placed my order. After it arrived, my dumb questions were quickly answered.

I guess you could use the vehicle safe to lock up other items, but in reality this is designed to be a gun safe for your truck. Securing a weapon inside a vehicle is something a lot of people want to be able to do, but realistically a vehicle by itself is not secure, as a breakable window is all that stands between thieves and your valuable contents. The RAPiD Vehicle Safe is a great option to not only keep your firearm safe, but also out of the hands of children.

DEWALT

12V/20V MAX* Cordless Hood Light

It would appear the different ways you can use the 12V/20V MAX* Cordless Hood Light would be straight forward, yet I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the versatility of the new product from DEWALT. Its compact size and folding design has me wondering what I ever did without it.

Its job is quite simple: light up my engine bay when I’m working under the hood, and this is where it truly (pardon the pun) shines. It delivers up to 1,700 lumens of natural white light with a runtime of up to 10.5 hours, which is a surprisingly long amount of time. I especially like the high, low, and single-arm modes that allow for precise control of the light while also preserving battery life.