Diesel Tech logo
SEMA 2021 Recap: Highlighting What Caught Our Eye
SEMA Show Stoppers: We Give Out Our Annual Awards
Personality Changer: How Diesel Modifications Changed Him
Winter 2022
Diesel Tech logo
Diesel Tech staff members
SEMA 2021 Recap: Highlighting What Caught Our Eye
SEMA Show Stoppers: We Give Out Our Annual Awards
Personality Changer: How Diesel Modifications Changed Him
Winter 2022
Volume 17 | Number 1
Winter 2022
Contents
A LOOK BACK AT SEMA

Highlighting What Caught Our Eye
lifted truck
white truck pulling a trailer
Features
26 PERSONALITY CHANGER
Modifications Changed More Than His Truck
32 BOONDOCK NATION DURAMAX
The Sierra HD Denali Just Makes Sense
Departments
12 TALK’N TORQUE
The Hot Wheels List
14 SHOP TALK
Products, News, Updates & More
36 POWER OF PINK
Christine’s Tribute To Firefighters
44 DT TESTED
RAPiD Vehicle Safe
46 DT TESTED
DEWALT Cordless Hood Light
48 DT ROUNDUP
SEMA Show Stopper Awards
53 ADVERTISER INDEX
Page Number Listings
Diesel Tech staff members
On the Cover
Diesel Tech staff members (From L to R) Seth Harper, Cameron Bischoff, Jason Huff and Brady Kay stand in front of a fully-loaded RAM at SEMA that is towing a matching Supra wakeboard with a customized Smart car on the bed rack.
Diesel Tech logo
EDITORIAL
PUBLISHER
Ryan Harris
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Brady L. Kay
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Seth Harper
STAFF WRITERS
Gus Surdu, Roy Sparks
ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING / SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR
OFFICE MANAGER
Samantha Stroud
MARKETING
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Cameron Bischoff
PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Janet Chase
PRODUCTION
Jim Donovan
LAYOUT AND DESIGN ARTIST
Lavon Horne
ADMINISTRATIVE
PUBLISHER ASSISTANT
Shantelle Stewart
CIRCULATION
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Chuck Harris
IT
IT DIRECTOR
Chuck Harris
ACCOUNTING
CONTROLLER
Clayton Ward
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
Jason Harris
MEMBER OF SEMA
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Address changes:
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ALSO PUBLISHERS OF:
SnoWest – SledHeads – Dirt Toys
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Founded by Darryl W. Harris
Jason Harris—President
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Portrait photo of Brady L. Kay leaning against a truck
Talk’n Torque
By Brady L. Kay
blk@DIESELTECHmag.com

Our Big 3 Makes The Hot Wheels List

Ford F250
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.

Shop Talk logo
Stay Cool Under The Hood
the XDP Aluminum Coolant Recovery Tank Reservoir XD375
The XDP Aluminum Coolant Recovery Tank Reservoir XD375 adds styling and function under the hood of your 2003-2007 Ford 6.0L Power Stroke. Forget about attempting to “shine up” the plastic factory coolant recovery tank to make your truck show-worthy. Replace it once and for all with the XD375. The XDP Aluminum Coolant Recovery Tank Reservoir features a welded aluminum construction and a satin black coating to give you a custom show and race-ready look. Each tank includes a built-in sight glass so you can easily monitor coolant levels and an OE style replacement cap. (www.xtremediesel.com)
collage of cars from a car show
Highlighting What Caught Our Eye
By Brady L. Kay
As a staff we gravitate toward the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) annual show like an overweight man craves an all-you-can-eat Vegas buffet. Who are we kidding? We look forward to the annual November show even a little bit more because there’s nothing else quite like it. In 2020 the in-person show was cancelled because of the current pandemic, but it was back in full swing in 2021 and unless you’ve attended the massive Las Vegas event before, it’s hard to grasp the size of it.
Since the last SEMA Show, the Las Vegas Convention Center has expanded and now includes 4.6 million square feet of convention space and an additional 2.2 million square feet of outdoor space! Simply put, the show felt bigger because it was bigger, despite travel restrictions that kept a lot of international vendors away.

In fact, the 2021 SEMA Show was the largest North American automotive trade show since the pandemic, with more than 100,000 attendees, exhibitors, and media participating.

Personality Changer Title
By Gus Surdu
Sam Scott and his 2003 RAM 2500
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.

Boondock Nation Duramax: Why the Sierra HD Denali Makes So Much Sense
BY DYLAN ROSE
white GMC truck
Boondock Nation Duramax: Why the Sierra HD Denali Makes So Much Sense
BY DYLAN ROSE
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.

The Power of Pink logo
For The Fallen: Christine’s tribute to firefighters
By Seth Harper
Tire and rim closeup
Logo closeup

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.

Diesel Tech Tested Number 48 typography
BY BRADY L. KAY
Products chart
Products chart
Rapid Vehicle Safe In Use
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.

Diesel Tech Tested Number 49 typography
BY Brady L. Kay
Products chart
Products chart
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.

SEMA Show convention center building
The Best of the Best at SEMA typography
Each year our Diesel Tech team leaves SEMA with our bags a little lighter than they were upon arrival, as we hand out our Show Stopper Awards at the show. These awards are meant to recognize the products that best fit our targeted audience and stop us in our tracks as we appreciate the ingenuity and creativity that went into their development. They also have you checking your wallet to see if they fit within your budget. Check out the recipients of the five Show Stopper Awards at SEMA 2021.
ADVERTISERINDEX
View Advertisers
Advertiser
PG. #
  • BDS Suspension 56,31

www.bds-suspension.com

  • Bullet Proof Diesel7

www.bulletproofdiesel.com

  • DMax Store5

www.dmaxstore.com

  • InjectorsDirect.com39

www.InjectorsDirect.com

  • KC Turbos9

www.kcturbos.net

  • Kryptonite Products41

www.kryptoniteproducts.com

  • KT Performance34

www.ktperformance.net

  • Mag-Hytec6

www.mag-hytec.com

  • MG Industries Inc.10

www.mean-green.com

  • Pacific Performance Engineering54

www.ppediesel.com

  • Power Service Products17

www.powerservice.com

  • PowerTech Diesel LLC51

www.powertechdiesel.com

  • ProSource Diesel13

www.prosourcediesel.com

  • ProSource Diesel30

www.prosourcediesel.com

  • Schaeffer Manufacturing Co.47

www.schaefferoil.com

  • Strictly Diesel35

www.strictlydiesel.com

  • Transfer Flow Inc29

www.transferflow.com

  • Ultimate Callout Challenge42

www.ultimatecalloutchallenge.com

  • Xtreme Diesel Performance2

www.xtremediesel.com

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Thanks for reading our Winter 2022 issue!