Build Summary
Regular cab builds have carved out a spot in the industry. They are still rare so each regular cab dually looks unique! This truck started its life off as a regular cab, dually. For those that have tried to spec a truck like this, you know that it is only available as a work truck. This spec is built to make the truck the smallest and lightest it can be so as to maximize towing without many creature comforts. This is to maximize the gross combined weight rating in favor of the highest towing weight.
This truck will absolutely see tons of time towing, but the owner truly bought it to create one of the most unique builds that we could. We had to throw the full parts catalog at this truck to get the looks, stance and performance just right.
Let’s start with the cosmetic; we procured a new bumper, grille and fog lights directly from GMC to make the front end look like a brand new GMC Ultimate. Doing a straight chrome delete is cool and all, but something about the “Vader Chrome” really sets off the build and makes this truck look far more luxurious than simply spraying the front end black. The bumper was also chrome and got painted to match the body.
We deleted the rest of the chrome and emblems on the truck. The GMC Badge in the grille as well as the the tailgate were finished with black on the inside, and azure blue on the border. We also finished the small chrome “3500” logos in the corner of the front bumper in azure blue. We matched these colors to the powder coat that we did, but we will save that for later.
Since there were no factory fog lights in this truck, we also wired up a switch to control the ones we added.
Sticking with the lighting; we added the XK Glow Rock light kit underneath. Underglow really makes this truck look like a UFO and shows off all of these lift components that we powder coated. We kept the lighting white as it really sets off the color of the components that we chose.
We used one of our favorite lift kits for this build; the 4” Cognito kit is just the right height to fit 37s underneath the truck without a ton of fender gap like you are used to seeing on lifted GM trucks. We upgraded this kit with the Fox Remote Reservoir Shocks for added performance and valving. We also ordered this kit as the “Builder Series” meaning that it comes in its raw form for those looking to powder coat the components. We powder coated the same color as the paint above; Azure Blue from Prismatic Powders. All of our powder coating was performed by our friends over at Mod Finishes.
The wheels were also custom powder coated. They started off at the Dually Design Co Mesh 22”. These are forged wheels which means that they are lighter and stronger than their cast counterparts. We opted for the super single front. They started off in the black and machined colorway, and we changed it to black with azure blue where the machined portion used to be. We also opted for the traditional lug cap rather than the spiked options that DDC has.
We wrapped those in the Toyo Open Country ATIII in a 37x12.50. These are great tires and Toyo listened to builders as they revised the dated ATII. They finally created a good looking side-wall instead of the plain look that the previous tire had. When we first started off in this business, there were very few tires that allowed for the great road manners of an all terrain with monster truck sidewalls. These Toyos are severe service rated which means they meet the basic parameters to be considered a snow tire. However, unlike snow tires, they will not get eaten up by hot pavement as we reach summer temperatures.
This turned out to be a super unique build. Crew cab duallies have grown to be people movers as much as cargo movers. It was awesome to make a really unique and purpose-built work truck into a vehicle that you do not see every day. We cannot wait to build more of these trucks.
Parts List
Note: All of the powder coating was completed by Mod Finishes. The color is Azure Blue and was matched by out painters on the emblems
