This is always a fun time of year around the Truck Trend offices. It's when we test for Sport/Utility of the Year and Truck of the Year, and we get to see what trucks and sport/utilities you drive. We got a great crop of entries this year, with all sorts of trucks, some old, some new, many used for towing, or taken on vacation. Thanks for all the entries you sent in. Enjoy!
2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 & 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4
T.J. And Andrew "Fred" Wagner; Southern California
Brothers T.J. and Andrew Wagner came to Southern California from Kentucky, bringing with them a fondness for big trucks and playing in the dirt. T.J.'s 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 is factory stock, including the Dodge torsion bars he leveled it with. It sits on the stock wheels wrapped in Pro Comp 35x12.50 Xterrain tires for playing in mud, snow, slush, and loose dirt. Under the hood is a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine mated with a five-speed automatic transmission. T.J. says this is his wife's daily driver, and by the look of the photo, it's his weekend toy.
When T.J. takes the Ram out for some off-roading, little brother Fred tags along with his 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. Fred's truck catches some wicked air with its 6-inch Skyjacker lift kit and 37x13.50 Nitto Mud Grappler Extreme Terrain tires, all pushed by a 5.3-liter Vortec with four-speed automatic transmission.
1996 Toyota Tacoma 4WD V-6
David Harris, Dubuque, Iowa
David bought his pickup back in 1997 and has clocked a little more than 99,000 miles on the odometer. He's outfitted the Tacoma with a custom Meyer plow rig built for a Chevy S-10, K&N air induction, Bilstein shocks, extra leaf springs, and a sunroof. David pulls a trailer made from the remains of an old Ford Sport Custom bed, or hauls his 1984 Glastron boat to the river.
2000 Dodge R/T Dakota
Joshua Brack, Ozark, Missouri
Joshua owns one of only 145 Amber Fire pearl Dodge R/T Dakotas produced in 2000. Although he's put in more than 3000 hours of build time on this custom frame-off restoration, he kept the rare factory color and added some flame airbrushing. The 5.9-liter 360 has a Mopar cam, intake manifold, headers, roller rockers, 3-inch Spintech exhaust, custom billet dual ram air cold air intake, and functional hood scoops. Inside the truck is a full-blown Memphis audio system.
We spotted this truck at the 2010 SEMA show, click here to see more photos and to check out his full list of modifications!