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This article originally appeared in the July 2020 issue.
Here is a modest but tough-looking military truck! It’s a 2008 LMM Duramax owned by Jarred L. DuBois of Clovis, Calif., a suburb of Fresno. DuBois served in the infantry of the U.S. Marine Corps from September 1997 until September 2001, where he was second and third battalion in the first Marines.
“I was able to do two deployments: first one on the USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and the second one on the USS Tarawa (LHA 1),” he says. “While on deployment aboard the Tarawa, the USS Cole was bombed and we were one of the first ships to respond to give aid.” After returning from his service, he has since worked as a truck driver and crane operator in which he delivers trench shoring safety equipment. He bought his dually GMC in May of 2016.
The first major improvement he made on his truck was set it up for the large undercarriage it sits on. For that, he bought a 6-inch Pro Comp lift kit for the truck, giving him quite a haughty lift with a set of Toyo Open Country 37-inch tires and Kelly Armorsteel 22.5-inch big rig-sized 10-lug rims. The wheels and tires give the lift a more pronounced look, along with an onboard air system with rear air bags.
“I love having the 10-lug rims because it becomes a real 'look at me’ truck and looks really good in the few parades I have been in,” Jarred says. Yes, he does take the truck out to parades to show off some pride quite regularly, being a military veteran. He also takes the rig out to family outings on the beach and in the mountains. Being in California’s Central Valley, he’s within an easily drivable distance of both settings.
Other than the undercarriage mods, Jarred installed a 45-gallon external fuel tank plumbed into the stock tank. It’s perfect for spending long periods of time off-road. Of course, it’s also awesome for extended periods on the highway without having to refuel, helping to make this truck an amazing road trip vehicle. For tuning and extra performance monitoring, he’s running EFILive DPS5 with custom gauges.
In the future, he plans to add a performance traction bar to the suspension for some more intense off-roading. He also plans to add a headache rack, custom bedrails, and an over-cab basket so he can hold more cargo.
“I saw a truck close to what I have been able to build mine into when I was 15, and I always dreamed of having one,” he says. “At age 38, I was finally able to start building my dream truck.” Jarred’s hard work definitely paid off over the years and led him up to the fun times he’s enjoying right now in the diesel life.
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