ESM has covered many custom ground hugging haulers, but we have covered very few 4x4 features. That was until Mike Jones of Show and Go Custom Automotive in Hendersonville, Tennessee, invited us to his shop one day, several months back, to show us a lifted 2001 4x4 Dodge Ram that his shop was working on for a lucky owner named Doug Suddath. After going over the project details with Mike, we felt it was high time (pun intended) ESM featured a custom lifted Dodge Ram dubbed "Gator-Done."

The idea behind this project was to have a daily driven lifted truck, but creating the monster-sized lift while maintaining drivability and utility was going to be a little challenging. Although it would have been a no-brainer to equip the Ram with a six-inch suspension lift and 37-inch tires, successful project vehicles need to be on the edge of insane and far from sensible.

With a vision clearly established of this truck's finished state, Show and Go Custom Automotive began to tear into the Mopar machine. The first thing on the list was to get the Ram's roofline up in the clouds. Up front, a 5.5" Fabtech lift kit with dual shock hoop and Performance Accessories two-inch coil spacers were used to get the lift while four Fox Racing 2.0 remote reservoir shocks were used to get the ride. Moving rearward, Mike installed six-inch SkyJacker leafs with two Fox Racing 2.0 remote reservoir shocks. Completing the overall lifted appearance and suspension functionality is a three-inch Performance Accessories body lift, Energy Suspension swaybar bushings, Fabtech StageVI traction bars, and SkyJacker dual steering stabilizers.

Once the 10-inch suspension lift was in position, a humongous set of 22x12" Weld Racing forged billet wheels were selected and mounted on Nitto Mud Grappler tires measuring a shocking 40x15.50x22 inches. These massive rollers make a strong contribution to the Ram's aggressive visual attitude, but what will slow 'em down? Mike got on the hook with Precision Brakes to solve the slow-it-down issue. Precision designed and developed a custom one-off set of 15" disc brakes with cross drilled rotors which greatly improved the stopping distance.

Completion of the nosebleed stance, the brake system, and the addition of the land-stomping wheel and tire combination brought Show and Go Custom Automotive to analyzing performance additions for the Cummins turbo diesel powerplant. The factory engine received an AFE stage III air intake system and Edge power programmer tuning, along with a set of MBRP 4-inch after-cat exhaust system.

After putting a lot of energy into achieving the right lift for the truck and backing that by some performance upgrades, Show and Go Custom Automotive wasn't about to skimp on the exterior. Mike and his crew added Xenon fender flares, color keyed the door and tailgate handles, and shaved all emblems and side moldings. The stock headlights were swapped out for a set of 2001 sport ½ ton Mopar headlights. A Bully SS brush guard was added to the nose, along with SS KC highlights, and a Precision billet grille insert. Finishing off the exterior bolt-on mods are smoked factory cab lights, In-Pro Car Wear smoked taillights, painted Street Scene mirrors, a hard tonneau topper, and Kodiac Sidewinder electric steps.

This nosebleed Ram also needed some new paint in order for the rig to make an impact at auto shows. Show and Go Custom Automotive called upon the talented Jason Bullock of Bullocks Bodywerks, who has a reputation in the custom truck industry for laying down some cool custom paint jobs. From the belt line down, Jason laid out the design for the wild gator styled graphics and combined House of Kolor Orion Silver, Oriental Green, Purple, Pagan Gold, and DuPont Ford Blue on the stock black paint. After the paint had dried, several coats of DuPont clear were added over the entire truck for a look that is all too kewl.

Bringing some of the gator styled design cues present on the exterior of the truck into the interior was one of the last things on the customizing list. The stock seating was upgraded with Katzkin leather with lapis and black everglades inserts with blue stitching. The headliner, door panel inserts, steering wheel wrap, and sun visors were stitched up by Bennet Interiors in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Various billet and painted pieces lend some additional detail to the interior looks.

The owner, Doug, just couldn't see himself cruising Tennessee highways being seen, but not heard. So, a custom audio system was installed that makes this truck the king of loud by sporting two kicker 15"subs, two Boston Acoustic components, and two Xsite 6" three-ways all powered by Kicker amps. Tunes are delivered with authority via a Panasonic all-in-one CD/DVD touch screen head unit. Seven inch monitors were custom grafted into the seat headrests and the stock rearview was trashed for a Sound Stream rearview mirror with backup assist camera. With this audio system setup, you will definitely hear this nose bleeding beast coming! Oh, but wait... that wasn't all, Show and Go Custom Automotive also installed a rather loud train horn which is mounted under the bed. Now that is loud!

The culmination of all the hard work put into this ride was the 2005 Havoc Show in Louisville, Kentucky, where this truck was a hit with all who viewed it. When Show and Go Custom Automotive takes on a project of this magnitude, they go all the way to Gator-Done!

Shout Out: "Special thanks to: Mike Jones and Will Powell of Show and Go Custom Automotive who built the truck, Mike "Kool Aid" Lausucci who stayed up all night long to help finish the truck. Bennett upholstery for stitching the interior, Shane Brown and Jason Bullock for the paint job, Steve Oeser of JBS for the custom billet pieces, and the wives and girlfriends for being so understanding of all the late nights." -Doug