Douglas County’s Finest Lifted Dodge Ram 3500

When you’re talking about full-size pickup trucks, especially dually models, bigger is always better. Geoffrey Marshall, a deputy sheriff in Douglas County, Nevada, isn’t new to the world of lifted trucks, but once he took ownership of his 2019 Dodge Ram 3500 Megacab, he only had one objective in mind for its fate. 

“I just wanted to out-do my last big truck”, he admits. “My last lifted rig was cool and all, but I wanted to build a full show truck out of the Ram, and I was ready to go above and beyond anything I’ve built for myself before.”

But would it be street legal? Deputy Marshall has yet to comment on that, but we’re sure he doesn’t have anything to worry about.

Although Geoffrey planned on going the show truck route with his Dodge, he still had every intention of driving it everyday once it was complete. The price of the truck along with all the additional modifications didn’t exactly run cheap, and he figured the truck would be a complete waste if so much time and resources were invested into the project and he couldn’t even hop in and drive it every day in the end. So, with that in mind, Geoffrey braced himself for what would turn out to be a four month tear-down period before he’d be able to get back behind the wheel of his brand new dually.

From the beginning, Geoffrey already had a vision of what his truck could look like, and he had a running list going of which parts he would need to assemble to make it all happen.

“The easiest part of the build was to shop around for the products I wanted to run on the truck,” he says. “The hardest part wasn’t even the tear down or the installation of the new products, but playing the waiting game for all the components to arrive in a timely manner is what weighed heaviest on my patience.”

One of the most important aspects of this build was the suspension system, naturally. Since Geoffrey wanted to build this truck bigger and badder than his last one, he selected a 12-inch Bulletproof Suspension lift kit that was fully powdercoated with Prismatic Powders Illusion Blueberry color to give the truck that all-important show-quality finish. To further promote a uniform appearance, the Icon coils, rear National Spring leaf pack, and all crossmembers and skid plates were also color coated for that perfect touch of class. To help get this sizable custom undertaking expertly taken care of, Geoffrey turned to Adam Benge, owner of High Rollin’ Customs out of Sparks, Nevada, and boy, did he deliver.

With the Ram now jacked up high enough to consider some serious plus-sized wheels and tires, Geoffrey searched around and landed on a pair of front 24×14 and rear 26×8.5 American Force Evo wheels with a custom gloss black finish. To add to the wheels’ already tough demeanor, True Spyke 33mm machined spike lug nuts were added to the rough and rugged rolling arsenal. To cover the wheels, Fury Country Hunter MT tires were selected due to their above average performance ratings in both mud, dirt and snow, as well as all-season on-road capabilities.

With such a hardcore suspension system in place underneath the Dodge, Geoffrey then turned his attention to adding some finishing touches to the Ram’s exterior in the way of 16 strategically placed Mictuning Rock Lights to illuminate the night, but he thought the factory Granite Crystal paint was just too good to mess with at this point. He also left the stock Limited interior alone since the premium trim package from Dodge is still brand new and ultra cool as-is. While there are still a few technical tweaks that will be dealt with in the near future (deleting the DPF, EGR and DEF systems), Geoffrey considers his truck to be wrapped up—at least for now.

Geoffrey’s Ram was finished in March ’21, and was entered at Diesel Fest in Sacramento, where it took home best Dodge truck honors—a huge accomplishment for its first time out. So what’s next for the Dodge now that the project has been wrapped up? Well, it’s nothing but regular driving duty in the foreseeable future, with a few shows thrown in between to make things interesting.

“I tow with this truck and drive it every single day,” Geoffrey says. “Not many dually trucks built to this quality are driven that often, and I am proud to have my Ram on the road so often.”

TRUCK SPECS

 Owner 

Geoffrey Marshall
2019 Dodge Ram 3500 Megacab
Minden, NV 

Engine

• 2019 6.7L I-6 HO Cummins
• Custom 4-inch exhaust system
• Sprint Booster throttle accelerator
• 2019 Aisin AS69RC transmission
• Front driveline lengthened and double Cardan joint added at the axle end for high angle use
• Drivelines painted to match truck
• Front AAM 9.25 axle and rear AAM 12.0

Chassis

• Adam Benge, owner of High Rollin’ Customs, Sparks, NV
• Factory frame sanded and painted by Zach Zito, Reno, NV
• 12-inch Bulletproof total suspension lift
• Front Icon coilover conversion w/ reservoir
• National Spring leaf pack, torn down and powdercoated with Prisma Illusion Blueberry
• Stock auto-leveling airbag system still works w/ custom extended proportioning valve rods and custom airbag mounts
• Icon dual stabilizers

Wheels and Tires

• 26×14 and 26×8.5 American Force EVO wheels (custom gloss black)
• F-40×15.5R Fury Country Hunter MT tires

Exterior 

• Original Granite Crystal factory paint
• Axles painted to match truck/drivelines
• Mictuning Rock Lights—two over each axle

Interior 

• Factory black leather upholstery on seats
• Limited Dually trim