By James J. Weber
When a total solar eclipse begins, it is almost unnoticeable. The moon starts its passage across the face of the sun and the western edge of the sun becomes overshadowed. Within a matter of hours, the moon's complete shadow (the umbra) briefly turns daytime into an eerie darkness. During these few precious minutes, the wispy halo of the sun - the corona - comes into view as the dark disk of a moon totally obscures the bright sun.
A similar phenomenon can be seen daily in rearview mirrors all over Rohnert Park, California, the place where owners of www.craveoffroad.com drive their signature vehicle, an '02, 3/4-ton Chevrolet Extra Cab Heavy Duty truck. New kids on the block in terms of vehicle customizers, owner Ray Jones and his business partner Greg Deniz felt that by building a vehicle capable of overshadowing everything else on the road, their mark would be made and noticed, much like the sun's corona during a total solar eclipse. In fact, following their astrological counterpart's lead of uniqueness, Ray custom-ordered his truck in GM Solar Yellow from Santa Rosa Chevrolet in Santa Rosa, California.
Elevating the truck to its new stance is Whiplash Performance Center's newly released extreme 10-inch suspension lift. Believe us, new meaning is given to the word extreme when it references this phenomenal lift kit installed by Whiplash Performance in Fresno, California. By retaining the factory geometry, offering a full lifetime warranty on the product and providing a ride quality that rivals some six-figure priced sedans, the truck couldn't have been built any better, even if the good folks at GM had their say. Prior to the suspension components being installed, Clovis Powder Coating of Clovis, California, powdercoated the steering assembly and brackets, the rear lift blocks, the shock brackets, and the torsion bars in Solar Yellow to match the rest of the body work. The remaining suspension components were chromed by Western Chrome of Fresno. As if the truck wasn't already high enough to compete with the sun, Ray and Greg convinced the Whiplash Performance team to fabricate a custom 4-inch body lift so the set of heavy, loud, and large 19.5x44x16.50 Interco Super Swamper Bogger TSL tires wrapped around the 16.5x12-inch Weld Racing Scorpio V wheels - courtesy of Lee Schwab Tire of Rohnert Park, California - could find refuge inside the fenders. The eight custom-valve, stainless steel, 3-inch King Racing shocks and dual leaf spring-mounted kicker shocks manage to damp the ride considerably, especially when the tire feedback kicks in at around 80 mph through the rough stuff.
The remaining factory trim items, such as the door handles, front and rear bumper trim, and side mirrors, were color-matched by Ray and Greg in the factory Solar Yellow paint. Completing the exterior of this four-wheeled phenomenon is a Stull Industries billet grille insert, color-matched Bow Tie grille insert and custom tinted windows. Entering and exiting the vehicle was made possible thanks to a pair of newly released Kodiak stainless steel retractable steps that appear when the doors are opened and vanish when they are closed.