Matthew Jackson grew up in a small town in Wisconsin where his neighborhood had local mud races featuring big trucks. The whole town (about 300 people) would show up to watch the races, making a barbecue tailgate party of it. Since this was a community event, all the guys and gals in town started building crazy modified trucks, tractors, and cars so they could participate in these races. At nearly every event, mud was flying everywhere; racers found ways to shoot mud at adoring fans 20 yards away in the bleachers. More often than not, you could barely make out who was who. Growing up and seeing how much fun his friends were having, it inspired Matthew to build up a truck of his own.
Later on, when he made the move to the West Coast, Matthew became aware of an entirely new world of off-road driving. The mud-pit action, he found, was not nearly as common California: Most off-road driving involves desert terrain, rock gardens, or sand dunes. He learned this after taking a couple of trips to Pismo Beach and Glamis, where sand driving is king. Combining the childhood element of mud and his new-found love of West Coast style, Matthew picked up an '05 Ford F-150 truck and decided it was time to create something that would absolutely eat up mud, sand, and dirt.
Matthew had heard about the quality of vehicles produced over the years by Team Vessco of Cathedral City, California, and he decided the company would be the ideal candidate to create exactly what he wanted for his rig. Team Vessco is responsible for nearly all of the work on this truck, including all of the custom work, installations, fabrication, and custom paint-matching.
At the same time Matthew was beginning to build his Ford, a couple of his coworkers were also involved in vehicle projects of their own. After months of back and forth who-did-this and who-did-that, his project was complete. As you can probably guess, he left the others in awe.
Road Armor makes strong, well-designed front bumpers for the F-150 -- Matthew went with the company's Raptor-series bumper on his Ford. Because of the truck's 3-inch body lift the bumper was tricky to mount, but with a little help from Team Vessco the installation went smoothly. In case he found himself in a rough situation, Matthew stuffed a 9,000-pound Warn winch inside along with double D-rings and four PIAA 6-inch HID lights. Without a doubt this combination up front will provide him with enough peace of mind to venture out into the wilderness. | 
The Pro Comp suspension is extremely plush both on and off the road, and combined with an additional 3-inch body lift Matthew was able to tuck massive 40-inch tires underneath his truck. The adjustable coilovers that come with the Pro Comp lift give the owner the ability to control shock damping and ride height. Pro Comp 6-inch traction bars were also installed to aid in stability at high, off-road speeds. He tells us that at first glance most people don't think he really uses the truck off-road. We can, however, assure you he doesn't hesitate to mash the skinny pedal in the dirt. | 
The rear portion of this Ford's suspension includes the provided lift blocks from Pro Comp, add-a-leaves, and the rear portion of the 3-inch body lift. From underneath you can also see the Banks 3-inch exhaust system. Both the front and rear have been filled with 4.56 gears to bring the vehicle's powerband back to stock form. |