Words: Kristie Real
Photos: Brian McGee
CJ “Skoop” Dunlap has filled these pages with his various builds many times before. His latest venture might look as good as his previous builds, but this 2017 Ford F-350 gave him a run for his money. The SMG Hauler is built to look badass as much as it is meant to work hard, but the finished product was anything but easy.
“For the last couple of years, people have seen this truck go through hell and back,” CJ admits. “It’s come a long way since then! Most people would have given up after all the setbacks I faced.”
Not one to give up lightly when things get tough, CJ was committed to completing the F-350. It needed to not only haul his other show queens to shows, but it also needed to look like one. Although CJ usually plays it safe when it comes to the theme and colors of his past builds (think, black, white and silver), he went with a different style of livery to really stand out. Originally, the truck was wrapped and parts were powder coated blue, but CJ felt it was too loud and decided to tone it down a bit, breaking up the bold blue with some camo accents, which he added days before the 2019 SEMA show.
With his goal set, the process wasn’t as easy as CJ expected. Instead of being a seamless build like his others, he faced challenge after challenge from the moment he started customizing the truck. “The biggest obstacle was with the shop that was supposed to complete the truck for SEMA 2018. The truck ended up leaving their shop on a wrecker after they neglected to finish the build because they were closing their doors due to the bad publicity and screwing over multiple people in the industry and lying to customers. Not only was the truck not even completed, it was unsafe to drive and the way the truck was put together was a complete death trap.”
Since CJ’s company, SMG, works with some of the biggest and most reputable companies in the industry, he wanted parts on the truck that would help him accomplish the goal of being “able to put in work, ride good and look good doing it.”
But luckily, he found two great shops that fixed all the previous shop’s poor work and got the truck up and running again. Once the shops got their hands on the Ford, it was all smooth sailing from there. A full build from the inside and out, some of CJ’s standout mods include the Bradford-built flatbed and the tool box/fuel box/boom box combo from The Fuel Box. “But the blue camo really helped set this build above the rest as well as the custom-built suspension by Ekstensive Metal Works that features a coilover front suspension with triangulated full air ride, FOX coilovers with triple bypass shocks, Signature Metal Fab torsion sway bar, Air Lift air management, Weaver Fabrication high steer kit and PSC hydraulic assist.
The overall design has been a hit, with CJ receiving positive feedback on social media and tons of admiring stares on the streets. “I think the new look with the blue camo really grabs even more attention than I originally expected. Now the truck is putting in work and will be spending about 70% of its life hooked up to a trailer as it travels across the country, hauling his other show trucks from show to show. “All my builds have equally been great in their own way, but this one definitely outdoes them all with workability and comfortability.” Be on the watch as it’s set to be featured on Ekstensive Metal Works’ TV show “Texas Metal.”
GEAR: 2017 FORD F-350 DUALLY
Tires/Wheels
- 26×14 American Force Super Dually Quakes
- 37×13.50R26 Tri-Ace Black Bear M/T tires
Performance
- SSBC B8 Barbarian brake kit
- Performance Chaos tuning
- EZ Lynk
- 5” Jamo exhaust
- S&B Intake
- Mishimoto radiator, intercooler, boost kit and high temp thermostat
- Stealth Performance module
Suspension
- Ekstensive Metal Works / front coilovers and triangulated full air ride rear
- Fox coil overs with triple bypass shocks
- Signature Metal Fab Torsion sway bar
- Weaver Fabrication High Steer kit
- Air Lift air management
- PSC Hydraulic steering assist
Exterior
- Pixelwerks camo wrap
- Bradford built flatbed
- RK Sport hood
- RazerRack roof rack
- Armadillo bedliner
- Overkill Fab illuminated grille and side emblems
- Color-matched mirrors
- Fusion bumper
Recovery
- GenY Hitch 15” drop
- Freedom ropes
- Bolt Locks
- Speed Strap ratchet straps
Lighting
- Heise LED lighting
- Morimoto XB Headlights painted by plainANsimple
- (26) MWCustoms rock rocklights
- RECON cab lights and mirror lights
Accessories
- Warn 12K winch
- Ride Controller RC Pro
- Hornblasters ShockerXL train horns
- True Spike lug nuts
- One Ten machining floating caps
- The fuelbox in bed tank
- Bull Ring tie downs
- G2 Axle diff covers
- Renegade Products SMG SEMA truck maintenance kit
- Warn 4WD hubs
- Odyssey batteries
Interior
- Roadwire leather
- Wrapped interior pieces
- Lock’erDown safe
- BlackVue dash camera
- US Speedo gauges
- P3 gauges
- DUB IR Luxury Tint
Audio
- (3) Wet Sounds Sinister SDX4 Sinister Series amplifiers
- (1) Wet Sounds SYN-DX-4 amplifier
- (4) Wet Sounds REVO CX-10 10” speakers
- (8) Wet Sounds REVO 8 speakers
- (4) Wet Sounds REVO 6 speakers
- Wet Sounds Surge 6 soundbar
- (4) Wet Sounds Revo 12 HP subwoofers
- Wet Sounds MC-1 media center
