6-WD Mega Truck Attracts Crowds

6-WD Mega Truck Attracts Crowds TRUCKS Conversions 34-1-2 This 27-ft. long, 6-WD Mega Cab truck started out as a 2006 Dodge 3500. Doug Loughery has stretched, raised and rebuilt his truck to make it truly one-of-a-kind. "We did some of the work ourselves and farmed out other parts, such as the rear splitter," says Loughery. "I've been doing stuff like this for years with lifted trucks and mud dragging. It got to the point where lifted trucks were so common, I wanted to do something different." Loughery stretched the frame and welded two short beds to make the extended box. He added an axle ahead of the original rear axle and installed a military bogie style suspension, adding three leaves to the existing leaf spring set. The splitter, which he had fabricated by a custom shop, powers the rear axle with a custom made drive shaft. "The splitter is basically a transfer case with a 4-in. chain that splits power between the two axles," explains Loughery. "It's mounted right ahead of the first rear axle." Although it has full-time power, Loughery emphasizes that the extra axle was done for looks, not for hauling heavy loads. The add-in axle is a corporate 14 center chunk (GM differential) with custom-made Dodge axle tubes. The transfer case is bolted to the front pinion of the GM differential. All other stock parts of major systems such as brakes are Dodge. "The biggest challenge was getting the drive angles lined up correctly," says Loughery. "I blew one transmission due to vibrations. I blew chains in the power divider and had to respace gear shafts." To dress up the truck, Loughery added 6-in. lifts with BDS coils on the front and a BDS long arm kit to keep the front axle in check. Line-X'ed Road Armor front and rear bumpers and a Ramsey winch were all added. The big rig also sports Mag-Hytec differential covers, BD X-Monitor gauges, Gear 17-in. wheels and 37-in. Pro-Comp mud terrain tires. "I added a Defender roof rack for the spare tire, shovel and axe added HiLift jack mounts. I also mounted a set of four HID off-road lights," says Loughery. "Without the rack, the truck just looked so long. The rack made a world of difference in appearance." Light Force, PIAA fog and driving lights and an Extreme center light mounted on the bumper provide plenty of illumination. "I've had it out in the mud and snow," says Loughery. "It's pretty wild to get sliding around, but it's not exactly a trail rig. The turning radius is not the greatest." Loughery does make some use of the long bed for hauling long items (it can handle a 10-ft. board). Mostly it's just for show and to advertise and promote his trucking business. He also enjoys "most" of the attention he gets. "On my way to an audio store, I noticed a police car tailing me," says Loughery. "When I came out, there were a half dozen police cars surrounding the truck. It turned out the one policeman had called all his buddies to come see it." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Doug Loughery, 13218 N. Home Rd., Liberty, Mo. 64068 (ph 816 415-8500; doug@supplychainsvcs.com).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.