Trucks and Jeeps have a massive following in the U.S, certainly a lot larger than here in the U.K. A lot of the booths at SEMA were catering to the off-road market to the ‘show truck’ culture and to those who simply use trucks as work vehicles or as support vehicles for their race teams.
I can’t profess to know a lot about these, so a lot of what I captured was just what caught my eye along with builds that I’ve been following on social media. If I make any mistakes, please feel free to let me know.
One thing that surprised me was the popularity of Ford’s first generation Bronco platform. Ford themselves had quite a collection of them as a part of the Ford Out Front display, but there were some scattered about the show, along with plenty of companies producing bits for them, including full replacement chassis!
This is professional drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr’s Bronco ‘Brocky’
There seems to be quite the following for 1970s and 1980s trucks. There were a fair few at SEMA:
Brown Sugar, the campervan pictured below, was one of my favorite builds of SEMA. It was built by River City Rods & Fabrication and it really hits that 70’s vibe!
Bad Habit: Relapse. One to watch in 2020 if you’re into monster trucks.
Recovery truck goals: This would look fantastic carrying a classic race car to the track.
There were some trucks there that were even older. 1950s American vehicles – be that cars, trucks or bikes – are some of the best looking in automotive history.
This van is another of my favorite SEMA builds. It’s simply done and I love the period correct sign writing.
There were lots of modern trucks on display too. Some were purely show trucks:
Others were definitely built with expeditions and adventures in mind:
I’d love to go and see stadium trucks race one day.
Sun Storm is a build I’ve been following on Instagram for a while. Much like the green Jeep above, it’s a head turning show vehicle yet still looks as if it could hold it’s own out in the elements.
I had the chance to speak with the owner, Terry, about the project. We have a lot of shared interests. He does a lot of charity work with an organisation called Mission 22, who offer support and guidance for veterans who are struggling with mental health issues, along with Autism Awareness.
Hopefully we’ll be able to do some work together in 2020 and I look forward to seeing the development of his new build; Toxic Storm.
A few other builds that caught my eye included the Howe & Howe Technologies Ripshaw, which is just a mad thing which I absolutely need to get me to and from work each day.
This modified military Jeep was certainly radical! I bet it’s a lot of fun to drive.
H1 Hummers will always have a place in my heart. They just look so much more rugged and ready than the later iterations.
Thanks for reading!
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By Richard Francis
