BEST BUY

JOHNNY GILBERT DIDN’T HAVE TO LOOK FAR TO FIND THIS 800HP TOW RIG

- Chris Tobin

IN THE performance automotive world, the saying “built not bought” carries a lot of weight, especially when inexperienced people with deep pockets come into the scene with a truck they obviously know nothing about. Johnny Gilbert and his team at Stainless Diesel have built many trucks over the years, including his ’19 Outlaw Diesel Super Series Hot Shot’s Secret Pro Street–championship-winning Dodge Ram drag truck, so we’re OK with giving him a pass when it comes to buying a truck that was already built. For Johnny, that rig is this beautiful ’16 Ram 2500 originally owned and modified by James Warren of Rollin’ Smoke Diesel in La Porte, Indiana.

RSD is one of Stainless Diesel’s many dealers, and James worked closely with Johnny and his friends at White Knuckles Garage in Westville, Indiana, as well as several other performance diesel-parts manufacturers, to build what many would consider the ultimate street/tow Ram. When it was time to move on to another project, James decided to sell the Ram—at the same time Johnny was looking for a late-model 6.7L Cummins-powered Ram to use as his daily driver and tow rig. As the saying goes, timing is everything.

This particular ’16 Ram 2500 is a great looking truck with bright paint and a plush Laramie interior that pretty much remains how it was when the truck left the factory. James did replace the Ram emblems in the grille and on the tailgate with black badges of his company, Rollin’ Smoke Diesel, and he swapped the fender badges with black Cummins pieces for a more low-key look. Wanting the truck to have an imposing stance, he chose to wrap the wheels in 37-inch rubber and install a lift kit on the truck to fit the large rolling stock.