VIVIAN

A Prerunning Toyota Tundra Turned Trophy Truck Spec'd Ford F-100

- EVAN WALSH

Folk who have a passion for extreme sports have a tendency of carrying that same excitement into whatever other activities they choose to partake in. There must be something imbedded into one's DNA that craves that action, speed, and all things that cause high spikes of adrenaline. Whatever the scientific cause of this is, Eric Conner, who was a professional street-style skateboarder back in his youth during the '90s, has experienced long-term effects that go along with wanting to land the next big trick in life.

From Decks to Dunes 

Since Eric doesn't spend much time on a board these days, he has since changed his focus to all things that revolve around building custom vehicles and off-road racing. Technically, he still gets his kicks on four wheels, but the stakes have increased dramatically. Eric has owned and operated SoCal Suspension, which has serviced the lifted-truck community in his hometown, for the last 20-plus years. Business is always a struggle no matter the industry, but Eric has stayed true to the grind and has reached a place where the tides have seemed to calm enough for him to make a big step into something that would score a huge personal and professional win.

Eric had built a radical Toyota Tundra that was set up for hardcore off-road racing. This truck evolved so much over time and was an absolute blast to drive but after rolling it, he figured it a great time to do something with another vehicle. His taste for something aesthetically different was starting to become too distracting to put off any longer, anyway. Eric wanted to build a significantly older Ford truck into a legitimate prerunner to replace his Tundra, so he reached out to Morgan Clarke Design (MCD1) to assist in figuring out if such a project could even work. Together, the two weighed out a ton of potential options to make it happen but one crazy idea stood out to be the most viable of them all.