When Kanan Gubins was in high school, the Duramax diesel was introduced to the truck market, and he remembers telling his dad he'd own one someday. The impression Kanan got from that Popular Mechanics magazine article he read was strong. After high school, Kanan landed a job working for the motion picture industry as a driver, and at the end of his first film, he bought a black '02 Chevy 2500HD Silverado Crew Cab longbed Duramax diesel. It was in Texas, so Kanan and his dad flew the 1,500 or so miles from the suburbs of Los Angeles to Houston to bring the truck home.
The buildup commenced almost immediately. The truck was acquired in nearly stock condition-the only upgrade was a Ranch Hand grille guard. The first thing Kanan did was put a set of nice wheels and tires on the truck. After that, the Banks Six Gun was a necessity. Then the requisite stereo upgrades were accomplished.
These simple but effective upgrades were enough for awhile, but after entering college, Kanan got a job at a local GMC dealership where it seemed no one liked to work on the diesel trucks, and he was willing to learn and get down and dirty, so he poured himself into it. He learned a ton about the Duramax diesel.
It was only a matter of time before Kanan decided he wanted to build the most intimidating truck around, while keeping it functional and unique in the process. The first step in this new direction was a lift kit. The truck now had the beginnings of the attitude Kanan was looking for.
He really went off the deep end when he decided to paint the truck flat black. Then he took it a step further by adding Herculiner on the bumpers and lower half of the truck-that really set the truck apart. Powdercoating the rims to match the paint was one more touch, and the Ranch Hand full bumper replacements offered a major intimidation factor.
Deciding on tires to match the tone was a tough one, but Super Swamper radial IROK tires from Interco managed to take care of the need for form and function. To placate the local highway laws, Kanan put fiberglass fender flares on the front wheelwells of the truck, but he couldn't find the same for the longbed rear bedsides. So he simply got out the cutting wheel and flared the rear bedsides himself to make the truck have even more style and remain legal.
 818 Autosport powdercoated...  818 Autosport powdercoated the wheels to match the truck. |  The flat black paint is unique,...  The flat black paint is unique, but the Herculiner coating on the bumpers and bottom half of the truck is even more interesting. |  |
Black Halo lights add to the theme of the black beast, while the rear taillights were converted to LED and the lenses were painted black.
Firestone's Ride-Rite airbags keep loads level, while a Prodigy brake controller handles the heavy towing duties.