Bill McShane and his wife Vicki are business owners in Wesley Chapel, Florida, and have been active automotive enthusiasts for the last 10 years. They are into large, lifted trucks, and their first vehicle, named Out of Control, is well-known on the East Coast show truck circuit. Several years ago, their Out of Control '98 Dodge began with a conservative lift, but the situation changed rapidly. Shortly after driving it out of the showroom, Bill was passed by a taller truck and decided to raise the Dodge a little higher. He was happy for a while, that is until he was passed by another taller truck. Like an elevator, the Dodge kept going up until pretty soon, there simply were no more taller trucks! Dairy Queen sponsored the truck, and it quickly became a kid's favorite at Monster Jam, especially since it was 2 1/2 feet taller than the largest monster truck on the circuit. Unfortunately, much of the height came from the 64-inch tires that were not DOT approved, making Out of Control illegal to drive on the street. While the Monster Jam circuit was fun, Bill and Vicki soon realized they missed being able to drive their truck to weekend shows in the area. That's when they began planning the new truck in these photographs.
When they created Out of Control, Bill and Vicki bought the truck first and then shopped for the parts. Now more experienced and with a clearer idea of the finished vehicle, they bought the components for their second truck before it was even in their possession. The truck they had in mind was the new '08 Harley-Davidson F-350, crew cab 4x4, 105th Anniversary Edition. As you might expect with a truck this size, everything takes a little longer. The delivery process was delayed because the F-350 longbed had to be delivered by train and it occupied two spots on the rail car. That meant the couple had to wait until the timing was right. When the truck finally arrived at Brandon Ford in Brandon, Florida, however, there was hardly a moment's delay before Bill and Vicki had the truck on a trailer, headed to Off Road Center in Russellville, Alabama, for the altitude-enhancing process. Vicki says even though she is just as enthusiastic about the sport as Bill, she was glad when all the new suspension pieces could finally be removed from the living room!
The first step in the conversion was eliminating all the original suspension pieces that came with the Ford. Once the stock frame was gone, a center cradle was custom-fabricated, then powdercoated silver. It accommodates the triangulated front and rear four-link suspension. A pair of bulletproof 2 1/2-ton Rockwell military axles with 6.72 gears replaced the original Ford axles, and special high-angle U-joints accommodate the steep rake of the front driveshaft. Custom shock mounting brackets were fitted to each corner, holding the monster King coilover reservoir shocks that dampen the suspension and provide a smooth ride. Custom sway bars and limiting straps on the front and rear axles also enhance the high-altitude truck's ride quality. Steering the heavyweight 4x4 now requires only a light touch, thanks to the hydraulic assist from AGR's Rock Ram steering system. The final step was rims, and since a set of off-the-shelf wheels simply wouldn't do for a truck of this caliber, a one-of-a-kind set of 20 x 18-inch wheels was created, then wrapped in imposing 54-inch Super Swamper Boggers.