Bike Magazine
Hank, The Wonder Truck
The staff at Petersens Bike Magazine dubbed the Joe Goebel designed and illustrated Quad Cab Dakota Hank, The Wonder Truck.
Hank is like most mountain bikers; his exterior is a little loud and flashy, but deep down hes a true adventurer. Hank was already one nasty brute when the staff got him: the Dodge Dakota Quad Cabs rugged and powerful V-8 platform saw to that. Built to transport multiple bikes and multiple riders to their favorite, yet remote, trails, the truck is fitted with a Thule Bed Mount Bike Rack and a Mopar Accessories Roof Mount Bike Rack to accommodate a payload of titanium and full-suspension Mongoose bicycles. The Tire Rack supplied the 18x8 Borbet CW-4 wheels shod in P265/60HR18 Bridgestone Duelers.
Hank differs from most trucks Bike Magazine has encountered; Hank can comfortably transport four sweaty and stinking adults and all their gear and bikes without making them feel like theyve been stuffed in a broom closet.
Now, all this talk of payloads and cargo capacity may have you thinking that Hank leads a tedious life of unrewarding labor. But spending all day as a rugged workhorse in the mountains never gets Hank down. When it comes to after-hours, you can plainly see Hank always has his party clothes on, more than ready for a night on the town. His dual personality offers the best of both worlds.
Hot Rod
Hemi-licious
Only Hot Rod could conceive this fire-breathing Quad Cab constructed by, none other than, Troy Trepanier of Rad Rides in Manteno, Illinois. Designed by Thom Taylor, the Hot Rod Hemi Dodge Dakota Quad Cab features a long list of aftermarket products that only a craftsman of Troys caliber could merge together with such outstanding results.
For power, nothing less than Mopar Performances 528ci Hemi would be sufficient. The engine produces 600hp thanks to a combination of Aeromotive Fuel System components feeding an ACCEL Digital Fuel Injection system. March Performance delivered the serpentine pulley setup, while a host of Mopar Performance accessories dress out the pachyderm.
To convert Hemi power to forward motivation, the folks at Atech Motorsports engineered the Summit Racing Equipment-supplied 727 TorqueFlite trans and tailshaft mounted Gear Vendors overdrive unit. A Flowmaster exhaust system attempts to quiet the roar of the Crate Hemi.
On the outside, the Quad Cab is as radical as its drivetrain. Jeff St. Aubin Auto Body dechromed the body and applied the revised topcoat to the all-black Dak which was followed up by Tom Evans applying the flames. A Hotchkis suspension provides the down-to-the-ground look while Billet Specialties wheels18s up front and giant 20-inchers out backare mated to BFGoodrich rubber. Inside AutoMeter gauges monitor the Hemi.
Editor Ro McGonegal of Hot Rod said in his remarks at SEMA, Quite frankly, when we received Dodges invitation to the Quad Cab project, we laughed. How could we surmount this obstacle? A big bag of flames, some bad boy rolling stock, and a Hemi engine would do the trick, we thought. Hell, theyd never agree to something that nutty, would they? Well, they did.