The Dirthead Shed Makes Off Roading Look So Easy

Off roading YouTube is packed with boisterous and gaudy peacocks with too much money in their rigs for normal people like you or I to replicate. I don't have time to watch these monster truck builds that cost the GDP of a small country. That's why we're taking it upon ourselves to highlight some of our favorite underrated builders in a new series we're calling Wrenchers You Should Know. Not only do some of these people deserve way more views than they're getting, but they're typically the Do It Yourselfer type, rather than the big corporate-sponsored four-figure-horsepower slop that's dominating your feeds. In each installment we'll introduce you to a cool new builder, talk about some of their work, and give you a few reasons why you should be watching their progress.

The Dirthead Shed is doing it the old-school way, with solid fabrication work and big tires on a junker pulled out of a barn somewhere. Dirthead Dave Chapelle (not that one) is proving to the world you don't need a giant supercharged LS motor to get off the beaten trail. I first heard about this guy when he was on the now-defunct Motor Trend show "Dirt Every Day," and I've been watching his solo YouTube exploits ever since. 

My favorite of Dave's projects, the so-called MazGrande, actually began life on DED when the guys hauled an extremely cheap Mazda B2600i. That episode seems to be gone forever, as it isn't streaming anywhere and the full-length video has been pulled from YouTube, so we'll start with this build recap video from Dave's channel, which is still a lot of fun. The initial project for this truck was to replace the axles with one-tons, and put giant 40-inch tires on the tiny thing, then let it eat. 

Dave had this to say about the initial cheap build for the MazGrande: "For being a $1500 truck with probably another two grand in axles, the thing, like, dominated." I think that's the whole reason it appeals to me. We need to put as much of our collective attention toward affordable ways for enthusiasts to have fun as possible. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of sick of a decade of massive big-money builds that are completely impractical and totally out of reach for most Americans these days. If it's fun and cheap, that's the jam. 

The DIrthead Shed

Over the last handful of years the MazGrande has continued to be evolved and designed and re-built into the mega rock crawler it is today. This is the kind of truck that a home-builder could theoretically put together over a few years of upgrades. It was perfectly acceptable in its early leaf-sprung days, and could certainly have a lot of fun in the dirt. Bobbing the truck bed, switching to airbag suspension, and running custom trailing arms are the kind of things you can do to make the truck even more capable off road, and could probably be done in your home garage if you know what you're doing. I don't, but Dave does, and maybe you do. 

Even with everything Dave has done to this truck, it's still significantly cheaper than just going out and grabbing a new Jeep or whatever. This little rock monster is maybe the perfect example of a home-built machine done on the cheap. The initial project was done in just three days, in a dirt driveway. You don't even need a fab shop to make your cheap truck dreams come true. Some welding required, though. 

If a hardcore rock crawler isn't your kind of off-roading speed, then maybe you want to slow it down a bit with some light overlanding in a 1979 Ford F250. This big old truck was another cheap buy for Dave, getting it as a low and slow normal truck. It didn't need much to make it great, just a lift kit, wheels, and tires. For the most part, that's enough to make any halfway decent truck a pretty good off-roader. So long as you know your limitations, you can go a lot farther off road than you might ever believe. 

Heck, most trucks are pretty capable off road in stock form. If you have a truck or SUV, which statistically you do, you could probably go on an adventure today without spending too much money. There's plenty of good off-roading trails around, you just have to know where to look and what to do once you get there. This truck is kind of the proof in that particular pudding. 

Does your 1979 Ford F250 need 35s and beadlocks? Yeah, probably not, but it'd be a little bit cooler if you did. Don't worry about fixing the rust in your floorpans, just lift it and go. "It's not perfect. I mean, it's a good old truck, but it's not the super duper cream puff that it might have looked like in the first video I did with it," says Dave. That's the spirit, my guy. Grab a cheap truck and get it dirty as quickly as possible. Get off your butt and go out there and have fun. There's a whole world out there to explore! 

If neither of those builds are to your liking, The Dirthead Shed also has hot rods, modernish cheap SUVs, a junkyard LS build in a junky old Jeep, and even some mountain biking content. You should head over there and check it out. I like Dave's low-key calm and collected off-the-cuff delivery style. It's not polished or beautifully edited, but it's good quality, he knows his stuff, and he has a knack for getting what's cool. 

After a handful of hours watching Dave's videos, maybe you'll get the itch to build your own off-roader and sign up for some weird adventure out in the middle of nowhere. That's what our car hobby is for, right? A lot of car culture has lost the plot, and now it's all about tying the value of your car to its money-making potential, but for folks like Dave the value is found in getting out there, seeing cool places, and meeting new people. That's the spice of life, my friend! 

If you have suggestions for some lesser known builders on social media, please feel free to drop them in the comments section as well. I'm always on the lookout for folks out there doing cool stuff. It doesn't have to be just cars, either. While I'm well apprised of the car and motorcycles building scenes, I'd love to get deep into the nitty gritty of some more niche topics. Do you follow some cool folks building snowmobiles, jet skis, or DIY fighter jets or something? I want to know about it.

And yes, you're welcome to do some self promotion in the comments as well. Let everyone know where they can follow your build and what you're up to. If it's unique or good, we'll feature it on the blogs.