SEMA Member News—March/April 2016
TORA Featured Vehicles
Members of the Truck and Off-Road Alliance (TORA) showcase their vehicles throughout the SEMA Show each year to promote their products and expertise. TORA recognizes a handful of amazing vehicles from member companies that have supported SEMA Cares charities during the year by featuring them either in the TORA booth, on the Show floor or on the outdoor promenade between the South Hall and the Performance Pavilion. Here is an inside look at the TORA feature vehicles that were at the 2015 SEMA Show, from the owners and builders.
 Westin Automotive |  Truck Accessories Group |
Vehicle: ’13 Jeep JK Owner: Bradley Lewis Project Manager: Cris Payne, Truck Guru Builder: Simmons Diesel Builder’s Favorite Detail: “The twin-turbo Cummins diesel, which puts out more than 750 hp to the rear wheels.” Challenge to Overcome: “It’s not an everyday thing to just slap a diesel motor into a Jeep. It took thousands of hours of labor to get this done. We are pleased with the final turnout of the project.” | Vehicle: ’15 GMC 2500 HD Denali Builder: California Truck Accessories (CTA), Bakersfield, California Builder’s Favorite Detail: “Our favorite detail on the truck would have to be the lift kit, which was provided by CST Suspension. We like how we were able to get the kit powdercoated to match the wrap of the vehicle. The detail CST did with this kit was amplified by how the dual-shock reservoir was placed and the new beefy tie rods they provided for us. This kit really set off this build for us.” Challenge to Overcome: “One of the biggest challenges we had with this truck was managing time to get it finished before the SEMA Show and between our regular customers.” |
 Westin Automotive |  Westin Automotive |
Vehicle: ’15 Ram 3500 Owner: Earnest Jefferson, DEBO Project Manager: Cris Payne, Truck Guru Builder: Chip Snyder, No Limitz Customz | Vehicle: ’15 GMC Sierra 2500 Owner: Vince Villereal Project Manager: Cris Payne, Truck Guru Builder: Chip Snyder, No Limitz Customz |
| A.R.E Accessories | Bolt Locks |
Builder: Trent VanArsdalen, Trent’s Trick Upholstery Builder’s Favorite Detail: “My favorite thing is the helmet holder that I made out of bicycle inner tubes.” Challenge to Overcome: “The biggest challenge of the build was the timing. I only had the truck 7 weeks before it was shown to the public and coordinating the scheduling of timing and parts delivery was a little stressful but it all fell into place.” |
Builder: Joseph Khan
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Vehicle: ’15 Extreme Sports F-150 Project Truck
The Builders on Trends to Watch
- Quickly growing use of light bars and different styles of lights, either for show or for actual off-roading.
- Big wheels and smaller tires.
- Wraps.
- The industry is seeing an increase in accessory and vehicle theft, so wheel and light-bar locks and kill switches are becoming more and more popular.
