Off-Road Community Builds A Soldier His Dream Truck

Okay, thieves suck. Instead of having an actual job or doing remotely anything for society, they let you do all the hard work. Then they take the stuff you purchased with your hard-earned cash and sell it for profit or keep it for themselves. We have known about the suckery of thieves for a long time, but some in Florida went out of their way to prove the point. U.S. Army Corporal James Wesley Trent had recently returned from an overseas deployment and was taking his family on some well-deserved leave in Florida. While on leave, thieves stole his built Ford F-250 Super Duty and stripped it. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they then burned it to the ground. Stuff like that will destroy one’s faith in man, but thankfully it was restored when the off-road community, including 4WP’s El Paso, TX store, rallied together to build a replacement for Corporal Trent. Check out the press release below:

Recently returned from a year-long tour of duty in the Middle East, U.S. Army Cpl. James Wesley Trent was on leave with his family in Florida when he found his new customized pickup truck stolen, stripped and burned to the ground. Where just a few days before, he was proudly rolling out in the gold-hued Ford F-250 Super Duty, he was now looking at a charred wreck. Yes, there were worse things that could happen as his deployments overseas had proven. However, this fresh injury brought home the unfairness of it all. Eventually, insurance would replace the destroyed truck, but it couldn’t repair his loss of faith in his fellow man. That’s when members of the off-road community stepped in to help.

“Last year while watching the news I saw the unfortunate tragedy that happened to Corporal Trent,” said Florida resident Phil Gottes, CEO of TuffTruckParts.com in Boca Raton. “When I heard this, I knew we could help build this soldier a new custom truck.”

After Trent returned to his base Fort Bliss, Texas, Gottes contacted his parents to offer assistance. They had replaced the truck with a used stock model, but it was a far cry from the custom-built original. The young man was due back for a surprise birthday party in December and when the time came Gottes and his wife, Lisa, hopped in their Jeep and made the four-hour drive. Surrounded by friends and family, Trent was gifted with the promise that his replacement truck would be entirely customized free of charge.

“We told him that we were building him a new custom truck and there were a lot of tears,” said Gottes.“We were so happy to help this soldier and turn a negative event into a positive one.”

Gottes went to work immediately. Using all his experience and industry contacts, he spent the next three months making more than a hundred phone calls and emails and asked fellow off-road professionals for support. The response was incredible. American Force Wheels promised new 22-inch rims. Fabtech, AXIS Driveline and Yukon Gear donated a suspension lift kit and drivetrain components. Fab Fours, Ranch Hand, Bushwacker, Rolling Big Power (RBP) and Truck Hero supplied the exterior accessories to upgrade the truck with new bumpers, side steps, fender flares, rack, grille and bed cover. Spec-D provided custom headlights. There was only one problem – Gottes was in Florida while Trent and his replacement truck were in El Paso, Texas.

Enter 4 Wheel Parts (4WP). As the nation’s largest off-road retailer and installer, 4WP had a store with full vehicle bays in El Paso. Store manager Rick Gonzalez soon received a phone call.

“Once we heard about this young man’s story we were on it,” said Gonzalez. “Phil asked me and [4WP regional manager] Jeremy Komorn if we could sponsor the labor and we were on board right away. The entire team was involved, and everyone was excited to pitch in.”

$30,000 worth of donated truck parts began arriving at the El Paso 4WP store. The lift kit, bumpers and wheels came first. Additional accessories poured in as vendors responded to Gottes’ call. When the pickup was dropped off for installation, 4WP technicians Juan Moreno, Levin Reyes, Roberto Cardona, Quetz “Q” Rojas went to work completing the build, rotating shifts and working after hours every day for two weeks. El Paso companies Rigo’s Graphics, Truck Wrap and Rick’s Headlight Restorations were enlisted to apply the custom wrap and finishing touches.

On March 2, Gottes flew into El Paso to join Gonzalez and the 4WP crew to present Trent with his finished custom truck. As the flag-wrapped truck rolled up to the staging area, magnificent from bumper to bumper, Trent, his whole squad, local news crews and 4WP supporters broke out into applause and cheers.

“It’s a feeling I can’t fully comprehend yet,” said an emotional Trent to television station KTSM. “It means the world to me. It means that we’re not doing it for nothing.”

“It’s an honor that we’re able to [do this],” said 4WP sales associate Ralph Villa. “Instead of Wesley telling us ‘thank you,’ we’re reaching out to him in thanks for his service.”