I’m never quite sure where love for an off-road vehicle begins. Is it with the potential of the build or the completion? Do you love it more when it happens or when you dream about it? We’ve seen all kinds of transformations over the years, but most are gradual, a little cut here, a little love there; when Nick Cimmarusti decided it was time for a change to his 2006 Ram Powerwagon, he didn’t spare the rod on this one.
Converting a pick-up truck, even one as stout as the Powerwagon, to a wrecker is no small feat. The transformation had to be completed in a hurry; the Rebelle Rally was on the horizon, and Nick wanted to be sure he had the gear to use to its fullest potential on the rally. Nick serves as the on-site mechanic lead for the Rebelle; when he’s not doing that, you’ll find him in his Turnout gear helping us out with testing fire extinguishers as a member of the Georgetown Fire Department or leading training classes in 4×4 off-road driving or maybe guiding for Barlow Adventures on the Rubicon Trail. All around good-guy, you want Nick in your corner when things go sideways.
The Powerwagon sports a 5.7 stock Hemi and stock transmission. The mods come with the suspension and the bed. Leveling spacers, WFO Radius Arm Kit, and Fox Shocks. In the rear, you’ll find a bastard pack built out of 3500 dually springs and stock Powerwagon springs, Firestone Ride Right bags with Daystar Cups, and Fox Shocks. He’s armored it with custom-built rock sliders, added a Superwinch Talon 12.5" front winch, and a 2x Holmes Hydraulic 14K winch in the back. The boom and winches all came from a donor truck; the rest of the bed is custom.
As you can imagine, Nick was able to put his wrecker to the test not too many days into the Rebelle. Since then, he’s been using the wrecker all over El Dorado County to get people out of situations they never planned to be in.
