Custom Rigs : August 2009
How To: Davidson's Smoothie
46 CUSTOM RIGS Fall 2009 C ustom tailplates are the new fashion statement on custom rigs, making them way more than just a chromed, painted or powder-coated rear cross member to cradle tail and brake lights. Truly customized tailplates often make a big in-your-face statement, reflect-ing a rig's overall level of customization. Few know this better than the Davidson brothers, Jeff and Jason, who own John's Truck Repair (www.johnstruck-repair.com) in Cotati, California. JTR is the originator of the Davidson Style custom tail-plate, distinguished by a glass-smooth surface unblem-ished by seams, sharp corners, rivets or bolts. Typically a Davidson Tailplate is paired with custom fenders over the drivers as on Slippery Pete, which we featured in the Spring issue. Around our shop a custom tailplate is just that... custom, says Jeff. In the last 15 years or so we've crafted about three dozen of them. No two have been alike. And the `less is more' style has become so popular recent customers have come in asking for a `Davidson Tailplate.' The moniker has stuck. The project truck getting the new look here was a '98 Peterbilt 379 halfway through the full-custom JTR treat-ment. And while creating a steel tailplate may seem easy enough, creating this metal work-of-art isn't a task for the typical do-it-yourselfer. It requires metal-fabrication skills most truck owners haven't yet mastered. Time is also an issue. Fabricating a tailplate can take four to five days for the skilled, experienced fabricators and painters at JTR. And before a piece of steel is touched, JTR's designer consults with the truck's owner to get his or her input on styling. From there a drawing is developed. Then a second discussion ensues with the truck owner to finalize the design. Only then does JTR turn the design into reality. The end result, so to speak, gives any custom rig a sig-nature look. By Photos by Rick Porter and the author HOW-TO HOW-TO How-to How-to JOHN'S TRUCK REPAIR REVEALS HOW TO FAB A SPECIAL CALIFORNIA-STYLE TAILPLATE