DP CUSTOMS CHAPTER 2, A NEW SHOP

ORIGIN STORY
I had graduated from ICCC Diesel Tech and started working full time at Hiway Truck Equipment. I’d use my lunch breaks to work on my Duramax in the parking lot. Tweaking something to test, or replacing something that wasn’t broke. I attended local truck pulls and the dragstrip where I’d meet young enthusiasts that needed work done to their trucks as well. Soon enough I was working on their trucks in the parking lot during my lunch breaks too. I eventually rented a small 30x40 shop to have more room to work on these trucks after hours. Things took off from there and I quit my full time job.

In 2018, I started DP Customs from scratch when I was 21 years old with a passion for diesel pick up trucks and more specifically, diesel performance. It was a leap of faith and I didn’t know everything but was eager to learn. I remember making business cards, driving around parking lots and placing them on diesel trucks hoping to spread the word of a new diesel repair shop in town. It worked and fast forward to the present time, they are still loyal customers. I was faced with many challenges throughout the years, one of the biggest was finding a larger facility for the many jobs we had constantly scheduled. The 30x40 shop was very crowded only being able to fit two trucks and was simply too small. Working outside on customer trucks year round was pretty typical. If you drove by, you wouldn’t be surprised if you saw us working in the pouring rain, in snow fluries, the frigid cold, or the baking hot humid days. We never had an opportunity to lift a cab, so in-cab motor swaps, and on the ground transmission changes were a constant battle throughout the years.

In 2020 I invented and produced small Duramax related components which kickstarted the brand to expand and offer the unique billet products we now have today. In 2021 the website was born to better broadcast the company and online sales. With the product line and online sales constant growth, shipping supplies also started to pile up on the floor further hurting shop space. A move to a larger facility was now more than ever pressing. I looked at a dozen or more shops around the county for potential new locations but none of them sat right with me. I explored every lead someone gave me and even looked at a few locations multiple times. Not enough parking lot space, poor building condition, rough area, highly priced, too small or large of building, you name it. I bought an empty lot that I originally thought would be the endgame, spent countless hours designing buildings, talked to land owners, contractors, and the city. Nothing ever came about from any of it, but God knew all along why and made me wait till the right moment to show me. In the fall of 2023, the building literally right next door to the shop came up for sale and after walking through it several times I immediately knew what I needed to do. What are the odds that something you needed so badly was right in front of you for years but it just wasn’t the right time? I was disappointed countless times and it felt like eternity waiting. I wanted to give up, but he had other plans and boy were they nice!

We started a major construction phase at the end of 2023 at the new facility and after almost a year we are finally done with the north section Suite 3, DP Customs new shop. It’s everything I could have asked for and more. I cannot wait to share more shop content, come out with more new products, and better serve the communitys diesel repair needs with the many benefits this facility has to offer. Stay tuned! Thank you!