Owner: Eric Scott Rankins
Ride: '06 Toyota Tacoma
Hometown: Conroe, Tx
The SEMA Show rush is something that only a brave few get involved with every year, and Ekstensive Metalworks is one of the few annual adornments of the insanity that is the SEMA Show. Each year, the Ekstensive crew brings out something new to wow the crowd. SEMA Show 2007 was no different as Eric Rankins, the fabricator at Ekstensive, drove in his brand-new '06 Toyota Tacoma and laid it out in the Air-Zenith booth.
But it's not all fame and glory like some would have you believe. In fact, it goes something like this: Most SEMA Show builds consist of a six-week tornado the two months before the show, where you could count the hours of total sleep on one hand. Since time is of the essence, there's no way to go step by step and ensure that all is done right the way you want it, as there could be any number of different things going on simultaneously. In fact, Eric said it best when he said, "Everything was done at once. I built the frame while the body shop shaved the body, the stereo shop was doing the box and wiring in the cab, while at the same time, the upholstery shop was working on the interior, etc. Why? Because of the time crunch to get ready for the SEMA Show." Imagine the chaos of six dudes tearing into one truck together, only to hope it comes out right when it's all put back together, under a hectic time crunch, and then once it's all back together, the painter usually has the toughest time crunch of all. That's about what went on. Chaotic Rod & Customs pulled through big time, with literally a day or two to paint everything and get the Tacoma to Vegas.
Everyone jokes around that nothing is ever truly "ready" for SEMA, but Eric's Tacoma made it and it's his only form of transportation-it's daily driven 70 miles to and from work! How's that for finished? And yes, Eric is crazy enough to cut up a brand-new lease at least once to make the SEMA Show dream we all strive for but would he ever do it again? "Not unless I had a lot more money and time to spare, but that don't mean I don't like the truck." Eric, we'll see you at SEMA Show next year, and we're sure you guys will have some new tricks up your sleeves!