DW  RAM

Building the Black Beast: A Father-Son Journey with a Ram 2500HD

Most of the time father and son projects involve gardening, or painting a fence or some other such mundane work. Not this father and son project. Stephane Lariviere (the father) bought a 2011 Ram 2500HD and then partnered with his 16-year-old son Jordan to build it into The Black Beast.

Jordan was involved more than to simply hand a wrench to his dad and fetch a cold drink from the fridge. Jordan was an active participant in the entire project; in fact, he was the driving force. Jordan scoured magazines and the Internet looking for just the right combination of parts and he sought out sponsorships where he could find them. Jordan created a Facebook page for the truck (The-Black-Beast) and started a campaign to get the Ram into a national diesel magazine. He’s persistent and driven, and the project turned out exactly as intended… and now here it is in the pages of Diesel World for all the world to see.

Jordan was inspired by the success of his friend Shane Hayward (who’s project rig is named “Spoiled Nasty”) as he followed the build from beginning to end. Hayward taught Jordan a ton of things about the aftermarket truck parts world, introduced him to the right people, and showed him that you can achieve great things if you are willing to work hard.

The backside view of Jordan and Stephane’s Ram reveals the Mag-Hytec diff cover, the MagnaFlow Black Series dual 4-inch exhaust that’s from Dynamics Diesel DX2 and the pocket style fender flares from Bushwacker. A Truxedo Pro bed cover keeps things safe in the bed.
The backside view of Jordan and Stephane’s Ram reveals the Mag-Hytec diff cover, the MagnaFlow Black Series dual 4-inch exhaust that’s from Dynamics Diesel DX2 and the pocket style fender flares from Bushwacker. A Truxedo Pro bed cover keeps things safe in the bed.

The goal for the truck was to have a good, reliable powerful daily driver that could go off-road without any problems. The truck needed to be capable of towing the family fifth-wheel trailer to diesel event and races, and it had to look good too. To top it off, the Larivieres built the truck with their own two hands (well, four hands actually).

The father/son duo is Canadian, living in Amos, Quebec, a small town with extremely cold weather in the winter. In June and July the average temperature is a lovely 72 degrees (the yearly average is 44 degrees) but come January and February you will see negative temperatures with the record being -63 degrees. In weather like this you’d better pick your aftermarket parts carefully. That’s why Jordan spent so much time researching products and, in the end, chose the very best to add to The Black Beast.

Triple N2.2 performance shocks from Rough Country control the front suspension.
Triple N2.2 performance shocks from Rough Country control the front suspension.
An S&B cold air intake with the scoop kit makes sure only clean air gets into the 6.7L Cummins engine. Jordan uses F-Bomb fuel additive.
An S&B cold air intake with the scoop kit makes sure only clean air gets into the 6.7L Cummins engine. Jordan uses F-Bomb fuel additive.
The stock CP3 is helped with a FASS titanium 150GPH fuel/air separator system with a fuel heater.
The stock CP3 is helped with a FASS titanium 150GPH fuel/air separator system with a fuel heater.

The key to the build was getting the truck up in the air for ground clearance and to make room for 20-inch wheels and 35-inch tires. Jordan selected Rough Country’s 5-inch X-Series lift kit with the optional control arm drop bracket and adjustable control arms. Rough Country N2.2 shocks are on all four corners of the truck. A BDS Suspension triple front shock bracket was used to mount the fronts.

A Rough Country dual steering stabilizer with N2.0 shocks assist the steering perfectly. All of the suspension parts were sourced through Canadian truck parts dealer J&S Performance.

After the lift was done, the tires and wheels came next. Jordan selected KMC XD Series Badland 779 wheels and covered them with Mickey Thompson MTZ 35/12.5-20 tires.

A Rough Country 5-inch lift kit gets the truck up in the air to better traverse the Quebec countryside. Look closely and you can see the Backwoods Bumper tow hook. Firestone air bags keep the ride-height level when there’s a trailer attached. A BDS Suspension indexing ring corrects all driveline issues related to the lift. The sponsor logos were added by Active Graphix.
A Rough Country 5-inch lift kit gets the truck up in the air to better traverse the Quebec countryside. Look closely and you can see the Backwoods Bumper tow hook. Firestone air bags keep the ride-height level when there’s a trailer attached. A BDS Suspension indexing ring corrects all driveline issues related to the lift. The sponsor logos were added by Active Graphix.
Emblem Art custom built chrome emblems for The Black Beast.
Emblem Art custom built chrome emblems for The Black Beast.
Glacier Diesel Power’s S-3 intake manifold combines with a Nomex-reinforced boost tube and a GDP CCV open breather kit for power increases. ARP 625 head studs were installed on the truck.
Glacier Diesel Power’s S-3 intake manifold combines with a Nomex-reinforced boost tube and a GDP CCV open breather kit for power increases. ARP 625 head studs were installed on the truck.

Power is important to both Jordan and Stephane so they added a bunch of speed parts to the 6.7L Cummins engine. The Industrial Injection Silver Bullet 66/74/14 turbo is supported by Glacier Diesel Products’ Torker 75-hp nozzle injectors. A GDP S-3 intake manifold has a Nomex-reinforced boost tube and there’s also a GDP CCV open breather kit and Sinister EGR delete kit. A Snow Performance Stage 2 water/methanol kit keeps the EGT down and boosts power. ARP 625 head studs were installed to keep everything together. The transmission is stock with the addition of a trans unlock code.

This will not be Jordan’s last project, there’s no doubt about that. He’s in diesel tech school and already has a job working on big rigs. It’s safe to say that diesel may just be in his blood! DW

The RX3DX steps from RBP make it easier to get into the truck and the 50-inch Bulldog light bar from sponsor Shift Products makes nighttime driving a cinch. The light is mounted on a SoCal Supertrucks Ram roof mount and secured with custom lock nuts from Carolina Metal Masters.
The RX3DX steps from RBP make it easier to get into the truck and the 50-inch Bulldog light bar from sponsor Shift Products makes nighttime driving a cinch. The light is mounted on a SoCal Supertrucks Ram roof mount and secured with custom lock nuts from Carolina Metal Masters.
A chrome bullbar helps protect the Royalty Core RC2CG custom red-painted grille. K2 Motor headlight projectors combine with Retro Solution 55w HID fog lights kit to ensure safe driving at night.
A chrome bullbar helps protect the Royalty Core RC2CG custom red-painted grille. K2 Motor headlight projectors combine with Retro Solution 55w HID fog lights kit to ensure safe driving at night.
The Laramie is fully loaded with gray leather seats. On the A-pillar you can see the Auto Meter boost gauge and the Mini Maxx tuner from H&S Performance.
The Laramie is fully loaded with gray leather seats. On the A-pillar you can see the Auto Meter boost gauge and the Mini Maxx tuner from H&S Performance.
KMC XD Series Badland 779 wheels are wrapped with Mickey Thompson MTZ 35-inch tires.
KMC XD Series Badland 779 wheels are wrapped with Mickey Thompson MTZ 35-inch tires.

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