Houston’s Ultimate High-Rise Truck: A Custom Chevy 2500 Built for Any Terrain

A Rolling Billboard That Holds Its Own in the Water

Houston is just 40 miles from the Gulf Coast of the US, making it especially susceptible to storms that tend to linger in the area from late spring through early fall. Additionally, the city is exceptionally flat and sits about 50 feet above sea level, making it prone to flooding when heavy rainfall is coupled with already-rising sea levels. The Houston metro area sits beside multiple waterways and sprawls out in every direction. This has long put the city at risk of a natural disaster.

One way to avoid getting trapped in the constant flooding is to lift your vehicle above the flood lines. Houston-based Steven Harris has owned and operated a company in the city  called Delta Tire and Wheel Customs for the past six years after taking over from his stepfather. Originally founded back in 1963, Steven’s family opened the shop right before they were enlisted to fight in the Vietnam War. That experience overseas gave them  loyalty to military members and first responders. Steven changed the output of Delta to be a one-stop shop capable of completing an entire build.

Known for always owning and driving custom trucks, Steven wanted to incorporate helping others with a new build as well as promoting his company. The good news is that Steven had a friend at Bayway Chevy in Houston and was able to get a good deal on a 2021 Chevy 2500 HD LTZ. He opted for the diesel because he wanted to maximize the performance by having a multipurpose truck that can be utilized for daily driving, work, and truck shows.

After a week of owning the stock brand new truck, Steven brought the Chevy to Dustin at Sterling Diesels to perform the diesel delete and get it to perform like a diesel truck should, all while voiding the warranty in the process of the first step. With all the work going on in Houston, Steven was left driving the 2500 for the next year looking stock.

“If you know me, you know I have a hard time driving anything stock,” Steven tells us.

Once a bay became open at Delta, Steven brought the diesel in for some new modifications. The interior was completely gutted and the crew began building the new starlight headliner consisting of 1,500 individual galaxy twinkle lights replicating the Rolls Royce roof.

With the SEMA show in Las Vegas rapidly approaching, the Delta team set their goals to make the show and debut the Chevy. Unfortunately, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic and most of the sponsors backed out of the show due to the health risk. Luckily it gave Steven and the Delta crew time to keep working without the rush.

Steven has always been a part of Trae the Truth and the Relief Gang to rescue people from buildings and homes during heavy flooding in the large Texas state. That certainly wasn’t going to happen with the stock height of the new diesel.

With the help of James and Mark from Full Throttle Suspension, a massive 18-inch lift was added to the new 2500 by Gordon, the lead technician of Delta. While the lift was being installed, Dylin and Eli from Delta’s sister company Ultimate Innovation began the stereo process. Keeping a stock appeal with massive sounds, Steven opted to maintain the stock Chevy head unit but that’s all that remained original. A complete SoundDigital and Ground Zero audio system was installed consisting of a total output of 4,600 watts. A one-off custom enclosure houses the three subwoofers while four JL Audio speakers were mounted underneath the truck for even more clarity.

Now that the stereo was added and perfected into the new diesel Chevy, Evelyn from Roadwire Leather Interiors was next to assist with the custom-made leather seats utilizing the black and yellow coloring. The next step was to add some flare to the exterior by bringing the truck to John at Pixelwerks. John added his mastery by installing the custom-printed three-layer wrap design including the Chevrolet lettering on the tailgate. A full custom light show was added to highlight the black paint and yellow wrap from Dan at FCKLightbars  with dual XL ring lights behind each wheel.

The final step was adding the perfect shoes for the newly lifted Chevy. Steven contacted Steve from Liberty Forged and together they came up with a powdercoated black 30-inch wheel that Steven and his Delta team painted inserts in custom yellow with floating center caps with the Delta logo painted on them. Finally, the wheels were wrapped in Fury rubber with the help of the Fury Tire rep Andy.

Steven wishes to thank his beautiful wife Danielle and their two daughters Mya and Amari for their love and understanding. Without their support, Steven wouldn’t have half the success he has today. Danielle is only 5’1”, soSteven always loves watching her climb in the passenger seat. Steven gives his biggest thanks to God for the abilities to do these things and earn a living in the process. A huge thanks to his entire team at Delta Tire and Wheel Customs for their dedication and the constant grind that they maintain.

2021 Chevy 2500 HD LTZ

Owner: Steven Harris Houston

Chassis & Suspension

• 18-inch FTS kit with custom driveshaft, front track bars, and chrome resi shocks
• Rear 4-link with coil shocks and chrome resi, rear driveshaft spacer, custom powdercoated black and yellow

Wheels & Tires

• 30×16 Liberty Forged wheels powdercoated black, yellow painted inserts, floating caps

Engine & Drivetrain

• 6.6L Duramax
• Full delete with S&B cold air intake

Body & Paint

• Factory black paint
• Custom printed metallic silver, black, and yellow three-layer wrap design
• Chevrolet lettering on tailgate
• Custom painted grille, side painted Z71 emblems and Duramax on hood vents
• 36 rock lights, combo RGB, dual XL wheel lights

Interior & Stereo  

• Custom black leather and yellow suede seats with yellow perforated inserts and yellow stitch done by Roadwire
• Full black suede headliner, visors, handles, panels, and pillars
• 1,500-count twinkle starlight headliner from FCKLightbars
• Stock head unit, Ground Zero tweeters mounted in custom pillars, three Ground Zero subwoofers, four JL Audio speakers mounted under the truck, two four-channel SoundDigital amplifiers, one SoundDigital mono-block amplifier, Ground Zero DSP tuning

PHOTOS BY PHIL GORDON