Episode 13 of the Lifted Trucks Build Series gives the LTZ Trail Boss the full showstopper treatment, and the result is one mean Bowtie.
If you have ever stood in a parking lot and watched heads swivel toward a truck, you already know the feeling this build delivers. Sam and the crew at Lifted Trucks just dropped their latest episode, and this one is a 2025 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD in LTZ Trail Boss trim that has been stretched, stanced, and sharpened into something that looks ready to eat a trail for breakfast and a Cars and Coffee crowd for dessert.
Let's break down how Lifted Trucks turned an already aggressive heavy duty hauler into a true rolling statement piece.
Starting With a Strong Foundation
The LTZ Trail Boss package on the HD Silverado is hard to beat as a build platform. From the factory, it rolls out with off-road tuned suspension, skid plates, blacked out bumpers and grille, and those signature red recovery hooks that practically dare you to get it dirty. Under the hood sits Chevy's 6.6L V8 cranking out 401 horsepower and 464 pound-feet of torque, paired with a 10-speed automatic that smooths the whole experience out whether you are towing a fifth wheel or just rolling to the job site.
Inside, the LTZ trim spoils you with leather heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a massive touchscreen infotainment system, premium audio, and a surround view camera. It is the kind of cab that lets you put in a long day and still feel like you stepped out of a luxury cruiser.
But as Sam likes to say, Lifted Trucks never leaves good enough alone.
The Heart of the Build: 8 Inches of McGaughys Lift
The backbone of this Silverado is a McGaughys Suspension 7-to-9 inch lift kit, set right in the middle at 8 inches. McGaughys has been engineering and manufacturing award winning suspension components in Fresno, California for nearly four decades, and the fit and finish on this kit shows every bit of that experience.
This is a true drop crossmember design with taller knuckles, which keeps the factory steering and CV axle angles intact at lifted height. Translation: no premature drivetrain wear, no sketchy geometry, just clean engineering. What really separates this kit from the rest is how it triangulates the front end using McGaughys' exclusive compression struts and A-frame support rods, tying the front crossmember directly into the transmission crossmember. That kind of structural reinforcement is rare at this price point.
To safely push the kit from its base 7 inches up to 8, the team installed McGaughys torsion keys and fabricated upper control arms. The keys crank the front end up, and the upper control arms correct the ball joint angles so everything stays dialed in.
Smoothing the Ride With Fox 2.0 Performance Series Shocks
The McGaughys kit ships with its own shocks, but the Lifted Trucks crew swapped them for Fox 2.0 Performance Series IFP shocks at all four corners. If you have followed the build series, you know these guys are loyal to Fox for good reason.
The 2.0s use a monotube internal floating piston design that separates the shock oil from a high pressure nitrogen charge, which eliminates aeration and lets the precision valving do its job at full performance. The machined aluminum body sheds heat better than steel and will never rust. The result is a ride that stays planted and composed on the highway, then soaks up the rough stuff without flinching when the pavement disappears.
Wheels That Steal the Show: Fittipaldi Off-Road Alpha FA25
Lift kits get the suspension dialed in, but the wheels and tires are what stop traffic. This build rolls on a set of 24x14 inch Fittipaldi Off-Road Alpha Series FA25 wheels, finished in a bold mesh design with a flat face that maximizes that deep dish lip. With a negative 76mm offset on a 14 inch wide barrel, the stance is unapologetically aggressive.
Fittipaldi forges these from heat treated A356 aluminum alloy and rates them between 2,500 and 3,700 pounds per wheel, which matters when you are bolting them to a heavy duty Silverado. Each wheel wears a bolt on center cap with Fittipaldi branding, and the company backs them with a lifetime structural warranty and a one year finish warranty.
Rubber That Means Business: 38-Inch Toyo Open Country R/T Trail
Wrapped around those Fittipaldis is a set of 38 inch Toyo Open Country R/T Trail tires. Toyo's R/T Trail lives in the sweet spot between an all terrain and a mud terrain, giving you serious off-road bite without the highway drone of a full mud tire.
The aggressive shoulder and sidewall lugs claw through mud, sand, and deep snow, while the build of the carcass delivers strong impact and puncture resistance. Toyo molds these in the USA at their state-of-the-art Georgia facility, and the 15.5 inch section width on a 38 inch diameter gives this Silverado a contact patch the size of a coffee table and ground clearance for days.
The Lifted Trucks Standard
Richard, one of the lead techs at the Lifted Trucks lift shop, handled the install. Every fastener torqued, every component double inspected, and nothing leaves the bay until it meets the Lifted Trucks standard. That attention to detail is the difference between a truck that looks the part and a truck that delivers the goods mile after mile.
How It Drives
Looks are one thing, but the way this build drives is what makes the project worth talking about. The 8 inches of McGaughys lift combined with those 38 inch Toyos gives the Silverado a presence that is hard to ignore, and the Fox 2.0s tame the ride into something genuinely comfortable on the highway and predictable when the road turns ugly. The fabricated upper control arms keep the steering tight and the tire wear even, which is exactly what you want when you have this much rolling stock under the fenders.
This is a build that nails the balance between curb appeal and capability, which is pretty much the Lifted Trucks signature.
See It in Person
Want to see this 2025 Silverado 2500 HD Trail Boss up close, or shop a lineup of builds just like it? Head over to liftedtrucks.com or swing by one of their many locations.
And as always, keep it dirty.
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