How New Show ‘Truck Dynasty’ Takes Pickups And Drama To A New Level

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Truck Dynasty’s third episode brings pickups straight into the Florida swamp.

Discovery Channel

A new car show on Discovery Channel blends the drama of reality television with some of the wildest custom pickup truck builds on the planet, all with a unique Florida twist, plenty of celebrity appearances and tire-shredding burnouts galore. Truck Dynasty—an overt play on the wildly successful show Duck Dynasty—follows Joe Ghattas, co-owner and president of SoFlo Customs and Apocalypse Manufacturing, his wife and co-founder Ashley who manages the companies, and Ashley’s brothers, Frankie and Jerry Eisenband Junior, as well as her father, Jerry Eisenband Senior.

SoFlow and Apocalypse build cartoonishly enormous trucks, and I first drove one years ago when Apocalypse started churning out early 6×6 creations. I was surprised at the incredible engineering that goes into transforming a regular pickup into something so monstrous. Ghattas patented a tandem third axle design that allows for true six-wheel drive, unlike many other custom truck companies, and can handle serious power figures from tuned V8 engines. Best of all, he welcomed all my most detailed questions as I tried to suss out where the mad scientist ends and reality begins.

Little did I know at the time, but behind the scenes, Jerry Eisenband Jr was hard at work drumming up a TV show deal the whole time. But it makes sense in hindsight, after I met Ghattas and the Eisenbands, all of whom have outsize personalities, constant energy and positivity, even outside of the shops’ ridiculous activities. So when I caught up with the family after previewing Truck Dynasty’s first two episodes, I immediately quizzed Jerry Jr about the leadup to the show’s August 12 premiere.

“It took five years from that first conversation till right now,” Jerry revealed. “I was always around filming, because Joe’s place is just something so special, the process of how Joe figures a truck out and then sells it afterwards is something absolutely spectacular. I was like, ‘Man, this thing is humming for a TV show,’ so I wrote a treatment and a character guide.”

“And it just so happened that Scott Brothers Entertainment, which produces Property Brothers, one of their employees was reading an article about Apocalypse and they called us up and said, “Hey, you know, I just read an article about you guys. You ever think about a TV show?’”

Five years later, that vision has now come to fruition. But reality TV can often seem forced, with artificial drama and ridiculous turns of events. And though the Eisenband family might seem over-the-top on Truck Dynasty, having met the whole crew, I can confirm the show stays shockingly true to life.

“Anybody who’s ever met Ashley’s family always says, ‘Hey, you guys should be on TV,’ Ghattas laughs. “So honestly, we didn’t have to go out of our way so much. We’re already building the trucks, the customers are already here. It was just a matter of capturing it, really, so it was easier and more seamless than I ever thought. It was very realistic.”

How Truck Dynasty Stays True to Reality

The Eisenbands handle sales and marketing, and after previewing the first couple of episodes, I expressed some surprise at how much the program does focus on the actual process of builds: chopping trucks, lifting suspension over huge wheels and tires, engine power boosts and towing. Ghattas, for his part, expressed some relief that Truck Dynasty actually features the trucks so much.

“I was very excited to have ’em focus on building the trucks, I’m really glad they did,” he told me. “I’m a car guy and that’s the kind of car show I like. You really get to see how the sausage is made, it’s a good-old-fashioned car show like I’ve been watching for years.”

In Pompano Beach, the Apocalypse crew might already seem like semi-celebrities. The huge shop churns out 120 trucks a month, from lifted Jeeps to the biggest monstrosities imaginable based on Land Rover Defenders, the Ram TRX, G-Wagens, Hummer EVs, and even the Lamborghini Urus super SUV. Such eye-popping fare naturally draws attention from celebrities and athletes, many of whom appear on the show. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri takes delivery of a truck in the first episode, and Shaquille O’Neal will star in a later episode. Chalk all the cameos up to Jerry Jr’s marketing efforts chasing celebs, Frankie’s absurd mustache and personality, plus Jerry Senior’s focus on delivering the attitude that Apocalypse customers appreciate. And, of course, the trucks themselves.

“What I’ve done my entire career is go out and build publicity,” Jerry Jr explained. “And the easiest way to build publicity today for any company is attaching yourself, like a barnacle to a whale, to the big celebrities. So if I can attract them, bring them in, do a build, it’s sort of always served me well. So yes, I’m a celebrity chaser, but it’s also the best benefit for the company.”

Juggling Family Drama, Business and Wild Builds

Joe’s wife, Ashley, meanwhile, juggles the business and the family dynamics alike. I asked her if the drama continues when the cameras turn off.

“A big part of me likes my privacy,” she revealed, “But I do enjoy people getting to see how we all really work together. It’s a real window into our world and it makes what we do as a business and as a family that much more interesting.”

“What you’re seeing is what it is. It’s not the easiest to separate work life and the drama, cameras on or off, so I do make a real conscious effort for everyone to keep work and drama from our personal space. I think we all do.”

Truck Dynasty airs on Tuesday evenings on the Discovery Channel, and Ghattas, for his part, looks forward to the prospect of continuing to one-up the wild builds from this first season. I wondered aloud how, exactly, he plans out outdo a boat truck, Shaq’s super truck and an eleven-seat off-roader that can haul a whole family.

“That part’s the fun part, right? How to one-up the next one,” Ghattas admitted. “Guess we gotta figure out how to make a flying truck! But we really enjoyed the hell out of it. I would do it again, I would totally do it again.”