Monsta ball

Andrew Storie had always dreamed of owning a truck. Then he came to Dubai.

So what brings you here?

The Dubai dream. I'm from North Yorkshire, in England, but came out here a couple of years ago after landing a job. I'm a regional business development manager for an International manufacturer here.

And the wheels are a necessary part of this?

Of course. I knew I could never run a truck like this in the UK, but here things are different, and you don't let a chance like this go by.

Tell us more about the truck...

It's a GMC Sierra 1500 extended cab SLT pick-up in black with a leather and walnut interior and a 5.2-litre V8 engine. At least, it was when I started.

And since then?

The first thing I did was replace the standard 17in alloys, so it's now running on chrome 18in heavy duty off-road alloys with Nitto 335 Grapplers. I had the suspension lifted by six inches at Al Ghandi, so that I don't lose the manufacturer's warranty. Apart from this, I got a whole lot of other stuff like chrome side steps, roll bar, spotlights, two lockable chrome spades, chrome pick-up lock box, chrome grille, chrome door handles, chrome mirrors, and flared wheel arches.

Finally, there's the GMC diamanté badge, though I'm still not sure if that was a good choice or not. It took me six weeks to get quotes for all the extras, and another four months for everything to be ordered and fitted, but it was worth every minute of the wait. The truck cost me Dh130,000, and I reckon I've spent another 38K on the extras.

Pleased with the result?

Delighted. I like the fact that it dwarfs Range Rovers, Land Cruisers and Patrols — it's a real head turner. And I love the surprised look on people's faces when I climb out of it in a suit and carrying a laptop.

It's practical, too — I use if for carrying all my scuba gear, towing my jet ski, beach trips with the family, off-roading, camping trips, furniture removals, getting the shopping... Basically everything.

There are another couple of benefits to owning this truck. Because it won't fit into any shopping mall car parks (it's over 2.5 metres tall) I have the perfect excuse not to take my wife shopping!

Second, whenever we use valet parking facilities at any of the hotels, the truck always gets ‘pride of place' next to the Bentleys, Ferraris and Lamborghinis at the front of the hotel. So what if it's only because it's too big to go in the regular car park, it still feels great telling the valet driver, "Mine's the big black truck next to the Lambo".

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