The Ford Maverick is having its moment in mini truck culture, just like everyone hoped for. Shops and owners alike are turning the new platform into something special that reinvigorates the hobby while staying true to stance, style, and shine. It’s niche, for sure, but the 2022 SEMA show floor has a handful of slammed Mavericks with enough customization to demand attention.
I’ve been following a couple of these projects for months; none of the ones highlighted here came together overnight. What you’re looking at is a group of trucks that have pioneered crucial mods for the Maverick, which requires some skillful fabrication to lay all the way on the ground. That’s the look, though, and there’s a solid batch of stellar examples now that’ll stick around in people’s memories for a long time.
Kenneth McCay’s Silver Mav
You might’ve seen this one before as Kenneth McCay’s Maverick has been shared all over social media this year. We wrote about it back in February, when those graphics were freshly painted and it had different wheels. As McCay tells me, this is something like his 10th set already.
Most recently, he’s added the windowless Jason bed topper. The truck is an XL trim, but not much of the basic equipment is left. In addition to the color-matched exterior, blinding JTX forged billet aluminum wheels, and rag top, the interior is loaded with custom upholstery and audio.
Adam Edwards’ Cut-Up Pickup
This became the very first lowered Maverick last October when Adam Edwards laid it out on the stock steelies. Back then, it was a static drop with cut rear springs from ’60s and ’70s Ford trucks. Now, it’s bagged and sits just right. There’s more to it than suspension work, though.
If you look super close, you’ll notice there’s a bed break that makes Edwards’ Mav look like a traditional mini truck. It didn’t come that way from the factory, of course, as the Maverick is a unibody pickup. He was cutting into it as thousands of owners were still waiting for their trucks to be delivered. That’s dedication.
Edwards performed essentially all of these mods at Tedders Body Shop, which is his spot in Searcy, Arkansas. This baby is homebrewed and packed with nods to grassroots mini truckin’ culture.
Jeremy Bumpus’ Throwback Mini
With hypnotizing paintwork, color-changing underglow, and throwback directional wheels, this Maverick from The Hot Rod Shop’s Jeremy Bumpus is a standout. He’s a plenty experienced car and truck builder who even hosts his own show on the MotorTrend network called CarFix. All that know-how shines here, both figuratively and literally.
This truck has popped up time and again on the Ford Maverick Customs page on Facebook, which has swelled to more than 11,000 members. There’s still an undeniable appetite for rides like this, even in the 2020s.
Leif Johnson Ford’s Mini Adjacent Maverick
This teal and pink Maverick isn’t a mini truck in the traditional sense, though it still dives right into rad-era nostalgia. It looks like a retro Waverunner, and judging by the bed-mounted speakers, it lives up to the “Wake and Bass” slogan that’s written on the fender badge.
There’s a lot going on visually, which is definitely the point. It looks like a sport truck you’d build in Forza Horizon 5.
Altogether, there have been some slick Mavericks built in the 18 months or so since Ford started production. If the 2022 SEMA show is anything to judge by, more are coming with innovative mods that push the hobby forward while honoring the culture’s history. Whether or not you consider yourself a mini trucker, that’s something we should all appreciate.
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