Forget your average tow truck. Wrecker Rick and the crew at Murphy’s Diesel are building something else. They’re aiming for the title of “World’s Largest Off-Road Wrecker,” and their YouTube series is a wild, behind-the-scenes look at the whole crazy process.

The foundation for this beast is a classic 1969 Peterbilt 352 “needle nose” – the kind with the cab over the engine. Think compact and tough. But don’t expect anything in stock here. The Murphy’s Diesel team is ripping this thing apart and rebuilding it from the ground up. (If you want to watch the full episode on how they initially acquired this Peterbilt, click here)

We’re talking a shortened frame, beefy military-spec axles, and a heavily customized Holmes 750/600 wrecker unit bolted on. As Wrecker Rick puts it, they started with one goal: “We want that cab right down snug on the top of this engine.”

The video shows off the serious fabrication skills involved. The front axle got shoved way forward for a better approach angle – which meant building completely new motor mounts. “This axle actually used to sit way back here,” Wrecker Rick explained, showing where it used to be.

“We are moving it way up here because we want a better approach angle.” And the cab? It’s not even the original 352 cab; it’s from a different truck, chopped and modified to fit low on the frame.

Inside, it’s a total gut job. They’re ditching the original dash to make room for a custom roll cage and a whole new setup. Wrecker Rick’s blunt about it: “we’re cutting it out.” Even the little things, like air lines, are getting replaced: “That’s not a place you want to be changing… Airlines on the side of the trail got to get it done while we can”.

This thing is massive. To get a feel for the final size, they temporarily slapped on tires and wheels from another project, “Hellboy.” And what are the plans for that Holmes wrecker unit? Forget about it.

They’re building a custom mast, throwing on a bunch of Warrior winches (maybe seven of them!), moving the air tanks, and dropping the center of gravity as low as possible. “We’re going to compact it really low make it really Stout and really lightweight,” Wrecker Rick said. He’s clear that those original Holmes winches are not part of the plan.

The build is in full swing, and you can follow the whole thing on their YouTube channel, Murphy’s Diesel. Will this monster actually become the world’s largest off-road wrecker? And, maybe more importantly, will it be able to pull other monster trucks out of trouble? We’ll have to wait and see, but one thing’s for sure. This build is already epic!