The Diesel Brothers is a reality show on the Discovery channel that premiered in January 2016 and centers around a group of “brothers” in Utah, who go about grandly restoring old trucks. They are in their fifth season now, with the main cast being Heavy D, Diesel Dave, and Muscle. Red Beard has made some infrequent appearances in the show, as have others, but the show centers around Diesel Dave and Heavy D and their prank-filled antics which they use to explain what they are doing as they magically transform old and nearly dead trucks into monstrous machines capable of just about anything.
We may not always agree with how they find rolling coal cool, because it is kind of dumb to have your truck expel large and bilious clouds of black smoke. But the show undoubtedly has many fans. And while the Diesel Bros love to show everyone how they're just good-natured truck enthusiasts, there are plenty of questionable facts about the show that they surely do not want their fans to know. Like these…
14 Their Jay Leno Appearance Earned Them Their Show
The Diesel Brothers aka. Heavy D and Diesel Dave did not just spring into having their show. They used to make YouTube videos for their channel, which grew popular enough for Jay Leno to invite them over for a segment on his show Prank You Very Much. Since they were fun to watch, Discovery offered them a show, but they don’t speak much about their origin story.
13 They Aren’t Really Brothers
They act like brothers, prank each other, show immense brotherhood towards each other, but they are not related by blood. They don’t advertise this on their show, though if you check Discovery’s website, the bios mention that the duo met at a church-arranged singles event to promote community togetherness.
12 They Used To Be Mormons
The Diesel Brothers show is not about religion at all, so they don’t mention their rather religious past. Before they became all about trucks, they were youngsters in Utah of Mormon faith. And they did Mormon missionary work before, something that is on the show’s website as well, where fans can see pics of them before the beards.
11 The Free Trucks Are Hidden Behind Shady Rules
The TV series, Diesel Brothers does give out free trucks; it's just that how they choose the so-called winner isn’t all that clear. But yes, apparently the more merchandise you buy off of them, the higher your chances of getting a free truck, customized by the cast and crew. But how the fan is chosen is pretty random and unclear.
10 They Created A Furore Online With A Job Post
When looking for workers, a painter actually, Diesel Brothers posted their requirements online in Spanish. This did not have the achieved effect they desired, and people took offense to it and called it xenophobic, feeling that basically, the Diesel Brothers were looking for illegal immigrants to get their work done cheaply.
9 Even The Parts Are Sourced Shadily
There is also the issue of Diesel Brothers sourcing their parts from junkyard dealers that may have their sources linked to various chop shops. The simple thing is, they don’t check where the part comes from, as long as they get it right and on time. While no illegality can be proved per se, it’s not exactly legal either.
8 Pranks Apart, They Are Serious Businessmen
The show is meant to be lighthearted as they go about restoring old trucks into modern beauties while playing pranks and cracking jokes at each other’s expense. But the cast is a group of savvy businessmen with sharp acumen. They have their serious selling website, DieselSellerz, which goes on to connect to four other selling portals: Sellerz, Diesel Power Gear, 4x4 Anything, and Legion Truck Armor, all registered under three legal companies.
7 Heavy D And Diesel Dave Do Not Call The Shots
Despite being the face of the show, Heavy D and Diesel Dave are not the ones that make all the decisions. And yes, while they are savvy businessmen and have learned how to churn a tidy profit, they had to get in Redbeard, aka Josh Stuart, to make better decisions for the show and their various businesses and websites.
6 Redbeard Also Calls A Halt To The Pranks
Sometimes, Heavy D and Diesel Dave take the pranks too far and cross all lines of decency and even safety, for that matter. It is up to Redbeard, as in Josh Stuart, to call a halt to the proceedings and get the show back on track, focusing more on the actual hard work that goes behind the scenes in creating the fantastic trucks they make.
5 They May Be Patriots, But For Patriot Tires
All the cast of Diesel Brothers is pretty patriotic and proud to be American. And they pride themselves in tying up with companies that are all-American as well, like Patriot Tires, who claim that all their specialized tires are tried and tested in the US. Which is true, except for one niggling thing. The Patriot Tires are made in Taiwan, and the rubber comes from Asia as well.
4 They Are Not The Greatest Environmentalists Around
Okay, they did make a biodiesel-powered truck, and they were pretty proud of the fact, and rightly so. But otherwise, they are not actual environmentalists. Since they are not mass-producing the trucks and just making one-offs, they do catchy stuff like rolling coal, making their trucks emit awful black smoke, for kicks.
3 And They Were Fined For This Too
In March 2020, the Diesel Brothers had to cough up a fine of $850,000 because a judge found they had violated a previous moratorium placed on them about the kind of emissions their trucks produce. They had been sued by an advocacy group in 2016 over the same, after which an injunction had been placed on them to stop them from making vehicles that cross emissions limits.
2 When A Fake Fire Became Real
The production crew once saw a truck burning and thought it would be a great idea to incorporate this in for a show, because of the shock factor of it all. So they started a fake fire in a truck and forgot that the show is filmed inside a set with plenty of flammable materials around. Needless to say, the fire did burn out of control for a bit, before they managed to bring it down.
1 Heavy D Gets Out Tickets By Faking Seizures
This did come on the show, and it's not as if Heavy D does not want his fans to know this, in fact, he very proudly admitted that he fakes seizures if the cops ever stop him to get out of a ticket. Just the way his father taught him. What’s a bit sketchy about this is that if you fake a seizure, the cops are only likely to get you emergency medical care. Also, how many times could he fake it, and wouldn’t the cops know about it by now?