OUTLAWS RULE AT GATS
DALLAS TRUCK SHOW CELEBRATES 10TH YEAR
Texas has always been known for its outlaws, and at the Great American Trucking Show (GATS) in Dallas this year, it was no different – only this time the “Outlaws” were winning trophies, not robbing banks or holding up trains. Held August 21-23 inside the Dallas Convention Center, the 10th annual show drew in thousands of attendees, hundreds of exhibitors and sixty of the finest show and working trucks around.
All of this year’s truck shows have been affected by the slow economy and GATS was no different. Foot traffic (attendees) was slow on Thursday and Friday, but Saturday it picked up pretty good. Walking the show, we noticed a bit more concrete showing than usual, meaning there was either less exhibitors or the ones that came were using less space. But talking to the exhibitors, most had positive things to say and most said that despite the decreased amount of people at the show, the ones that were there were serious about doing some business.
GATS is known for its free concerts. This year, Mobil Delvac hosted Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives on Friday night, while Volvo Trucks North America sponsored the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on Saturday. In addition to the free concerts, there were several educational seminars and plenty of contests and give-aways. Truckers News gave away $1,000 each day; Firestone gave away a pair of steer tires each day; Midnight Trucking Radio gave away $1,000; and National Bankers Trust gave a few attendees a chance to enter their “money machine” for 30 seconds to grab cash.
Out on the show floor, there were a couple significant introductions from the major OEM’s that stood out in our eyes. Mack announced that it will now offer Bendix Air Disc Brakes on some of their trucks. Disc brakes offer way more stopping power and much more control over drum brakes. At 75 mph, drum brakes will stop a truck between 450 to 518 feet. Air disc brakes will stop the truck in 305 to 325 feet. Air disc brakes will surely overwhelm the market, and every brand of truck, over the next few years.
Another major introduction was the unveiling of the new diesel engine from PACCAR. As Caterpillar exits the U.S. market, PACCAR plans to begin offering their own engine in 2010 – the PACCAR MX. This 12.9L engine, painted silver and black, will feature 380-485 horsepower and 1,750 lb-ft torque. The engine will meet U.S. EPA 2010 emission regulations and will include an integrated engine brake, an encapsulated wiring harness and wet sleeved cylinder liners – all fitted into a compact design using advanced materials. The engine will be made at PACCAR’s $400 million engine manufacturing and technology facility in Columbus, Mississippi.
Castrol Tection Extra revealed a newly renovated truck owned by the latest grand-prize winner of the Big Honkin’ Truck Makeover contest on Friday afternoon. Donald Wolford Jr. of Greencastle, PA was announced as the makeover winner at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, KY last March. Since then, the Chrome Shop Mafia “boyz” have been feverishly customizing his 1977 Kenworth conventional from a simple truck to a flashy showpiece. Featuring dark blue paint and a thick black stripe outlined in red, this old KW was well-received by both the owner and show attendees.
And speaking of the Chrome Shop Mafia, no show would be complete without them. Spread out over a huge area near the show trucks, their booth featured several of their awesome rolling creations, two trailers (one for selling parts and the other for selling t-shirts), and a bunch of individual displays set up by many of their vendors to promote their product lines. And whenever one of the CSM “boyz” hit the floor, the fans came running, with cameras in hand, looking to get an autograph or a picture.
Just down the aisle from the CSM booth sat about sixty of the finest show trucks from around the country. There were some popular names read at the awards ceremony on Saturday like Randy & Jona Rebillard, Wayne Baker, Doug & Kim Fisher, Andy & Alex Gobel, Darlene Swift and Brad Caton, but there were also a few new ones. Jerry Kissinger and his burnt orange 1991 Mack SuperLiner and 2006 Great Dane reefer took Best of Show in the Limited Mileage Combo class, while Isaac Aguilar of Sandvik Trucking took top honors in the Best of Show Working Bobtail class with his newly-redone burgundy 1992 Peterbilt. Alex & Andy Gobel of Outlaw Customs in Colorado again (for the second year in a row) received the Best Limited Mileage Bobtail award for their “Dead Man’s Hand” Peterbilt.
The latest “Outlaw” to hit the scene and win big came from Terry Wier Jr. of Struemph Charcoal. Terry took home the coveted People’s Choice trophy, among others, and his truck was one of the most talked about rigs in the show. Featuring flat black paint with red pinstripes, a chopped top, shaved headlights mounted in the bumper, suicide doors, 10” monster stacks, custom red, black and white upholstery, a booming sound system and a 32” flat screen TV, this 2005 Peterbilt and 2008 Wilkens walking floor trailer turned a lot of heads and always had a crowd around it.
Another cool truck that attracted a lot of attention (but not a lot of trophies) was Dale Blevins’ 1942 Autocar. This neat rig, painted white with silver fenders, was recently tricked out by the guys at Truck Rods and Peterbilt of Joplin – and it was awesome! Featuring too many items to list, this truck was arguably the coolest one in the building, in our opinion. And, to top it off, Dale was one of the nicest guys in the building, as well.
Next year’s show is scheduled for August 20-22, 2009. We’d like to congratulate the producers of GATS for their ten year anniversary. GATS has always been a good show and a great time, so don’t miss it.
WORKING BOBTAIL (1986-1999): 1st Isaac Aguilar of Sandvik Trucking; 2nd Ron Brubaker; 3rd J.R. Wilson of JRW Trucking Inc.
WORKING BOBTAIL (2000-2003): 1st Randy & Jona Rebillard; 2nd Bob & Shelley Brinker; 3rd Darlene Swift.
WORKING BOBTAIL (2005 & NEWER): 1st Edward Bosket; 2nd Drennon Durham of Triple D Trucking Inc; 3rd Bruce & Marilyn Barnes.
NEW BOBTAIL (UNDER 75,000 MI): 1st Josh Lyle of Taylor Transport; 2nd Glen Page; 3rd Robbie Hale of Southern Transport.
BOBTAIL (SPECIALIZED): 1st Lynn & Shelly Baxter of A&E Mann Trucking; 2nd Jake Lindamood of Lindamood Demolition; 3rd J.R. Galvan.
BOBTAIL (COMPANY TRUCK): 1st Curt Miller of J&R Schugel Trucking; 2nd Lowell Wilderman of Schneider National; 3rd (tie) Don Powell of Lisa Motor Lines AND Brad Coleman of Knight Transportation.
BOBTAIL (FIRST SHOW): 1st Jay Brian; 2nd Stacie & Kenny Yeary; 3rd Mike Harper.
BOBTAIL (ANTIQUE): 1st Wade Wardlaw of Wade Wardlaw Welding; 2nd Justin Smith of U.S. Truck Parts; 3rd Phillip Donaldson of U.S. Truck Parts.
BOBTAIL (LIMITED MILEAGE): 1st Andy Gobel of Outlaw Customs; 2nd Dale Blevins; 3rd Ronnie Johnson of Witte Bros. Exchange Inc.
WORKING COMBO (2004 & OLDER): 1st Wayne Baker; 2nd Larry & Pat McCann; 3rd Tommy Roach of Tommy Roach Transportation.
WORKING COMBO (2005 & NEWER): 1st Justin Moore of Milk Moovers; 2nd James Caldwell of Muirhead Trucking Inc; 3rd Les Sullivan.
COMBO (SPECIALIZED): 1st Brad Caton of Eilen & Sons Trucking; 2nd Terry Wier Jr. of Struemph Charcoal; 3rd Henry Hall of Halls Trucking of TX.
COMBO (COMPANY TRUCK): 1st Doug & Kim Fisher of Transport N
Service; 2nd Keith Bell of Muirhead Trucking Inc; 3rd George Elosegul of Muirhead Trucking Inc.
COMBO (LIMITED MILEAGE): 1st Jerry Kissinger; 2nd Brad Johnson of Lindamood Demolition; 3rd David Kosar Sr. of Rite-Way
INTERIOR (CAB ONLY): 1st Brad Caton of Eilen & Sons Trucking; 2nd Randy & Jona Rebillard; 3rd Jake Lindamood of Lindamood Demolition.
INTERIOR (OEM SLEEPER): 1st Terry Wier Jr. of Struemph Charcoal; 2nd Bob & Shelley Brinker; 3rd Darlene Swift.
INTERIOR (CUSTOM AFTERMARKET SLEEPER): 1st (tie) Doug & Kim Fisher of Transport N Service AND Lynn & Shelly Baxter of A&E Mann
Trucking; 2nd Larry & Pat McCann.
BEST LIMITED MILEAGE INTERIOR: Brad Johnson of Lindamood Demolition.
WORKING TRUCK ENGINE: 1st Isaac Aguilar of Sandvik Trucking; 2nd (tie) Brad Caton of Eilen & Sons Trucking AND Bob & Shelley Brinker; 3rd Ron Brubaker.
BEST LIMITED MILEAGE TRUCK ENGINE: (tie) Jerry Kissinger AND Brad Johnson of Lindamood Demolition.
PAINT & GRAPHICS OR MURAL (BOBTAIL): 1st Darlene Swift; 2nd Bob & Shelley Brinker; 3rd Tim Logan of Freymiller.
PAINT & GRAPHICS OR MURAL (COMBO): 1st Doug & Kim Fisher of Transport N Service; 2nd Brad Caton of Eilen & Sons Trucking; 3rd Wayne Baker.
BEST LIMITED MILEAGE PAINT (BOBTAIL): Andy Gobel of Outlaw Customs.
BEST LIMITED MILEAGE PAINT (COMBO): (tie) Jerry Kissinger AND Brad Johnson of Lindamood Demolition.
TRUK-RODZ BEST THEME: Tim Logan of Freymiller.
ROADWORK’S BEST USE OF CHROME OR STAINLESS: Glen Page.
FIRESTONE’S MOST TECHNOLOGICAL CAB: Darlene Swift.
BEST PETERBILTS IN SHOW: 1st Terry Wier Jr. of Struemph Charcoal; 2nd Pete Zamora; 3rd Jake Lindamood of Lindamood Demolition.
BEST OF SHOW WORKING BOBTAIL: Isaac Aguilar of Sandvik Trucking.
BEST OF SHOW WORKING COMBO: Brad Caton of Eilen & Sons Trucking.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Terry Wier Jr. of Struemph Charcoal.