10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

35 YEARS & STILL GROWING
2006 MID-AMERICA SHOW BREAKS ALL THE RECORDS
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The 35th Annual Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS), held March 23-25 in Louisville, Kentucky, shattered every record for heavy duty trucking tradeshows. Exhibitor participation skyrocketed to an incredible 1,144 exhibitors. With the new wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center completely sold out, the show’s total exhibit space rose to 1 million square feet indoors and 200,000 square feet outdoors! Attendance records were broken too, with 80,291 attendees from all 50 states and 59 countries. This was truly an event to remember.

All types of people in the business of trucking come from all over the world to see the latest products that the industry has to offer. Known for being “the place” to introduce new items, this year’s show was no exception. There were a lot of new products that focused on fuel efficiency (we wonder why) – fuel additives, generators, alternative fuels, aerodynamics, etc. But the most significant introductions came from Peterbilt and International.

Peterbilt unveiled an all-new product lineup that included eight new or upgraded models. The new lineup is a result of the company’s largest product development investment ever. The biggest change in the line comes in the form of the new 389, which will replace the company’s flagship, the legendary 379, in 2007. The 389 is basically a “refined” 379, featuring more rounded corners and smoother lines to make the truck more efficient. But the most noticeable change is the headlights. Talking to some of the truckers looking at the viper red 389 on display, most did not like the new look. They just couldn’t get past those headlights (photo 5). They also complained about the black plastic mirror mounts, which most thought should be chrome. But we’re sure that truckers balked at the 379 when it replaced the 359, and over time, most will probably come to accept (if not even like) the new design. To learn more about the entire new lineup, visit www.peterbilt.com.

Just down the aisle from Peterbilt, International unveiled their all new ProStar, which is replacing the 9400 later this year (photo 9). After five years and $300 million in development, this all-new truck was designed to provide better fuel economy, driver satisfaction, unprecedented uptime and the lowest cost of ownership. The ProStar was designed to be easy to maintain. Many items on the truck can be serviced without any tools, and the four-piece front bumper tilts forward to allow easy “walk in” access to the engine compartment. Much of this truck and its innovative features were designed from input by owner operators. To learn more about the ProStar, visit www.internationaldelivers.com.

Other notable announcements included Volvo’s introduction of their new VN730 and VT830 trucks with mid-roof sleepers, Kenworth unveiled their new T660 to replace the T600 and both Detroit and Cummins announced that their engines will be ready for the new 2007 emission standards (Caterpillar claims that they have been ready since 2001 when their ACERT engines were first introduced). Freightliner plans to introduce a completely new Class 8 truck at the 2007 Mid-America Trucking Show.

On Thursday night, we at 10-4 had the opportunity to spend time with some of our “people” that we don’t see very often. We headed south out of town and ended up at Rio’s Steakhouse, where we enjoyed a good meal with Clint Moore, his wife Cris, his father Dave and friend Jim Crain. Also with us were some of our writers, including Penny Towner, Troy Miller and his father Joe and Ken Skaggs. Frank and Dianna Pangburn, promoters of an annual charity truck drag event in California, were also there. What a great time we had. We’d like to thank these folks for all the hard work they do for us and for carving out some time to spend with us while in Louisville.

If it was music and fun that you were looking for, you could find it at MATS. Thursday night, Speedco hosted the “Tribute to the American Trucker” and unveiled a custom chopper built by Orange County Choppers (OCC). With special guests Paul Sr. and Mikey Teutul from OCC and a private concert performed by the Road Hammers, the benefit event raised $100,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Friday night, Western Star hosted a “Casino Night” party and, again, the Road Hammers rocked the house. Upon entry, each person was given $50 to gamble with. If you won enough money, you could purchase Western Star stuff. 10-4’s own Erik Sieben took his $50 to a craps table and in less than an hour had $10,000! Too bad it wasn’t “real” money, but it was still fun. Friday night also featured a concert by George Thorogood & The Destroyers, presented by Kenworth at Freedom Hall. From what we were told, it was a great show. Saturday night, alternative rockers Nickelback and Chevelle raised the roof to thousands of screaming fans.

If it was celebrities you were looking for, you could find them at MATS. Richard Petty, Aaron Tippin, Ken Schrader, Chubby Checker, Greg Evigan of B.J. and the Bear fame, John Force and many more, were on-hand to sign autographs and get their picture taken. But by far the most crowded place at the show was the Chrome Shop Mafia booth. The “Boyz” from the hit television show “Trick My Truck” autographed posters until their hands went numb. Some people waited as long as two hours for the “Boyz” to sign their poster. No kidding – these guys were bonafide stars at MATS (photo 4). Their booth, which featured Chrome Shop Mafia gear and one of the trucks built for the TV show (American Classic), was a madhouse. Those poor folks were not prepared for the onslaught of fans that besieged their booth – but they loved it! And rest – forget about it! The day after the show ended, it was back to the shop where 12 beat-up trucks were waiting to be “tricked” for season two.

It might sound like all the action was happening inside the show, but the real action was outside, where about 150 trucks showed up to compete in the 6th Annual Paul K. Young Memorial Truck Beauty Championship and the 2nd Annual Big-Rig Build-Off. There were a lot of old favorites and many newcomers as well. Some Mid-America veterans that did very well included Russ & Debbie Brown, Clint Dicks, Tommy & Kim Turner and Darian Stephens. Clint and Darian usually compete in the bobtail classes, but this year they both added a trailer and did very well as combinations. Harvey & Karen Zander cleaned house with their “Icy Blu 2” International, taking Best of Show Bobtail and six other trophies, while Leonard & Charlene Testerman’s Pete 359 “Rollin’ Thunder” (photo 8) took several top honors, including Best of Show Combination.

Bob & Shelley Brinker’s 2000 Freightliner Classic, which for years was known as “Dragon On” and painted with a dragon theme, was entirely redone with a Pirates of the Caribbean theme. But what really struck us was their engine. Going with the pirate ship look, they had many parts of their engine, radiator and air intake tubes painted to look like they were made out of old, knotty wood. For their efforts, they took home three 1st Place trophies, including Best Engine and Best Paint (Mural).

Notable newcomers included Vinnie Diorio, Frank “Pug” Pugliese, Mike Bedeker and Erica Eby. Vinnie’s orange and grey Pete 379 and matching Mac curtainside trailer were lookin’ real good, as well as Pug’s two-tone blue Pete 379 and custom Great Dane covered wagon. Mike Bedeker of A & R Trucking had an awesome black Pete with custom headlights and brackets, as well as a host of other unique items. Erica Eby of Stevens, PA won 1st Place in the Limited Mileage Bobtail class with her white and purple Pete 359 tanker adorned with hand-painted flowers (photo 2). Her truck was the ladies favorite – and obviously the judge’s as well. Not a newcomer himself, but Pat Eilen had a new white and lime green Pete with a matching polished end dump on display called “Iron Outlaw” that earned him three 1st Place awards (photo 3).

This year a new People’s Choice award was added. Attendees, exhibitors and fellow competitors were all welcome to vote for their favorite truck on the lot. And, just as the folks from Stars & Stripes had hoped, the winner of this coveted trophy had not won any other award. Jerry Howard of Fairborn, OH and his 1954 Autocar took home what many feel is the best award of them all (photo 6). And judging by the crowds surrounding this truck every day, we were not surprised when Jerry’s name was called.

The 2nd Annual Big-Rig Build-Off only had three entrants this year. Bruce Montgomery of Fully Loaded Customs in Canada showed up late because of problems at the border, so his truck wasn’t even parked with the others. It had a nice paint job and gull-wing style fold-up doors, but much of the truck wasn’t finished. Philip Langevin of Valley Custom Trucks in Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada, took a 1980 Freightliner cabover and replaced all of the body panels with polished stainless steel panels (photo 1). Three months in the making, this rig features a 244-inch wheelbase, a dual stainless steel air intake system, suicide doors mounted with airplane door hinges, a full-length smooth deck plate and WTI fenders. Philip was proud of his work and felt that he proved himself to the many who were skeptical of his talents by building a first-rate rig, but only one can be crowned Champion – and this year it was Adrian Rocamontes of ACW Specialties in San Antonio, Texas.

Adrian and his “Sledgehammer” pounded the competition (photo 7). Starting out with a 1998 Pete with a factory 300-inch wheelbase, Adrian tore down the entire truck and rebuilt it from the ground up in 67 days. The top was chopped ten inches and then capped with a roof from a Pete Ultra Cab (more headroom), the windshield was sloped back, the hood was raked and the side hood panels were extended four inches down to align them with the bottom of the fenders. Every body panel on this rig was hand-fabricated. To get it super low, Adrian removed the stop blocks and installed longer shocks. Under the hood, “Sledgehammer” has a very big hammer – a 12V71 Detroit with twin blowers and turbos, pumping out about 950 horses. Look for a feature of this truck in an upcoming edition of 10-4.

The 2007 show is scheduled to be held March 22-24, 2007 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. If you’ve never been, you’re missing out. If you plan on going, make your reservations early, as almost everything sells out. If this show gets any bigger, it’s going to be too big (if that’s actually possible). We’ll be there next year, and we hope to see you there too. A complete list of the winners can be found below. Our congratulations go out to all of them.

FIRST SHOW (COMBO): 1st Jason Goltz of Walton, IN; 2nd Jim Clater of Cecilia, KY; 3rd Brian & Kim Medeiros of Port Charlotte, FL.

SPECIALIZED (COMBO): 1st Pat Eilen of Hampton, MN; 2nd Paul Stanchio of Port Washington, NY; 3rd Dave Ale of Cedarville, NJ.

COMPANY TRUCK (COMBO): 1st A & R Transport/Mike Bedeker of Morris, IL; 2nd A.D. Transport/Scott Kent of Canton, MI; 3rd Crowe Transportation/Matthew Danner of Halifax, PA.

1982-1993 (COMBO): 1st Leonard & Charlene Testerman of Frederick, MD; 2nd Mickey Gwillim of Waverly, IL; 3rd Jeremy Hasswoort of Hamilton, MI.

1994-1998 (COMBO): 1st Tommy & Kim Turner of Cynthiana, KY; 2nd Darian Stephens of Hereford, PA; 3rd Phil Langevin of Carleton Place, Ontario.

1999-2002 (COMBO): 1st Jimmy Jeffers of Cleaton, KY; 2nd Billy Hopkins of Kaufman, TX; 3rd Mike Penrod of Fargo, ND.

2003-2004 (COMBO): 1st Terry Guth of Huntingburg, IN; 2nd Jonathan Kimball of Waterford, WI; 3rd Forward Air/Charlie Rollins of Groveport, OH.

2005-2006 (COMBO): 1st Vinnie Diorio of Richfield, WI; 2nd James Speich of Janesville, WI; 3rd Paul Yung of Middletown, OH.

ANTIQUE (NON-WORKING): 1st Gail Beam of Mt Crawford, VA; 2nd Edward Hermiller of Cloverdale, OH; 3rd Roger & Caroline Dulaney of Floyd, VA.

FIRST SHOW - 2004 & OLDER (BOBTAIL): 1st Scott Lagastee of Porter, IN; 2nd Victor Ruleman of Harrisonburg, VA; 3rd Chris Compton of South Charleston, OH.

FIRST SHOW - 2005 & NEWER (BOBTAIL): 1st (tie) Tom & Daveda Reitz of Gifford, IL and Michael Barry of Pilot Grove, MO; 3rd Chris Gilmore of Valley Falls, KS.

SPECIALIZED (BOBTAIL): 1st Arthur Bradley of Ruther Glen, VA; 2nd Joe Klingshorn of Rossburg, OH; 3rd Brian Thompson of Harrow, Ontario.

COMPANY TRUCK (BOBTAIL): 1st Ronnie Johnson of Troy, MO; 2nd Van Kampen Trucking/Ron & Carol Commissaris of Wyoming, MI; 3rd Phillip Clayton of Scottsboro, AL.

1997 & OLDER (BOBTAIL): 1st Ron Brubaker of Sigourney, IA; 2nd Curt Minton of Bangar, MI; 3rd Carl Priest of Lancaster, PA.

1998-1999 (BOBTAIL): 1st Russ & Debbie Brown of Moore, OK; 2nd Dale Lambrecht, Jr of St. Peter, MN; 3rd Robert Bennett of Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

2000-2001 (BOBTAIL): 1st Bob & Shelley Brinker of Grayling, MI; 2nd Truett Novosad of Caldwell, TX; 3rd Chris Kikelhan of Quakertown, PA.

2002-2004 (BOBTAIL): 1st Harvey & Karen Zander of St. Louis Park, MN; 2nd Randy & Jona Rebillard of Gimli, Manitoba; 3rd Jim Baron of Matawan, NJ.

2005 & NEWER (BOBTAIL): 1st Rick Hitchcock of Webberville, MI; 2nd Bruce & Marilyn Barnes of Troy, MO; 3rd John Dietz of Dillsburg, PA.

NEW TRUCK - UNDER 50K MI (BOBTAIL): 1st Jerry Roth of Crawfordsville, IA; 2nd James Johnson of Hemingway, SC; 3rd Ray Elvis of Hemingway, SC.

INTERIOR (CAB ONLY): 1st Pat Eilen of Hampton, MN; 2nd Dale Lambrecht, Jr of St. Peter, MN; 3rd Truett Novosad of Caldwell, TX.

INTERIOR (OEM SLEEPER): 1st (tie) Harvey & Karen Zander of St. Louis Park, MN and Russ & Debbie Brown of Moore, OK; 3rd Glen Horack of Elkland, MO.

INTERIOR (AFTERMARKET SLEEPER): 1st (tie) Leonard & Charlene Testerman of Frederick, MD and Darian Stephens of Hereford, PA; 3rd Tommy & Kim Turner of Cynthiana, KY.

ENGINE: 1st Bob & Shelley Brinker of Grayling, MI; 2nd Ronnie Johnson of Troy, MO; 3rd (tie) Harvey & Karen Zander of St. Louis Park, MN and Darian Stephens of Hereford, PA.

PAINT/GRAPHICS (COMBO): 1st Pat Eilen of Hampton, MN; 2nd Darian Stephens of Hereford, PA; 3rd Paul Stanchio of Port Washington, NY.

PAINT/MURAL (COMBO): 1st Mike Penrod of Fargo, ND; 2nd James Speich of Janesville, WI.

PAINT/GRAPHICS (BOBTAIL): 1st Dale Lambrecht, Jr. of St. Peter, MN; 2nd Randy & Jona Rebillard of Gimli, Manitoba; 3rd Truett Novosad of Caldwell, TX.

PAINT/MURAL (BOBTAIL): 1st Bob & Shelley Brinker of Grayling, MI; 2nd Harvey & Karen Zander of St. Louis Park, MN; 3rd Russ & Debbie Brown of Moore, OK.

LIGHTS (COMBO): 1st Darian Stephens of Hereford, PA; 2nd Paul Stanchio of Port Washington, NY; 3rd Tommy & Kim Turner of Cynthiana, KY.

LIGHTS (BOBTAIL): 1st Harvey & Karen Zander of St. Louis Park, MN; 2nd Russ & Debbie Brown of Moore, OK; 3rd Matt Baenziger of Kingston, IL.

BEST THEME: Russ & Debbie Brown of Moore, OK – 1999 Black & Orange Freightliner Classic (American Thunder).

DIESEL DAVE’S PICK OF THE LITTER: Harvey & Karen Zander of St. Louis Park, MN.

LIMITED MILEAGE (COMBO): 1st TDT, Inc./Clint Dicks of Lake City, FL; 2nd A & R Trucking/Mike Bedeker of Morris, IL; 3rd John Ray Enterprises/John & Kay Ray of Eastaboga, AL; 4th Frank Pugliese of Portage, IN; 5th Hoffman Transportation/Ron Baird of Thorntown, IN.

LIMITED MILEAGE (BOBTAIL): 1st Erica Eby of Stevens, PA; 2nd Bill & Marie Sandvik of Valley Center, CA; 3rd Rob Gentry of Fulda, IN; 4th Wayne Hollingsworth, Jr. of Oxford, AL; 5th Darin Bean of Maceo, KY.

BEST OF SHOW (COMBO): Leonard & Charlene Testerman of Frederick, MD – 1983 Red Peterbilt 359 & 2004 Reitnouer Step Deck (Rollin’ Thunder).

BEST OF SHOW (BOBTAIL): Harvey & Karen Zander of St. Louis Park, MN – 2003 Blue International 9900ix (Icy Blu 2).

2ND ANNUAL BIG RIG BUILD-OFF CHAMPION: ACW Specialties/Adrian Rocamontes of San Antonio, TX (Sledgehammer).

PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Jerry Howard of Fairborn, OH – 1954 Black Autocar.