Having one great-looking truck is nice, but two (or more) is even better. Such is the case for Jose Dominguez of Custom Flatbed Services in Morgan Hill, California. In fact, he not only has these two sweet matching rides, but a third one that is a day cab, as well. A second-generation trucker, Jose has been driving since he was 17 years old. His father, who started driving in the 50s, showed Jose how to drive and passed on the trucking bug to him at a very early age.
Growing up in a trucking family, Jose loved going out on the road with his father. Spending his early years around his dad, Juan Dominguez, he would spend hours at his side polishing the rig, handing him tools and riding with him on deliveries. Unfortunately, when Jose was only ten years old, his father lost his life in a tragic accident just two miles from their home. But Jose did not lose his love for trucks. In fact, he continued to help his brothers, Juan and Ralph, with the trucks, while his mother Benita continued the business.
After their dad’s passing, Jose and his two brothers, Juan and Ralph, eventually formed Dominguez Brothers Trucking. Later, when his brothers went their separate ways, Jose took over the company and changed the name to CFS Truck Holdings LLC. Since then, with the help of his wife Jennifer, and working what seems to be seven days a week and 24 hours a day, Jose has built the small trucking company into the thriving business it is today. It is his hope that he can build it to be a solid foundation for the next possible “big strapper” in the family – their 14-year-old son.
Today, CFS (Custom Flatbed Services), specializes in transporting building materials to job sites all over central California and the bay area. Based out of Morgan Hill, Jose runs three trucks – all long hood Peterbilts. His wife of ten years, Jennifer, handles all of the paperwork and office duties. She came into it not knowing much about the business, but now she’s thriving and enjoys working with Jose as a team. “He will do whatever it takes to get the job done for the customer, and he goes places that others won’t,” said Jennifer. “That’s why customers keep coming back to us.”
Throughout all his years of driving, one thing has stayed the same for Jose – he takes pride in his work and equipment – which is something he learned from his father. When he was growing up, Jose remembers going on trips with his dad often. Back then, dad’s truck was an old-school narrow-nose two-axle Peterbilt with a butterfly hood and a white and red paint job. It was that truck that gave Jose the inspiration to buy his first truck – a 2001 Peterblit 379 with a flat top sleeper and an extended hood, powered by a C-15 Cat and an 18-speed transmission.
Jose has always liked his trucks to look “low and long” but not too overdone. In 2013, he spec’d out his first new truck – a 2014 Pete 389, painted Sirius White with Charcoal Grey fenders, with a Cummins ISX 500 and a 260-inch wheelbase. Because he wanted a cleaner look, Jose ordered the truck with no roof lights and then mounted six small clear LEDs along the top of a drop visor from 12 Ga. Customs. Soon after, wanting a day cab for local work and tighter spaces, Jose kept an eye on a white Peterbilt at a dealer down in Bakersfield. It had been custom-ordered with a full set of gauges and had just the right sized fuel tanks Jose was looking for. When the customer who ordered the truck never showed up to get it, Jose added it to his fleet, and has been running it ever since.
The following year, as the company grew, Jose saw the need to order another new truck. This next ride he ordered to be very similar, almost a twin, to the first one he had ordered in 2013. Painted the same and configured with a 48-inch flat top like the other truck, this one has a 280-inch wheelbase with a 550 Cummins and Lo Pro 255 tires. Both trucks have seven-inch pipes, 20-inch boxed-end bumpers with recessed license plates, small polished cab and sleeper extensions, polished quarter fenders, and polished aluminum deck plates, that go all the way from the sleeper to the back of the truck. Extensive but tasteful pinstripe work was done on both trucks and both trailers by Eric Sedletzky at John’s Truck Repair in Cotati, CA – he even added pinstripes to the back-side of the front bumper.
Although Jose and his company mostly specialize in flatbed freight, which is what he knows and likes best, he also values having the ability to accommodate other types of loads, as well. In addition to a 45-foot East spread-axle flatbed and a custom-built MAC spread-axle 45-foot flatbed trailer, which has been adapted to hold a forklift on the back for loading and unloading at job sites, he also has a beautiful 40-foot polished pneumatic tanker his trucks can pull, when needed.
We started planning the photo shoot for this article way back in January, but it took us nearly four months to get it done. Every time we had a weekend picked out, the weather didn’t seem to agree with our plans. Finally, at the end of April, everything lined-up just right, and we were able to get it done. I would like to thank Jose and Jennifer, as well as his drivers, Rafa Briones and Jorge Sanchez, for working so hard to get both of the trucks and trailers ready to shoot. Unfortunately, for them, they had to put the rigs back to work the next day, so that polish job probably didn’t last long!
Now 42, Jose spends more time in the office and on the phone than he does driving (that may change in the future, but who knows). His job never seems to end, but he still somehow finds time to spend with his family. They may not always have his undivided attention, but they know how much he loves what he does. On his days off, he enjoys going mountain biking, hiking and just spending time with his family and friends.
Being a down-to-earth kind of guy, Jose has a very good sense of humor. His drivers said that he is a great guy to work for, as long as you take care of the equipment and can own up to your mistakes! It has always been a dream of his to get one of his trucks featured in 10-4 Magazine – well, we featured two of them here, so we are hoping that this “double feature” is even better.