Hank Williams Jr. released one of his more popular songs in 1979 titled Family Tradition. This song was made as Williams’ statement of rebellion. Not only in his lifestyle and living out the lyrics of his songs, but as a recognition of his personal musical identity and direction. But also, at the same time, it was a statement of the pride of being an extension of his father’s country music legacy, the legend Hank Williams, Sr. The title of this popular Hank Jr. song is a statement that Austin Gottman has adapted for his 2019 Peterbilt and, in a broader sense, for the family trucking business that his grandfather started in 1976 called Chuck Brauer Trucking.
I met Austin the summer of 2021 at the Dirty Business Truck Show put on by HD Equipment out of Grand Mound, IA. It’s one of my favorite events in the show season. It is where I first got a glimpse at Austin’s 2019 Galaxy Blue Peterbilt 389 glider. Two things initially made me stop and examine his Pete more closely – the color and the pinstriping. The second thing that grabbed my attention was the old-style aluminum milk container, painted to match his truck, including the pinstriping. I took photos of his beautiful Peterbilt and included them in the show report I wrote for the Dirty Business show that year. Since that initial show, I have seen Austin’s Pete at other truck shows, including AMCAN 2023, Dirty Business 2023, and the Franklin Grove Big Rig Truck Show.
I have always thought this Peterbilt was worthy of a feature in 10-4, and now I have the privilege of presenting the story of Austin, his 2019 Peterbilt, and the “Family Traditions” and company, started by his grandfather, over 48 years ago. The Brauer and Gottman families have roots in northern Illinois going back four generations. Their shop is located between Rockford and Winnebago, IL, off US Highway 20. Austin came into this world on March 18, 1994. He was born in Rockford and graduated from Winnebago High School in 2012.
A proud member of the Winnebago Indians baseball team, Austin played through his junior year, and was also an active member in his local 4-H chapter showing hogs. What he learned from these 4-H experiences was presentation and showmanship, which are winning qualities in all aspects of life. These lessons learned would prove to be beneficial later in life when he got involved in truck shows. After high school, Austin attended Kishwaukee College, where he completed his studies, graduating with an Associates of Applied Science – Diesel Power Technology. He chose this specific path for his continued education because of his love for trucks and trucking, and for future application in the family trucking business.
Austin shared with me that his love for trucking began at an early age, with major influences from his father and grandfathers, but especially his grandpa Brauer. Grandpa Chuck started out as a farmer, raising livestock, up in northern Illinois. Like so many others in that era, he began his trucking career as a freight hauler to supplement his farm income. In 1976, Grandpa Chuck created Chuck Brauer Trucking, secured the necessary authorities, and then landed a gig hauling milk and milk products for Muller & Pinehurst Dairy, based in Rockford.
Eventually, Muller & Pinehurst Dairy was bought out and integrated into the Prairie Farms business. Prairie Farms is very well-known in the Midwest and produces many consumable products including milk, heavy cream, cottage cheese, chip dips, yogurt, and juices. Austin and his family have maintained that business partnership with Prairie Farms continuously to the present. As a side note, I am a devoted Prairie Farms consumer, and I think they have the best chocolate milk on the market!
In his wisdom to diversify, Grandpa Chuck expanded his trucking business to hauling a variety of livestock feed for Kemp, a subsidiary of Dean Foods. Eventually, Kemp was absorbed by Kent Feeds, Rockford branch. Today, about 80% of the family trucking business is hauling Prairie Farms milk products and 20% Kent Feeds livestock feed products. A large percentage of the milk products they haul is for primary and secondary schools in the surrounding area, with their busy season running from early August through late May. The current Chuck Brauer Trucking fleet consists of 14 trucks, which are primarily Peterbilts and Kenworths, and several types of trailers including tankers, dry vans, big bulk trailers, and reefer trailers.
Other early influences in Austin’s trucking life were his grandpa Gottman, his mother Kristi’s father, and his dad, Bill. Grandpa Gottman hauled a lot of refrigerated stuff and, more specifically, Tombstone pizzas. At an early age he took every chance he could to ride with both of his grandpas, which reinforced his love for trucking and his desire to have a career in the family business. Eventually, Austin’s father Bill bought the family trucking business from Grandpa Chuck in 2000 and expanded the fleet. Austin attributes his love for trucking to his grandpas, Brauer and Gottman. He also attributes his continued development as a truck driver and learning the business side of trucking from his father, Bill.
With a love for snowmobiles and sledding in Michigan and Wisconsin during the snowy Midwestern winters, Austin met a beautiful young lady named Katie while on a family vacation in 2017 in St. Germaine, WI. They met while having dinner at the Pub n Prime Supper Club, which are very popular restaurants in Wisconsin. Two weeks after meeting, Austin and Katie decided to start dating, beginning in a committed relationship, that resulted in them getting married on August 20, 2020.
After carefully planning a unique proposal for Katie’s hand in marriage at a popular and well-known truck show (the Waupun Truck-n-Show) in August 2019, Austin proposed to Katie in front of his blue Peterbilt, while the song “Big, Big Plans” by Chris Lane was blasting from the stereo. One of the magazine’s contributing photographers and writers, Jacob Gunderson, recorded this special moment with pictures. Austin and Katie have been happily married for almost four years now and have a beautiful, smart, and active young daughter named Eleanor who just turned two years old in December. As I was interviewing Austin for this article, he informed me of the exciting news that he and Katie are now expecting a second child in 2024.
As I said before, I have always been drawn to Austin’s Peterbilt 389. It embodies my preferences and styling in both cars and big trucks – simplistic, tastefully appointed and customized, yet elegant. The truck is a 2019 Peterbilt 389 Extended Hood glider, that sits on a 260” wheelbase frame. This blue Pete is powered by 700-hp tuned 2WS 3406 Caterpillar, driven by an 18-speed, and 3.36 rears. The factory Peterbilt Low Low AirLeaf rear suspension, Pete front axle air ride suspension, and 11R22.5 Michelin tall profile tires, mounted on Alcoa aluminum rims, provide a smooth and luxurious ride when rolling down the challenging highways of the Midwest.
Austin and his wife Katie ordered their new 2019 Peterbilt in partnership with 12 Ga. Customs, based in Ontario, Canada. It was tastefully painted at the factory in Peterbilt Galaxy Blue. Austin chose this color from a snowmobile he owned in his youth. The new Pete was ordered at the end of 2018, but because of the high demand for new Peterbilts at the time, the truck was not received until 2019. Austin and Katie worked closely with Nick Kimball at AMCAN Truck Parts out of Pewaukee, WI in getting the truck shipped from Ontario, through Customs, and into the United States. Prior to its transport from Canada, the truck’s entire drivetrain was installed at 12 Ga. In addition, the visor, cab and bunk panels, half fenders, air cleaner light panels, and deck plate were all installed prior to shipping to Wisconsin.
After the Peterbilt was received in Wisconsin, Austin had work done to the CAT 2WS to add more horsepower to the popular engine, which included a CAT factory tune, and a larger Borg-Warner turbo. Once the engine power upgrades were complete, work began adding the custom interior and exterior upgrades that Austin and Katie had carefully planned and designed for the truck. Some additional paint work was done to the cab at the TA paint shop in Rockford. The truck was then taken to Rockford Winnebago where Bob Vick performed his magic by applying extensive and detailed pinstriping to the entire cab of the truck, along with the Chuck Brauer vinyl lettering on the doors.
After the paint and lettering was completed, it was time to start adding custom parts and trim to complement and enhance the beauty of his truck. The factory exhaust was replaced with 8-inch Dynaflex pipes, integrated with Pickett style elbows, leading up to the straight pipes. Once the stock exhaust had been replaced, it was time to add the shiny stuff, that included the Mighty Wicked visor, air breather panels that contain watermelon lights on the front and back side, a 20-inch blind mount Texas square bumper with rolled edges, polished aluminum step and battery boxes, a flush-mounted deck plate, and a custom airline box designed by Austin. All of these accessories were 12 Ga. products, and all were purchased through our friends at AMCAN Truck Parts.
This cool rig was ordered with the air horn and factory cab light delete option, then seven United Pacific LED lights, evenly spaced across the top of the cab, were installed. To complete the cab customization work, 3-inch Rip-It blank painted stainless cab and sleeper panels were added, along with blind stainless panels, mounted behind the sleeper, that hold LED lights that shine down for ground effect lighting. The next step was making enhancements to the frame and rear-end of the truck. Those changes included Hogebuilt half fenders, an Iowa Customs light bar with (8) 4-inch lights across the top and (5) 4-inch lights across the bottom, with 3-inch dual color button running lights and backup lights, and finally shock box covers.
The last step of the build process was adding custom touches to the interior of the blue Pete. The interior upgrades include painted flooring with matching pinstriping from Rockford Winnebago, pinstriped door sills, seat bases, shifter cover, and door panels, a custom ceiling panel laminated with a photograph of downtown Denton, TX, and blue glass watermelon lights, mounted on both the ceiling panel and sleeper cabinets, from Spare Time Fab. Austin kept the stock woodgrain dash and factory stereo unchanged, but he did swap out the stock steering wheel for a nice Forever Sharp custom wheel.
The vision Austin began with was to make this Peterbilt a functional and practical work truck, but also a truck he could proudly show off at truck shows. A blue jeans and work shirt truck during the week, that transforms into a tuxedo show truck on the weekends, if you will. And I think he accomplished that goal.
From the beginning of his trucking career, Austin has always dreamed of building a show truck. When that time came and he approached his dad about buying a combination work/show truck, he was not expecting the response he received from Bill. His response was, “If you (Austin) want fancy trucks, you keep the stuff (expletive replaced) clean!” Austin has taken everything he has learned from his grandfathers, father, and trucking experience to build a show caliber work truck that is hauling milk and livestock feed loads every week. I can personally say that Austin is keeping the commitment to both cleanliness and excellence that he learned in 4-H.
Whenever I think of Austin and his blue Peterbilt, I immediately hear in my mind ole Hank Jr. proudly belting out one of his most popular songs, Family Tradition. It is an expression that is important to Austin Gottman, he takes seriously, and is reflected not only in his truck, but just as important, the family business – Chuck Brauer Trucking – he is so proud to be a part of.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks to Jacob Gunderson of JG Photography for providing a few of the pictures for this feature.