In March 1976, Tim Keener’s parents, Ron and Fern Keener, took out a loan for $10,000 to start a business that would eventually be Ronald S. Keener Grain, based in Mount Joy, PA. The company started with a single axle GMC 9500 and two trailers. Trucking runs in the Keener family – Tim’s grandfather drove for many years, and five of his eight uncles either drove or still drive to this day. Tim (41), who owns the truck on this month’s cover, and his brother Matt are the third generation of truck drivers within the family, along with six of their cousins, making this operation a true family affair.
The GMC 9500 was the backbone of the transportation side of the company, and Ron went on to stretch it and add another axle to allow the truck to handle the weight of the trailers and products it would be transporting. Ron and Fern hauled countless loads of hay and straw with this setup all over Pennsylvania, with occasional trips to Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. Ron eventually added a dump trailer to his fleet which expanded his commodity hauling to include ear corn and grain.
In 1982 (Tim’s birth year), Ron ordered his first brand new Timpte hopper bottom trailer from MH Eby located in Blue Ball, PA (which was only a few miles from the locations we shot the truck). This Timpte was only the second hopper bottom that Eby ever sold! David City, Nebraska is where the Timpte factory was located, so Ron made the trek out to pick up his new trailer, once the build was finished. In 1983, Ron and Fern ordered their first Peterbilt – a 1983 Peterbilt 359 with a Cummins Big Cam 400, a 10-speed, and a single stack. Tim recalls many rides he took in that truck with his father, but sadly it was rolled over by a company employee before Tim could have the chance to drive it.
Around the same time Tim was born, the Keener’s purchased land off Route 283 in Mount Joy, PA (where the business is located) and began building the grain elevator. This lasted them up until about ten or so years ago when they expanded by purchasing property across the street. Now, they have the capacity to store between 700K and 800K bushels of grain in their silos! The land acquisition also allowed the family to build a shop where their fleet of six Peterbilt trucks and ten trailers are stored.
Since trucking is a huge part of agriculture, it was only a matter of time before Tim found himself driving one. When you grow up around trucks, it’s bound to happen! “I don’t exactly recall when I began driving, but I think it was around the age of 12. Since I was always tall, reaching the pedals was not an issue,” explained Tim. “I wasn’t one for shifting gears, but I was content with moving trucks around the yard, pulling them on the scale to weigh commodities, and then parking them when finished,” he went on to explain. “When the time finally came for me to drive with my dad in the passenger seat, I started in our 1989 single stack Peterbilt 379, which was powered by a 425 CAT, backed by a 10-speed transmission,” said Tim.
After earning his CDL at 18 years old, Tim ran the Peterbilt for a few years. Tim then hopped into a Kenworth W900B that his dad had purchased. “With only 20,000 miles on the truck when purchased, it was good and solid, but I really did not care for it. Since I am taller, the legroom was not ideal, and the Cummins was underwhelming, as far as power,” Tim told me. During this time period, Tim would go to school for half a day and work a half day at the grain company. He continued to run the W900B for a few years until a local business approached Ron about selling it. Without hesitation, Tim told his dad to let it go.
Around this time, Tim had found the truck gracing these pages – a 2003 Peterbilt 379 Extended Hood with a 6NZ CAT, a 13-speed, and sitting on a low air leaf suspension. The truck had been spec’d as seen in these photos, but the buyer backed out. On the Saturday before Mother’s Day in 2003, Tim and his father drove to The Pete Store in Baltimore, MD and purchased the truck. “It just so happens that there is a Make-A-Wish truck convoy on Mother’s Day in Lancaster, so naturally, with the help of my brother, we shined it up for the parade the following day!” Side note: Tim’s brother Matt pilots a sweet red Peterbilt 389 for our friends at Lanita Specialized in Mount Aetna, PA.
Tim says his brother Matt was also a big influence in getting him into trucks and the customization aspect. “Our dad never really cared for looks, so long as the truck got the job done.” Their father always reminded the boys, “Chrome won’t get ya home!” Tim remembers when they got their first long hood 1997 Peterbilt 379 and how Matt was explaining the differences between short hoods and long hoods.
The 2003 Pete 379 EXHD pictured here stayed very basic up until the summer of 2007. Tim explained that the truck was involved in a wreck, which then allowed for modifications to begin. After the accident, the truck was taken to Mark Hollen at Denver Truck Painting. The DTP team repaired what was necessary on the truck and also began doing some modifications and adding custom touches, which included a Jones Performance fiberglass hood and fenders, shaved and painted headlight buckets, and painted Double JJ light bars for turn signals.
In addition to these modifications, a pair of painted York half fenders were added over the drives with polished edges, along with painted lower cab fairings, a painted visor, and a tapered bumper. The entire truck was repainted with metallic silver and radiant red like it came from the factory. The exterior was finished with a set of 6-inch pipes with elbows and miter cut tips.
In 2020 the truck made a stop at J Ferrell Custom Trucks in Gap, PA for some more changes and modifications. For starters, the truck got a full air-ride treatment on the front end, bringing the altitude down and giving it a mean look with the air dumped, and then the breather screens were chopped and an RLK visor was installed. A custom taillight box was fabricated to match the light pattern on the back of the cab, and it was also painted to match the frame of the truck. The old Dynaflex pipes were removed and a new set of 6-inch Dynaflex pipes replaced them, this time with turnouts instead of miter tips. The truck also sports a mixture of glass lenses and custom aluminum Betts lights, fabricated by Tim himself. The rear of the bumper and a lot of the light mounts were powder coated to match the frame, and to help them last longer.
When asked what his favorite part on the truck is, Tim said it’s difficult to nail down just one favorite thing. “On one hand, the combination of pieces and additions that can’t be purchased at a chrome shop and slapped on the truck are definitely at the top of my list,” said Tim. These pieces are ones Tim made himself, had custom made by a local shop, and the other painted and polished pieces that might go unnoticed to other people. “But, on the other hand, I can’t think of one single piece that is as special to me as the truck as a whole,” Tim went on to say. As Tim put it, “I was happy to begin with basically a blank canvas. This allowed my creativity to flow, and I didn’t have to worry about someone else’s previous work on the truck.” Tim is proud of how the truck has come along the last few years, with changes made, and things added and taken away. Tim says he still has some things up his sleeve to add to the truck.
The trailer is a 2016 Timpte, one of a few in the fleet. While Tim favors Timpte, there are two Wilson’s in the fleet, as well. You would honestly never think this combo works because of how clean Tim keeps it – but it does. While the truck does not run every single day, due to Tim’s other obligations around the business, it still earns its keep. Between fields and elevators, this clean combo certainly sees its fair share of work.
Although Tim does handle work around the elevator and office, he much prefers being in the truck. He enjoys the variety of seasons, the sunrises, and the sunsets he gets to see, along with the added bonus of being home every night. Tim thoroughly enjoys being outdoors and not couped up in an office all day long when the weather is beautiful. “Sure, you have to deal with rain and snow some days, but nothing beats riding in a clean truck on a beautiful day!”
When not in the truck, the office, or running around the shop and grain elevator, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife Melissa and their four young sons. Being a “boy family” as Tim puts it, leads him, his wife, and the boys to live a very active lifestyle. Tim enjoys spending time with the boys outside during the warm months playing sports, riding bikes, and, of course, attending truck shows. Tim also enjoys the relaxation in maintaining his property. Tim and his family are also very involved with their church. Faith is a very important part of their life. Tim and his family also enjoy spending time at his family’s guest home in southern York County, PA where they hunt, ride four wheelers, and just take in the sights and sounds.
In the next few years, Tim and his two sisters will be taking over the business from their father and mother. They are currently in a slow transitional period, as their parents are still heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. Tim’s hope is that one day in the future he and his sisters can hand down the business to the third generation and watch them grow it even further than they plan on doing.
I met Tim a few years back at a local show and always told him I wanted to get this truck in front of my camera. Low and behold, we managed to make a weekend in 2023 work. A beautiful park in Narvon, PA called Historic Poole Forge was used for the first half of the shoot, followed by Sensenig’s Feed Mill in New Holland, PA. Sensenig’s has a rich family history in the 717 area dating back to 1945 when the family opened their first mill. Since Tim works this truck in and out of mills, it only seemed fitting that this is where the combo would be shot! The metallic silver and absolutely beautiful radiant red popped against the washed brick, while some grass and sky provided great contrast in many of the shots, as well.
Both Tim and I would like to extend our gratitude and thanks to the Sensenig family for allowing us to use their feed mill as a backdrop. I would like to thank Tim for allowing me to get him out of his comfort zone and allowing me to shoot the truck and to write this story about him. The shoot went great, and this feature could not be going to a more well-deserving guy! As this is my second cover feature for 10-4, I have to give special thanks to 10-4’s editor Dan Linss for trusting me to get this done and nudging me to chase more each time I write and photograph for the magazine. I am realizing that, like Tim and his family operation, 10-4 Magazine is a true family affair, as well!
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Nice