The thought of losing a parent is heart wrenching, and even more so when you are too young to take care of yourself. But, at just 19 years old, Ethan Rico of Orland, CA had to deal with that exact scenario. His father was his mentor, teacher, and trucking hero, and even though he had just begun his trucking career in the family business, Ethan followed the advice of his father, who told him, “Keep everything going” – and that is what he has done. Stepping into some big shoes to fill, at 19 years old, he took over the family trucking operation, which included ten trucks and more than 25 sets of double hopper trailers, along with another eight sets of double tanker trailers and a lowbed. And two years later, the company is flourishing under young Ethan’s direction and leadership.
Located 100 miles north of Sacramento, CA, Orland, which was incorporated in 1909, is the most populous and fastest growing city in Glenn County. A member of Bee City USA, Orland is the “Queen Bee Capital of North America” owing to its robust local and regional queen bee production as part of the county’s agricultural products, along with an extensive amount of almond and walnut orchards (the honeybees are an important part of the pollination process for these nut tree orchards, as well). Orland is home of the Honeybee Discovery Center museum, has a “Hive” district, bee statues, and annual events that include the Queen Bee Festival in June and OktoBEEfest in October.
This agricultural area at the northern end of California’s Central Valley was where Ethan’s father, Jisiy Rico, was born and raised, and the perfect place to start a trucking company focused on hauling the local ag products and all the necessary equipment needed to harvest and process those products – namely almonds and walnuts. Starting his company, J. Rico Trucking, in 2000 with the purchase of a brand-new Ford Sterling truck and some trailers, Jisiy started with nothing and built up from there. The following year, he partnered up with a friend named Doug Canadas, and the two went on to build a very successful operation in Orland.
Having met his future wife Mandy in 1998, the couple moved a few miles north to Corning shortly after the trucking company was formed. A few years later, in 2003, Ethan was born, and from day one, he wanted to be at the yard, in the shop, or in a truck with his dad – trucking is all he’s ever wanted to do. Two years after Ethan was born, his sister Marisa was born, and then in 2008, Jisiy and Mandy finally got married. A few years later, Ethan’s youngest sister Alycia “Aly” (now 8 years old) was born.
After growing the company to its current size, Jisiy’s business partner Doug was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2010. Jisiy continued on without him, keeping things going, and some of the trucks in the current fleet still have a sticker on the back window honoring Doug’s memory. While Ethan was still in high school, he started his own business, Rico’s Polishing, and kept very busy washing, cleaning and polishing, both cars and trucks, over the next few years.
Known as “Rico” by most these days, Ethan couldn’t wait to turn 18, and once he did, he went and got his learner’s permit to drive trucks. After that, he attended a truck driving school for four weeks, and out of the nine future drivers in his class, he was the only one to pass all his exams on the first try. Once Ethan got his CDL, it was game on! His dad went with him in the truck for a few weeks, but once the harvest began that year (August 2022) he was on his own – and he loved it. Working hard through that harvest with his dad, Ethan had no idea that would be the only harvest he would ever work with him.
Later that year (2022), Jisiy started not feeling well, but being stubborn like so many of us, he did not immediately go in to get checked until the pain was too much to bear. Working alongside his dad through it all, Ethan had no idea his father was not feeling well. Early in 2023, he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and even though they tried to treat him, it was too late. He passed away just six months after being diagnosed on July 22, 2023.
This was a devasting time for Ethan and his family, but with harvest time just around the corner, Ethan did not get to grieve for long. With help from their longtime crew of seasonal and full-time drivers, Ethan jumped in a truck just a couple weeks after his dad passed away and got to work, following his father’s advice, to keep everything going. He was just 19 years old at the time, but he stepped up and filled his father’s shoes best he could. Thankfully, while growing up, Ethan got to know many of the ranchers they haul for, so many of them trusted that he could get the job done that year – and he did!
And two years later, he is still getting it done. Having spent some time with this young man, I have to say, I was very impressed with his level of maturity, his hardworking spirit, and his professionalism. At only 21 years old, he is at the helm of a fairly large trucking operation that includes a very busy four-month stretch during harvest (August through November), a few months of intense truck and trailer maintenance, a season for hauling liquid fertilizer (March through June), more maintenance and cleaning, and hauling all sorts of farm equipment, as well. With three full-time drivers all year, the company does not hire subhaulers during harvest – they completely use seasonal workers to fill all the spots during harvest and have a terrific crew of drivers that come back each year.
Handling all facets of hauling for the local ranchers, the hopper trailers are used to haul the raw product right out of the orchards to be stockpiled at or near the processing plant. The nuts are literally “shaken” off the trees by shaker machines, and then the ground is “swept” and the fallen nuts are put into narrow piles down the center of each row in the orchard. Then, a harvesting machine runs down each row and picks up the nuts and then transports them to the trucks. After the initial processing, the nuts go in plastic bags and then into large wood bins, transported on flatbed trailers, to their final processing destination.
Most of J. Rico Trucking’s trailers are sets of double hoppers, pulled by 2-axle tractors, along with some double flatbeds for hauling the wood boxes (like on the cover and centerfold). They also have several sets of double tankers (and one 40’ tanker) for hauling liquid fertilizer. Running into tight spaces and out into orchards, the doubles are much easier to pull. Of their ten trucks, one is an old Ford Sterling (Jisiy’s first truck), there are also (3) Freightliner Cascadias, (4) Freightliner Coronados, and (2) Peterbilts, a 389 and the 579 pictured here.
All of the trucks are 2-axle units except the Peterbilt 579, which is mostly used to pull a 48’ Trail King lowbed trailer, hauling various farm equipment. For these pictures here, we hooked it to the double flats, loaded with almond boxes, because it looked cool, but this is not typically what this truck pulls (however, it can be used at any time during harvest when an extra truck is needed). The Peterbilt 579, along with one of the Freightliner Coronados (#26), was Ethan’s dad’s personal trucks, so nobody else has driven them much, except for Ethan and his dad. And every day Ethan gets in one of them to drive, the first thing he thinks about is his dad. All the trucks are maroon and white, but no two are exactly the same.
The 2016 Peterbilt 579 (#33) is kind of special, so it got more done to it. Purchased used in 2020, the truck was all white with bright red fenders and bone stock. The Electric Red Pearl color, which got some extra metallic flake to make it pop, was sprayed by their friend who paints all the company trucks. The truck also got a new front bumper, Hogebuilt stainless half fenders on custom brackets made by Stuart at NorCal Customs, the front end was bagged, a new visor, additional cab lights, and extensive underglow lighting. The mirrors brackets came powder coated black, so Ethan grinded all the black off and then polished the arms, also adding chrome covers to the back of the mirrors.
Powered by a stock 450-hp PACCAR engine, nothing has been done under the hood or inside the cab. This is an everyday work truck at its heart, and Ethan has neither the time nor money to spend going crazy fixing up one of the trucks. He does his best to keep it polished and clean, and the Rico fleet is known to be “a shiny fleet” while out on the road. Hooked to a set of double flatbeds, these trailers are painted to match and feature penny lights down each side, along with a few special added touches, like a stainless plate on the back and polished boxes underneath.
Stuart at NorCal Customs and Ethan’s dad were pretty close, and most of the Rico Trucking trucks have had something done to them at Stuart’s shop nearby. Many of the Freightliners have custom rear light bars, painted deck plates, extra lights, painted visors, dual 6” stacks, Hogebuilt stainless fenders, painted cab and cowl panels, and more. The hoppers are all made by PT Welding out of Woodland, CA and feature matching painted frames (maroon) and bodies (white), matching maroon tarps, polished wheels and extra lights.
Running California’s Central Valley, none of the Rico trucks go very far – the 579 Peterbilt probably runs the farthest, covering a 300-mile area south from Selma, CA north to Red Bluff, CA. But even at that, the 579 Peterbilt currently only has about 375,000 miles on it. The other Peterbilt, the 389, was recently purchased used as a 3-axle tractor and was then cut down to a 2-axle. This all white 2012 truck was completely re-powered with a compliant engine (with both DPF and DEF) and also got a custom rear light bar, extra lights, new pipes, a new bumper, a bowtie visor, and more.
Maintaining the current size of the fleet, Ethan plans to stay the course. Comfortable with the size of the company for now, Ethan is accomplishing what his dad told him to do – “Life goes on, so don’t stop. Take care of the family, because it has to be done.” Ethan’s mom and older sister run the office, which is located in Corning, and both are doing pretty well, even though some days are tougher than others (for Ethan, too). It is especially hard when a memory pops up on social media or a photo on their phone is seen, reminding them that Jisiy is gone, and how much they miss him.
In addition to all the work trucks mentioned, Rico has a few “fun” vehicles, too, including his own pickup truck, which is a lifted 2021 Chevy Silverado with 26×16 wheels and 37” tires, painted maroon like the big trucks, with Amp Research automatic steps and extensive bright white underglow lighting, which he called “rock” lights. He also has a bagged 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle with a 383 stroker engine, and a 1971 Chevrolet C10 pickup, that used to be his dad’s, that is also lifted and fitted with King shocks, converted to 4-wheel drive, and features a 5.3L V8 Chevy LS engine under the hood.
When “Rico” isn’t driving, dispatching, or servicing trucks, he still does all the polishing on the company trucks. He also enjoys spending time with his girlfriend of three years, Janeira, and is glad she got to meet his dad before he passed. Janeira is currently a student at Chico State University, studying to become a teacher. Once she is finished with school and established in her career, they will discuss marriage, kids, and buying a house of their own.
They still own and run (during harvest) the original truck Ethan’s dad bought – the 2000 Ford Sterling (#7) – but that old truck has most definitely seen better days. I asked Rico why his dad called it truck #7, since it was one of his first trucks, but he did not know why. One thing is for sure, she’s a little rough these days! But Ethan says that truck, fitted with a small CAT engine, runs better than any of the other trucks in their fleet. They also have an old Freightliner cabover at the house, and Rico plans to rebuild it at some point for shows, parades, and other fun events. We can’t wait to see that one finished!
Driving around with Rico and looking for some good photo shoot locations, out in an almond orchard seemed to be the most fitting setting, and we found a few good spots nearby. But then he mentioned a street in the next town over (Hamilton) that is lined with palm trees and is pretty famous – he said that many people go there to take pictures of all sorts of vehicles and such (graduation and family pictures, too). I’ve seen a few palm tree lined streets in my time, but this was the best one ever. The street was narrow, mostly unused (so no traffic), probably two miles long, and along with the tall trees were shorter palm “bushes” closer to the ground. This combination of tall and short trees made for a perfect backdrop.
At just 21 years old, young Ethan Rico has a lot of working and living left to do, but he won’t be taking any of it for granted. Losing his father at such an early age (he was only 46 when he died), Ethan realizes that life is precious, and it can be short, too. But this mature young man really has his head screwed on straight, and I have no doubt that he will continue filling his father’s big shoes, until the day he decides that those are his shoes, too. And when that day arrives, life will come full circle, and he will start thinking about this company as his own and start making decisions based on what he wants and his future – and that will be a good day!