Raising money for a good cause has never been so much fun. We had the pleasure of attending the Southern Idaho Truck Show in Filer, ID (just outside of Twin Falls) on June 27-28, 2025. It was not the first time we had been to this show, but it had been a few years, and it was in a different location than the last time we were personally there in 2019. Held at Twins Falls County Fairgrounds, the show is a great excuse for local truckers to get together, have fun, and raise money for a good cause.
Rolling into town on Friday, June 27, from Salt Lake City, most of that day was filled with vendors getting set up and trucks being parked on the grassy lot. At 7:00 PM, a delicious smoked prime rib dinner was served to everyone lucky enough to have a ticket. The $25 ticket got you a nice slice of prime rib, a loaded baked potato, both macaroni and potato salad, watermelon and a drink. And if that wasn’t enough, there were cakes and cookies, too. After dinner, the Whiskey River Band took the stage while we all waited for the light show to start. Because of the time of year and the location, the sun did not go down until 9:30 PM, so the light show started late, and didn’t end until late, as well.
Saturday morning began with a free breakfast hosted by JD Truck Repair and Ol Greg Transportation. Our friends at Express Pressure Wash were working hard before and during the show, getting many of the trucks in attendance washed and polished. With over 100 trucks at the fairgrounds, along with a handful of vendors and several food trucks, we had a great time strolling around, taking pictures, and talking with our friends. It was a little warm, but nothing too crazy. This show just has an easy going, casual, feel to it, which is nice, because some others are hectic and stressful.
Checking out all the trucks, there were several standouts at the event including Tony Huttenstine’s cool white and black Peterbilt 379 with a big sleeper, Wagner Transportation’s old tan and black Freightliner cabover cattle truck and trailer (it was nothing fancy, I just love those setups), and Clyde Green’s always-amazing cream and maroon W900A. Gary Amoth Trucking of Twin Falls (our cover feature this month) filled a huge area at the end of the show grounds that featured 13 trucks, parked in a semi-circle, with a big American flag flying in the center. It was impressive.
Other head-turning rides included Frasier Transport’s fleet of mostly copper color trucks (nine of them), Marty Miles and his blue and white cow-haulin’ cabover Kenworth, and Rich Hettinga’s yellow and red Peterbilt cabover hay truck and trailer (an old Ed Erro truck). Ryan Readmond’s super-cool tan, orange and brown International 9300 Eagle was probably one of my favorite trucks at the show, and it took home two plaques, which is a lot considering this show only has six total truck awards. A few more good-lookin’ units were Jared Jakino’s dark blue and white 1987 Peterbilt 359 hooked to reefer trailer, a neat maroon Peterbilt with a classic “heartbeat” paint scheme in tan, black and gold (with a Varishield), and Justin Barlow’s clean Legendary Brown 4-axle Pete 389.
One interesting truck that got a lot of attention was owned by Jeff Badders of Double J Cattle out of Eagle, ID. This white 2007 Peterbilt with a red frame had a unique paint job – sort of. As the owner began buffing on it to prepare for the show, which was the next day, he went a little too hard and started taking the truck’s white paint off, and red paint from the truck’s original factory color began peeking through. Jeff liked how it looked so much, he began intentionally rubbing off more white paint to expose more bits of red. To make the white sleeper match, he actually rattle-canned some red spots on it! It sounds crazy, but everyone was looking at and asking about this work truck, which Jeff uses to pull an end dump most of the time.
Something else that was standing out at this event was Blayne Amoth’s fun and creative golf cart. Starting out with a regular golf cart, Blayne took it apart, then mounted a wood picnic table on top of the chassis. Complete with diamond plate lower panels, a modified steering system and pedals, watermelon lights, a dedicated spot for a large cooler on the back, and a big red umbrella for shade, this thing was turning heads all weekend long – everybody loved it!
Lots of other things were happening on Saturday, as well. There was stuff for the kids to do including a bounce house, face painting and a coloring contest, complete with six bicycles awarded to the various age group winners. There was a silent auction going on all day, with several tables filled with donated items for people to bid on, that ended just before the live auction and awards began at the end of the day. The live auction was very lively, and many items went for incredible amounts of money, including a custom table and two custom cutting boards and knives, engraved with the Southern Idaho Truck Show logo.
The table, which featured a bronze powder-coated truck rim for the base and a polished piece of exhaust pipe for the stand, was built and donated by the folks at Gary Amoth Trucking and Jeff’s Graphics. The wood top not only had the truck show logo on it, but also a bunch of cool pinstriping, as well. The table originally auctioned for $6,700 to Kelly Irish Trucking, but they donated it back, so the show sold it again for another $3,000! The two cutting boards were made by Sam Gorrell from Gary Amoth Trucking, and his father made the custom knives to go with them – and each set sold for over $1,000.
Show producer Matt Schilz said that donations were up this year, but so were expenses. “There are so many things donated, and so many people who pay way more than the stuff is worth, just to help out a great cause. This proves the show isn’t about fancy trucks, but an extended family, who come together once a year, to raise an amazing amount of money for charity!” Matt’s team of awesome volunteers includes much of his family including his wife Diana and their daughters, Kylie and McKenzie. I don’t have the names of all the volunteers, but I do know that our friend Marty Miles always arrives early to help set up and park trucks. Two other volunteers, Mathew Ketzenberg and Krystal Carlson of Ellensburg, WA, surprised just about everyone when Mathew dropped to one knee and proposed to Krystal during the awards. Of course, she said, “Yes!”
When it was all said and done, the show raised over $20,000 for the Anna Cheri Foundation, which helps to fund children’s adoptions. This is a fantastic organization with amazing people, and if anyone wants to know more about them or would like to donate to help folks with adoption expenses, visit their website at www.inspiringorphancare.org. Even though attendance was down a bit this year, the Southern Idaho Truck Show was still a lot of fun, and it raised a lot of funds for a worthwhile charity, which is really what it’s all about, right! And this year’s winners were:
THE JOE WALSH AWARD (Just an Average Guy): Tony Huttenstine.
THE THOMAS EDISON AWARD (Lights): Rich Hettinga.
COMPETITOR’S CHOICE: Ryan Readmond.
THE NORWEGIAN AWARD: Marty Miles.
THE BIG KAHUNA #1 TO BE ON THE 2026 SHOW SHIRT: Ryan Readmond’s International Eagle.
THE BIG KAHUNA #2 TO BE ON THE 2026 SHOW SHIRT: Justin Barlow’s 4-axle Peterbilt 389.
BEST GOLF CART: Blayne Amoth.