There is east coast cool and there is west coast cool, but there is no lack of cool when it comes to what the Midwest has to offer in terms of large rides driven by some amazing people. Held August 30-31, 2025, at Heritage Park in Forest City, IA, the 11th annual No Coast Large Cars Truck Show took place with plenty of trucks that showed up and showed out. And even though this show started out as a joke, this annual gathering of friends, with plenty of trucks, is definitely not a joke anymore.
It has been six years since the last time I attended the show back when it was still held at the Hancock County Fairgrounds in Britt, IA. I was long overdue to come out to the show again, and it didn’t disappoint. I didn’t arrive until late afternoon on Saturday, but that didn’t take away from my excitement of finally getting to the show. Entering the grounds, the first thing I saw was the line-up of trucks from IMT Transport out of Garner, IA. And if you know the trucks, you know I wasn’t disappointed at the sight of these beauties.
I opted to start in the back lot at the combos and get some photos during the day before the light show. The first truck I noticed was “Contender” owned by J&L Contracting (December 2015 cover truck) which led me to believe I would see some familiar faces at the show. Then, I saw the many livestock haulers in attendance – insert emoji with the heart eyes. Yes, I’m a huge fan, and there were some beautiful trucks there, including Jesse and Tanner Lambrecht with their stellar Kenworths, which I was looking forward to seeing lit-up that night. I also ran into fellow Wisconsin resident, photographer, and 10-4 helper Jacob Gunderson, or rather he spotted me, and then hollered out. Neither of us knew the other was going to be there, so it was a pleasant surprise.
Soon thereafter I noticed a golf cart driving towards me and it was none other than longtime friends Randy Menkel and Doug Jameson from J&L Contracting. I still wanted more photos, so thanks go out to Randy for deciding to walk around while Doug drove me around so I could get the pictures I wanted to get. Raiko Graveran from Orlando, FL made the trek up to Iowa with his sharp baby blue 1995 Freightliner, and that little FLD 120 was lookin’ good!
Saturday night was the light show which was pretty amazing to see from any vantage point on the grounds. IV Play took the stage around 9:00 pm for some great entertainment well into the night. The Lambrecht brothers and their Kenworths didn’t disappoint, as their trucks looked amazing all lit up during the light show. Another cool combo that stood out for me, owned by Kendon Hostetler, was a white 2024 Peterbilt 389 hooked to a 2015 Walker trailer.
On Sunday, I arrived at the grounds early to start photographing the bobtail trucks in attendance before everyone started showing up. The rest of the day was pretty relaxing as we all awaited the awards ceremony. Around 5:00 pm, Nicky Erdahl was on stage, along with Chris Nelson of Bravo Auctioneers out of Thornton, IA, to auction off all the items that were donated. A couple of sought after items were when Chelcee Schleuger came out with two life-sized Trump signs, one with a Peterbilt logo and the other with a Kenworth logo.
When the awards ceremony started, it was pretty cool to see because this is the third year they have been utilizing a big screen during the awards, with a photo of the truck that went with the trophy recipient. This presentation showcased the owner and truck information, which reminded me of the awards ceremony at the Mid-America Trucking Show, with their big projection screen. JR Schleuger was up front presenting all the trophies and, about halfway through, his oldest daughter Gracee came up to assist him.
There was no lack of food options or vendors at the show, which held a little something for everyone. The kids had fun with the bouncy house that was onsite, and music could be heard throughout the show, brought to the crowd by B&B Sound. 131 trucks were registered for the show, but by the time it was all said and done, there were approximately 150 trucks parked on the grounds.
From my point of view, the show ran like a well-oiled machine. Even though there was the threat of rain at one point, show-goers couldn’t have asked for better weather. It only sprinkled a little bit as the judges were finishing up, but overall, the sun was out. Once the awards were over on Sunday, trucks started making their way out of the grounds. This is always bittersweet, as the reality of the show being over begins to set in. One thing to note is that I think my favorite part of the show was seeing all the men and women with an amazing level of pride for their trucks.
Shoutout from the show to all their sponsors including IMT Transport, VDZ Customs, Commercial Services, Bells & Whistles Chrome Shop, 10-4 Magazine, NAST, Sand’s, Time 2 Shine, Raney’s, 4 State Trucks, Midwest Duct Works, Cab Fresh Filter Company, Silver Customs, J&L Contracting, Rockwood Products, Berube’s Truck Accessories, B&B Sound and Lights DJ Service, Lewis Farms, Holland Contracting, Outer Limits Truck Repair, Wyffels Hybrids, Terry’s Tool Sales, Nu-Gen, RLK Services, Big Rig Chrome Shop, Amcan Truck Parts, Britt’s Night Cruise, Mayne Salon, RWB Coffee Co, Graybill Chrome, K3 Farms, BLT Chrome Shop, JTX Forged, North Iowa Designs, B-First Industrial, Gear Jammer Magazine, Cleaning Solutions, Hogebuilt, Capital City Chrome, Valley Chrome Plating, LargeCar Mag, and Wilkins Truck Chrome.
Thank you to the crew of the show for doing such a great job, to JR and Chelcee Schleuger and Nicky Erdahl for making me feel welcome, and to Randy Menkel and Doug Jameson for the talks, laughs and the golf cart rides. Whether you have or haven’t attended this show, make sure to mark your calendar for their 12th annual show September 5-6, 2026. As always, to all the drivers out there doing the deal, truck safe. And this year’s winners were:
1998 & OLDER BOBTAIL:
1st Ben Storlie; 2nd Stan Elmers; 3rd Colton Sailor.
1999-2007 BOBTAIL:
1st Kenny Ziglar; 2nd Ben Schultze; 3rd Lincoln Shutjer.
2008-2016 BOBTAIL:
1st Kyle Manderfield; 2nd Damon Kuper; 3rd Micah Lavrenz.
2017 & NEWER BOBTAIL:
1st Brad Steel; 2nd Joe Morris; 3rd John Morris.
1998 & OLDER COMBO:
1st Jaxson Hoffman; 2nd Logan Marzahn; 3rd Landon Rozenboom.
1999-2007 COMBO:
1st J. Lambrecht; 2nd Dayne Matthews; 3rd Keegan Kilburg.
2008-2016 COMBO:
1st Doug Jameson; 2nd Cody Mollner; 3rd Pat Hoffman.
2017 & NEWER COMBO:
1st Dylan McCrabb; 2nd Riley Leber; 3rd Jaeger Rieks.
LIGHTS BOBTAIL:
1st Kenny Ziglar; 2nd JR Thompson; 3rd John Morris.
LIGHTS COMBO:
1st Jesse Lambrecht; 2nd Jake Denton; 3rd Taylor Liebe.
LIMITED MILES:
1st Jerry Linander; 2nd Joe Eldridge; 3rd Joe Eldridge.
LOCAL BOYS:
1st Lincoln Schutjer; 2nd Randy Schluter; 3rd Matt Schleuger.
FARTHEST TRAVELED:
Raiko Graveran (1,450 miles).
MR. CLEAN AWARD:
Kenny Ziglar.
DJ’S CHOICE AWARD:
Jerry Linander.
BUTCH SCHLEUGER MEMORIAL AWARD:
Kendon Hostetler.
LIFETIME’S CHOICE AWARD:
Raiko Graveran.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE:
Hunter Tritch.
BEST OF SHOW BOBTAIL:
Kenny Ziglar.
BEST OF SHOW COMBO:
Dylan McCrabb.