This month’s truck was ordered for one of our local cow-hauling friends Keith Spinar (31) of K Bar C Trucking in Chilhowee, MO. Although not a fan of the 589 at first, over time, and after some fun conversations (and the addition of a little boy that he wants to spend as much time as he can with), a new 589 became an option. The other option could have been a Volvo – no, just kidding – a KW. I am happy he came in and spec’d out the new 589 you see here. Married to his wife Christina for five years, the couple has a two-year-old boy named Holt.
Growing up, Keith’s grandparents, Harold and Hazel Spinar, farmed and even had some trucks. Harold passed away back in 2013, but grandma is still going. They had five kids, one of which is Keith’s dad Duane, who is married to his mom Barbara. They followed in the footsteps of their parents and have been farming and raising cattle for most of Keith’s life, as well. Keith is the third of four kids and has an older brother named Jason (aka Speedy) that I have sold some trucks to over the years.
School wasn’t really Keith’s thing, so when he turned 16 he went to work hauling cattle with a Dodge diesel pickup and a gooseneck trailer. His mom and dad raised Holstein calves, which he was able to move around in his double-deck trailer, among other stuff. He did that until 2016, when he decided to go to work with his brother Jason, driving one of his sweet trucks. Keith was happy to drive whatever truck his brother had available, because Jason runs nice stuff.
Four years later, in 2020, Keith and his wife Christina, who is involved in her family’s cattle business, as well, decided it was time to buy their own truck and started K Bar C. Looking around for a truck, his brother suggested that he just buy a new one, like the one he had sitting in the corner of the shop – a low mileage glider he had ordered from me a few years prior. After some careful consideration, Jason decided to sell the glider to him, and it became Keith’s first truck. After getting the glider, Keith worked it hard.
In August of 2023, Keith made a deal and purchased a low mileage 389 from Fleenor Brothers that I had sold them. It was a beautiful truck, but he decided to keep his old glider as a backup, which turned out to be a good thing, because two weeks later he hit a cow in the road and tore up the truck bad enough that it was totaled – it landed upside down in a pond. This was an experience he would not recommend to anyone. He still had his glider, so he went back to work in it, until he came and ordered the truck shown here – a 2026 Peterbilt 589, in a special darker red color, with a 72” flattop, a Cummins X15 with 2,050 torque, an 18-speed, and a nice Platinum interior with all the good stuff.
When the truck showed up, Cody was in charge of dialing it in. After the cow incident, a Herd Bumper was necessary equipment, and then Cody added four Rockwood grill bars, steer axle dumps, and 12 Ga. breather panels with 2-1/4” amber lights. Storm with One 11 Weld Shop built Keith a custom visor, cab and sleeper skirts, and mirror arms. Keith ordered mirror lights from Brent’s Custom Trucks, my dad welded up some of my clamps for a set of 6-inch dummy stacks, and Peterson amber load lights were installed on the back of the sleeper. Cody polished the side rails of the painted Merritt deck plate, added custom half-fenders from I-29 Truck Parts, and finished everything off with one of my end-of-frame cross members and a center panel from Bub at The Weld Shop.
When I asked if Keith had a quote he lived by, he said, “Not really, I just got bills, so I have to go to work.” If you see him out and about, give him a shout and let him know your thoughts. As we deliver more and more these new 589’s, they are starting to grow on some people, while others, still not so much (which makes for some fun conversations). If you or your friends are interested in getting a quote, please give me or your Geis Dealer Group sales representative a call to let us spec one out for you. We appreciate any opportunity and thank you.