Through the years in our beloved industry, trucking companies have been known for the services they provide, but more importantly, the trucks out there on the road. A truck is in essence a rolling business card showcasing the company’s pride when it shows up at a warehouse, construction site, yard, or one of the many other locations a truck will load or unload. Not being biased because it is my home state, but I can think of plenty of large trucking companies in Wisconsin that bring cool to the roadways – and one that brings plenty of blues, too (not only are the trucks blue, but the companies are named Blue Leasing Corporation, Inc. and Blue Logistics Company LLC).
The following is a story of Trevor “TJ” Timblin (35) of Kewaskum, WI, his love of cool trucks, and his Kenworth W900 that caught my attention. Third generation strong in his family of truckers following his grandfather (Henry), and father (Trev), TJ has obtained plenty of knowledge and experience in the industry from a very early age. All along his mom had said not to get into trucking, but that was all he knew, and it was inevitable that trucking was what he would get into. He learned how to drive around the age of 14 while moving trucks and trailers around in the yard so he could wash them on Saturdays which, back then, working in the shop was a cool thing to do.
There used to be a time when kids learned not only by watching, but there are times they were only shown once, then put in a truck to just figure it out, which is how TJ learned. There was training because Trev rode with TJ for a while when he had his permit, then, right when he turned 18, he got his CDL.
Starting out when the company had refrigerated trailers, TJ would get trailers preloaded for the over the road drivers, so the loads were ready to go. On the flip side, with those same drivers that came in with loaded trailers to deliver in the local area, he, along with his brother Tanner and one of his buddies that used to work for the company, would deliver all the loads that came in. The company then transitioned to flatbed, stepdeck, and RGN work, which included hauling Army trucks for a company in Wisconsin. But, as time went on, rates were getting cut by other carriers, so they got out of that line of work.
Throughout all these transitions, not only was TJ learning the ins and outs of driving, but he was also learning the company operations, as well, along with maintenance of the trucks. Blue Leasing Corporation, which evolved from Trev Timblin Trucking in 2001, began getting into a lot of van and end dump work. In 2016, it was decided that Blue Leasing would split to have a sister company, Blue Logistics Company. Blue Leasing would take care of all the dry van loads with the over the road work, while Blue Logistics would focus on the local and regional hauling, including the scrap metal, which they were hauling a lot.
October 10, 2012, TJ went to a garage party, where he met Justice, who he said, “I’m going to marry that girl.” They did get married on October 17, 2015, and have since had two sons, Truett and Tate. In the summer of 2023, TJ found a truck at an auction, and the best part is that it was not only painted factory blue, but it had a matching factory blue button tuck interior. After the truck was brought home, it was repainted in their company blue color in the fall of 2023. TJ put it on the road in February of 2024, but he wasn’t finished with it, yet. Not long after, I got a glimpse of this truck, and to my shock, it wasn’t a Peterbilt – it was a Kenworth.
Blue Leasing has always been known for its cool Peterbilts through the years, and I’ve seen the trucks both in person and in pictures since probably their inception in 2001, only a few years after I got into some part of the trucking industry. What was their consistency? The unmistakable Bahama Blue that they have incorporated into every one of their trucks, including the Pictured W900.
I had taken an interest in this truck partly because it had a different look than most trucks, including TJ’s twist on the 007 Kenworth stripes, but TJ said he had more he wanted to do to the truck, so I opted to bide my time and wait. The truck is parked in the winter, and in May 2025, TJ set out to stretch the frame. A 2019 Kenworth T680 was purchased at an auction which was used for the frame stretch. Between TJ and shop partner Jake Kopeschka, they did all the work on the truck except for the paint, graphics, and pinstriping.
The most recent version of the truck you see today is a 2000 Kenworth W900L with a Cummins N14, 13-speed transmission, 2.64 rears, and a 308-inch wheelbase. The truck also sports 7-inch Dynaflex stacks, a Lincoln Chrome front bumper, and Hogebuilt fenders that have been in the upstairs of their shop for over 20 years as the fenders were originally intended for one of the old show trucks. It’s funny how some things can stand the test of time while others cannot!
Finally complete (for now), we worked on a convenient weekend for me to come out to photograph the truck. Those who know me know I am a diehard red oval (Peterbilt) girl, but this truck was sharp, so I just knew I had to feature it! And, to top it off, it was hooked to a beautiful, painted-to-match, 2023 Coras end dump – one cool combination.
The truck has a Cummins engine until, as TJ said, “When I decide to put it down again, it will get a new motor, and it ain’t going to be a Cummins!” Shoutout to those who had a hand in the truck including TD-Graphics out of Kewaskum for the stripes and Karen at KB Lettering. Karen is responsible for the beautiful pinstriping on not only this truck, but many other trucks the two family companies own.
I met TJ for the first time at the 2017 Guilty By Association Truck Show (GBATS) in Joplin, MO where he was awarded a calendar spot for the show’s 2018 calendar with his 1985 Peterbilt 359 daycab. I have always been a fan of cool daycabs, and this truck was no exception, with the top being chopped four inches, a Peterbilt emblem shaped rear window cut in the back wall, a stretched frame with a Peterbilt low air leaf cutoff, and a custom ostrich leather interior. Chris Fiffie of Big Rig Videos and I worked together photographing the trucks for the calendar that year, which is how I had the opportunity to meet TJ for the first time. But bringing cool trucks to big shows didn’t start or stop there.
In 2016, TJ and a few other drivers went to the Mid-America Trucking Show in March where they brought four Blue Leasing trucks including the previously mentioned 359, a 1982 Pete 362 cabover that TJ’s grandpa bought new, a 1987 Peterbilt 359, and a 2017 Peterbilt 389 Pride and Class (I was at MATS that year but did not meet TJ). If you saw photos or videos from that year at MATS, the epic four-wide formation around the Circle of Champions loop was amazing to witness! TJ has taken plenty of trucks to SuperRigs, as well, including Tulsa, OK in 2017 with the 389, and Branson, MO in 2022 with the cabover. Oddly, all these years, including the Waupun Truck-N-Show, TJ and I hadn’t crossed paths anywhere until GBATS 2017.
Unfortunately, TJ never had the opportunity to know his grandfather Henry, because he passed away when TJ was only a couple years old. He said he would’ve definitely looked up to him and would’ve been able to learn a lot from him, too. The most influential people in TJ’s life are his parents because he learned about going to work, what it meant to work hard, and working until the work is done. He is grateful for his father to still be around, but due to early onset Alzheimer’s, he lost his mother about three years ago. He said she was one of the nicest ladies ever, and she did all the accounting and computer work for the companies.
Something most may not know, unless you’ve been around him, is that TJ has a prosthetic on his left leg. Due to an accident when he was 20, he lost his leg from just below his knee and down. One wouldn’t know by the way he carries himself, but back then, he had a month’s stay in the hospital, 14 surgeries, and had to retake his road test to get his CDL back again.
Today, their two companies are based out of West Bend, WI with a shop complete with multiple bays including a wash bay, and a storage building for those trucks we’ve seen parked at some notable shows and rolling through the judging lines and parades. The company owns 20 trucks and around 30 trailers, being mostly end dumps and dry vans, but also stepdecks, RGNs, and hotshots. They strive to make it a family dynamic at their companies versus a corporate dynamic to make it a good place to work. They take pride in the trucks, both mechanically and in appearance, which the employees appreciate.
Besides driving, he and Jake team up to manage the shop with servicing, fabricating, and when there is “spare” time, building trucks. Finding loads and doing the paperwork also happens in addition to driving and shop work. The shop work is done in the evenings, when they get back from driving, and on the weekends. All service and repairs are done in-house apart from paint work, because they don’t have room for a paint booth. As previously mentioned, TJ and Justice, along with Truett (8) and Tate (4), reside in Kewaskum. When there is free time, TJ is all about hanging out with his family and doing various activities including fishing, hunting and golfing. He coaches Truett and they also play golf together, which Justice also enjoys.
We photographed on two different days, back in July and then in October, to capture some fall colors. Those two days took us to their customer’s scrap yard where Blue Logistics often loads, a cul-de-sac by their shop, running up and down Highway 45 around West Bend, an old quarry in Kewaskum for some (what we had hoped for) light shots and sunrise photos, a couple side roads with a bridge or overpass above, and running one of the main roads outside of West Bend to get a good view of the fall colors.
We (TJ, Jake and I) had a great time, enjoyed plenty of laughter, great conversation, and ended the photography in July just in time to get the truck parked and get to our lunch destination before the sky opened up and the rain poured down. Up until that point, it was a nice day, with a variation of sunshine and cloudy skies. During the October portion of the shoot, it was a perfect day of sunshine, but that was only a short session, for a few specific photos.
Special thanks from TJ to his wife Justice because he absolutely couldn’t do any of this without her. He really appreciates her understanding of the family business, the way she handles everything at home and with the kids, and for all her love and support. Shoutout and thanks goes to Jake for not only all the work on this truck but also working alongside TJ on all the shop work, and for his reliability as a driver, as well. In short, Jake is great at dealing with TJ’s wild and sometimes stupid ideas, and they are a great team. Thank you to TJ for the continued friendship through the years, for getting the opportunity to learn more about the companies, your time to be able to photograph the truck, and meeting your beautiful family.
In the business world, the color blue is associated with trust, honesty, and dependability. And for Blue Leasing and Blue Logistics, where there are plenty of blues, it is more than just the color of the trucks or the names on the doors – it is their signature and calling card, which highlights their consistency, pride, and work ethic throughout their companies. As always, to all the drivers out there doing the deal, truck safe.