Gary Amoth has been trying to do things right since 1983. Setting out as a driver with a vision to build a company around his philosophy and culture of “doing the right thing” all the time, his one truck turned into two, and then two into four, eventually expanding to a fleet of over 170 trucks. Today, Gary Amoth Trucking is a large, diverse, successful trucking and warehousing operation that employs 220 people. Originally founded in agricultural hauling, the company now spans multiple industries, boasting a diversified fleet of trailers and equipment to accommodate almost any type of load – and Gary and his entire crew have a sterling reputation!
Based in Twin Falls, Idaho, with a secondary location in Nampa, Idaho, Gary Amoth Trucking is a nationwide carrier offering long-haul and transport services. With flatbeds, curtain vans, dry vans, maxi flatbeds, oversized, and even a few tankers, they can handle just about anything. In 1997, as the business continued to grow, they expanded into the overseas container drayage market, and Apex Container was born. A few years later, in 2000, Apex Warehousing was also added to offer a wide variety of storage options, from food grade storage to simple and basic public warehousing, as well as rail shipping and receiving. Today, they have three warehouse facilities in and around Twin Falls.
Born in 1960 and raised in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, just 27 miles south of the Canadian border, Gary Amoth (64) credits his Uncle Don for getting him hooked on trucking. Some might remember our cover story from the December 2024 edition that featured Blayne Amoth’s Peterbilt cabover. In that story we talked a lot about Bonners Ferry (where Blayne is also from) and his family and, you guessed it, they are related. Gary’s cousin Delton is Blayne’s father. And the “Uncle Don” Gary speaks of is Blayne’s grandfather, who we also mentioned a lot in that other story. So, if you want a little backstory on all that, review the December 2024 cover feature.
Although not a trucker, Gary’s father Wayne did do some driving for Don back in the day, and one of Gary’s earliest memories is going with his dad up to Nelson, British Columbia, to pick up a load of cedar, destined for Los Angeles, when he was about four years old. Another influential memory happened when Gary was about seven years old. He and his family were in Spokane, Washington, and Uncle Don just happened to be in town picking up a brand-new 1967 Kenworth, and Gary got to ride back to Bonners Ferry with his uncle in the truck. With a 335 Cummins and a 4+4 two-stick setup, this was the best of times, and it left a huge impression on Gary.
In 1975, when Gary was 15 years old, the family (including his two sisters) moved to Twin Falls after their dad bought some land with the intention of being a full-time farmer. Although Wayne did do a lot of farming, and Gary loves farming too, he ended up starting a business called Amoth Irrigation, which sold all sorts of surface irrigation products. The business was a success, and Wayne worked hard until he sold it and retired. He devoted the next 20 years of his life to the ministry, and then later on got into woodworking. At 91 years old now, he and “Uncle Don” (who is 94 and lives nearby) hang out a lot together, and I can only imagine the things these two have to talk about!
In 1981, after hauling hay for a local outfit, Gary and a friend partnered up and bought a truck from Uncle Don – a blue and white 1966 Freightliner cabover truck with a 24-foot bed and a 24-foot pull trailer (which they later painted two-tone blue). Hauling hay at first, the two eventually got a “corn contract” from Green Giant and began hauling bulk sweet corn from the field to the factory for about three months in the fall. During this time, the truck ran 24/7, and the “Corn Campaign” as it was called locally, was a big deal. To do this, they would remove the hay bed from the truck and mount a live floor trailer bed on it, then hook to a 20-foot pup trailer with a live floor, as well. Back in those days, you had to be creative, so if you only had one truck and multiple types of hauls, you just switched out everything when needed. It was not uncommon for Gary to drop a sleeper on his truck and go long-haul trucking, as well.
After about two years, Gary’s friend decided to move back to California, so they dissolved the partnership, with his friend getting the truck, and Gary getting the trailer. Purchasing a really cool 1976 Peterbilt 359 to replace the Freightliner, Gary continued doing the same thing, and Gary Amoth Trucking was officially started in 1983. The light green Peterbilt with a white stripe had a 1693 CAT under the short hood, and Gary just absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, this truck met an early demise and only lasted a little over a year. After it got wrecked, Gary found and bought the 1974 Kenworth W900A you see on the cover and centerfold this month (and on these pages) in 1984. Although it didn’t look like the truck you see here today, it was still really cool.
When Gary first purchased the W900A, it had a short 228” wheelbase, a 475-hp 1693 CAT, a torsion bar suspension, and it was painted brown with thin white stripes. Over the years, the truck changed a lot, but in the beginning, it was Gary’s everyday driver. He figures he personally logged almost a million miles in that truck, and since then, other drivers brought that number closer to 2.5 million miles. The engine was rebuilt once, but after it blew up again, Gary replaced it with the 400-hp 3406B it still has in it today. At some point, the suspension was switched to a Reyco 4-spring system, and then later it was upgraded to a Peterbilt Low AirLeaf suspension, which it also still has today.
The next truck Gary bought after the W900A was a yellow and black 1969 Kenworth W923 (he later painted it dark green), and then he bought a 1980 Kenworth W900A. This last truck was painted Viper red, and Gary really liked it, so he painted the ‘74 red to match. After that, until more recently, almost all his trucks were Viper red! In 1993, Gary traded the 1980 W900A for two 1990 Freightliner FLDs, and from there is when the company started to really grow. These first few trucks were the core of the company and the ones that built the solid foundation for the monumental growth of Gary Amoth Trucking over the next three decades.
In the beginning, Gary did everything – he drove, dispatched, did maintenance, washed trucks, office work, and whatever else needed to be done. Until they built up to ten trucks, the entire company was operated out of a shop and small office space behind their house. In about 2001, they finally got a yard in nearby Filer, Idaho, and Gary hired his first maintenance guy. And the rest, as they say, is history! Around that same time, the 1974 Kenworth, which was still being used regularly, was involved in a small “incident” so Gary decided to do a complete refresh of the classic rig.
Giving it new “bones” (frame rails), the wheelbase was stretched out to a modest 255 inches, the cab and sleeper were converted to air ride, and a fresh coat of Viper red paint was applied. The sleeper had some damage, so it was replaced with an identical period-correct 36” flattop like it originally had. The custom 48” drom had been on the truck for years, so they kept it (they hauled a lot of pallets up there on that deck). The truck still has the 3406B CAT, and it is hooked to a Spicer 5+4 two-stick setup. Other features include a 6” Dynaflex exhaust, a stock stainless visor, “Double Bubble” lights, (5) glass watermelon cab lights, and pinstriping, done by Jeff’s Graphics out of Twin Falls.
To help make it easier to get in and out of the Kenworth, the steps were customized, and a lower third step was added to the two stock steps (these old A-models were always really tall and that lower step was still way up there). Another unique feature is the custom flap weights from Gary’s friend (and ours) Colby Williams of Fueled Photography. If you don’t know him, Colby is a talented photographer that has done a lot of work for Gary and his company over the years. Gary put a set of his flap weights on the back of this truck to give a nod to Colby – and because they are really nice flap weights!
The inside of the “K-Whopper” was re-done way back in the mid-1980s, and it is mostly stock (maybe too stock even for Gary’s liking). Done in tan leather with diamond button tuck, sitting in the cab is like going back in time. The 3406B under the hood is pretty stock, too, except for the fact that it is a Viper red CAT engine! Sorry, not sorry, purists. This truck is known as #3, because it is Gary’s third truck, but it technically is the second one owned by Gary Amoth Trucking (the 1976 Peterbilt 359, Gary’s second truck, would have been the first one for the company). One day, Gary hopes to find his first truck – the 1966 Freightliner cabover – but he has no idea where the old hay truck might be.
Today, Gary Amoth Trucking mostly hauls general freight, lumber, and steel all across the country, and the container division (about 40 trucks) hauls drayage from the Southern Idaho area to the Northwest ports and Salt Lake City railyards. All the Apex Container trucks are blue and white, to help differentiate them from the rest of the fleet. Gary prides himself on taking great care of his drivers and employees. A few key people recently retired after 20+ years, and while there are many others who have been there that long or even longer, two examples would be Elden Easterday and David Whaley.
Elden was hired as a driver in 1992 at the young age of 20 years old (he had to run locally at first because he was too young to run out of state). Gary actually taught him how to drive a truck, and 33 years later, he is a fleet manager and Gary’s right-hand man. David manages the Nampa facility and is the fleet manager for the maxi flatbed division. He has been with Gary for over 20 years. Gary wanted to acknowledge and thank the entire team, because it takes everyone, working together, to be successful. Thanks go out to the drivers, managers, dispatchers, office personnel, warehouse workers, and maintenance people for always giving 100% and being an integral part of the entire operation.
Another part of his “team” is his family. Gary and his wife Kathy met back in 1984 in a corn field – literally! Gary was out running the sweet corn, and Kathy came out to ride with a friend. Fortunately for Gary, Kathy’s friend was going off shift, so he recommended that she ride with Gary. Well, after finally getting married in 1991 (Gary was busy building a company), the two have now been married for 34 years and have two grown daughters – Whitney (32) and Madison (27). Whitney, who is an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) that works in benefits and wellness, is married to Hunter, and they have three children (two girls and a boy). Hunter is a warehouse manager for Gary. Madison, who helps with marketing and is a licensed Realtor, is married to Dalton, who is a Boise Firefighter, and they have one young son.
Kathy never really worked directly in the company, as she was in the banking industry, but she helps whenever she can, and she is Gary’s biggest supporter. These days, no longer in banking, her biggest job is being “grandma” and babysitting those grandkids, which she loves to do. Gary and Kathy do not have a lot of time for hobbies, but they do have a cabin, and they try to sneak off to it whenever possible. They also enjoy attending a few truck shows throughout the year, with the Southern Idaho Truck Show, held right there locally, being the one they attend and support the most (this year they had 13 trucks on display at the show).
Doing our photo shoot after the Southern Idaho Truck Show concluded, we started out at Balanced Rock in the Salmon Falls Creek Canyon. The wind-carved rock, which is over 48 feet tall and weighs 40 tons, balances precariously on a pedestal only 3 feet by 17 inches. We took a few pictures there and then headed to nearby Balanced Rock Park – an excellent spot for a picnic – and an even better spot for a truck photo shoot! After driving across flat farm and dairy land for over 30 minutes, all the sudden you come up on – or should I say drop into to – Salmon Falls Creek Canyon. One mile later you climb up out of the canyon and you are back to flat desert land. It is surprising and weird, but the canyon is absolutely incredible. From there, we headed to Gary’s house to take some photos on his front lawn (sorry Kathy), and then to their yard in Twin Falls for some fleet shots.
We would like to thank Gary and Kathy, along with all the drivers and others who helped us that day by moving trucks around, wiping them down, and even breaking into one so we could move it. It was a long and hot day, but it was also a fun day, and we could not have done it without everyone’s help. Me and my wife Shannon had a nice time getting to know Gary and Kathy and spending time with them – they are truly nice and friendly people, who are very easy to get along with. We would also like to wish them a belated “Happy Anniversary” as their 34th wedding anniversary just happened to fall on the day we did the photo shoot. Thanks for spending your special day with us.
One other really cool thing Gary and the entire company had the privilege to experience was hauling the U.S. Capital Christmas Tree to Washington D.C. in 2016. Each year, a different company is asked to haul the tree, depending on the state it comes from, and that year the 80-foot Engelmann Spruce was harvested from the Payette National Forest in Idaho. Selected by Kenworth, who sponsors the entire deal, Gary Amoth Trucking was awarded the haul due to that sterling reputation mentioned earlier. Gary didn’t know how to choose who would get to drive the truck, so he decided to do it himself. Leaving on November 6th, with 33 hospitality stops along the way, Gary was gone for five weeks, but what an honor it was for them to be tasked with hauling this sacred cargo!
Although he has no plans to retire anytime soon, Gary feels like there are some key young people in place to help move the company into the future. And Gary is not afraid to grow the company even more, but only if needed. “Growth for the sake of growth is always a mistake,” he said. Overseeing the entire operation, Gary works hard to maintain the company culture, because that makes a real difference with their employees and customers. And their culture of “doing the right thing” has served the company well for over 40 years now so, as the saying goes, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!