It\u2019s one thing to have a really cool work truck \u2013 but two? Mike Gonzales Jr. (35) of Susanville, CA recently built an amazing cabover just to drive in the winter. The rest of the year, Mike drives an equally-impressive conventional Peterbilt painted in the same color scheme. But being an \u201cold school\u201d trucker like his father, Mike has a soft spot for cabovers, so he doesn\u2019t mind taking it out when the weather is bad. In fact, he says the cabover drives better and is easier to run in the snow. His dad, Mike Gonzales Sr. (57), won\u2019t drive anything but cabovers \u2013 he has never driven a truck with a hood and says he never will! Mike Jr. isn\u2019t that hard-headed (he likes his conventional, too) but he really loves these old truck and trailer cabovers and was glad we chose to feature this one instead of the conventional, even though they are both worthy.<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n
Mike Gonzales Sr. started trucking in 1978 when the paper mill he worked at in Antioch, CA went on strike. After six long months, he needed to find some work. A friend in Brentwood, CA gave Mike the opportunity to go trucking, and he took it. He borrowed some money from an uncle and bought a 1970 International cabover with a screaming 318 Detroit and started pulling double flatbed loads of lumber between the Bay area and Los Angeles. He paid that first truck (which he still has today) off in just a year, and the rest is history. Almost 35 years later, Mike Sr. is still driving a cabover, still pulling double flatbeds, and still, sometimes, hauling lumber. Today, his company, Gonzales Trucking, has five trucks and nine leased-on owner operators, and primarily hauls recycled products and building materials.<\/p>\n
Growing up around trucks in Brentwood, CA (the one near Stockton, not Beverly Hills), it was no surprise when Mike Jr. started driving. After graduating from high school in 1995, Mike bought his first truck \u2013 a 1989 Freightliner COE that he always kept shiny and clean. Signing on at his dad\u2019s company, Mike ran all over California and Nevada, pulling double flatbed loads back to the Bay area. In 2000, Mike and his wife Rebekah moved to Susanville, CA and bought a small, local recycling center. Mike continued to drive for his dad\u2019s company during the week and then went home on the weekends, while Rebekah ran the recycling center. Shortly after moving, Mike purchased a second truck \u2013 a Freightliner conventional \u2013 and put a driver in his first truck, and then both of them continued to haul for Mike\u2019s dad\u2019s company (Gonzales Trucking).<\/p>\n
Around 2003, Mike started hauling a few seasonal loads of hay here and there for a friend in Susanville, and after a few years, it became a full-time gig. A couple years later, Mike was introduced to bullhauling by Abbie Batteate of Batteate Livestock Transportation in Livermore, CA. Today, most of Mike\u2019s loads are either hay or cattle, but he also helps his dad when needed, too. And when Mike Jr. finds himself overbooked with loads, his dad will help him, too. Mike\u2019s company, Gonzales Hay & Cattle, currently has two other trucks with drivers in them, plus his conventional and the cabover seen here. He also has one of the last 1987 Peterbilt 359s, which were numbered \u2013 his is #150 of 359 (he\u2019s not sure what he wants to do with this one yet).<\/p>\n
In 2008, Mike bought his long-hood Pete 379. The 2007 truck was already a year old, and it was a single axle with a 300-inch wheelbase. Mike shortened the truck to 218 inches and installed a 36-inch flattop sleeper. Powered by an ISX Cummins engine hooked to a 13-speed, Mike outfitted the truck with new pipes, extra lights (including 11 bullet cab lights) and light bars, deck plating, a painted drop visor and billet grille. He then had the truck painted white with green fenders and roof caps. Hooked to either a matching set of custom hay doubles built by Precision Trailer in Stockton, CA or double cattle pots, depending on the season, Mike runs this truck most of the time \u2013 it is his daily driver \u2013 but that does not mean that it isn\u2019t really nice. In fact, this truck was good enough to win Best of Show at the truck show in Galt, CA back in 2010.<\/p>\n
Wanting a cabover truck and trailer to drive during the winter months, Mike found and bought an old Diamond Hay truck near the end of 2008 and ran it as-is for the entire winter. After that, in 2009, he decided to tear it all down and rebuild it \u2013 with the end result being what you see on these pages here and the cover\/centerfold this month. The red and white truck was in pretty rough shape when Mike got it, so there was a lot of work to do, most of which was done by Steve at Precision Trailer in Stockton, CA and Bill Rocha of Rocha Truck & Auto Painting in Oakdale, CA. In addition to rebuilding the truck, the guys at Precision Trailer also tore down an old 1974 Utility trailer and completely rebuilt it for Mike to pull behind his refurbished truck.<\/p>\n
The 1995 Peterbilt 362, which has a newer Cat C-12 engine with 450 hp (which gets good fuel mileage), a 13-speed transmission and a 24-inch bunk, was also equipped with a new quick-change hay bed. By removing just six bolts and disconnecting one electrical plug, the hay bed can be easily removed and replaced with a short cattle box. When necessary, Mike can switch out the bed, hook-up to his short cattle trailer, and then go cow-trucking!<\/p>\n
When rebuilding the truck, Mike did not want to do anything too extravagant, so he kept most of it pretty stock. He did, however, install an 18-inch Valley Chrome bumper, a custom painted drop visor, 6-inch Dynaflex exhaust with custom elbows, and Hogebuilt quarter fenders. Mike also had all of the horns and cab lights \u2013 nine of them \u2013 replaced with new ones (five of the cab lights have regular amber lenses while the other four have clear lenses). He also had the tanks painted, stainless tool boxes mounted, and plenty of Maxxima LED lights installed, including a bunch of tiny 3-diode clearance\/marker lights running down the sides of the hay bed and trailer. All of the accessories were purchased from Bob at Cherokee Truck Parts in Stockton, CA. The green and white paint was sprayed by Bill Rocha, while Bob Gomez at Sidelines in Stockton, CA did all of the hand-painted pinstripes and door logos.<\/p>\n
Because the interior of this truck has still not been done, Mike has not worked the cabover very much. In fact, he has probably only hauled 20 loads on it since finishing it over a year ago. But, soon after our photo shoot, Mike was already planning to take it to Fine Line Auto Interiors in Manteca, CA to finally get it done. And, once the interior is complete and it is comfortable to drive, Mike will start using the rig more often during the year and all through the winter months.<\/p>\n
The final touch in getting a rig ready for one of our photo shoots (or a truck show) is to have everything washed and polished. Six years ago, Mike met a polisher named Tony Jimenez at a truck stop, and ever since then, Tony has been Mike\u2019s exclusive polisher. Mike is not only impressed by the quality of Tony\u2019s work, but also how long the shine lasts (all summer, even after one or two washes a week). Now, Tony and his crew go out to Susanville every year and spend an entire week polishing out Mike\u2019s trucks.<\/p>\n