If you know me, you know Texas, turquoise, and trucks are a few of my very favorite things.\u00a0 So, when I saw the Equipment Express Friends & Family Gathering show was on none other than my birthday weekend of May 3-4 in Caldwell, Texas, I knew we had to go.\u00a0 This event began as an invite only show during Covid, when everyone was tired of sitting at home, staring at the walls, and there were no shows to attend.\u00a0 Remember those days, when we all wanted to go out and do hood rat things with our friends… I mean show off our rides, eat delicious food, and hang out with like-minded great people.<\/p>ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder
This 4th annual \u201cFamily & Friends\u201d event is hosted the first weekend in May by our good friends Truett and Crystal Novosad at Equipment Express, a heavy haul trucking outfit based in Caldwell, TX. Known for their mostly blue and all beautiful fleet that hauls primarily oilfield machinery in Texas, and infamous trucks such as Troublemaker, Doc Holiday, and Bad Habit, one of Truett\u2019s first show trucks, known as High Cotton, was also featured on the cover of 10-4 Magazine way back in November of 2007.<\/p>
Two years ago, the party really started when Truett and Crystal welcomed their son Weston on May 3rd into the world, so the show has also become a way for this truck-loving little guy to celebrate his birthday. At this year\u2019s show he was given the choice of picking out a truck for his very own award. Crystal and Truett provide some of the best southern hospitality you\u2019ll ever come across.<\/p>
Friends from near and far began to pull into the lot on Friday to a breakfast of pancakes and sausage in the shop. Followed by a dinner that evening that consisted of fried fish, hush puppies, boudin balls, and margaritas \u2013 the fish was some of the best I\u2019ve ever tasted in my life \u2013 and it was all cooked by Mr. Greg Titzman. Young Brayden Titzman (17) worked relentlessly washing trucks for the show for several days. A strong work ethic isn\u2019t something you see much in the younger generation, so it was a breath of fresh of air to see, for sure.<\/p>
Most of us all come for day two… the crawfish! I have no idea what I\u2019m doing when it comes to cracking and eating one of these \u201cmud bugs\u201d as they are affectionately called, but they are so delicious it\u2019s worth every bite you get. Truett and Randy have taught me how to eat them at least a dozen times, but I just can\u2019t get it quite right. But that\u2019s okay, maybe I\u2019ll figure it out next year.<\/p>
Along with the Equipment Express lineup of trucks, there were trucks from BDS Towing & Recovery, Cuatro T, Bonham Transport, Shawn McCord Trucking and more. In total there were approximately 80 trucks, motorcycles, classic cars, and other special vehicles. One of my favorites won the People\u2019s Choice award and Furthest Traveled, which was Wes and Shannon Fowler\u2019s cream with bronze fenders and top of sleeper Peterbilt 389. Little Weston\u2019s award went to our (Terry and Kasey Aslinger\u2019s) blue Ford LTL 9000, and we were so proud to accept it.<\/p>
While the guys talked trucks, there was a mobile boutique setup called The Iron Rose, owned by a fellow trucking girlfriend, on-site for the ladies to do some shopping. You could make your own trucker hat, complete with any accessory you could think of, or custom mini brand your own cow hide purse, phone case, etc. The bounce house for the kids was a huge hit and was packed all day, and Schaefer Oil, Truckin\u2019 Awesome, and Okie Shine also had booths set up.<\/p>
These shows go by so fast, and we never seem to get enough time with everyone, enough hugs, and enough mud bugs, but this is a crew I\u2019m always so thankful and happy to be around and spend time with whenever possible. Next year\u2019s show is set for May 2-3, 2025, and now everyone is welcome to attend and participate, so we hope to see some of you there!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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