When you\u2019ve spent a good portion of your life rollin\u2019 down the highway, many truckers have a hard time retiring. The sound of the engine, grabbin\u2019 gears, the whine of rubber on the road, fancy paint, chicken lights, shiny stainless and chrome, polished aluminum, along with the freedom of the open road, gets in your blood, making it hard to call it quits. For a lot of truckers, they love a certain marquee and build a bond with their rig, and that truck can become part of their identity. For other truckers, they buy and sell or trade up as time goes by, but the common theme is, they love their trucks, new or old.<\/p>ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder
One way that many semi-retired or retired truckers satisfy that craving of a diesel engine and a ride down the road is with a retirement playtoy, and Dennis Sikorski (68), owner of D&P Express in Bancroft, Wisconsin, has just that. After spending 45+ years as an owner operator and building a small fleet of trucks that run reefers to the west coast and back, Dennis is now beginning to slow down and enjoy life at home with his family. But, to scratch that itch for the open road, Dennis decided to do something he had always wanted to do but never had the time \u2013 build and restore a cool largecar he could share and enjoy with his family, yet still work from time to time, and take to shows. Needless to say, in 2017, a 1995 Peterbilt model 362 cabover, for sale in South Dakota, caught Dennis\u2019 attention.<\/p>
Made from 1981 through 2005, the Peterbilt model 362 replaced the 352 in 1981 and was Peterbilt\u2019s last on-highway cab-over-engine offering. Designed to be more efficient and aerodynamic, the 362 had many upgrades over the 352, like a unique three piece windshield, equipped with three windshield wipers, or a four piece windshield with two wipers, when it was introduced. Other available options on the 362 included a set-back front axle version and even a twin-steer option, both available from Peterbilt. Several cab configurations were offered that ranged from a daycab to the popular 110-inch sleeper cab.<\/p>
When Dennis purchased the 1995 Peterbilt model 362 (seen here) in March of 2017, the truck wasn\u2019t the beauty queen it is today. Telling me some of the history on the truck and what he knows, Dennis said, \u201cI purchased the truck from its original owner. He ran it pretty hard pulling a cattle pot for years out west and back. He sold it, then ended up buying it back later on.\u201d Originally painted green, the Pete had been re-powered by a 6NZ C15 Caterpillar at some point. \u201cIt looked better in the photos than in person when I found it,\u201d said Dennis, also adding, \u201cI figured we\u2019d be able to drive it home, but the CAT had a blown head gasket, so I ended up having to get it towed back to my shop here in Bancroft.\u201d<\/p>
After the 362 Peterbilt arrived at Dennis\u2019 shop, a year-long full frame-off restoration ensued. \u201cMy son Shane and I literally took the truck apart bolt by bolt. I ended up having to purchase another 362 as a donor truck for panels and other parts we needed,\u201d said Dennis. He then continued with, \u201cI sent the C15 out to Fabik CAT in Wausau, Wisconsin to be overhauled and then had E.L.M. Diesel in Edgar, Wisconsin tune and uprate it.\u201d The strong 6NZ Caterpillar now pushes 750-hp to the ground.<\/p>
After Dennis and Shane got the truck put back together, it was sent to Barry Myers in Rosholt, Wisconsin, where Barry gave the Pete its beautiful blue and black paint scheme. \u201cI have a Kenworth T600 that\u2019s painted in that same blue, and I really liked that color, so I decided to use it on the 362 as well,\u201d said Dennis as he was telling me where he got his inspiration for the Peterbilt\u2019s paint scheme. \u201cBarry had the truck for about four months, and he did a beautiful job on the paint, although I had to push him a little to get it done,\u201d explained Dennis, adding, \u201cI was just excited, and wanted to go to some shows with it!\u201d<\/p>
After getting the truck back from Barry, Shane and Dennis got it finished in time with Barry so they could all take the cabover to the 2018 Waupun Truck Show, where the 362 won first place in the cabover class. The 110\u201d 362 cab has air-ride and sports a 235\u201d wheelbase, and with a big yellow CAT 6NZ C15 under the doghouse, mated to an Eaton-Fuller 18-speed transmission, the power is pushed to 3.55 rears. The truck rides on a Peterbilt low air-leaf suspension with 24.5 polished Alcoa Peterbilt oval hole rims wrapped in low-pro rubber. But the cool factors don\u2019t stop there.<\/p>
The 362 has custom 110-gallon fuel tanks from AlumiTank, stainless half fenders from Hogebuilt, 7\u201d straight pipes and a custom stainless deckplate. A custom 24\u201d stainless bumper from Ron\u2019s Repair in Worthington, Minnesota completes the Pete\u2019s look. With 20 lights in the bumper alone, there are a total of 126 lights on the Pete. \u201cThe truck lights up nicely at night, so I\u2019ve won some light awards at the shows,\u201d said Dennis.<\/p>
Inside, the old 362 has Peterbilt\u2019s classic gray and black velour interior, every gauge possible, a full tilt steering column, cruise control, and factory high back seats. Dennis also added a modern Pioneer head unit so he could enjoy his music while in the truck. \u201cSadly, I don\u2019t know how many miles are on the truck,\u201d answered Dennis, when I asked him if he knew. In order to complete the look that Dennis was going for, he purchased a 2007 stainless steel Great Dane spread axle refrigerated trailer equipped with a Thermo King SB210 reefer unit. With the top and bottom rails and the reefer unit painted blue to match the 362, the trailer has 80 lights on it and only adds to the impressive custom look of the entire setup.<\/p>
But for Dennis, this truck is more than just a retirement playtoy. In many ways, it\u2019s a personal reward for his hard work, not giving up, and dealing with the ups and downs that life can throw at you. Dennis told me the story of how he ended up starting his own trucking company, saying, \u201cI started driving trucks in 1979 and in 1982 I purchased my first truck, a 1979 Freightliner FLT cabover. I was leased to J&L Transportation in Almond, Wisconsin. It was November of 1984, and my daughter Sheena was one year old and my wife Pat was pregnant with our son Shane (who was born three months premature). I received a phone call from my bank telling me that my settlement check of $7,740 from J&L had bounced. So, I called Leon (who owned J&L) and he told me that they had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.\u201d<\/p>
After having a heated discussion with Leon, he told Dennis that he needed the truck back, too, putting Dennis in a really bad position. \u201cI was completely broke and couldn\u2019t pay any bills \u2013 I even had to borrow gas money from my mother-in-law just so I could go down to the bankruptcy hearing in Madison in order to try and recoup my money.\u201d At the hearing, the judge told Leon that he had 30 days to either pay Dennis what he owed him or give him his truck back. \u201cGuess what? After those 30 days, I got my truck back,\u201d said Dennis, continuing with, \u201cThat month ended up being the worst and best month of my life.\u201d But after Dennis got his truck back, he was still broke. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for my kind mother-in-law, who helped us by loaning me $10,000 so my wife and I could start our own trucking company, I honestly don\u2019t know what I would have done,\u201d said Dennis with gratitude.<\/p>
Then, one day, while Dennis was delivering out to the San Francisco Bay area, he was parked under the Bay Bridge and made the decision to buy another truck and begin expanding his company. \u201cMy family is everything to me, and I wanted to be home more, so I made the decision to become a small trucking company and have drivers working for me,\u201d said Dennis. With an established customer base, Dennis\u2019 small fleet grew, typically operating no more than ten tractor-trailers in service at a time, while keeping new equipment in his fleet by trading in his trucks every three years. \u201cI\u2019m proud to say over the last 40 years, I\u2019ve owned over 61 brand-new trucks that include Peterbilt 379s and 377s, along with many different Kenworth models, as well,\u201d said Dennis.<\/p>
Married to his wife Pat since 1982, they have two kids and three grandkids, which include their daughter Sheena and grandson Ayden (6), son Shane and his wife Shannon, and their granddaughters Aubrie (11) and Audrinna (14). \u201cMy grandchildren really enjoy riding in the Peterbilt with me and going to truck shows,\u201d said Dennis, continuing with, \u201cMy son Shane is one of the owners of I-39 Truck Repair here in Bancroft, and we\u2019re really close. Restoring this old Peterbilt with Shane has been a dream come true. I always wanted to build a show truck, and it was a dream of mine to someday get in 10-4 Magazine, and now that\u2019s happened, too!\u201d Being able to help make someone\u2019s dreams come true is a satisfying perk of this job!<\/p>
While not running over-the-road anymore, Dennis enjoys staying local, using his classic 362 (or one of his other trucks), keeping busy hauling cheese for one of his customers and potatoes out of the fields in the fall. But, if you talk to Dennis, his family is everything to him, and his retirement playtoy has allowed him to combine his love of trucks and family. One day, when Dennis passes this Peterbilt to his son Shane, this cool retirement playtoy will keep on truckin\u2019 for years to come!<\/p>
EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:<\/strong> Special thanks to Stephanie Haas for taking the time to travel to Bancroft, WI to photograph Dennis\u2019 Peterbilt for this feature \u2013 as you can see, she did an amazing job!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you\u2019ve spent a good portion of your life rollin\u2019 down the highway, many truckers have a hard time retiring. The sound of the engine, grabbin\u2019 gears, the whine of rubber on the road, fancy paint, chicken lights, shiny stainless and chrome, polished aluminum, along with the freedom of the open road, gets in your<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":48433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-48411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-truckapedia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48411"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48434,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48411\/revisions\/48434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}