There is a special bond between fathers and sons \u2013 especially when they work together in the same industry or business. Josh Roberts (39) of Ellensburg, WA is building a successful trucking operation, and the cornerstone of his ever-growing fleet is a special truck that was once owned and operated by his father, John Roberts (67). Watching his son work hard and build his business, called Josh Roberts Trucking, something John himself had always wanted to do before getting sidelined with an illness, makes him very proud. Making your dad proud is one of the not-so-often discussed desires most sons have in life, but Josh is very humble and excited to be able to fulfill that goal, and to include his dad in the journey with him, as well.<\/p>ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder
This story starts way back in the late 1800s when Josh\u2019s great great grandfather Thomas Roberts came to America from Wales (a small country that is part of the United Kingdom located just west of England). Back in Wales, most of the family were fisherman, but in America, after homesteading a piece of land in Washington with his brother, they became ranchers and farmers in Conconully, WA. In the 1940s, Josh\u2019s great grandfather Henry Roberts sold his portion of the ranch and moved to Omak, WA where he ranched and farmed, as well.<\/p>
Ranching in Omak is where the C-BAR-C or \u201cdouble oar locks\u201d brand came to be, in honor of their fishing heritage back in Wales. Oar locks are those C-shaped rings on the side of a rowboat that hold the oars in place, and Henry designed the ranch brand using two of those oar locks, each facing a different direction. In western culture, that brand looked like two \u201cC\u201d letters, connected with a bar, so it got translated into C-Bar-C, and is typically read like that \u2013 but it isn\u2019t really that at all. I only mention this here because that \u201cbrand\u201d was painted on the door of John\u2019s truck, and now that Josh owns it, he kept it on there as an homage to the family history.<\/p>
Moving on to the next generation, Josh\u2019s grandfather Johnny also lived in Omak, WA and he had several businesses dating back to the 1960s including cattle ranching, a beer distributorship, an excavating company, and a feed store. Josh\u2019s father John (67) was born in 1957, and he began learning how to drive from his dad at an early age in a beer truck and also made deliveries for their feed store. Later, he got into a bigger truck for his dad\u2019s excavation company, driving a 1957 International dump truck with a gas engine and a 5+3 transmission. Johnny eventually \u201cgot bored\u201d and sold everything in 1977 and moved to Alaska to become a commercial fisherman. He died in 2024 at the age of 87.<\/p>
After Josh\u2019s grandpa moved to Alaska, his father continued to drive a dump truck (for someone else) until he bought his first truck in 1985 \u2013 a silver 1976 Peterbilt 359 with orange stripes and a 36\u201d flattop that he affectionately named Girdy (it would later be known as Girdy 1 since all of John\u2019s trucks were named Girdy). After a few years, things were not working out, so John sold that truck in 1988 and went to work as a driver for S&D Trucking, hauling produce back and forth between Los Angeles and the Pacific Northwest for the next two years, then moved to Whitley Fuel, hauling gas in tankers.<\/p>
In August 1991, John was involved in a truck wreck that could have taken his life \u2013 but, thankfully, it didn\u2019t. Driving an A-model KW truck and trailer for Whitley, on its last trip before it was to be traded in for a new truck, a young driver fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning and crossed the center line. John tried to avoid the oncoming car, but there was nothing he could do. The car struck the driver\u2019s side steer tire, causing the fuel truck and its loaded trailer to explode, and then sent it off the highway into a ditch, where everything burned down except the cab. John does not remember much of anything, but he miraculously survived the wreck after being thrown out of the truck and clear of the fire. Paramedics found him some time later when he wandered out of the woods, with a bloody head, clutching the truck\u2019s single stack. He ended up with 13 staples across the top of his head and lost half of one of his ears, but with all things considered, that wasn\u2019t too bad.<\/p>
John stayed at Whitley until 1996 when he got the itch to buy another truck \u2013 Girdy 2 \u2013 which was a teal blue 1986 Peterbilt 359 short hood with a 60\u201d flattop. He used that truck to haul wood pellets in a dry van for a while and then went to Rees Transportation, where he pulled a set of their A-trains, hauling \u201cmaxi loads\u201d of various building materials. In 1998 John bought a set of brand-new Western A-trains (40\u2019 front trailer and 20\u2019 pull trailer) which his son Josh owns today (and has since restored). He drove that truck for several years until he decided it was time for an upgrade in 2003.<\/p>
Girdy 3 was ordered brand-new in 2003 and was delivered in August of that year. The 2004 Peterbilt 379 was loaded with all the goodies, including an American Class interior package. With metallic silver paint and metallic black fenders with gold flake, a 250\u201d wheelbase, and a 475-hp CAT \u201cBridge\u201d motor hooked to an 18-speed, Girdy 3 cost $110K new, and, oddly enough, some 21 years later, is valued at $120K today \u2013 she was a good investment, for sure. John drove that truck until 2019, putting 1.2 million miles on her. Unfortunately, John was diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) in 2018, which forced him to sell the truck in 2019 to one of Josh\u2019s friends (Aaron) and retire from trucking.<\/p>
Born in 1986 and raised in Omak, WA, Josh spent a lot of time on the road with his dad. At about ten years old, he started going out with him in the summers, and they were often out for weeks at a time, but Josh loved it. At around 13 years old, John started letting Josh jump into the driver\u2019s seat and pilot the truck along quiet stretches of open road, and by 16, Josh was driving and shifting on a regular basis. After graduating high school in 2004, Josh got his CDL permit and went to work for a man named Joe Philleo, who continued Josh\u2019s driver training in a really nice 2000 Peterbilt 379 daycab, in exchange for Josh washing all his trucks and trailers. He learned a lot from Joe!<\/p>
One of Josh\u2019s friends had a used car lot, and at just 18 years old, Josh was selling cars and managing the place, and also trucking on his days off. At 20 he took a job at David Hannah Transportation of Tonasket, WA as a co-driver, getting experience and seat time, and at 21 he finally got his CDL. His very first solo run was a load to Trail, B.C. (Canada) in a 2000 Peterbilt 379, pulling a set of double hoppers filled with acidic fertilizer. And, if you know anything about that town (Trail, B.C.), it\u2019s located at the bottom of a very steep hill, and since it was winter, Josh got a lot of experience, very quickly. Later, he started doing the I-5 shuffle, hauling apples to Southern California and produce back.<\/p>
In 2010, at 24 years of age, Josh was approached by Gene Thornhill and his son Chris and offered a driving job at their company, PGH Excavating in Enumclaw, WA. But, to take this opportunity, he\u2019d have to move to the coast (the Tacoma, WA area). After a month of thinking about it, he took the offer, moved, and began driving for PGH, hauling open-top containers filled with contaminated dirt. Things were going good until Josh screwed up and got a DUI in his car, causing him to lose his CDL for a year. Advice from Josh: \u201cDon\u2019t do that!\u201d Moving back to Omak that year and selling cars, once he got his license reinstated, he went back to work at PGH.<\/p>
In 2012, he moved over to a company called Port Pass, hauling containers, in a beautiful lime green Peterbilt 389. Running all over Washington, Oregon and Idaho, he did that for about a year, and then went to JL Leasing, also in Enumclaw, WA, hauling very long pipes, some as long as 210 feet. In 2016 Port Pass became Dash Point, but Josh did not last there for long. By now, he was pushing 30 years old, his wife was pregnant, and he was at a point where he felt like he needed to get his life going.<\/p>
Josh and his wife were just getting ready to buy a house in 2017, but they decided to use their downpayment money to buy a truck and start their own company instead, and Josh Roberts Trucking was formed. Purchasing a brown 2013 Peterbilt 389 with cream stripes, a truck Clint Moore had built for someone else and featured in his September 2013 article, the truck has a 48\u201d flattop, a 280\u201d wheelbase, a 525-hp Cummins ISX, and an 18-speed. Leasing back on at Dash Point for about six months and pulling containers, he then got the opportunity to begin hauling steel, and he never looked back.<\/p>
Pulling someone else\u2019s trailer for a few months, Josh eventually bought his own \u2013 a 2000 Ravens stepdeck with a Conestoga top. About a year and a half later, he bought a sweet 2008 MAC Conestoga with a 12-foot spread, previously owned by Vinnie Diorio of Wisconsin, and then painted it to match his brown and cream truck. He still owns this truck and trailer and is currently in the process of refurbishing the combo. In 2020, Josh got the opportunity to buy a 1997 Peterbilt 379 that came with a 2018 Western quad-axle curtain van, a driver (Matt), and a dedicated fruit haul, and he took it.<\/p>
Unfortunately, on the way back from its maiden voyage, the engine in this 1997 Peterbilt blew up. Desperate to keep his steel haul covered and this new fruit deal intact, he called Aaron Smith, his friend who had purchased Girdy 3 from his dad, and said, \u201cYou told me if I ever wanted the truck back, just call. Well, I\u2019m calling!\u201d Josh bought Girdy 3 back in 2020 and it became his third truck, too. Eventually, the 1997 Pete got fixed and then Josh hired another driver, Jaime Perez, to drive for him. Jaime is still with Josh, and over the next few years, the company built up to 17 trucks. Today, Josh has 15 trucks and is running 13 of them \u2013 but Girdy 3 is still his pride and joy.<\/p>
In 2022, Josh took Girdy off the road for about a year to give her a little love. Buying a 2021 cutoff with very low miles and a Peterbilt Low LowAir suspension, Josh and his friend Jody Lovejoy cut the frame just behind the sleeper, welded it up, and stretched the wheelbase to just under 300 inches. They also smoothed out the frame by shaving all the bolts and then repainted everything black. Much of the original metallic silver paint is fading and peeling \u2013 especially on top of the hood, cab and sleeper, but Josh has no intentions of repainting that part of the truck, opting instead to embrace the patina. He would, however, at some point like to have the faded front fenders repainted in their original metallic black with gold flake color.<\/p>
Other changes Josh made to Girdy\u2019s exterior include a 12 Ga. front air ride kit, a new stainless grille and insert, along with a stainless visor and 20\u201d front bumper, all made by Brad at Outlaw Garage Kustoms in Custer, WA. The truck also got double-round headlights on Double JJ brackets, 34\u201d Hogebuilt stainless rear quarter fenders, stainless covers over the front fender braces, new scripted \u201cPeterbilt\u201d badging, 7\u201d RoadWorks stacks, a custom painted (black) steel rear light bar made by Matt Riley, and 3\u201d stainless cab and sleeper extensions. It also got a ton of LEDs with clear lenses, underglow lighting, polished one-piece mirror brackets, a painted Shox Box cover behind the sleeper, and a painted Merritt deck plate, with an inset connection box, made by Brad at Outlaw Garage Kustoms.<\/p>
Inside, much of the truck\u2019s American Class interior is still relatively stock, however it did get a whitewashed wood floor, custom Bostrom low-back seats mounted on Iowa Customs bases to get them slid back for more legroom, an SCI steering wheel, a silver glitter shifter knob, and a few glass watermelon lights mounted under the dash. The rosewood door inserts and armrests (from Rockwood) were added by John when he owned it, but Josh upgraded the stereo to a flip-down screen system with (2) 10\u201d JL Audio subs and several smaller speakers from Infinity, along with a 1,000-watt amp.<\/p>
Under the hood, the original 475-hp CAT C15 \u201cBridge\u201d motor was rebuilt to be a \u201ctuned\u201d 550-hp CAT 6NZ. Currently, there is nothing fancy done to the engine, but Josh plans to eventually paint the motor metallic silver with black accents and add polished air intake tubes. Josh also had all the original pinstripes, door logos, and the family ranch brand, along with both his dad\u2019s name and Josh Roberts Trucking, hand-painted back on the truck, but made to look old and a bit faded, to match the rest of the truck.<\/p>
The trailer is a 2015 East Conestoga with a Quick Draw tarpaulin system. The entire chassis and side rails were polished out by DS Wheel Polishing in Yakima, WA. There are also polished stainless boxes between the spread axles, a custom stainless panel, made by Matt Riley, in front of the front suspension, and plenty of lights (this trailer was mostly built for shows).<\/p>
The big question is always, \u201cWhere did the name Girdy come from?\u201d Well, I asked the same question, and Josh\u2019s dad John said that he used to call his mother-in-law \u201cGirdy\u201d (probably not an endearing nickname), and he also always said to the kids, when he wanted them to pick up the pace of their work or get moving faster, \u201cCome on Gravel Girdy, let\u2019s go!\u201d From that, somehow, all of John\u2019s trucks became Girdy.<\/p>
Along with Girdy 3 and Josh\u2019s first truck, the brown and cream one, he has a few other well-known rigs in his fleet. One of those is a very popular 2007 Peterbilt 379 that, like Josh\u2019s other truck, was originally built by Clint Moore and featured in one of his first articles with us back in February 2007, titled, \u201cThis One Actually Got Too Low!\u201d Back then, the truck was blacked out, including the wheels, and had a red frame. The truck ended up being repainted a grey color and our friend Jeff Houts from Oregon (and past cover trucker) owned it for a while. Josh always loved this truck, so when he got the opportunity to buy it, he jumped at the chance. He also owns an old 2017 RoadWorks show truck (they built one each year), which was originally ordered by Clint Moore, that is blue with white stripes.<\/p>
These days, the company hauls a lot of steel and other types of flatbed freight, along with some fruit, too. Running all over the United States (except the upper northeast), they also haul into Canada from time to time. Half of their trailers are Conestoga setups (a covered flatbed where the entire top slides open) and the other half are curtain vans (a flatbed with a fixed top and just the sides open), but they also have a few multi-axle \u201cmaxi\u201d setups, as well.<\/p>
Married to his wife Emily for the past ten years, the couple has two young daughters \u2013 Mia (7) and Jade (6). Emily was a nurse before having kids, but she stopped working for a while. Now that both girls are heading off to school, she is getting ready to rejoin the workforce. Josh also has an older brother named Ryan (42) who drives for the company, and when these two guys have time, they enjoy collecting, buying and sometimes building diecast truck models (Josh says he has about 500 of them). Josh\u2019s parents, John and Ellen, have been married for 50 years, and the family hopes dad\u2019s health will improve so he can be around for a lot longer.<\/p>
Comfortable with the current size of his business, Josh says he will grow if it is required, but he\u2019s not looking to do that. For years, Josh did everything \u2013 driving, dispatching, loading, working with customers and drivers, payroll, taxes, everything \u2013 but he recently hired someone to help him in the office, so he is excited about being able to get out and drive more. Some of the people he wanted to especially thank for helping him get started and supporting him along the way include his dad John, his wife Emily, Joe Philleo, David Hannah, and Kam (this one\u2019s for you, buddy). He also wanted to thank all his drivers for keeping the wheels turning and being a part of the Josh Roberts Trucking family. He couldn\u2019t do this without all of you!<\/p>
The last question I asked Josh during our three-hour interview was the last question I always ask: \u201cWhat is most important to you?\u201d And without hesitation, and a small crack in his voice, he said, \u201cMaking my dad proud.\u201d His dad always wanted to do what Josh is doing, building a company, he just never did it. And getting to take his dad with him to the shows and showing off Girdy 3 and all his other nice rides together has been a dream come true for Josh. And, based on what I witnessed at the show, at the photo shoot, and on the phone interview (John joined us for a bit), I got the feeling that John is very proud of his son. Josh, if making your dad proud was the goal, mission accomplished. Keep up the good work and keep on truckin!<\/p>
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