Through the influence of a past boyfriend, Darian Stephens’ (pronounced Darrin Stevens) mother got involved in the trucking industry in the early 1980s. Darian began driving a truck shortly thereafter. From 1984-1991 Darian drove as a company driver for Carl Betz Trucking out of Orfield, Pennsylvania. Hauling local loads of U.S. Mail and driving a dirt truck, Darian learned the ropes of the road. In 1991 his mother helped him buy his first truck. Really liking its new style of hood (at that time) and wanting to be different, Darian purchased a Freightliner Classic XL. That same year he signed on with National Carriers and has been there ever since.

When buying his first truck, Darian revisited his childhood for inspiration regarding color and graphics. When he was a teenager, his mother and her boyfriend had a Pete cabover show truck that Darian was very fond of. When they got rid of the truck, Darian kept a list of the specs. When he ordered that first Freightliner, he had it painted the same color (Orchid Metallic) and spec’d it very similar to the old Pete he loved so much. Four years later, after a few good years, Darian ordered his second Freightliner Classic XL, in the same color (Orchid Metallic), but this time changed the color of the graphics.

This second truck, a ‘95 Freightliner Classic XL, is the rig featured on our cover this month. Ordered as a daycab with a 290” wheelbase, the first thing Darian did was take it to Double Eagle and have them install one of their large custom sleepers. From there, he tricked it out very close to what you see today. Over the years, Darian’s truck came to be known as one of the finest around, winning many truck shows throughout the country. But after a few years on the road, Darian knew it was getting time to give it a total make-over. Taking advantage of several weeks off while recuperating from a double hernia operation last summer, Darian began working on his hood and doing some customizing to his headlights.

Following the trend of Double JJ’s single round headlights seen on so many Petes today, Darian, with inspiration from the classic Chevy and Ford street rods of yesteryear, designed and built an entirely custom headlight assembly. Lights were purchased at a hot rod shop and a bar that runs across the front of the grille and holds them was fabricated by Greg Schoenly and Mark Harkleroad. After the welding was complete, RT Street Rods chromed the bar. Then there was the tedious process of removing the old headlights. After cutting out the lights from the fenders, the holes were patched and then layer upon layer of fiberglass was applied until the patched holes were completely invisible. After this was completed, it was time to repaint the front end with a fresh coat of Orchid Metallic. Darian decided to add a few “ghost” checkers to the top of the hood. When finished, his truck looked totally different and very cool.

A few months later, Darian debuted his “new” front end at a truck show in Terrell, Texas. Winning first place at that show, Darian qualified to compete in the finals of the Stars & Stripes Competition being held at the 2001 Mid America Trucking Show in Louisville. To help increase his chances of winning and do the major restore he was wanting to perform, Darian shut the truck down around Christmastime and worked hard on it for three months, until the Louisville show came around in late March. Taking the truck down to its bare frame rails, Darian started at the foundation and worked his way up from there. The final product, which you see on the cover and these pages now, is even more incredible and cool than ever before.

Having got such a positive response from the checkers at the truck show in Texas, Darian decided to add a few more. By the time he was finished, the truck had over 10,000 “ghost” checkers on not only the hood (including the inside) but also on the top of the cowl, the front brake drums, the CB antenna bases, the inside of the door jambs, on the driveshafts, on the new fiberglass full fenders in the rear, the back of the tool boxes and the inside of the tool box doors, just to name some of the places. Darian did almost all the taping himself, with help and guidance from Mark Hollon at Denver Truck Painting in Denver, Pennsylvania. He admittedly went a little crazy, but the checkers are so light that sometimes you can’t even see them (depending on the lighting). Mark also sprayed the new stripes and graphics using Light and Dark Violet Metallic, Pink Panther, Continental Blue, Dark Surgeon Blue and Silver, then outlined everything with Basic Black. Thanks to the several finishing coats of clear that were applied, the colors look especially “deep” and vivid.

While painting the truck, one of Darian’s doors was accidentally dropped, causing a bad gouge in the window tint. Trying to make the best of a bad situation, Darian started thinking about how he could “improve” upon the idea of windows tinted with film. He decided to replace not only the side windows but the windshield with “bus glass” which has a light blue factory tint on the top few inches. Darian had the glass cut and installed so that the tinted portion was on the bottom of the windows. Darian says it not only looks cool but helps knock down the glare coming off his always clean hood.

All of the “shiny” pieces were either replaced or redone. All ten of the aluminum wheels were polished (inside and out), the tanks were polished all the way around, the bottom of the boxes were polished and a custom deck plate that hinges open like a trap door was added for easy access to the stainless-wrapped air tanks. Every nut and bolt was dressed up with Lifetime Lugnut’s chrome covers. The truck’s dual exhaust features 7-inch stacks with built-in mufflers. A new stainless light bar, wing and visor (fitted with four purple neon strips underneath) were added. Finishing off the exterior, a set of three chrome train horns was mounted to the frame rails on each side of the truck between the rear fenders and the tool boxes.

Darian’s spacious custom sleeper is 94” long, 94” wide and 84” tall. Complete with a refrigerator, TV/VCR, microwave oven, hot and cold running water, a ceiling exhaust fan, a 2200 watt stereo system with three amps and eighteen speakers, Darian’s truck has all the amenities of home. The back wall of the sleeper is covered with a diamond-patterned tuck and roll and features four diamond-shaped windows, each with a purple neon insert outlining the shape of the window. The interior is adorned with Rosewood and Red Oak from Eagle Interior Accents, several stainless steel accessories from Bonzai Products, and hand-crafted billet aluminum knobs and switches designed and made by Darian and one of his buddies.

As nice as the interior and exterior of Darian’s truck is, where he really scores the big points at the shows (and with fellow truckers) is under the hood. The truck came with a stock factory Detroit Series 60 which had 470 horsepower and 1550# of torque. Darian upgraded the old motor to 500 horsepower and 1650# torque - just to make sure he had enough juice for those long grades. The engine, which is coupled to a 15-speed overdrive transmission and 3:58 Rockwell rears, is painted Dark Violet to match the truck’s exterior and is covered with chrome. Here is a partial list of some of the chrome and stainless pieces under the hood: valve cover, rocker cover, twin alternators, all water and oil tubes, oil pan, flywheel housing, fan hub, water pump, oil cooler, starter, air compressor, steering arms, tie rod ends, drag links, brake chambers, spider housings and all of the access plates on the bottom side of the transmission. Stainless steel loops were added around the driveshafts to keep the grease from splattering. This beautiful engine is truly spectacular (see it in a full color inset photo on the centerfold).

Everyone thinks the truck is named “Keystone J.R.” but in reality it doesn’t have a name. Keystone J.R. is Darian’s nickname that evolved over the years. When he was a kid, everybody called him Junior, which later turned into J.R. When he began driving with National, there were lots of other J.R.s - Kansas J.R., Arkansas J.R., etc. Being that Darian was from Pennsylvania (the Keystone State), they started calling him Keystone J.R. From there, the name stuck, so Darian had it painted on the side of his sleeper (with more “ghost” checkers behind it of course) - but it’s still not the name of the truck!

Darian is proud to drive for National Carriers and is grateful for the chance they gave him back in 1991. Darian likes driving solo, running up to 150,000 miles a year (less if he competes in many truck shows). His truck is currently approaching 900,000 miles on the odometer. Darian’s mother and her husband, Dolly and Doug Beacham, have been running as a team for National for the last seven years. Dolly signed on with National just a few months after Darian did in 1991. Based in Liberal, Kansas, National’s team of 800 owner operators haul things such as meat, containers, livestock, pharmaceuticals, paint and other general freight items throughout North America.

As a devout (but not pushy) Christian, Darian had a Bible verse from the Book of John (John 3:16) painted on the back of his sleeper with the words “Do you Believe?” under it. This simple question has sparked interesting conversations with both friends and strangers alike, but always reminds him of where his heart is and where his true strength and blessings come from.

Darian wanted to thank his sponsors (National Carriers, Eagle Interior Accents, Bonzai Products, Lifetime Lugnut, Firestone, Exide, Dutchman’s Truck Service, OKC Truck Detail, Denver Truck Painting and all the rest) for their help and support. Darian is now considering building a trailer to match his truck. A fellow show-trucker told him, “If you start competing in the Combination classes, I ain’t comin’ anymore!” I guess that is a testimony to how tough Darian is to compete against. And with a truck as clean and custom as his is, you can see why. Darian’s cool ride is definitely destined to go down in the truck show record-books as a true “Classic”.