Take the time to walk among the 53 custom rigs in the Great American Trucking Show’s Pride & Polish display area and you’ll see a wide variety of fine rides. One that caught our eye here at the 2010 GATS is the red & black ‘69 Pete owned by Charlie McDaniels…

Shop Profile: Outlaw Customs
Notable builds/trucks: Dead Man’s Hand, Vigilante, KMT 359
Location: Henderson, Colo.
Phone Number: (303) 952-8109

Outlaw Customs, headed by brothers Andy and Alex Gobel, spawned from transmission and differentials specialist Western Truck Parts, owned by their father Allen Gobel. Alex says the crew’s goal is “to think outside the box to provide cool custom products.

Anything [...]

Spawned from the San Antonio-based repair mega shop Triple R Diesel, the Texas Chrome Shop rang its bells of independence on July 4, 2005. It was then, says the shop’s co-owner Raul Mendez, “we got more into customizing and started building all kinds of different trucks.”

4 State Trucks owner Bryan “Bossman” Martin says his shop’s calling card is a “mild to wild” approach – from small custom upgrades to tricked-out custom builds, he and his crew can oblige.

Jeff Battler’s Ontario-based 12ga Customs shop started as a repair facility in 1990, doing general maintenance work and overhauls and catering mostly to owner-operators with more high-end needs.

When California flatbed hauler Ernesto Rubio turns into the Old Castle Precast prefabrication facility in the heart of Fontana’s industrial area, the security guards at the main gate wave him through as if he were a celebrity.

“Class Act” was restored from scrap condition by 35 high school students from the Clarion County Career Center in Shippenville, Pa. The crew then entered their rig into a MATS truck beauty show.

Mercer-leased over-the-road owner-operator and Fast Transport custom shop owner Ted Streit is on a quest to find the right Allis-Chalmers engine for his 1970 Kenworth W900A…

Custom Rig owners are always looking for ways to get an edge on their competitors using paint and chrome to bring a little more show to the shine factor. Wheel Creations Plus Inc., in Fresno, Ca., is taking that concept a step further by offering custom chrome plating in colors.

Don’t be caught napping when the feds finalize stringent health regs for sleep apnea and other disorders, many of them common among truckers. Your CDL could hang in the balance…

HOT USE FOR OLD OIL
Five Rivers MetroParks truck shop gets heat from recylcing used engine oil
Employees at the 25 Five Rivers MetroParks facilities in the greater Dayton, Ohio area feel like they’ve struck gold – black gold: They’ve recently started collecting used motor oil from service vehicles that maintain the system’s nearly 15,000 acres and [...]

Mix in 550 diesel-powered big-rigs and pickups with a sprinkling of monster trucks and jet-powered dragsters, stir with the enthusiasm created by an estimated 11,000 spectators, and top with perfect fall weather and you get the ingredients for a smokin’ good time…

Owners of working class show trucks spend a lot of time driving at night and this time of year it’s in snow, rain and fog. Poor driving conditions necessitate running the best “auxiliary” lights on the market. here’s how to choose the perfect setup for your rig….

East Coast Large Cars Owner Richie Acosta was amazed the first time he saw his prize-winning 2005 Peterbilt 379 extended hood replicated on a 1/24 scale on MySpace. He, like other big rig aficionados who’ve seen their trucks replicated on Christian Chapson’s MySpace page, are intrigued by the hobbyist, a native resident of Vierzon, France, who has had a creator’s passion for the tiny trucks since he was 12.

I’ve met a lot of movie stars and TV celebs during the 30 years I’ve had the privilege of being a magazine editor/photographer. But few are as cordial and genuinely nice as Alex Debogorski. His family is is just as nice.

One of the coolest custom rigs to hit the show truck scene this year rolled into the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas last week — and rolled out with accolades and awards. Ivy’s Poison, a 1986 Peterbilt 359owned by Kilgore, Texas-based Thomas Ivy, wowed everyone who saw it on display at GATS. This custom rig, its build process was closely guarded by 4 State Trucks’ Chrome Shop Mafia crew, won the prestigious Pride & Polish Best Limited Mileage Bobtail Paint award and other trophies at the GATS Overdrive’s Pride & Polish truck beauty show…

NEW DODGE RAM MADE FOR HAULIN’; 2009 Dodge pickup moves from the backseat of trucker’s buying choices to the driver’s seat with better power, ride & fuel economy. Job site, shop, at home or on vacation, the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 is one of those pickups that will look good and feel good doing whatever the task. The new Dodge Ram’s five-link coil-sprung rear axle, 390-hp Hemi, weatherproof bed-side storage, interior refinements akin to a luxury sedan, and retroaerodynamic body styling all sound wonderful on paper and look sweet in person. But what determines any new vehicle’s true worth is when tires touch ground…

Cody Lindamood is all smiles and full of the enthusiasm shown by a lot of first-time Pride & Polish entrants. Having a third place Rising Star trophy sitting on his green Peterbilt’s passenger’s seat as a result of his effort adds to the excitement. “I started driving a truck when I was 10,” says the teenager…

Each time Leon Kersey stopped to service his truck on his east coast to west long haul, he slipped and slid, balanced precariously on the side of his Pete 379, trying not to pull out one of the canon plugs as he serviced the engine or cleaned the windshield. After four years on the road, he had had enough. “I owned a 379, and I realized something more was needed,” Kersey says. It’s dangerous, especially after it’s been raining or if you’ve stepped in grease, to climb on the truck, he says. So he did something about it.

Most of the compounds found in air fresheners sold at truck stops and grocers are generally safe when contained in trace amounts, as some are in hundreds of household products. Still, users should note label directions regarding prolonged exposure. As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urges using air fresheners away from open flames and only in well-ventilated spaces, take heed if you tend to run for many hours while recirculating air in a closed cab. Formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, p-dichlorobenzene and aerosol propellants are basic ingredients in most air fresheners. Here’s what you need to know….

When it comes to antique truck shows, few are as big as the Antique Truck Club of America’s annual Antique Truck Show and Flea Market held at Macungie Memorial Park in Macungie, Pennsylvania.

This year’s June 19-21 event, the 30th anniversary of the well-attended truck show sponsored by Mack Trucks, saw more than 500 trucks of all makes and models roll into the park followed by a an equally big crowd despite the wet weather…

Old School and Gangsta’-style custom rigs compete for glory on the open road and in the clsoe-quarters of truck beauty shows. Hear what the owners of both think about the other’s rides…