Beautiful Big Rigs

TRUCKER AT HEART

Last June, Richard Reese of Evans, Ga., suffered a heart attack while making a delivery in Jasper, Ind. He’s grateful to still be driving his 2000 Peterbilt 379, hauling golf and utility vehicles for the company he is leased to, F&W Transportation. Reese has decided to make the truck, which has a 475-hp Caterpillar and Dana 3.55 rears, his last. “It has become an ongoing project,” he says. The interior has received the most changes, including wood flooring.

CLEAN CARRIER

Dave Marx hauls hot asphalt in his 1997 Western Star with a 500-hp Detroit. Hanging on the frame of his 2000 Fruehauf 7000 trailer is a 20-pound propane torch to keep the asphalt from getting cold. He also carries 30 feet of steel hose so that he can load or unload asphalt at just about any plant or job site. Dave, whose home is in LaSalle, Mich., is leased to M.L. Asbury and says that he “jumps when customers call so I can be on time.” He also makes a point of keeping his equipment clean: “You don’t want to look like an open tar bucket on wheels.”

COMPLETELY REBUILT

Rig: 1988 Peterbilt 379
Engine: 425-hp Caterpillar
Owner: Christopher Riggle
Freight: Steel

HOMEMADE

Rig: 2003 Kenworth T800
Engine: 475-hp Caterpillar
Owner: Tom Gollnick
Freight: Logs

DRAGON

Rig: 1977 Peterbilt 359
Engine: 475-hp Cummins
Owner: Myron Pribyl
Freight: Gravel and blacktop