The Great American Trucking Show puts Dallas on the trucking map Sept. 7-9. Thousands of truckers are expected to attend the third-year effort at the Dallas Convention Center. In addition to browsing new products, attending seminars or visiting with suppliers, truckers can also take advantage of the many entertainment options available in Dallas. GATS attendees can get half-price tickets to a Texas Rangers ballgame during the show’s run, as they host the Kansas City Royals that weekend. On Sunday, football fans can get a free Dallas Cowboys hat and special seating if they attend the game between Dallas and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Special deals are also available for the Mesquite Championship Rodeo at Resistol Arena Friday and Saturday night, Sept. 7 and 8. Call Kelly Hayward at (817) 273-5864 for more information.
Overdrive magazine’s Pride & Polish will be held indoors for the first time at this year’s Great American Trucking Show. According to show organizers, a portion of Exhibit Hall A will be dedicated to displaying the best-looking show trucks around. Pride & Polish organizers say more than 75 show trucks are expected to compete in this year’s event.
Truckers will receive awards in about 20 categories including year class, specialty class, antique class, engine and interior. Trophies will go to the top three winners in each class. Awards will also go to two Best of Show winners, a Participants’ Choice and a Charities’ Choice. For more information on Pride & Polish at GATS, call (888) 673-2568.
This year’s GATS will mark the culmination of Overdrive magazine’s 40th anniversary Voice of the American Trucker Tour. A Volvo VN770 pulling a trailer containing an Overdrive exhibit focusing on the industry’s last 40 years has been running cross-country this summer. The truck parks at Petro and TA truckstops each night where truckers can view the exhibit or tour the truck and trailer equipped with high-tech features such as built-in Internet connections, a Bendix X-Vision night vision system and other safety and driver productivity technologies.
GATS promises a full lineup of seminars including workshops on electronic fuel tax reporting, how to incorporate, health insurance options for truckers, 2002 emission rules, surviving a safety audit and many other pertinent topics. The Partners in Business seminar for owner-operators is also scheduled. A new feature this year will be a commercial truck pavilion featuring Class 3-7 light and medium trucks.
Show hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (888) 349-4287 or check out the GATS website at www.gatsonline.com.
