TEACHER’S PETE
Fourteen years ago, a friend asked school teacher Gerald Mangum of Monroe, N.C. to drive for him during the summer. Magnum was intrigued with the idea; nine years later, he was hooked. After 29 years of teaching, he retired and became an owner-operator. Magnum loves his 2000 black cherry Peterbilt 379, powered by a 500-hp Detroit.
BLUE PRINTS
When Jay Johnson of Concord, Va., brought his truck home last year, his 3-year-old daughter Bailey said that it looked like “Blue’s Clues.” So Johnson decided to decorate the 2001 Freightliner with blue and magenta dog paw prints, similar to the ones used on the television show. The truck – powered by a 475-hp Cummins ISX, 10-speed Meritor transmission and 3.70 rears -hauls steel coils, beams, bridge girders and lumber. “Bailey is now 4 and has polished more chrome than the average adult,” Johnson says.
BLUE BEAUTY
Rig: 1981 Kenworth W900A
Engine: 450-hp Caterpillar
Owner: Jackie Rookard
Freight: Fresh and boxed meat and fresh produce
HOUSEHOLD HAULER
Rig: 1995 Peterbilt 379
Engine: 425-hp Caterpillar
Owner: W.M. Terry
Freight: Household goods and special commodities
ROCKY’S RIDE
Rig: 1996 Kenworth T300
Engine: 250-hp Cummins
Owner: Joe Rocky
Freight: Construction and aggregate products
