The ‘Hillbilly Hilton’ cometh, winneth awards

user-gravatar Headshot
Updated Sep 11, 2014

Melvin Davis’ Michigan ‘Hillbilly Hilton’ comes out of the graphics shop a champ
I shared some in-progress coverage of Davis’ custom 2000 Freightliner Classic long in the making several months back in a post you can take another run through via this link. This weekend, the truck’s independent owner-operator took home big trophies for it up in Hartford, Mich., near Davis’ home base, at the annual truck show at the Van Buren County fairgrounds. It’d come back with new graphics to finish the 163-inch custom-fabricated sleeper’s exterior shortly prior.

“They even put a picture of me on it,” says Davis: 

The mammoth sleeper on the 2000 Classic was built by mating two smaller sleepers back to back.The mammoth sleeper on the 2000 Classic was built by mating two smaller sleepers back to back.
Davis noted via his Facebook page that after the show he didn’t “want anybody to get the wrong idea, but I had a difficult time getting my head through the door after winning four trophies,” he wrote, three of them for the new build. The 2000 won 1st in its class and the People’s Choice and Mary Rose awards.Davis noted via his Facebook page that after the show he didn’t “want anybody to get the wrong idea, but I had a difficult time getting my head through the door after winning four trophies,” he wrote, three of them for the new build. The 2000 won 1st in its class and the People’s Choice and Mary Rose awards.
Davis’ 2000 Freightliner ‘Hillbilly Hilton’Davis’ 2000 Freightliner ‘Hillbilly Hilton’
A view from the passenger sideA view from the passenger side
Davis’ older rig, the 1988 FLD at right (which you can read more about via this Channel 19 post), bagged the 2nd-place trophy in its class. “The A model KW” also pictured here, noted Davis, “won 1st place and well deserved it at that.” Who’d Davis cast his vote for? The KW, no doubt, he says.Davis’ older rig, the 1988 FLD at right (which you can read more about via this Channel 19 post), bagged the 2nd-place trophy in its class. “The A model KW” also pictured here, noted Davis, “won 1st place and well deserved it at that.” Who’d Davis cast his vote for? The KW, no doubt, he says.

pretty good driving‘Pretty good driving’
Reader Michael Newman sent in an email with that subject line, including only a link — to this video posted to Facebook from a combo-driving competition — the video’s been making the rounds of the driver-centric Facebook pages, but I’m still unsure of its origins, exactly (believe it comes from Australia, at least). Pretty good driving indeed. Take a look at it via this link, come on back and tell me: How would you fare on a similar course with a conventional hood?