Daniel and Phyllis Snow of Harrison, Ark., have lived more than the last decade with their long-in-progress 1996 Freightliner Classic XL, “The Goose” to their son Jayme’s workhorse “The Duck,” a custom 1999 XL you got a close look at two weeks back now. They bought the rig in 2005, more or less a stock working hauler at that time with nary an extra light or piece of stainless on it, as Daniel tells in the video up top.


Owner-operator Daniel Snow’s story is one of pairing back from ownership of a bull-hauling fleet with up to seven trailers at its largest point, scaling back over time to a single truck and bringing family up into the business. I met the Snows at the Joplin, Mo., Guilty by Association Truck Show in September, getting at close look at both Daniel and Phyllis’ big-bunk Freightliner and that of their son, Jayme, parked up next to each other for fellowship with family and the close friends they’ve made at the 4 State Trucks show over the years.

There’s more to the truck, powered by a DDEC 4 Detroit Series 60 and transmission that are recent replacements for the original powertrain in the rig, that I’ll share later this week as part of the Overdrive Radio podcast — namely, as you might have expected, there’s some kind of a story behind how the Snows’ rig came to be known as The Goose, alongside Jayme Snow’s The Duck. Stay tuned.