Dodd City, Texas-based Kaleb Hammett showed off this 2017 Peterbilt 389 at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, last month as part of the PKY Truck Beauty Championship.
The truck added to its trophy case at MATS with a Best of Show in the Working Class Bobtail category, along with first-place trophies in Working Class Interior – OEM Cab & Sleeper and Working Bobtail Lights, a second-place finish in Working Class Engine, and a third-place finish in Working Bobtail Custom Paint & Graphics.
New to the truck are the custom tooled leather panels throughout the interior, each with nods to Kaleb Hammett’s grandfather, Harry.The truck is full-time worker, hauling heavy equipment for the family business, Hammett Excavation. The rig is a rolling tribute to Hammett’s grandfather, Harry, who started the company in 1963 and passed away from lung cancer in 2014.
As Kaleb describes in the video above, the paint scheme was inspired by his grandfather’s favorite colors, and the truck’s striping is a mix of Harry’s old-school with Kaleb’s new-school. The truck’s name, “Ya Savvy,” was also inspired by Harry, with the phrase being one of his favorites to make sure people understood what he was telling them.
New to the rig since it won Best of Show at the Great American Trucking Show Pride & Polish last summer are the leather panels throughout the interior. Long X Trading Co. out of Wickenburg, Arizona, came out to Texas to create more than 25 pieces of tooled leather with nods to Harry hidden in them.
The truck is spec’d for heavy haul with a double frame throughout, a 20,000-pound front axle and 52,000-pound rears. Under the hood is a 620-hp Cat C15 6NZ, an 18-speed and two-speed rears with 3:90 on the high side and 5:36 on the low side.
More photos of the truck, including more leather panels from the interior, can be seen below:
Hammett’s truck earned a second-place finish in Working Class Engine in the PKY Truck Beauty Championship at MATS last month.
The rear window features a sticker honoring Kaleb’s grandfather, Harry.
The interior was done by 4 State Trucks.
A leather panel in the sleeper features the same “In Loving Memory” decal that is on the back window of the truck honoring Harry Hammett.
Each panel includes a nod to Harry Hammett in some way or another, such as the tractor in this one on the passenger door.
