The big-bunk ‘Low Budget Lounge’ of Missouri-based SPB Trucking

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Updated Oct 8, 2021

Lawson, Missouri-based Gary Jones, the owner of SPB Trucking, showed his latest working show truck, a big-bunk 2007 Peterbilt 379 named “Low Budget Lounge,” at the Shell Rotella SuperRigs working truck show in Hampshire, Illinois, in July.

Jones uses the truck to pull oversize loads coast-to-coast. "We specialize in the bigger, the better," he said. A lot of what SPB hauls is crated machinery out of Southern California to Michigan for the auto makers. Having the bigger bunk added some weight to what he was used to with a standard sleeper, but "I'm so overweight all the time anyway, I permit everything," he said. "I'm about 3,000 pounds heavier than I was, and I can permit it."

Like other trucks of Jones' featured on Overdrive in recent years, "Low Budget Lounge" also showcases the results of hundreds of hours of airbrushed paint work for the flames on the hood and the back of the sleeper. 

The name of the paint job is "Real Fire." The name of the truck is airbrushed into the back of the cab. All of the flames and the lettering on the truck were hand-painted.

This 379 features a 132-inch ARI sleeper that Jones wanted for more comfort on the road. His wife, Devery, drives her own truck, but the couple goes to the same places, so the bigger sleeper gives them more space to spend time together when they aren't driving.

The interior of the rig is also outfitted to match the exterior, except for the bunk when the interview was conducted. Jones said he had the red leather with black stitching to redo the sleeper, but it hadn't been done by the time SuperRigs rolled around.

Under the hood is a 625-hp Cat C15 with an 18-speed and 3:36 rears.

Gary Jones' 2007 Peterbilt 379Gary Jones showed "Low Budget Lounge," a 2007 Peterbilt 379, at the Shell Rotella SuperRigs working truck show at the end of July.

Gary Jones' Low Budget Lounge Peterbilt 379 airbrush paintThe airbrushed work on the truck took about 300 hours. It was done by White Trash Customs.

Gary Jones' 2007 Peterbilt 379 interiorAt the time of the SuperRigs show in July, only the cab of Jones' truck had been customized with the red and black scheme to match the outside. Jones had plans to do the bunk in a similar scheme.