Wisconsin-based owner-operator Nate Stone, leased to Yeager Trucking out of Shawano, Wisconsin, has been trucking for a little over seven years, the last two leased to Yeager.
He got his start in the business working on a farm, where he first got his CDL. Stone’s sister was a dispatcher at the time for a crane company, so he went to work there and “they trained me on hauling big cranes,” he said.
Nate Stone with his 2005 Kenworth W900 at the 2024 Waupun Truck-N-Show.
He’ll hit his two-year mark as an owner-operator in December, and despite jumping into the business in the midst of the post-pandemic economic downturn for trucking, “it’s going OK,” he said.
In the early stages, he knew he needed to make money, so he “just ran. I didn’t turn down anything. I went wherever.”
Up until January 2024, Stone operated a 1993 Kenworth W900 that was in need of some rewiring and other work. He'd been on the lookout for another truck to purchase to keep him rolling. That’s when he stumbled upon the 2005 Kenworth W900 featured in the video up top.
It was previously owned and custom built by Missouri-based Terry Aslinger. Stone said that when Aslinger bought it, it was a “rolling chassis” that was going to be built into a show truck by the previous owner. That chassis had a 330-inch wheelbase, too long for Aslinger’s operation, so he cut it down to 295 inches. He also added a 1999-model Cat 3406E and a newer transmission.
“It’s basically a brand-new truck,” Stone said. When he got it, the chassis only had around 250,000 miles on it and the overhauled engine had just around 5,000 on it.
Stone showed the truck at the 2024 Waupun Truck-N-Show, where he picked up a first-place trophy in the Standard DOT-Regulated Light Show competition for the Soft Side/Conestoga class.
He’s kept it mostly as Aslinger built it, except for a couple of changes. It had double-hump fiberglass fenders on it when he bought it, and he’s since swapped them for stainless half fenders.
Stone had a friend, Bryce Novitski, build new T-bars for the rig, and they mounted the new fenders and T-bars. He also swapped out the lights for glass lenses.
“That was pretty much the only touch I wanted,” Stone said. “Pretty much everything else, I’ve just kind of been adding lights here and there, but pretty much I’m not gonna touch it. It’s good enough for me.”
One of the more unique features on the truck is a lace inlay in the upper blue stripe running down the cab.
“A lot of people don’t notice the lace inlay until they walk up to it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s neat,’” Stone noted. “When the sun hits it just right, it pops, so it looks nice going down the road. I get compliments on it, so it makes me happy.”
Inside the truck, custom cabinets put in by Aslinger make for good storage, and Stone said he’s been “adding lights here and there” to “try and make it my home since I’m in it all the time.”
[Related: HDR LLC's stunning custom flagship 2007 Kenworth W900L]
Find plenty more views of the rig in the video up top, and for more videos and custom-equipment features delivered to your email inbox, subscribe to Overdrive's weekly Custom Rigs newsletter via this link.
Nate Stone: I'm Nate Stone. This is my 2005 Kenworth W900. I bought this back in January, been leased on with a guy out of Shawano, Wisconsin, Jason Yeager for two years now. Well, will be two years in December, but I've got a old '93 kind of back on the back burner, and that's where this one came in.
Terry Aslinger built this down in Missouri, so that's who I bought that from. So I've just kind of been doing my little touch to it, but I liked how it sat and I was like, I need it. It was immaculate. So the way I justified it was I was looking for a new truck. I couldn't sit for two months to rewire my truck. So looking for trucks probably for two months straight. And this popped up and I messaged Terry right away, and it had a fresh overhaul with 5,000 miles. The tranny was rebuilt on it, so I was like, had all warranty. I'm like, all right, so I should be okay with this.
So I was able to talk him into buying this and been running it since the end of January. So when he bought it, it was a rolling chassis. The guy that had it was going to build it into a show truck, he told me it was like 330 inch wheel base. He was like, it's too long for me. So they ended up cutting it down to 295. So then they ended up putting a motor in it. They put a '99 3406E in it, and then just a newer transmission. So I was like, it's basically a brand new truck. So I was like, that works for me.
So it had had double hump fiberglass fenders on it and well, the bolts pulled through it and I would think the fiberglass would go on it, but it ate through the brand new tire I had. I was like, oh no. And me being a bigger guy, I couldn't get underneath the truck. So I had a buddy of mine, Bryce Novitski, out of Wisconsin. He ended up building the T-bar for me and the back bar. And then we mounted the new fenders to the T-bar, and I kind of wanted the lower look, and I just like the patterned glass lenses look. So I put glass lens on everything. So that was pretty much the only touch I wanted. Pretty much everything else, I've just kind of been adding lights here and there, but pretty much I'm not going to touch it. It's good enough for me.
The paint, a lot of people don't notice the lace inlay until they walk up to it and they're like, oh, that's neat. I was like, like it when the sun hits it just right, it pops. So it looks nice going down the road. So I get compliments on it, so it makes me happy.
But yeah, it's just a gray interior and then I've just kind of been adding lights here and there. Try and make it my home since I'm in it all the time.
