News early this week was that there's a very particular 1990s Kenworth T600 up for sale. Owner-operator Alan Kitzhaber's been on a journey to fully hanging up the keys since his last run back into Wisconsin from the Mid-America Trucking Show with that particular T600. The 1995 model, Cat-powered (original engine, overhauled three times), regular Overdrive readers will be well familiar with.
"You have no idea how much stuff you can pack into a truck" over 30 years' worth of operation, Kitzhaber told me in April, "until you have to unload it."
Pictured here a couple months prior to MATS, owner-operator Kitzhaber's Kenworth T600 shows some battle scars in its paint work, yet hauls strong thanks to extra-diligent attention to maintenance through the years.
Three decades' worth of memories there -- better yet, three decades of profits for his Oakridge Transport business that, combined with steady investments, have set Kitzhaber up for a comfortable retirement after years working directly with the distribution network of Menard's.
As you'll see in the video up top, at MATS in Louisville, Kentucky, Kitzhaber walked Overdrive video editor Lawson Rudisill and I through all the mods he made over the years. Some big, some small, yet all with a singular goal -- a truck built to run as efficiently as possible.
Think of today's video (up top) as an entry in our long-running weekly Custom Rigs series of truck highlights, yet featuring a different sort of customization. As Kitzhaber told me the first time we talked in 2024, shortly after he crossed the 4-million-mile threshold on the odometer fairly ealry in the year:
"Some guys customize their truck via paint, chrome, lights, and things like that. I customize my truck to make it a more comfortable place to be, a more profitable truck, a more efficient truck."
[Related: A plan for better business: Why do you want to be an owner-operator?]
Up front, the grille guard's eliminated the necessity of replacing the hood, likely some radiators, too -- four deer and counting, Kitzhaber said. In back, he converted the drives to just a single drive axle with a rear tag axle to "reduce the weight and increase fuel economy," he said.
Speaking of weight savings, Kitzhaber's T600 is set up with super singles on the drive and tag axle, likewise known for fuel economy benefits. In the photo, too, you can see the condenser for the Thermo King TriPac auxiliary power unit on the rear sleeper wall, and at the bottom of that wall on the deck a Proheat block and bunk heater, both units running on fuel in a dedicated diesel tank. Kitzhaber can use No. 1 diesel there, with tax benefits, too. (The Proheat's been on the truck for five years or so, Kitzhaber estimated, after a run of Espar heaters he used for bunk heat for 20 years.)
Those are a but a few of the modifications the owner's made through the years. One he doesn't address in the video but which has saved him headaches more than once is a custom digital video set-up in the dash. He can't remember exactly when he first put a cam there, but his current set-up's origin traces all the way back to a Sony HDR-CX760 digital-video recorder he purchased in 2013 for "probaby around $1,500," he said. Prior to that, he was using a point-and-shoot still camera that also had video capability.
"When I felt that sixth sense" any professional driver develops over time "that something stupid was about to happen," he said, he'd hit record and the camera would store the next few minutes.
The CX760 was a big upgrade in that respect, with 96 gigabytes of storage, expandable with auxiliary cards. Though the camera's performance specs claim a maximum 60-something-GB card capability, owner-operator Kitzhaber put a 512-GB card in it and, well, found it worked just dandy for more than a full workday's worth of recording.
The camcorder is equipped with "optical image stabilitzation," Kitzhaber said, crucial for recording "while you're driving. It was top-of-the-line-stuff at the time." At a certain point over the last 12 years he decided to upgrade to a newer model for better image resolution, yet the "new camera broke down on me internally. It couldn't handle the vibration." The pictured CX760 is "12 years old and still rolling" strong.
He's been sideswiped twice over the camera's long life in operation -- once on the driver's side, taking out a mirror, the other time a hit-and-run by an uninsured driver doing even more damage. The video evidence certainly proved useful in both cases.
He devised a custom mounting solution of his own design, as he explains, starting with that little point-and-shoot cam, taking a piece of two-by-four and drawing the outline of the base of the camera, then carving it out of the two-by-four. He then "put bondo in the cavity" that resulted, "laid saran wrap over it, and pressed the camera into it."
When he upgraded to the CX760, he started with the saran wrap on the dash, bondo on top of that to fit it to the shape of the dash, then gluing a half-inch piece of plywood yet on top of that. He separated the video camera's mounting hardware then from the top of his tripod and epoxied the hardware to the plywood, creating a stable base for the camera, positioned in the right lower corner of the driver's side of the divided windshield.
As he says in the video up top, it was just another seemingly small modification that paid huge dividends in time, illustrating his long striving to keep learning something new every single day. "So anytime I run into a problem," he said, "I always try and think of how can I prevent that from happening in the future, or something I can do differently. Can I be better prepared with tools or repair equipment?"
It certainly served Kitzhaber and his T600 well over 4.1 million miles.
Catch plenty more about Trucker of the Year Kitzhaber's many mods to the rig in the video up top.
Overdrive's 2025 Trucker of the Year program, sponsored by Commercial Vehicle Group and Bostrom Seating, recognizes clear business acumen and unique or time-honored recipes for success among owner-operators. Nominations are open for exceptional owner-operators, whether leased or independent. Nominate your business or that of a fellow owner (up to three trucks) via this link for a chance to win a custom replica of your tractor and a new seat from Bostrom and CVG.
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Alan Kitzhaber: So anytime I run into a problem where I have a situation, I always try and think of how can I prevent that from happening in the future or something I can do differently? Can I be better prepared with tools or repair equipment? And so that's that. That's what leads to a lot of the stuff that you just saw.
Good afternoon, fellow truck drivers. This is Alan Kitzhaber, the 2024 Truck Driver of the year for Overdrive magazine. We're at the Mat's 2025 show. Now we're going to look at my truck, which is a 95 to 600. And I've driven this truck since it was new in January of 1995. And it's got a caterpillar 3460 engine in it, 550 horsepower, 13 speed transmission, and a single drive axle for the tag axle.
It did not come that way. I upgraded that to a single drive axle just to reduce the weight and increase fuel economy, and also upgraded the transmission from the original one was a 13 speed. This one is a double overdrive 13 speed. Well, start off the front here. That's taken out for deer so far, so that's saved me for hoods and probably some radiators and so forth too.
If you look in here, I've got, what's an air dog? You can see the two filters for it helps take the, air out of the fuel and behind here I have a Arctic Fox inline hydronic fuel heater for in the wintertime, that'll warm your fuel. So I haven't bought any kind of diesel fuel treatment for it ever since I put that on.
So it's been on there for like 15 years. Got a train horn. Everybody needs one of those. Right then in the back we've got the Pro Heat which is for heating the engine in the winter months, as well as keeping the cabin warm in the winter months. And then I also have around on the other side, you'll see I have an Apu and there's the, condenser for the APU.
It's got a sliding fifth wheel. If you look here, you can see that this is not a drive axle. It's just a dead axle tag axle. Then coming around on this side here, there's a fuel tank that I have, which that fuel is just strictly for the Pro Heat and for the Apu. The. If you is mounted right in here, that way I can use diesel number one or a highly treated diesel fuel in the wintertime.
And those will always start. And if I can get those started those will warm up the fuel. The Pro Heat will do its job and the truck will start. Will be good to go. Since I'm from Wisconsin, we deal with some really cold temperatures at times. And too many times when we had really cold weather, I'd have fuel that gelled up on me.
And even if I put in more than the recommended amount of anti gel, I'd still get gelled up. So that prompted me to put the Arctic fox on. And the other thing about having this separate fuel tank here is the fuel that I use in there is a tax credit for that fuel. So there's a little bit of savings tax wise.
And then there's also you can't see it here too. Well you might be able to see it right up through here. There's an automatic greaser there. Up underneath that the catwalk you can is where the manifold is for the, greaser. It's really hard to see as far as under the hood, there's not too much other than just the engine as far as other accessories.
While I do have the OPS filter, you can see that right here. Oil purification system for bypass filtration. You can see the filter that green one. And then I also have Pressure Pro tire pressure monitoring system in it. It's on all the tires. Yeah. Right here. You see this this that you screw that on. That's a sensor that, goes to the control unit that's in the truck.
And there the antenna I have is in the back of the truck. You can't jump in the passenger side or you can't. No, I didn't get a bunch.
I don't know if tipping this down maybe make it a little easier to see.
And then on this side, I just took the seat out and put a built a box so I can put the cooler on. And I have a place to keep my atlas and my logbook from and other things. Box full of gloves, just there's more efficient storage. And then of course, I got the microwave with the DVD player and the TV.
There's a refrigerator down underneath here. And then I made this up. So I have a kind of a desk to work on that actually, was a part of one of the articles that, Todd did just keep learning. Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. Just a reminder to keep learning.
Keep your brain supple. No, I don't think I did mention that I have 4 million miles. Actually I don't. It's 4.1 million miles. It's actually 4,105,000. Almost. So, now, not bad for driving a truck. Same truck for 30 years. More than 30 years now. And a lot of that just simply has to do with, being really diligent about maintenance.
Same engine overhauled three times. Diligent maintenance goes a long way to keep that truck going. If you're willing to do the maintenance and keep it going. And the bottom line is, you know, I've got a shop that I take my truck to that I just drop my truck off, I leave my personal vehicle there. I drive home, tell them what needs to be done.
They work on it. If you got a scenario like that, it sure makes it a lot easier to keep your truck maintained. And, building a relationship with a good shop is really beneficial because it's all about maintenance, keeping it maintained. And if you're willing to do that, you can drive it for a long time, and you have to take a look at what makes the most sense financially.
Is it keeping that older truck and putting it in the shop on a regular basis, because it's going to need to have regular maintenance? Or do you want to buy a new truck and have to go to the dealership every time something goes wrong, because it's under warranty and have to wait in line and deal with the emissions sensors and so forth?
You know, you have to weigh that all out yourself and see what, what works best for you. It's JR truck repair in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. There's one other thing that I could show you on this side here. I'm. Open up the side box. Another thing that comes in really handy. Too.
I'm gonna have to move some stuff to to view it. Right there you can see a hose reel. It's about 150ft of hose there. That comes in handy every now and then. And it's it's plumbed into the truck, so I don't have to hook anything out. Just pull it out. And it came in really handy when you had trailers that needed to get cleaned out.
I could go all the way back into the trailer and then just let air clean it out. And then right up right here is where my spare alternator is in a box there. So I have a spare alternator with a pulley mounted on it. So if it goes bad, you can fix it right then and there. I think you thought of everything.
Well, as you do your job, whether it's truck driving or otherwise, you're going to have problems. You're going to run into problems if you learn from those problems and try and do something to make it not be an issue the next time around, like the alternator. So that's that's what leads to a lot of the stuff that you just saw.
