Conroe, Texas-based Thomas Milstead has been trucking for going on 30 years, following in his father’s footsteps.
For the last 10 to 15, he’s been in the heavy-haul and over-dimensional niche of the industry, most recently leased on with Gary Jones and his Lawson, Missouri-based SPB Trucking business.
Thomas Milstead
High and wide freight is his comfort zone, he said. “A lot of people don’t like the big, but I do. I like the size.”
Milstead hauls all over the Lower 48 -- “wherever he sends me, I’ll go; I don’t turn nothing down,” he said -- and almost every run involves the use of pilot cars. “And some of the bigger stuff, we have to have the police and stuff like that, depending on what where we’re going."
The owner-operator said he’s seen the drop-off in freight and rates the last few years like everyone else, but he said he’s been able to stay busy with Jones. “Gary knows so many people and has got such good contacts that, you know, I really haven’t slowed down a whole lot.”
Milstead does all of his heavy and oversize hauling with the 2020 Peterbilt 389 featured in the video up top.
He bought the truck new in 2019 as “a regular three-axle truck.” All the custom features, Milstead has added over the last six years.
He brought the truck to the Mid-America Trucking Show this spring, but he didn’t enter the truck in the PKY Truck Beauty Championship. It was parked in a lot nearby instead, but with the work put in, it could have fit right in on the show truck lot. Among additions are the pusher axle -- a must in his line of work -- along with Talladega Fiberglass fenders all around and an air ride front end.
He painted the tanks and added vinyl tank end covers to match the red frame.
The visor was on the truck and color-matched when he ordered it, but otherwise he “built it from just a factory truck to what it is now. … It’s not super-fancy, but it’s clean and simple. That’s the way I like it.”
The headache rack was another addition Milstead made to the rig.
Milstead also added an EZ Pete interior with custom work in the cab and sleeper.
[Related: Holding fast to a father's legacy with Tim Eacret of EZ Pete's Interiors]
Under the hood is a 605-hp Cummins with an 18-speed and 3.36 rears. “It’s not a super-heavy-haul truck; I didn’t build it to haul super-heavy. I built it for what I do, and it does fine for everything I do.”
Typical loads for Milstead are under 80,000 pounds on the deck, ideally around 72K-75K. “But I have pulled 90 and 100 on different trailers, and I did pull one load that was 186 gross,” he said. “So, it’ll do it, but I just don’t do it every day with it.”
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Thomas Milstead: It's a '20 model. I bought it brand new in '19. I've had it six years now and I've done everything to it. It was a regular three-axle truck when I bought it. I've put the pusher, the fenders, everything, and built it from just a factory truck to what it is now.
I am Thomas Milsted out of Conroe, Texas. I do heavy haul for SPB trucking. I put the Talladega Fiberglass fenders on the front and all the back. It's got the pusher on it, got the air rod front end. I ordered it with the visor there and you see all painted to match and the tanks painted. And other than that, I put the headache rack. It's not super fancy, but it's clean and simple. That's the way I like it. That's about all I've really done. Nothing extravagant. I just changed the fenders and the put the tank ends on it and that's about it.
I keep it clean, real clean. So all the fenders are Talladega, everything is Talladega Fiberglass. The front, the rear, the deck plate is all Talladega Fiberglass. Put 'em on shortly after I bought it, I put 'em all on. So that's been on there roughly five years and no trouble with 'em. None. I mean, they're the best as far as I'm concerned. That's all I'll ever use. It's got custom interior in it by EZ Pete and all. And that's about all the interior. It's got the cab and the sleepers done. It's still got the carpet, but I keep it covered with a mat.
It's got a Cummins 605 Cummins with 18 speed with 3.36 rears. It's not a super heavy-haul truck, but I didn't build it to haul super heavy. So I built it for what I do and it does fine for everything I do.
