The crossroads at U.S. 50 and Missouri state route 87 in the town of California is nothing if not Rissler country. Exit from 50 and head south, where you'll immediately see to your left the site of two Rissler brothers' stores housed in the Crossroads Shopping Plaza: the Horse and Buggy Accessories chrome shop and Diesel Power Plus, run by John and Delton Rissler, respectively, two of five Rissler brothers (Arlen, David and Paul the other three) with various connections to trucking following the footsteps of their small fleet owner father.
Travel farther down 87 and you'll reach the previous Horse and Buggy location, from which owner-operator John Rissler ran his trucking business and was "selling lights starting in 2000," too, he said, with a growing specialty in LEDs early on. That morphed then into a variety of custom parts from other vendors. When John and company built the Crossroads facility, shaped in the form of a cross viewed from above, in 2021, the idea emerged to have an open house for the trucking companies and drivers, vendors and so many others who'd helped Horse and Buggy grow through the years.
John felt it "would be an entertaining way to give back to the public," too, he said. Thus, what's now the annual Crossroads Truck Meet was born. In its fifth year, this past weekend the non-trophied show drew well more than 100 truck entries in a daylong event, culminating Saturday evening with a catered dinner for entrants and numerous giveaways from Horse and Buggy, Diesel Power Plus and a bevy of vendors and show sponsors, from Roadworks (stacks and more) and Hogebuilt (fenders) to Clean Fire and its fuel treatments and many, many others.
Among owner-operators showing working trucks at the show was Wisconsin-headquartered Lucas Zach and his Little Z Transport business.
Owner-operator Zach hauls with his authority with this 2017 Peterbilt 389, powered by a 2WS Caterpillar 3406E and featuring an 18-speed transmission and a 275-inch wheelbase. It's hooked to a hopper painted to match.
Lucas Zach, pictured in-cab and with a freshly redone black-and-blue button-tuck interior.
Among show highlights for me? A long talk with livestock-hauling owner-operator Troy Bolin about his 1979 Peterbilt 359 (keep tuned), originally owned by Darrell "Huck" Huckaby through the 1980s but which Bolin bought and began running in 1991.
The rig is outfitted with its original 66-inch Double Eagle custom sleeper, still mostly original inside as well -- well-preserved by Bolin through the years. He hauls today in a different truck, though, as has been the case now for many years. The 359 is a showpiece.
What might be the standout feature of the rig, though, is the unicorn of a V8 under the louvered hood.
The truck's powered by its original Caterpillar 3408 motor, something of a rarity even back in the early 1990s when Bolin purchased the truck given it was offered in the 359 for a relatively short period in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Troy and Roberta Bolin
Keep tuned for more about these and other rigs on-hand for the show in California. Crossroads Truck Meet organizer John Rissler had two of his own trucks in the show, too, both featuring the Sovereign Blue paint shown below.
This Horse and Buggy Express 6NZ-Cat-powered 2000 Kenworth W900L, featuring the Studio Sleeper, powered Rissler and his family's work near the start of trucking career as a business owner.
As the family grew, so too did the truck. Rissler upgraded to this 2003-model Kenworth with a 120-inch ARI big bunk in later years.
John Rissler
Overhead at the end of Saturday, after the lights came on for the truck owners still parked. Find more shots from the show at the shop's Facebook page.Courtesy of Horse and Buggy Accessories
Did I mention the 50/87 crossroads was Rissler country? If you keep rolling South on Missouri 87 you'll also pass John Rissler's parents' place and in another couple miles reach the headquarters of yet another well-known Rissler, for many among Overdrive readers here. That'd be Paul Rissler, owner with his wife, Michelle, of Paul Rissler Transportation -- 2024 Small Fleet Champs in the 3-10-truck division.
The 2016 Peterbilt 389 is shown outside the small fleet's shop hooked to a 2024 reefer ready to roll to the site of the truck show.
Paul Rissler out at the show the next day
Keep tuned for more from the 2024 Small Fleet Champ, for sure. For now, enter this year's Small Fleet Championship yourself (open to fleets of 3-30 trucks). Entries opened just last week at this link.
