Independent owner-operator Matt Niell, out of Seymour, Texas, has been trucking for more than four years now after an attempt to depart from the family business.
Matt Niell
So, he returned to trucking. “Trucking seemed way cooler after I got done with that,” he added.
Matt, at only 24 years old, is the owner of one-truck Matt Niell Trucking LLC, specializing in hauling feed, cotton burs and occasionally cattle.
At the 2025 Peterbilt Pride & Class parade and truck show, he showed his 1987 Peterbilt 359, recently completed at the time by Kevin Love and Stretch Customs, based in Lubbock, Texas, today after a 2024 move from Canada.
[Related: Pride, Class, 50-plus remarkable rigs: Owners honored in Pete parade]
The Niells bought the classic 359 about 2.5 years before the fall 2025 event in Denton, Texas, from Missouri-based Dustin Bates. The truck was in great shape upon purchase, Matt noted, and he ran it for about a year before he “got antsy one day” and pulled the sleeper off and the 7CZ C16 Caterpillar out of the unit to begin a customization project.
That C16 Cat is now painted white and features plenty of polished parts to make it stand out.
One of the first things he did was pull the Freightliner Airliner rear suspension off of it “and put low air on it,” Niell said. “I just wanted to bring it back to Peterbilt, you know.” They also rebagged the front end.
The paint colors on the truck are original, Niell noted, but the striping pattern is different. The stripes used to come up at an angle over the hood into a V pattern at the front, then back over the sleeper.
Niell said he prefers the new striping pattern on the unit today.
The Niells then had the interior done by BMR Custom Interiors in Paris, Texas.
The upholstery has silver stitching to match the exterior of the unit.
During the build process, however, the Niells realized “we can’t build them every day,” so to see it eventually completed, they called on Kevin Love of Stretch Customs to finish the job. At the time, Love had just moved his business to Levelland, Texas.
“It took him about a year, but they do about the best work we’ve ever seen,” Niell said of Stretch Customs’ work.
It’s unknown how many miles the truck has on it, though Niell suspects the number’s quite high. Given the nature of his typical work going to feed lots and dairies, he’s not sure he’ll work it on those rougher roads, “but if I get good highway loads, I'll probably drive it then,” he said.
[Related: 'Time capsule': Pristine zero-miles 2002 Peterbilt 379 glider]
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Matt Niell: Howdy. My name is Matt Niell. I'm based at a Seymour, Texas. I'm an independent. I pull a trailer for my dad there in Seymour, Texas. This is my 1987 Peterbilt 359.
Overdrive: What kind of work do y'all do?
Matt Niell: We haul feed and walking floors. A bunch of cotton burs. We haul a little cattle around there.
Overdrive: How long have you been in the trucking business?
Matt Niell: Four years. Yes, sir. I've been raised around it. I kind of cut my teeth on it.
Overdrive: So how long has your dad been in business?
Matt Niell: Oh, for himself, since the '90s. Late '90s. Yes, sir.
Overdrive: Was there really ever another option for you or was trucking always going to be it?
Matt Niell: Oh, well, I went to welding school for a little while, and then, but that really didn't work out. I liked doing that, but trucking seemed way cooler after I got done with that, so.
Overdrive: OK, yeah. Tell me about this truck behind you. How long has it been in the family?
Matt Niell: We got it two years, two and a half years ago, and I ran it for a year. And then we cut it, it had a Freightliner airliner suspension on it, but we cut it and put low air on it and rebagged the front end, put our southern kit up front and got it repainted. This ain't original stripe job. This is the original paint. Yes, sir. We got to get out there in Lubbock to do the interior, BMR Customs or something out there in Lubbock. Yes, sir.
It's got a C16 and 7CZ C16, 3.55s, 18 speed.
Overdrive: What kind of horsepower is it putting out?
Matt Niell: Oh it's just, it's pretty mellow. We got 57s in it still and we never turned it up. Really want it to last forever.
Overdrive: And what kind of condition was the truck in when y'all got it?
Matt Niell: Oh, it was good. Yes, sir. We got off Dustin Bates up there in Joplin, Missouri. Yes, sir. He did a lot of stuff to it. He stretched and put the airliner on it, but it was in real good shape. I just wanted to bring it back to Peterbilt, you know? Yes, sir. But it is in real good condition. He took real good care of it. I think it was kind of rough whenever he got it. It's what I heard. I think it's changed hands a bunch over the years. Yes, sir. But he did a lot of work to it.
Overdrive: How many miles does it have on it?
Matt Niell: We don't even know. We have no idea how many miles it had on it. A lot, from what we can see. So we replaced a lot of panels on it.
Overdrive: What was the build process like once y'all got it?
Matt Niell: Well, when we got it, I drove it for a little while, and then I got antsy one day, and we pulled the sleeper off and pulled the motor out. We weren't going to put that Peterbilt suspension on it, but then we went ahead and did it. Cut the frame and we made it the same length. Whenever we got it was 290. We made it 290 again.
But then, we can't build them every day, so we got Stretch Customs, he came from Canada down here to Levelland, and that's where he was working out of first, but he's got a shop in Lubbock now. We took it to him in Levelland, and he just about finished this truck in Levelland before he moved out there to Lubbock. Yes, sir. It took him about a year, but they do about the best work we've ever seen. Yes, sir.
Overdrive: You said that some of the interior has been done as well?
Matt Niell: Yeah. Yes, sir. It's all it's got. It's black interior. It's got little silver stitches. I tried to make the stitching match this stripe right here. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Overdrive: You know, what's the plan for it going forward? Any more changes?
Matt Niell: No, probably not any more changes for a little while. Probably just drive it on easy loads, yes, sir. We haul in a bunch of feed lots and dairies. I don't know if I'm going to be taking it in there, but if I get good highway loads, I'll probably drive it then. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Overdrive: Very cool. All right. Thank you, man.
Matt Niell: Thank you.
