Meant To Be

This month’s cool creation was built for Bert Cano of Boerne, Texas (on the west side of San Antonio). Bert, who just replaced a truck that was featured on our August 2007 cover, has went through a few changes since we last wrote about him – some good, some not – but one thing that still remains the same is Bert’s faith, and he has plenty of it! Like Clint, Bert (42) believes that everything happens for a reason, and his latest truck (seen here) is a perfect example.

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Shortly after his article in August of 2007, Bert’s wife Maria was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, even though she never drank any alcohol. Since then, much of their time has been devoted to getting her the help and treatment she needs. Going to specialists, universities, nutritionists, and even folks who use alternative medicines, Maria is doing alright, but with their strong faith in God, they know He has always had a plan to take care of her and their family.

When we first met Bert, he lived in northern California, but that quickly changed after he made a delivery in Boerne, Texas. Everyone in Boerne was respectful and friendly, even the teenagers, and Bert immediately fell in love with the place. After calling Maria and telling her about the town, they decided right then and there that they would move their kids to that area. Two years later, they loaded up a 53’ van and headed to Texas.

Since moving to Texas, Bert’s two boys are flourishing. Raul (17), who likes bodybuilding, stands 6’-4” tall and has been playing Varsity football since his freshman year, and Jesus (11), plays both lacrosse and football. Both boys are heavily involved in football and both are in Deon Sanders’ league year-round. Bert and his wife Maria have been married for 20 years now, and both are happy that they moved to Texas.

If you remember anything from Bert’s past article, he was proud to be one of the first owner operators at Knight Transportation, but shortly after the magazine came out, he left Knight and joined the Landstar team. Now, he hauls general freight in all 48 states for Landstar, running under his company name called Cano Exxpress.

Being an avid reader and follower of 10-4 Magazine, Bert loves to read Clint’s articles to see what he comes up with next. So, when it came his time to update, he gave Clint a call. Since then, the two have become good friends. They spent hours on the phone and looked through tons of pictures before finally choosing a color combination and ordering the 2014 Peterbilt 389 with a 78-inch high-roof sleeper, an ISX 525 Cummins, an 18-speed, Low-Air suspension with air-ride on the front, and all the good stuff.

Between the two of them, Bert and Clint came up with a different-looking burnt orange and burgundy color scheme, but when the truck showed up, it was not exactly what either of them were expecting. But, they both decided that it was meant to be, so they went with it. After sketching up a stripe layout while at lunch, Don Cooper was chosen to make it all happen. Bert wanted to have crosses included in his paint job so that he would be reminded every day that God is good, and Don did a great job. Everyone in the shop really stepped-up to make sure that this truck was everything Bert was hoping for.

Cooper painted lots of stuff on the truck including one of Clint’s stainless visors (he left the bottom edge shiny), the fuel tanks and urea tank cover, the half fenders and flush deck plate. He also painted the whale tail, breathers and body drop panels. The paint inside the truck was sprayed to match the outside, including some very detailed airbrushed crosses on the dash and door panel trim to match the ones on the truck’s exterior. The guys in the shop also installed seven flush cab lights, Dynaflex “Tech 9” pipes, a specially-made rear light bar, and, of course, Clint’s dad chopped the air cleaners.

Like his previous truck, this new one is also dedicated to the memory of his sister, Nancy Cano, who was tragically killed in a car accident in 1993 when she was a senior in high school. Her name is painted on the back of the sleeper, along with the words, “Gone But Not Forgotten.” Bert has always considered Nancy to be his guardian angel – she keeps him safe and watches over him as he travels all across the country.

The truck isn’t over the top done – just enough. Bert said it’s funny – the color really depends on the light and what time of day it is. Sometimes it looks orange, and other times it looks like root beer brown. The guys don’t really know what color it is, but it’s not like anything else they have seen before, and they know that they were not in control. Everyone loves the end result, so apparently “someone” knew what they were doing – or, it was just meant to be!