This month’s creation was built for Roger Rison (63) of Sabetha, Kansas. From an early age, Roger vowed to one day take over his dad’s milk-hauling business. And that is exactly what he and his wife Liz (of 43 years) eventually did! Moov’n Milk has provided Roger and Liz a good life – a busy, but good life. Hauling milk is a little different than hauling anything else. No matter what is happening, the milk must be moved.
Roger, the second child of four, is the son of Gerald and Darlene Rison. Gerald passed away in 1994, but his mom is still around. Have you ever heard the joke about someone being “the milk man’s kid”? Well, Roger and his siblings all are – literally! Roger’s dad was a WWII vet, and when he returned home from the war, he got a job delivering cream. Later, he got a regular route, picking up and delivering cans of milk to homes. In 1967 he landed a bulk milk haul, which he did until his retirement in 1988.
After graduating from high school, Roger went to automotive school in Wichita, Kansas, and then went to work for the Chevy dealer in Hiawatha, Kansas. In 1975 he bought a gas station, which included a repair shop, where they worked on milk delivery trucks, along with cars. His primary concern was keeping the milk trucks running, no matter what, even if it meant working through the night. Always entrepreneurs, Roger and Liz opened a bar in 1981. They have since sold the bar, but it is still in business today.
When his dad retired in 1988, Roger bought the business, along with a Chevy C-70 gas job with a 3,500 gallon milk tank on the back. But, as the routes got bigger, so did the trucks (he once had a straight truck with a 6,000 gallon milk tank on the back of it).
In 1998, Roger was forced to start running farther after the local processing plant closed, so they needed to change from straight trucks to tractor-trailers. Purchasing a new Peterbilt day cab in 1998, along with a 6,000 gallon tanker, the Peterbilt gave Roger quite a bit of trouble. Frustrated and fed up, he bought a Kenworth and vowed to never buy another Peterbilt.
Since then, Roger’s company has grown to include six trucks and trailers. In June of 2011, he hired a guy named Jim Boeckman. Jim now owns two of the trucks at Rison. One of them is a new 389 Pete that Clint recently built and sold to Jim. After Jim got this new Peterbilt home, he took Roger for a ride in it – and Roger liked it. Knowing that it is hard to beat a Peterbilt in the looks department, Roger tentatively gave Clint a call to maybe consider ordering him a new ride. Roger and Clint got along pretty good, so Liz picked the colors and away they went.
This new 389 is a 44-inch flattop featuring two-tone factory paint in gray and black. The rig also has a 550 ISX Cummins with an 18-speed, a moderate wheelbase, and FLEX Air suspension. When the truck showed up, the guys in the shop added a drop visor, stainless window trim pieces, Shift breather lights, and a dump valve on the steer axle. They also added a Shox Box, smooth (painted) deck plating, half fenders on Clint’s custom brackets, cab skirts, a louvered grill and extra cab lights. Clint’s dad chopped the air cleaners, which was a nice final touch.
Since taking delivery of the truck, Roger has changed the stacks and brought it back to the dealership to have the fuel tanks painted. Unfortunately, the new truck had a few issues in the beginning, so things got off to a rocky start. But, Clint and the guys in the shop were able to overcome these factory issues and the truck has been on the road doing a good job and looking good “Moov’n Milk” ever since.
