The Hay Sled

Macedo Hay out of Merced, CA owns this one-of-a-kind 2-axle Peterbilt hay sled. Macedo has been hauling hay for quite some time, and for many years now, they have had a unique location to deliver to – Yosemite National Park. Scott Sakugawa is the lucky part-time driver of this rig. Scott, who has driven for several companies in California’s Central Valley, has never owned a truck, but you would think he has by the way he takes care of this one. Being a full-time rancher, Scott doesn’t have time to go trucking very often, but he does love getting out on the road every now and again in this rig.

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Scott goes up to Yosemite around 30 times a year to deliver hay to the several horse ranches there. Scott gets the hay out of Merced County (which has to be certified weed free), and then takes it to the beautiful park. Sometimes, like on the trip I went with him on, they needed it in the barn so we had to hand unload it, but most of the time the owner, Karen Macedo, just follows Scott in the squeeze and handles the unloading.

Ordered new by Jim Macedo at the Peterbilt dealer in Turlock, CA, this truck was built on December 5, 2005. Now owned by Karen Macedo, Jim’s widow, this blue and white 2006 Peterbilt 379 features a 625-hp Cummins ISX, an 18-speed, and a 214-inch wheelbase – and it only has 217,000 miles on it. You would think a hay truck would have more miles than this, but since it only runs the loads to Yosemite out of the valley, along with a few other local runs, the miles on this slick truck have been kept to a minimum. Peterbilt sprayed the blue and white on this truck, and then Rico Painting in Merced hand-painted all of the awesome graphics.

Scott started helping Jim haul the hay when he was sick and getting treatments for cancer. After Jim passed, Scott continued to help Karen haul the hay, and still enjoys doing it today. Scott knew Jim because he was friends with Scott’s grandpa and a family friend – trucking really is a small world. Macedo has delivered hay up into Yosemite National Park for twenty plus years now, and Scott wants to keep the tradition going as long as Karen will let him do it. Karen is very thankful for Scott running the truck for her in honor of her late husband.

Born and raised on the island of Maui, Scott runs a few cattle ranches there, along with one in Honolulu, and several others, including two in Merced, CA. When Scott isn’t trucking, he likes to hunt, fish, go to the lake, meet new people and, last but not least, go to truck shows. Scott likes to go to the shows in California that support a cause – big or little – he tries to make them all, if he can, and show off the Macedo hay sled in honor of its original owner, Jim Macedo.

The day before the photo shoot, I met Scott off of Highway 99 in Merced, and rolled up to Yosemite that night with him. It was fun to see all of the lights lit up, as we headed into some cooler and fresher mountain air. Along the way, we went through a long tunnel in the park and stopped in the middle to take some snazzy light shots. After finally getting to our destination at 3:30 in the morning, we caught a few hours of sleep and then hand unloaded all of the hay, one bale at a time, on an elevator, which was the first time I had ever seen this done. We left at around 10:00 on Saturday morning, and got a lot of strange looks from the tourists in the park who I am sure thought we were lost or something.

I am glad I finally got the opportunity to feature Scott and Karen’s truck, and had an awesome time going up to Yosemite. Scott wanted to give a huge “thank you” to Karen Macedo for allowing him the opportunity to keep Jim’s memory alive, and for letting him take the truck to all of the shows, too. Scott also wanted to thank me (Jared Fagundes Photography) for taking the pics, and his girlfriend Sage and her three girls for helping him clean the truck and get it ready for the truck shows. Jim may be gone, but his cool hay sled, and his legacy, roll on.