Every Labor Day Weekend, for the past 9 years, the folks at A & L Truck Supply have made their annual Central Valley Commercial Truck Show their labor of love. Held once again at the Fresno Fairgrounds in Fresno, CA on September 1-2, 2018, this year’s show had much better weather than last year, but with a lower overall turnout, I think last year’s blistering and record-setting temperatures kept some people from returning this year.
Last year, with just under 150 trucks on the scorching-hot paved parking lot with little shade for any relief, the temperature outside peaked at about 110 degrees. This year, with 109 trucks in attendance, the weather was still very warm, with temps in the mid-90s, but it was a lot more pleasant than the year before. However, with a slightly lower turnout, we figured some people may have still had bad memories from the previous year, and maybe just opted to stay at home. But, for the ones that did come out to the show this year, there was plenty of nice iron to admire, vendors to visit and friends to hang out with.
Most of the event is held outside, but there is a building that some vendors choose to be in – and the awards are held in there, too. Some of the vendors this year included we at 10-4 Magazine, Detail Garage, Elite Image (selling hats and shirts), Borrachos Apparel, Stay Loaded, Z Boys Detailing, Valley Chrome, Dynaflex, Trux, Grand General, Roll On Customs, and Central Valley Truck & Trailer Sales. Our special 25th anniversary issue had just been printed, so we handed a lot of those magazines out during the weekend.
Once the sun finally set on Saturday evening, the light show began. This is always a highlight of the event, as those cool California trucks are known for their unique and extensive (at times) lighting schemes. Walking around for several hours, taking pictures and talking with friends, we called it a night and headed back home around 11:00 PM (this is a “local” show for me, as I only live an hour away from Fresno).
With the strict air regulations being enforced more in California than most states, there are a lot of aerodynamic trucks being built on the west coast now, which dominated much of this show. There are still plenty of Pete 389s and KW W900s – even some cool old cabovers – but every year the number of nice aero trucks increases – and this year was no different. Making these trucks look cool takes a bit more effort and imagination, but many folks out west are finally figuring it out and building some very respectable rigs that look amazing and are still compliant.
Sunday afternoon went fast, and before we knew it, the show was winding down and the awards were being handed out. But, before all the winners were announced, a bunch of raffle prizes were given away, as companies like Trux, Wingmaster, Valley Chrome Plating, Z Boys Detail, Dynaflex, United Pacific, Hogebuilt, Forever Sharp, Detail Garage, Borrachos Apparel and Grand General donated several very nice items. Taking home the coveted “Best of Show” trophy this year was our good friend George Ballesteros, whose black and silver Peterbilt 389 and matching reefer was looking amazing.
Our congratulations go out to George, and all the other winners. We hope to see you next year, on Labor Day Weekend, as this “labor of love” will be held once again in Fresno. Thanks to everyone at A & L Truck Supply for working so hard to make this such a great show. And the winners were:
NON-WORKING ANTIQUE: 1st Jerry Salinas; 2nd Edgar Dejorgen.
WORKING ANTIQUE: 1st Ray Rodriquez; 2nd John of Action Towing; 3rd Stan Alles of Stan Alles Trucking.
PETERBILT (1994-2004): 1st Juan Martinez of JR Trucking; 2nd Ray Rodriquez of Lil Ray’s; 3rd Everardo Sanchez of Sanchez Trucking.
PETERBILT (2005-2010): 1st Ryan Golson of Valley Bulk; 2nd Everardo Lopez of Everardo Lopez Trucking; 3rd Eduardo Ponce of Ponce Company.
PETERBILT (2011-2016): 1st Leon Murillo of Leon Murillo Trucking; 2nd Michael Rodriguez Trans; 3rd Jose Ruben Vargas of R & E Trucking.
PETERBILT (2017 & NEWER): 1st Kevin Hawkins of RW Burkett; 2nd Francisco Salazar of Salazar Trucking; 3rd Chris of Mendonca Trucking.
FREIGHTLINER (1994-2004): 1st Alex Davalos of Davalos Trucking; 2nd Rodney Thur of Thur Livestock; 3rd Joe Avila of Avila Trucking.
FREIGHTLINER (2005-2015): 1st Emmanuel Acosta of Nor Cal Transport; 2nd Lulu Castro of Castro Trucking; 3rd Victor Meza of Aguila Real Trans.
FREIGHTLINER (2016 & NEWER): 1st Wyatt Dye of Machado Custom Hay; 2nd Kurt Dade of Walmart.
KENWORTH (2008 & NEWER): 1st Chris Killian of Mendonca Trucking; 2nd Junior of M & R Transport; 3rd Alex Gomez of S.S. Skikos Trucking.
VOLVO/MACK/INTERNATIONAL: 1st Calletano Sandoval of CS Transport.
SPECIALTY: 1st Peter Castanon of Double E Trucking; 2nd Jeff York of Joe Gomes & Sons; 3rd Pete Lora of Pete’s Auto Transport.
CABOVER: 1st Paul Anker of Anker Hay; 2nd Fred Van Dyke.
CONSTRUCTION/DUMP TRUCK: 1st Junior of Quality Material Transport; 2nd Clayton Scheiber of RW Burkett; 3rd Russ Roy of Bame Trucking.
COMBO (2013 & NEWER): 1st Flint McVay of McVay Hay; 2nd Enrique of E & E Trucking; 3rd Alfonso of S & S Trucking.
COMBO (2012 & OLDER): 1st Dylan Black of Hettinga Trans; 2nd Anthony Amescua of Rivera Trucking; 3rd Jr. Lopez of JR Transport.
SMALL WRECKER: 1st Roman Becerra of Nick’s Towing; 2nd Bryan Gonzalez of Gonzalez Towing.
LARGE WRECKER: 1st Aiver De La Torre of Prime Towing; 2nd DJ Powers of Eppler Towing; 3rd Russel Miller of Action Towing.
LOCAL DELIVERY: 1st Jose Ramos of R & B Produce; 2nd Derrek Ellis of Joe Gomes & Sons; 3rd Josh Vasquez of Tortilleria La Mejor.
BEST FLEET: Joe Gomes & Sons.
BEST LIGHTS (BOBTAIL): M & R Transport.
BEST LIGHTS (COMBO): Pete Lora of Pete’s Auto Transport.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Peter Castanon of Double E Trucking.
VENDOR’S CHOICE: Junior of Quality Material Transport.
PARTICIPANT’S CHOICE: (tie) Jose Ruben Vargas of R & E Trucking AND Chris Rocha of C Rocha Ent.
BEST OF SHOW: George Ballesteros of Ballesteros, Inc.
