The 4th annual California Trucking Show was held on October 12-13 at the Ontario Convention center in Ontario, CA, and once again the aisles were packed with people! With about 250 vendors filling the main hall, this was another really good event. But what separates this show from many others is the foot traffic – the aisles were jammed with attendees all weekend. Once again, we failed to bring enough stuff to get us through the entire show (magazines and posters) and had to bring more to restock on Sunday morning.
Setting up our booth on Friday, come Saturday morning we were ready to go. When the show opened that morning, it started out busy right away, and stayed that way all day. Walking the floor and checking out the booths, there were a lot of insurance companies, outfits dealing with emission systems, parts dealers and trucking companies looking for drivers. The atmosphere of this event was very inviting, and it seemed that most of the people in attendance were there to do business, not just browse.
Walking the crowded aisles, it was great to see and visit with so many of our advertisers on display. Companies like Franklin Truck Parts, DTIS, Atlantis Insurance, Diesel Exhaust & Emissions, Axle Al’s, Big Strappers Apparel and Diesel Camshaft Repair were all there, as was Axle Surgeons, Toy’s 4 Trucks, Empire Company, Grand General, Vargas Diesel and Western Truck Insurance. Many friends and advertisers who did not have a booth but were walking the show also stopped by our booth to say hello including the folks from Mayen Truck Accessories, Enrique Vanegas of EVR Trucking, John Murray of M & J Sales & Service, YouTube “celebrity” Alex of the Asian Mai Show and others. My sister Tiffany and brother-in-law Mark even stopped by to say “hi” and help us in our booth a bit on Sunday.
Another advertiser that was at this show was Transit Insurance Services. They have been with us and on our back page since Edition #1 – their ad has appeared on the back cover of every one of our magazines since the beginning. However, we just learned that they were bought out by another company and will soon cease to exist, so this issue will be their last. We would like to thank them for their over 26+ years of support. It was a great run, and we appreciate their commitment to stick with us for all these years and wish everyone there all the happiness and success possible in their next endeavors. We will miss you!
With beautiful weather as always in southern California, a new and larger area was opened outside to accommodate more trucks. Typically, the beauty contest portion of this event is more of a display than a full-blown competition, with only space for about a dozen bobtails, but this year, with lots of help from the crew at Zephyr Polishes, there were almost 50 trucks and a lot more classes. All the trophies and awards were provided by Zephyr except for the People’s Choice trophy, which was sponsored by us at 10-4 Magazine and Rockwood Products. Thanks to Carl at Rockwood and his team for making a unique trophy for us to be proud of and present at this event.
Some of the big winners this year included Ruben Vargas (his red Pete 386 earned four 1st place trophies), Dalton Trucking (their two-tone green 1962 Freightliner cabover earned a 2nd place in its class and Best of Show in the non-working category), Aaron Hoffman (his blue 2018 Pete transfer with white stripes took a 2nd in its class and the Best Specialty award) and our current cover truck owned by J. Delgadillo Trucking (their white and green Coronado got a 2nd in its class and the Best Freightliner award). But the biggest winner of the weekend was German Vargas – his super clean maroon and silver 2014 Kenworth W900L took four 1st place trophies, Best of Show in the working class and the coveted People’s Choice award!
We would like to thank Oscar Medina and his entire crew that run the California Trucking Show (they also produce the Texas Trucking Show in Houston, TX each June) for making us feel welcome and giving us whatever we need. They take good care of us, and everyone else at the show, and work hard to make it a productive weekend for all involved. Dates for 2020 have not yet been confirmed, so stay tuned to 10-4 for future updates as they become available. If you missed this year’s show, we encourage you to be there next year. The aisles may have been packed with people all weekend, but there is always room for a few more! The 2019 winners were:
2000 & OLDER: 1st Place David Montes of Montes and Son (2000 Peterbilt); Runner-Up Dalton Trucking (1962 Freightliner).
2001-2011: 1st Place Ruben Vargas of R & E Trucking (2011 Peterbilt); Runner-Up Charlie Reyes of J. Delgadillo Trucking (2011 Freightliner).
2012 & NEWER: 1st Place German Vargas of Vargas Trucking (2014 Kenworth); Runner-Up Aaron Hoffman (2018 Peterbilt).
BEST METAL SHINE: Alex Gomez (2018 Kenworth).
BEST PAINT: German Vargas of Vargas Trucking (2014 Kenworth).
BEST GRAPHICS: Ruben Vargas of R & E Trucking (2011 Peterbilt).
BEST INTERIOR: German Vargas of Vargas Trucking (2014 Kenworth).
BEST ENGINE: Ruben Vargas of R & E Trucking (2011 Peterbilt).
BEST PETERBILT: Ruben Vargas of R & E Trucking (2011 Peterbilt).
BEST KENWORTH: German Vargas of Vargas Trucking (2014 Kenworth).
BEST FREIGHTLINER: Charlie Reyes of J. Delgadillo Trucking (2011 Freightliner).
BEST INTERNATIONAL: Mark Tarascou of Tarascou Trucking (2013 Lonestar).
BEST SPECIALTY: Aaron Hoffman (2018 Peterbilt Transfer).
BEST OF SHOW (SHOW TRUCK): Dalton Trucking (1962 Freightliner).
BEST OF SHOW (WORKING TRUCK): German Vargas of Vargas Trucking (2014 Kenworth).
PEOPLE’S CHOICE (Sponsored by 10-4 Magazine): German Vargas of Vargas Trucking (2014 Kenworth).
