This month’s creation was ordered for Todd Workman (32) of Morrison, IL but he and his family and friends did most of the customizing themselves, which just adds to the story. Todd is the youngest of three children of our good friends Arlyn and Linda Workman, featured in the March 2020 edition of 10-4 Magazine. Todd considers himself a 4th generation trucker, and he grew up riding in his dad’s sweet red and black 359, which he went out in every chance he could. Married to his wife McKenzie for two years, the couple has been together for 11 years and has two kids – a daughter named Kortlyn (5) and a son named Kole (1).
Always a hard worker, Todd started working at an oil change place while still in high school. After high school he landed a job with Andrews Construction where he learned how to operate equipment, do plumbing and welding, and pour concrete. They also helped him get his CDL. During his time at Andrews, they built the Cowpie Cattle & Truck Wash in Joslin, IL and Todd ended up working there, running one of the shifts. Throughout these years, he met a lot of people and made a lot of friends and ended up buying his first truck – a 1988 Peterbilt 362 double bunk COE – before he was even 21 years old.
Although he had big dreams of fixing up that first truck, by the time he turned 21, he bought another truck – a cool two-tone blue and black 359 with a 3406C Cat and a 15-speed. Todd had a friend named Scott tell him if he started his own business, he could pull one of his cattle trailers. So, with some help from his mom and dad, he got his own authority and insurance and went to work. He only did that for a short time and was then offered an opportunity to drive a nice truck for Vinnie Diorio of Rollin Transport in Wisconsin. He drove for Vinnie for two years.
Still owning that 359 Peterbilt, Andrews Construction offered him some local work, so he took it. After just 30 days he got bored, so he started looking elsewhere for work. At the time, a friend named Josh Hainstock was coming off the road to work in the office at Long Haul Trucking in Minnesota, and Josh wanted Todd to run his cool Peterbilt for him. So, Todd agreed, and drove his truck for 10 months. Stumbling across a beautiful 2003 Pete 379 long hood with a standup sleeper, Todd ended up buying it and running it for the next six years.
In 2019, Todd ordered a big 389 standup. After running the road with it for a few months, he found a local gig pulling a tanker, but quickly realized this 389 was too big for this type of work. After teasing about selling it, a friend made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Replacing that truck with a new W900L, Todd ran it for a year, and then heard about how the old dash Peterbilts were going away, and how I had a few of the last ones already on order. His wife said it’s now or never if you want one of those, so he took a 36” flattop slot I still had available.
Making a few tweaks to the order, the truck is a 2022 Peterbilt 389 with a 565-hp high torque Cummins, an 18-speed, LowAir, and all the good stuff. When the truck arrived, our guys hid the DEF tank, and Todd carried one of my body drop kits home with him. By the time the truck came in, Todd already had most of the items he wanted to add, including Dynaflex pipes and a pile of parts from AMCAM in Wisconsin and HD Equipment in Iowa. With help from his dad and others, they fitted all the parts, then took it to Barry Myers in Rosholt, WI for the paint. The interior was done by Chris and Dalton Gebhardt, who painted the dash black, and gave the truck a pre-1978 vibe. Carl at Rockwood helped by making some upper interior door sills to help complete the feel Todd was wanting, as well.
While at the Louisville show, Todd was asked if the truck had a name, and all he could think of was “It’s all about the story” – referring to all the dumb stuff we did when we were kids that have created a lot of fun memories and good stories to tell! For Todd, trucking is a mix of work and hobby, all rolled into one. And even though it is tiring to spend every weekend washing the truck and getting it dialed in (and sometimes he doesn’t even make it to the edge of town before it’s dirty again), he loves starting out the week looking sharp in a clean truck. And hey, it’s okay, it just adds to the story!
