This month’s truck is the result of one of my favorite times of the year. As most of you know, our dealership lets me do something special for our local farm show. For this year, I had held out a 389 build slot for the farm show truck, but then I found out that I was allowed to get a 589 early. My friends, family, and coworkers all agreed, and we decided to get ahead of the game. One of my lucky customers grabbed my 389 slot and I turned my focus to the future – building my first 589. The world is always changing, and if you don’t change with it, life will pass you by.
Imagine how much we have progressed in the past 100 years. The model A Ford was being manufactured, and Henry Ford used to say, “You can have any color, as long as it’s black.” The previous mode of transportation was a horse, so the automobile was a great change. I can only imagine the demand to get a car then, so making them all the same color made manufacturing much faster. The color black might not have been what people wanted, but they could always paint it another color later.
When trucks change, as they must, I hear people say tons of negative comments. I get it, nobody really likes change, but we always try to make the best of it. We can usually modify the newer trucks to make most folks happy.
In my eyes, Peterbilt has always honored the heritage of trucking and has always catered to the people that really don’t like change. Their truck designs look similar to the early glory days of trucking, but as government regulations are continually put into place, all manufacturers can do is the best with what they get. And in today’s ever-changing world, I am happy that Peterbilt has done the best with what they got.
This all brings us to the new 589 Peterbilt. It will never be an iconic 359, but I think our friends at Peterbilt Motors did the best they could with the task at hand – it could have been so much worse seems to be the general consensus. And with some minor changes, the old look is still there. Currently, Peterbilt and KW have the only square-nose trucks – the 589 and W900 – which is rumored to be discontinued in 2027. If people support the 589, eventually Peterbilt will be the last of the square noses, because we have all seen the W990, and it is not square. So, I asked all my friends and colleagues to help us embrace the 589, and I hope you will, too.
This year’s farm show truck is a 2024 Peterbilt 589 with a 44” flat top sleeper, powered by an X15 Cummins with 2,050 torque, hooked to an 18-speed, with low low air-ride and a car-hauler front axle, sitting on low 22.5s. Due to interior color restrictions on the first group made, I decided to go all black. Black has always been associated with slimming, especially in women’s clothing. The new windshield is the biggest hurdle with this model – it is round and huge. So, I figured, black might help hide that. Plus, I was given a budget this year. I am not good with budgets, but I did the best I could (black is the least expensive color to paint).
When the truck showed up it sat around for a while because we were busy building the final 389s from last year. Once we got within a few weeks of the farm show, I finally got it inside. One of our long term employees and friends, Charlie, said he was up for the challenge. We also got some last minute help from Tyler, Jimmy, Kenny, and Taylor. This truck is #083 of 589 of the “Dawn of Legends” 589s, so it already has some added value.
My good friends at the weld shop, Bub, Ronnie and Storm, made a few “what in the world are you thinking” parts. Our friends at Shift Products sent me a nice pair of fiberglass half fenders, our friends at Lincoln Chrome helped with some reasonably priced 7” stacks, and a local tint shop (Warrior Tinting) offered to wrap the air cleaners. My friends Billy, Anthony, Joel, and Joe really stepped up for my little fine detail parts. Ross and crew at KC Peterbilt’s body shop helped dial in the rest of the small tweaks. And, of course, my dad, who is always such a trooper, chopped the air cleaner screens, which is not as easy as it was before.
I hope everyone that sees this one will see that even on a small budget the model 589 can still be part of the American trucking heritage. If you or your friend might be interested in buying this year’s farm show truck, it is for sale after the show. Please call me at KC Peterbilt for details. I have always had more ideas than friends with money, but if you would like me to order you a new 589, I am here for you. I feel like Peterbilt did the best with what they had, and with a few tweaks, you too can carry on the American heritage of trucking and embrace new beginnings in a 589.