People throw the term “legend” around a lot these days, and there are plenty of them out there still trucking it up every day, but Aaron Puterbaugh (42) has not quite risen to that level of status – yet. He is, however, becoming a legendary driver (and soon to be owner operator) at Long Haul Trucking (LHT), an amazing and dynamic company based out of Albertville, MN. Each year, LHT orders a few special company trucks for some of their more detail-oriented drivers, and Aaron just happens to be one of them. His current Peterbilt 579 seen here, adorned with extra graphics and other unique touches, is one of those special trucks, and Aaron enjoys taking this rig on LHT’s behalf to various shows and events across the country.
We first met Aaron back in 2021 at the Wheel Jam Truck Show in Huron, SD. Aaron was at the show with his daughter Xoey, who at the time was six years old, as she was spending a few weeks out on the road with her dad (something Aaron likes to do with all his children). I took pictures of the two of them together and just Xoey in front of Aaron’s rig, which our resident “Poetry in Motion” monthly column author Trevor Hardwick featured in his July 2021 poem entitled “Bring Your Kid!” which highlighted the value of taking your children out on the road with you and sharing your passion with them. From there, we saw Aaron at a few more shows, and our friendship grew.
Last year, while preparing for the 2023 Guilty By Association Truck Show (GBATS) in Joplin, MO, we realized we did not have a ride setup for our pallets going to the show for our booth. That month, we were celebrating our 30th anniversary as a publication, and had a lot of special swag and shirts made, so it was imperative that we got our stuff there, and didn’t go broke doing it – I mean c’mon, we know a few folks in the trucking industry, right? Normally, it isn’t a problem, but this time we were striking out. Eventually, we made a post on social media about it, and Aaron was the first to answer, saying, I’ll talk to my boss and see what we can do.”
After a few days of going back and forth between Aaron and Anthony Book, Long Haul’s VP of everything, we got it all set up and, within a few days, our pallets were picked up in California and delivered to Missouri. When we got to the show, our stuff was there and waiting for us – it was awesome. Thank you to everyone at LHT for helping us out. After the show, the folks at Fleenor Brothers out of nearby Carthage, MO got our pallet that was coming back picked up, and then our friend and past cover trucker Tony Huttenstine (October 2019) brought it back to California for us on his next run out west. Thank you to Tony and everyone at Fleenor Brothers for helping us out with this, too.
After returning from Vietnam, Aaron’s dad Bob was stationed at Fort Huachuca, an Army base near Sierra Vista, AZ. While there, Bob met Norma, and the two got married. Both had been married before, and both already had kids, but when Aaron was born in 1981, he was the only kid they had together. After Bob got out of the Army, he and Norma started trucking together as a team for Brock Express out of Canyon Country, CA (their black trucks with pink, yellow, and blue stripes are still pretty well-known), hauling produce from California to Boston and Hunt’s Point in New York. Some of Aaron’s earliest memories are sitting on the doghouse of his parent’s cabover.
At five years old, Aaron and his family moved to Iowa and his dad quit trucking and took a job at a local packing plant. About five years later, his parents divorced, and Aaron’s dad went back to trucking. Now about ten years old, Aaron vividly remembers going out with his dad on the truck as often as possible. Back then, his dad drove for an outfit called Specialized Hauling out of Sioux City, IA pulling a flatbed. Aaron would spend the entire summer out with his dad and loved waking up in a new place every morning, after his dad had driven through the night, while he slept.
Things at home were not good for Aaron, as he did not get along with his stepmother, prompting him to drop out of high school at 15 years old, move out, and get a job at a local truck wash. Working at the wash (Green Light Truck Wash in Sioux City, IA) until he was 18, the owner helped Aaron get his CDL in 1999. At that point, it was Aaron’s job to shag trailers from their customers, bring them to be washed, and then return them to their yards – he did this in a 2-axle 1979 International daycab. But before we move on, we need to share a funny story about Aaron getting his CDL.
Getting his CDL in nearby South Dakota, where he actually lived, that state utilized a system where qualified and pre-approved people who drove trucks or owned trucking companies, could train prospective new drivers and issue them their driving test. Such was the case for Aaron. Driving that 2-axle International, hooked to one of his instructor’s livestock trailers (which was an odd combination), Aaron got pulled over while taking his test. Once they explained to the officer what was going on, he let them go, but not without a lot of questions being asked first. To this day, Aaron jokes about being the only trucker to get pulled over while taking his driving test and still passing!
Leaving the truck wash about six months after getting his CDL, Aaron spent the next 17 years at many different jobs – some involving truck driving and some not – including a company that owned billboards (Avery Brothers) for many years, a crane operator apprentice (Ron Holland House Moving & Crane Service) for a few years, some stints local trucking (Sioux City Foundry and others), hauling steel OTR (Anderson Trucking Service) for about five years, and a driver for a rendering plant, where he drove a Mack daycab, hauling mostly dead animals (his wife hated that one). And then, in 2016, after seeing one of Long Haul’s nice trucks on the road, he applied and got hired. Eight years later, he is happy that he made that decision, because he loves his LHT family.
Founded in 1986 by John “JD” Daniels, Long Haul Trucking (LHT) began with JD and his one truck, along with a few leased-on trucks, out of his home in Maple Grove, MN. By 2013, LHT had moved to a large facility in Albertville, MN and built the fleet up to 250 trucks, which were a combination of company-owned rigs and leased-on owner operators. Wanting to retire but not wanting to “sell out” the company he built, JD did an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and, basically, sold the entire company to his employees. JD is still on the Board of Directors at LHT but is basically retired now.
Today, every employee at LHT is awarded company shares based on a formula that considers their income earned and years of service. The fleet is now at about 325 trucks, which is 2/3 owner operators, with the rest being company drivers. They also own about 325 trailers, and every one of them is a Conestoga (a flatbed with a rolling tarp system). 92% of all their freight is done on direct billing through their clients, with only 8% coming from brokers. And, speaking of brokers, they own and operate a brokerage called Promises Plus. Their top commodities moved include quartz and granite, aluminum and steel, and manufactured machinery items, but they will haul anything that can be secured inside their trailers.
In addition to LHT and Promises Plus brokerage, they also have a full truck and trailer repair shop, that is open to the public, called Premier 94 Truck Service (they are located on Interstate 94 which is where the name comes from). Their certified mechanics can perform all types of light to heavy-duty mechanical jobs, they sell and service all major brands of tires at discounted prices, and they offer a complete line of accessories and parts, along with DOT inspections. They even have a full service truck wash (Saturdays only). But that is not all that LHT offers. They also have a division that specializes in selling and creating ads to be put on their trucks and trailers! For a nominal fee, a company can have one (or more) of LHT’s combinations wrapped in their company colors, along with their logo, or whatever they want, on it for a full year. These trucks run all over the country, continuously promoting whatever or whoever is on them. It’s a cool deal. There are currently about 50 of these running around right now.
Always looking to create new opportunities and partnerships, Long Haul Trucking made their own television show. “Long Haul’s King of the Road” was a documentary-style show that examined the trucking industry through the lens of Long Haul Trucking and Peterbilt, as well as individuals in various functions in the industry. Running for three seasons, from 2019 through 2021, on YouTube, Amazon Prime, and other small cable networks, the show even had its own theme song by Chris Hawkey. Each episode explored a different theme relating to the pursuit of the American Dream and how the trucking industry has helped build America – and keep it running – for the last century. You can still find and watch all these shows by searching “Long Haul’s King of the Road” online (Aaron and his family were featured on Season 1 Episode 4).
From the beginning, LHT’s slogan has been “Running on the Power of Promises Kept,” and that philosophy (and slogan) still exists. JD’s original vision of the company was centered around two promises made and kept: to his clients, to always do the best for them, and to his drivers, to take the best care of them. Today’s management team at LHT still adheres to these principles, which includes being honest, having integrity, taking care of their people, and keeping the promises they make.
The current management team at LHT includes Jason Michels (CEO), Susan Brown (Safety Director), Tiffani Steinke (CFO), Anthony Book (VP of Operations), Josh Hainstock (in charge of equipment and employees), Joy Suchy (HR Director), Rob Winters (in charge of the shop), and Andrea Chalich (Systems Director). Many of these people started at LHT as drivers or owner operators, including Josh Hainstock and Jason Michels. In fact, Josh’s dad was one of JD’s first owner operators back in the 1980s. Jason, the current CEO, started out as an owner operator way back when, and worked his way up the ranks. They must be doing something right, because the company has only a 24% turnover rate, which is much lower than the national average of fleets their size.
A typical Long Haul Trucking rig is a Peterbilt 579 Ultra Loft, powered by a PACCAR engine, pulling an Extreme aluminum flatbed, fitted with a Quick Draw retractable tarping system. For years, the company was 100% Peterbilt, but in the past few years, they have added some Kenworth trucks to the mix, still keeping everything under the PACCAR family of companies. Since they only hire the top 3% of people who apply, they don’t want the brand of truck to keep a great driver from applying or accepting an offer of employment (some drivers just prefer Kenworths).
After driving a few different trucks for LHT, including a few of their coveted advertising trucks, Aaron was given his current ride – a black 2021 Peterbilt 579 Ultra Loft with a 510-hp PACCAR engine, hooked to a 12-speed automatic (he likes it but stills prefers a manual transmission), and white stripes. Helping the guys customize it, Aaron suggested switching the stock Peterbilt emblems with black and white ones and using the AC/DC font. They considered calling the truck “Back in Black” but ultimately decided to go with “Truckxedo” to honor its black and white vibe (the name is on the back of the sleeper, too).
The truck also has stainless drop panels on the cab and sleeper with extra lights, a black duck hood ornament with eyes that light up (mounted on a base made by Steve at Roadsknz), tons of added LHT logos and extra graphics, and a chrome visor. Looking to up his game, Aaron wanted to do some work inside, and it just so happened that Tim and Trish at EZ Pete Interiors were also looking for a Peterbilt 579 to make new interior panel patterns for, and Aaron was the lucky recipient. Fitted not only with an amazing white diamond tuck interior with black buttons done by Tim and Trish, but the seats were also completely redone by Dan Eacret, Tim’s father, at EZ Pete Interiors. Sadly, Dan passed away late in 2023 at 83 years old.
Married to his wife Stephanie since 2011, Aaron and his huge family reside in Rock Rapids, IA. He has three kids from a previous relationship – Scott (22), Brook (19), and James (16), and six younger kids with Stephanie – Chase (13), Troy (12), Xoey (8), Layla (7), Xander (5) and Amelia (3). He also has most of his kid’s names tattooed on his arms – and not just small tattoos – big ones. I think his reasoning might be that when he runs out of space, he’ll stop adding children. But in all honesty, he loves his kids, and loves taking them out on the road with him. Since LHT allows kids of any age to go out on the road with their parents (spouses too), Aaron takes them out, one at a time, whenever possible. He also makes them put their electronics away and pay attention to the world around them, saying, “People pay big bucks to visit the places we get paid to drive through!”
We have featured many LHT owner operators on our cover over the years including Tony Huttenstine (October 2019), Mike Grim (September 2016), Clay Snider (December 2014), and Theresa DeSantis (June 2014), but this is the first company-owned truck we have featured. Theresa DeSantis did not run for LHT when we featured her, but she does now, and her red and orange 1985 Peterbilt 359 dubbed “The Witches Inn” has over 3 million miles on it and is very well known. Aaron is proud to be a part of this elite group and loves showing off his company ride at the truck shows and representing Long Haul Trucking – and the company likes it, too.
As we were putting this feature together, Aaron informed us of a change that was coming. Wanting to learn how to be an owner operator, his friend PJ Brink recently agreed to mentor Aaron, and part of that process means putting him in one of his trucks. Aaron said he would only do it if PJ agreed to lease the truck on with LHT, which he did, so the next time you see Aaron he might be driving a fully customized, inside and out, Mountain Dew green colored 2020 Kenworth W900L. With hopes of one day maybe owning a 10-truck fleet, Aaron is excited to learn and grow, and the folks at LHT couldn’t be happier for him. They never want to hold anyone back, and although they will be losing one of their better company drivers, they will be gaining a great owner operator they already know and trust.
If anyone out there is interested in learning more about LHT or would like to apply to be a driver or leased operator, visit www.longhaultrucking.com, then click on the “Drivers” tab – everything you would ever want to know is there! Thanks to LHT for helping move our pallets and allowing Aaron to come out to the Bobtail Apparel Truck Show in Dixon, CA last October (2023) to not only show off the truck, but to allow us to take our pictures for this feature, too. Aaron may not be a “legend” yet, but he is definitely working on it, thanks to his Long Haul Trucking family!
