A Fun Ride To Ohio

In the last couple of years, I’ve met some amazing individuals within the trucking industry who all love trucks and have amazing stories.  Guys like Jay Van Kampen, Jerry Linander, Dave Schroyer, and Dave Robinson, along with amazing women like Susie De Ridder and Kate Whiting to name a few, and I’m proud to call them all friends.  But this past June, thanks to Dave Robinson, I had the opportunity to meet and take a fun ride with one of the most humble and truly good guys you’ll ever meet in the trucking industry, Dan Clary, owner of Chillicothe, Ohio based Clary Trucking, Inc.

If you know me (or my story or have met me), you know I have a vision impairment, and while it’s only about 300 miles from Newburgh, Indiana, to Chillicothe, Ohio, it’s not exactly easy to get there from here for someone like me who is unable to drive anymore.  So, with the help of Dave Robinson, a plan came together so I could attend the 2024 Kenworth Truck Show.  Knowing that Clary Trucking has trucks running back and forth on a daily basis from Louisville and delivering to Kenworth’s plant in Chillicothe, Dave asked me, “How far do you live from Louisville?”  After I told him that I’m only about 100 miles from there, he said, “Okay, let me work on this and I’ll get back to you.”

Not long after that conversation my phone rang.  “Hi, is this Mark?” the voice asked, and then continued with, “This is Dan Clary from Clary Trucking.  Dave Robinson said you need a ride up here to Chillicothe for the show.”  Dan continued with, “Well, I need to get my dad’s Peterbilt out of the barn and knock the dust off it, so how about I meet you in Louisville and we can go for a ride?”  Shocked to say the least, I honestly wasn’t expecting the owner of a multi-million dollar trucking company to call me, let alone offer to personally pick me up and give me a ride to the Kenworth factory truck show.

The next day, Wednesday, June 12, the day before the Kenworth show was to kick off, with the help of my mom and my brother Joe, they gave me a ride over to the Dynacraft facility in Louisville to meet up with Dan, where he dropped an empty and was picking up a loaded trailer headed back to the Kenworth Chillicothe plant.  Not in any hurry, Dan and I headed up I-71, cruising along, spending the next four hours on the ride back to Chillicothe getting to know each other and talking about everything from his family, business, sports, his love for fishing, the current state of the trucking industry, and even politics.

And, of course, we talked trucks.  Dan told me about some of the unique and cool rigs he personally owns and has in his fleet.  Some of these include a 1947 International KB8 wrecker that his grandfather bought when Clary Trucking was getting started, a 1981 Mack R-Model, and several milestone Kenworths related to the Chillicothe plant, including the 100,000th truck built there, a 1994 Kenworth T800 (the 250,000th truck built there), a 2002Kenworth W900L, and a 2020 Kenworth W900L, which was the last W900L to roll off the Chillicothe assembly line.

While Clary Trucking is a Kenworth fleet, there is one very special Peterbilt that sports the iconic viper red paint scheme of the company.  Ordered by Dan in 2006 as a gift for his father Jesse Clary Jr.’s 66th birthday, Dan told me that his dad always wanted a Peterbilt.  “My grandfather always wanted a Diamond REO, and sadly never bought one, and my dad always wanted a Peterbilt, so I decided to get him his dream truck for his birthday in 2006,” Dan told me.

The 2006 Peterbilt model 379 rides on a 238” wheelbase and is equipped with  a 48” flat-top sleeper and has every option you could get, including a full gauge package, American Class interior, and a window in the back of the sleeper, just to name a few items.  The Peterbilt is powered by a 565-hp Cummins ISX, with power being pushed through an Eaton-Fuller 18-speed transmission, then out to 3.90 geared rear-ends.  Explaining his choice of rear-end gears in the truck, Dan said, “When I ordered this truck, the speed limit was only 55 mph statewide throughout Ohio.”

Currently, this big Peterbilt only has 83,000 miles on its odometer.  “My dad loved this truck and used to have a ball driving it,” as Dan told me about his father.  Sadly, Jesse Clary Jr. passed away on September 14, 2023, at the age of 83.  While gone, his memory lives on and his hard work, vision, and smart business sense has been a huge part of Clary Trucking’s ongoing success.

Founded in 1947 with one truck by Dan’s grandfather, Jesse Clary Sr., the company got its start hauling coal to local schools in the Chillicothe area.  Jesse Sr. went and bought a tow truck a year later to expand the business.  But it wasn’t until Jesse Jr. got his driver’s license in 1956, at the age of 16, when the ambitious young man saw potential and began hauling household coal and aggregate materials.  “My grandfather didn’t really enjoy dealing with the public, but he told my dad that if he did, there was opportunity to do much more,” Dan explained.  With that said, Clary Trucking began to grow, and when Jesse Sr. passed away in 1970, the company was running 15 trucks hauling coal and was involved in hauling road materials for the construction of Ohio Route 32.  Known as The Appalachian Highway, this route stretches 183 miles across southern Ohio from Cincinnati to Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Crediting his mom and dad for instilling values like hard work, honesty, and the importance of family, Dan told me, “My parents were married for over 60 years and ran all aspects of the business until us kids came of age.”  Now, 77 years later, four generations have been involved in the family-owned business.  “My son Scott runs all the maintenance, and my son John handles dispatch operations,” said Dan.  “Our customer base is pretty diverse,” as Dan told me about what and where their trucks haul.  “We operate over 300 Fruehauf, Wabash National, and Stoughton van trailers, along with EAST spread-axle aluminum flatbeds with conestoga tarp systems, and EAST aluminum frame-type dump trailers.”

Dan said, “In my opinion, the best trucks ever built are the Mack R-Model and the Kenworth T800, along with any Kenworth that used the B cab.  We operated a lot of those years ago and they were the most reliable rigs we ever ran.”  While times have changed, technology has influenced both truck manufacturing and the trucks themselves.  Dan said, “Technology can be frustrating at times, with both the trucks and in business.  While it makes sense, it’s aggravating from time to time.”  Even though trucks became more advanced, efficient and aerodynamic, many of us like Dan still have a special place in our hearts for the more traditional styled rigs and special and/or limited editions.

As a loyal Kenworth customer, Dan took the opportunity, in the fall of 2023, to order a once-in-a-lifetime truck.  The truck?  A limited edition 100-year Anniversary 2024 Kenworth W900L.  Offered in 2023 by Kenworth, celebrating 100 years of building the world’s best, Dan’s 100th is number 802 of 900.  Built at Kenworth’s Renton, WA Assembly Plant on November 6, 2023, and then delivered to Dan just before Christmas on December 23, 2023, this truck is now the pride of the Clary Trucking fleet.

While I was photographing the Clary 100th Anniversary W900L at the 2024 Kenworth Truck Show, I asked Dan how many miles were currently on the truck.  He replied, “33 now, but it had 22 on it when I left the shop earlier!”  As one of the lead trucks in the 2024 Kenworth Parade through downtown Chillicothe, behind a 1923 model year Kenworth, the truck will be going into revenue service and has already been assigned to a veteran Clary Trucking driver named Derek Vallery.

Sporting a 264” wheelbase, a 72” Aerocab flat-top sleeper, and painted in Clary Trucking’s viper red colors with the 100th Anniversary stripe package, it will definitely turn heads when this truck begins rollin’ down the highway.  The W900L is powered by a 565-hp Cummins X15, mated to an Eaton-Fuller 18-speed, with power being pushed to 3.36 geared rears.  It rides on a Kenworth AG400L suspension and has 22.5 Alcoa aluminum rims all the way around, with Bridgestone 726 drives and Michelin X-Line steer tires.  For the interior, this limited edition rig has Kenworth’s classic VIT Diamond Tuck interior and a pair of very comfortable seats from National Seating.  Should you get to go for a ride in one of these special 100th Anniversary rigs, you’ll know just how special it is, as there’s a plaque installed on the dashboard from Kenworth stating it’s a 100th Anniversary edition, along with the unit’s production number.

Having turned 64 years-old last September, Dan is still very hands-on with his trucking company.  But when it’s time to slow down and take a break, you will find him doing a number of different things he loves.  For many of us “true truckers” there’s no greater joy than getting out on the highway and just rollin’ and strollin’ down a piece of interstate.  While Dan will tell you that is something he still loves, if you talk with him long enough you will find out he’s quite the fisherman, as well.  Along with his brother-in-law Butch Brammer, they’ve won several tournaments.  Dan will often head out for a weekend in his 21-foot Vexus Bass Boat to participate in fishing tournaments in Ohio and the surrounding states.

Married since 1982 to his high school sweetheart Jody, Dan will tell you he’s married to the greatest wife ever!  A family man first and foremost, he always has time for his grandchildren.  “I think I burnt them out on fishing,” said Dan, referring to his grandkids, “But they still like to get out on a tractor and help me bush hog a field from time to time.”

While on the phone a couple of months ago with Dan, asking him some follow-up questions for this article, Dan said to me, “I had a good time hanging out with you Mark.  We will have to do that again sometime.  In fact, if Dave Robinson invites you to the Kenworth Truck Show next year, I’ll meet you in Louisville again and we’ll go for another fun ride.”  Hey, Mr. Clary, thanks for the offer… and you’re on!