The final event of the 2022 truck show season (at least for us) was the First Annual Bobtail Apparel Truck Show held at the fairgrounds in Dixon, CA on October 21-23. Produced by Madison Lowrie and her tireless crew at Bobtail Apparel, a relatively new trucking apparel company, this show had a laid-back vibe and was a lot of fun. It is hard to pinpoint what makes a show great, but this one had no drama, over 180 amazing trucks, a nice grassy venue, good food and drinks, fun people, foot traffic, and just an overall relaxed feel. So, I guess those are some of the things that make a show great!
Getting on the road later than we expected after finishing the November 2022 issue of 10-4 Magazine and sending it off to the printer, we did not arrive at the hotel in Dixon until almost midnight on Friday. With hopes to be there much earlier that day and get setup, it was just not meant to be, as Roger and Annette Ghidelli, who were pulling our Truckin’ For Kids (TFK) show trailer to the event with their bright yellow and green show truck, had not one but two tires blow out along the way. So, we were both late getting to Dixon, and our booth setup did not happen until Saturday morning.
Arriving at the fairgrounds early to set up on Saturday morning, Madison had secured us an excellent location right at the entrance to the show. After getting the truck and trailer parked, we set up the 10-4 Magazine booth, along with a covered “lounge” area with a table and chairs next to it, which proved to be a fun place for many to hang out all weekend. A big thank you goes out to Annette and Julia for helping Miss Shannon run the booth! Selling 10-4 and TFK gear and goodies, Saturday had perfect weather in the mid-70s, no wind, and a good number of fans, readers, and customers stopping by the booth.
Along with several other vendors, there were also some great food trucks offering things like corn dogs, tri-tip sandwiches, and loaded french fries. But the most popular vendor was the one selling margaritas – everyone was raving about them and everyone was drinking them – and they were very tasty (and a bit strong). Many of these delicious concoctions were enjoyed by those hanging out in our lounge area. In the late afternoon, the Fryed Brothers Band, a popular local group with a huge cult following, took the stage and played music well into the night.
Once the sun went down, the lights on the trucks came on, and it was a really good light display. Our friend John Testa was on-site to take videos and pictures, and then post them on our various social channels, and do a few livestreams. He was also there in an official capacity, helping Madison and her team judge the trucks, and help decide who won what. Once the light show came to a close around 9:30 PM, we headed to Bud’s Pub & Grill in downtown Dixon for a late dinner with about 12 of our friends, including Jeff and everyone else from Botelho Custom Trucks.
Sunday morning we showed up early to tear our booth down and get packed up for the ride home before the awards began at 11:00 AM. Walking the grounds one more time and getting a few final pictures, this place was filled with the coolest fleets California has to offer including Double E Trucking, Central Valley Transport, Hildebrand’s Black Market Express, North Coast Wine, Robert Vaz Trucking, and of course, Mike Lowrie Trucking. We also got to catch-up with some old friends like Ed Orella, C.G. Soza, Norm Butler, Stan Alles, Jon Arreche, Neil McIsaac and his boys, and Bert and Elisabeth Greene.
With just a handful of plaques and even fewer trophies to hand out, the awards ceremony went quickly – which was good, because the wind kicked up and got pretty nasty fast. Some of the big winners included Roel & Joyce Hofstee, Transportation Services, All State Tank Lines, Robert Vaz Trucking (RVT), and Hildebrand. But the big Best of Show winner was our longtime friend and past cover trucker (May 1998) Stan Alles of Fresno, CA. His old 1954 Peterbilt, hooked to a set of polished 20-foot 1955 Trailmobile van trailers, was standing tall, as usual, and fetched Stan the most prestigious award at the event.
The show got some extra coverage when John Testa sent some videos and pictures he took to his cousin Brittany Hope, who just happens to be one of the weekend anchors at KCRA, the NBC affiliate station in Sacramento. Brittany spoke on the air about the show more than once over the weekend, and a video clip was even played during the eleven o’clock news on Saturday night.
Looking to raise money and some awareness, Madison Lowrie teamed up with Thriving Pink, a non-profit group dedicated to helping those in Yolo County impacted by breast cancer and helping them to thrive by providing a network of support and resources, and committed to donating the net proceeds of the event to their organization. After all was said and done, the show was able to donate about $3,500 to the cause, along with an undetermined amount of direct donations from the public during the event.
Ending the show season is always bittersweet – we hate to see it all end, but it is also a relief to not have to do any traveling for a few months. But it always goes fast, and before we know it, we will be packing our pallets for Louisville in March and then preparing for our big show (Truckin’ For Kids) in SoCal the following month on April 29-30.
With so many new shows, 2022 was a hectic and crazy year – but it was fun, too – and 2023 is already shaping up to be very exciting, as well. We look forward to seeing many of you at the shows next year. Thank you to Madison Lowrie for helping us close out the 2022 show season with a bang. The dates for Round 2 of this event have already been announced for October 20-22, 2023, so make plans now and don’t miss it!
BOBTAIL CLASS: 1st Joyce Hofstee; 2nd Central Valley Transport; 3rd Bert Greene.
1990 & OLDER CLASS: 1st Roel Hofstee; 2nd Jake Wheeler; 3rd Joyce Hofstee.
VAN CLASS: 1st Stan Alles Transport; 2nd Roel Hofstee; 3rd Robert Vaz Trucking.
CONSTRUCTION CLASS: 1st Tony Noto; 2nd Michael Viviano; 3rd Hanna Hildebrand.
SPECIALTY CLASS: 1st Transportation Services; 2nd C.G. Soza; 3rd C.G. Soza.
FLATBED CLASS: 1st Cody Lowrie; 2nd Robert Vaz Trucking; 3rd Arreche Hay.
TANKER CLASS: 1st All State Tank Lines; 2nd North Coast Wine; 3rd Double E Trucking.
BEST FLEET: Robert Vaz Trucking (RVT).
BEST OF SHOW: Stan Alles Transport, Fresno, CA.
1 Comment
Dan and the gang do a Awsome job on this magazine and a great job at all the shows.Keep up the great work folks