“A JOB I LOVE TO HATE”
THE LATEST PROJECT FROM CLINT MOORE
This month’s “creation” was built for Rick Smith (45) of Marietta, Ohio. Although Rick has been driving most of his life, he has tried to quit several times, but always ends up going back. What is it about trucking that lures so many in and then doesn’t let go? Rick says that trucking is a job he loves to hate, but it is one of the only steady jobs that still offers some freedom.
Rick began his working life at 16 when he took a job at a grocery store. He stayed there until he was 22. While still in high school, Rick met a girl named Melanie. The two dated for four years and then got married. Melanie’s father Earl was a coal hauler from way back in the day, and when Rick started dating his daughter he had a repair shop and a dump truck. Not long after Rick and Melanie got married, Earl bought a 1971 LN9000 dump truck for Rick to drive.
In 1991 Rick bought his first real truck and an end dump trailer. The truck was a 1980 Mack R Model with a 300+ horsepower engine and a homemade 9-speed transmission - Rick felt like he was stepping in high cotton! But as much as he loved trucking, he wanted to try other things as well. One time he quit trucking and became a dock hand. Then he quit and started selling trucks at the local IHC dealership - that lasted about eight months. And then another time he left and bought a Snap-On franchise. After nine months of selling tools, he realized that trucking was where he wanted to be.
Today, pulling a 34’ aluminum end dump, Rick works for Rodney Rohrbaugh of Caldwell, Ohio hauling aggregates, coal and construction materials. Rick has worked for Rodney since 1999, but has quit on him twice to pursue these other ventures. But when Rick gets it out of his system and decides that he wants to come back, Rodney has always been there for him.
After selling the Snap-On franchise, Rick bought a used 2000 Peterbilt, which he drove until he got with Clint and ordered his latest truck pictured here. Rick did not know Clint before this; he was referred to him by a guy in Colorado. When they first met to discuss ordering the truck, Clint told him that the hardest decision would be picking the color - and he was right (Rick didn’t make up his mind until he had no choice).
The 2009 Pete 389 was ordered with a 525 ISX Cummins engine, an 18-speed transmission, a 249” WB on FlexAir suspension, a 36” Unibilt flattop sleeper, and a factory two-tone paint job with Burnt Orange on top and Sable Black on the bottom. Looking to reduce the weight of Rick’s truck and maximize his legal payload, Clint did everything he could to lighten it up and got the tag weight all the way down to 16,500 lbs.
Once the truck arrived, Clint and his crew added painted cab and sleeper extensions, a painted drop visor and WTI “bicycle-style” double hump fiberglass fenders. They also painted the back of the headlight buckets, as well as the fuel tanks, and did a few other small modifications. The end result is exactly what Rick wanted - a lighter truck that still looked cool.
After over 20 years, Rick and Melanie are still married, and Rick is still driving truck. Clint has gotten to know Rick pretty well now and says, “Like most of us, he’s ate up about trucks!” Trucking may be a job that Rick Smith loves to hate, but he must love it more than he hates it, because he keeps going back for more.