SELF-SUFFICIENT

THE LATEST PROJECT FROM CLINT MOORE

This month’s “creation” was built for Shane Smith of Chillicothe, Missouri.  Shane’s unique rig is very versatile – some days it has a logging bed, while others, after some sort of disaster, it is fitted with a debris box.  Whether its out in the woods or cleaning up the mess left behind from a tornado, the truck’s built-on loader makes it completely self-sufficient.  And when it is time to switch out one bed for the other, Shane can even do that without any help.

Like so many of you out there, Shane (41) grew up on the farm.  His parents split up when he was just a kid – his mom moved into town and his dad stayed on the farm (he still farms today).  Shane’s mom is now a prison guard, and he says, “She don’t put up with nuthin!”

When Shane was nine years old, he got to ride with one of his dad’s buddies who hauled coal with an old Freightliner cabover.  He can still remember how “springy” that Freightliner felt when it was loaded up.  Later, he went on a family trip (in a car) to the west coast.  He and his cousin counted all of the Peterbilts, KWs and Freightliners along the way.  At 13, he drove his dad’s 1977 Chevy 10-wheeler grain truck, which had two sticks, by himself for the first time.  His dad told him, “If you get pulled over, just tell them you’re farming” (like that would be some sort of special exemption or something).

In 1992, a few years after he graduated from high school, Shane partnered up with his dad and bought a 1977 Peterbilt 359 and a 1992 Wilson hopper and started hauling grain.  Eventually, he wound up on his own, and then began hauling John Deere heavy equipment all over the country.  As time went by and he made some friends, Shane met a log hauler named Billy Hibner (Clint sold Billy a super cool logging truck back in 2004) and got hooked on logging.  Later, he got involved in stormin’ (disaster relief), and today he does both – and loves it!

Not long ago, Shane was looking to update his KW log truck (he also has a 2004 Pete 379 log truck), and Billy told him to call Clint.  After some lengthy discussions, Clint convinced Shane to buy a trade-in he had just taken – a 2006 Pete 386 with a 63” HR, a 550 Cat, an 18-speed and tall air-ride.  Since Peterbilt does not make (or even offer) a 386 logger, they both thought it would be different and cool.  And, since Shane was on a budget, he could still get a big ride.

After removing the fifth wheel, sleeper and generator, Clint had Robert at RC Frame stretch the chassis out to 287” inches and then double the rails.  Then, they called Orville at Fibertech for a cool extended cab button-up kit (so Shane could get a little leg room).  Clint then removed the air horns from the roof and then added front fender lips and polished 425 wheels with big “floater” tires.  Shane then had a Serco 8500 loader with an extended boom mounted to the rear of the frame.  Now, it is a self-sufficient log truck (he can load his own logs), and when it’s time to go stormin’ he uses the loader to replace the log bed with his large debris box.

Shortly after getting this rig, Shane realized that he needed another day cab to pull an end dump so he called Clint again.  A 10-4 reader named Kenny Combs out of La Puente, CA had just called Clint, wondering if he could help him sell his beloved 1991 Pete 379.  Clint told Shane about the truck and he immediately flew out to California, bought it and drove it back.  So, Clint wanted to let everyone know, if you have nice, clean, older trucks for sale, he may be able to help you find them good homes.

Shane and his wife Shannon have been married for 18 years and have three kids – Scotty (17), Sophie (13) and Spencer (9).  Shane Smith never thought he’d own a slope-nosed Peterbilt, but when it was all said and done, he thinks his self-sufficient 386 turned out pretty dang cool.

~ If you would like Clint Moore to order and/or build you a new custom truck, contact him at Kansas City Peterbilt via e-mail at clintmoore@kcpete.com or call him at (913) 484-7768.  You can also visit his website at www.custombilt4.com and check out pictures of other custom trucks he has built.