A SHINING EXAMPLE
BRYAN WELSH’S OWN SHOW-ON-THE-ROAD
When you write a column that features cool and clean working trucks, you’d better know what it means to be clean. Our “Show-On-The-Road” author Bryan Welsh of Junction City, Oregon, knows a thing or two about lookin’ good out on the road. This month, we thought it we would be good to introduce you to Bryan (33) and let him show off his “Show-On-The-Road” a bit.
We met Bryan two years ago at a logging conference in Eugene, OR. We were in Oregon for the first time to check out the show and do a few photo shoots. Bryan, who was good friends with James Davis, who we shot for our June 2008 cover, turned out to be a big help to us while we were there. At the end of the trip, we dubbed him as our official Oregon tour guide. Since then, he has helped us set up distribution in his home state, as well as written a show report, and now he contributes the “Show-On-The-Road” column each and every month. On top of all that, we have also become great friends!
Bryan was born and raised in Eugene, OR. His dad, Bill Welsh, has been a truck driver since 1971, and as far back as he can remember, Bryan has always wanted to be a trucker just like his dad. After a couple years in Vietnam, Bill came home and got a truck driving job at UPS, running triples between terminals in Washington and Oregon for many years. After that, he drove for several flatbed outfits in the area. In 1982 he bought his first truck, a 1973 Freightliner cabover, and became an owner operator, which he still is today. Bryan has always idolized his dad and has fond memories of going out on the road with him while growing up.
When Bryan was in fourth grade, his dad equipped his wagon with a motorcycle battery and decked it out with lights. He had two toggle switches that operated rows of running lights on each side and four taillights. Bryan was, and still is, a truck-crazy kid! Back then, he liked building trucks out of his Lego bricks and, later, became quite the truck artist. At eleven years old, he started washing trucks for money, and by the time he was a senior in high school, he had his best friend and cousin working for him, washing as many as 30 trucks per weekend.
In 1994, right after his eighteenth birthday, Bryan, who had become friends with the owner after washed his trucks for some time, got a job at Rexius Forest By-Products, hauling anything and everything on a flatbed. The diversity of his loads gave him a great education. He stayed there for four years and then got a job driving for Farwest Steel out of Eugene, OR. Over ten years later, he is still there today, running from Eugene to Boise, Idaho two or three times a week.
Late in 2008, Farwest let Bryan order his own new company truck. It had to be a T800 Kenworth and it had to have a liftable fourth axle, but other than that, he could spec it any way that he wanted. Bryan ordered the 2008 truck with a 550 ISX Cummins engine, a 13-speed trans, a 62-inch Aerocab mid-roof sleeper, a 280-inch wheelbase, and a car hauler front axle. After the truck arrived, he pulled out all of the blocks to get it as low as possible and then added a few pieces of chrome here and there.
Following in the company’s color and paint scheme, the truck is Industrial Yellow with a Navy Blue frame and stripe. This is the only rig in Farwest’s 17-truck fleet that has a sleeper. Bryan works his butt off to keep this rig clean, as it runs for many months in the winter snow, caked with crushed red rock dust and de-icer. Bryan cleans it after every run, and polishes it all out several times a year. He usually pulls a 48-foot 3-axle Western flatbed that is painted and polished to match the tractor, and his typical load is around 96,000 pounds of steel.
Besides his work truck, Bryan has also had a few “hobby” trucks and work trucks on the side. In 2000, he bought a 1969 Peterbilt just for fun, and then, in 2005, after going through a divorce, he bought a 1985 Pete 359 and started hauling lumber on the side for extra money. In 2006, he bought a 1977 Kenworth W900A and continued to haul the lumber. The truck was clean, but not too fancy. After the mill closed in 2007, he quit working the truck and fully restored it to better (and cooler) than new. Today, Bryan’s awesome A-Model is painted School Bus Yellow, dumped, and pressed out from top to bottom.
But, as much as he loves his trucks, he loves his 10-year-old daughter Taylor ten times more. Bryan spends every weekend (and many weeknights) with Taylor and wouldn’t have it any other way. As he put it, “If I’m not sitting in my truck, I’m sitting next to my daughter.” She is not a truck nut, but she’s nuts about her dad!
We’d like to once again thank Bryan for his hard work, both behind the wheel and behind the camera - he is still learning, but getting better all the time. Bryan Welsh is a shining example of what truckers should strive to be, and we are proud to have him in the 10-4 Family, but we are even prouder to call him our friend.