10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

ANOTHER “WORKING VACATION” IN VEGAS
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS HAS NEVER BEEN SO MUCH FUN

We at 10-4 Magazine are known to have some fun from time to time - and when we find ourselves in Las Vegas, it gets even better. Oh sure we “work” a little, but how can you resist all the temptations Vegas has to offer after hours. The “working” part of this “working vacation” was the Truck Show Las Vegas, held June 7-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. And although it wasn’t the largest truck show we had ever been to, it was definitely still a good one. And with a whole bunch of changes on the horizon for 2008, we are sure that this show will begin to make a huge comeback over the next few years.

Back in February, publishers and truck show producers Randall-Reilly purchased the Truck Show Las Vegas. They did not have much time to “tweak it” so they pretty much left everything as-is for this year, but next year they plan on hitting it hard and getting this show really going. The first big change will be the show’s name. This was the last Truck Show Las Vegas. Next year, it will be called the Great West Truck Show. The next big change will be to get the OEMs back to the show. If they can accomplish that (and we’re pretty sure that they can), the show could double in size.

As big as this event might get in 2008, the 2007 show wasn’t too shabby, either. “This year’s event dramatically outpaced the results from the 2006 show, which is quite phenomenal considering we did not take ownership until February,” says Alan K. Sims, vice president and executive director of the show. Visitor registrations grew from 15,002 in 2006 to 17,772 in 2007, an increase of 18.4%. Owner-operator attendance increased 21.8%, Class 6-8 truck owner attendance jumped 15% and qualified attendees also increased 15%. And there was more for attendees to see, as exhibit space increased by 11%. But they still have a long way to go to get this show back to what it once was. We can’t wait to see what the folks at Randall-Reilly can do over the next twelve months.

Over in the 10-4 booth, we gave away thousands of free magazines and posters, and sold a few placemats (laminated centerfolds) and t-shirts as well. In fact, we debuted a new shirt design that seemed to be very popular, as we sold almost every one that we brought. Our resident artist and friend Greg Dohlen, who has been coming with us to Vegas for over ten years now, was extremely busy all three days, drawing free caricatures for anyone and everyone who came by. Parked just behind our booth, Jeff Botelho was kind enough to bring out his convertible Pete roadster, which we featured on our cover last month, and wow the crowd. Every so often he would climb inside and demonstrate the air suspension, which got everyone’s attention (not only is it cool, but it’s loud, too).

About 30 snazzy rigs showed up to compete in the Stars & Stripes Truck Beauty Competition - some were everyday working trucks while others were strictly “show trucks” (Limited Mileage) - but all were awesome. On Saturday morning, the awards were handed out. Bud Farquhar of Stars & Stripes began the ceremony with a few special mentions. Colton Pounds (14) and Markie Pounds (18) were officially recognized as the two youngest competitors ever (photo 5), and Alex Fimbres and his mom Paula were noted as being the first ever mother and son to compete against each other in the same show. The Fimbres family has a story all their own, which we will cover in a future issue.

The big winners included some names you hear often, and a few that maybe you have never heard. Tom & Kim Turner and their Pete “El Dorado” cleaned house, winning several awards, including Best of Show Combo. Mike Maggini took home a few trophies, including one for his interior and one for his use of stainless, while somewhat newcomer Michael Most bagged a whopping six awards (photo 3), including Best of Show Bobtail, with his yellow Freightliner covered in murals. Proving that he can still run with the big dogs, even after many years of competing, Chuck Prigge (photo 4) and his “Kaotic” Pete beat out his boss Bill Sandvik to earn top honors in the Best of Show Limited Mileage Combo class.

Some of the trucks that really stood out included a black Peterbilt 379X from Utah, hooked to a set of pneumatic doubles, both sprayed with bright blue murals, along with a matching motorcycle with a V-8 engine! There was also a Peterbilt that came down from Canada painted dark metallic purple with tangerine metallic fenders, which had a host of custom features. But our favorite was the “Main Street” entry from McRoberts Trucking of Homer, Nebraska (photo 1). Their truck, a 2007 Kenworth W900 painted off-white, featured a custom hood and exhaust, strapless fuel tanks, a stainless steel and tile floor, and tons of other unique items. Two more trucks worth mentioning included George Garcia’s super-clean red Pete 378 and Victor Maestaz’ metallic blue 1995 low-rider Peterbilt.

Next year’s newly-named Great West Truck Show (GWTS) is scheduled for June 26-28, 2008 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The name change was done, according to Sims, “to reflect our efforts to represent and serve all of the Western U.S. and beyond.” And now that a sponsorship alliance with the California Trucking Association has been completed, the GWTS will be the only major trucking event held annually in the West. This one is going to be good, so don’t miss it.

Earlier we mentioned all the “after hours” fun we had in Vegas this year, but we’ll just have to keep those details private. After all, you know what they say: “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Whew! Following is a list of all the winners from the Truck Show Las Vegas 2007.

WORKING BOBTAIL (2-AXLE): 1st George Garcia, Mendota, CA; 2nd Alex Fimbres III, Apple Valley, CA; 3rd Markie Pounds, Bakersfield, CA.

WORKING BOBTAIL (FIRST SHOW): 1st Paula Fimbres (photos 2 & 6), Apple Valley, CA; 2nd James Richardson, Memphis, TN; 3rd (tie) Jeremiah Nilson, Alcester, SD and Johnny Hidalgo, Valley Center, CA.

WORKING BOBTAIL (2000 & OLDER): 1st Michael Most, Phoenix, AZ; 2nd Richard Jimenez, Valley Center, CA; 3rd Victor Maestaz, Corona,CA.

WORKING BOBTAIL (2001 & NEWER): 1st Ryan Danylchuk, Winnipeg, Canada; 2nd Marcos Cervantes, Valley Center, CA; 3rd Ed McRoberts, Homer, NB.

WORKING BOBTAIL (CUSTOM PAINT): 1st Michael Most, Phoenix, AZ; 2nd Paula Fimbres, Apple Valley, CA; 3rd Markie Pounds, Bakersfield, CA.

WORKING COMBO (NEW TRUCK): 1st John Lee, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 2nd Scott Armas, Phelan, CA; 3rd Matt Amato, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

WORKING COMBO (2000 & OLDER): 1st Tom & Kim Turner, Cynthiana, KY; 2nd Anthony Amescua; 3rd Bryce Davis.

WORKING COMBO (2001 & NEWER): 1st Randy Park, Adelanto, CA; 2nd Brett Houser, Doniphan, NB; 3rd Ben Lascala, Adelanto, CA.

WORKING COMBO (CUSTOM PAINT): 1st Hector Santos, Riverside, CA; 2nd Anthony Amescua.

WORKING TRUCK INTERIOR (CAB ONLY): 1st Tom & Kim Turner, Cynthiana, KY; 2nd George Garcia, Mendota, CA; 3rd Richard Jimenez, Valley Center, CA.

WORKING TRUCK INTERIOR (OEM SLPR): 1st Hector Santos, Riverside, CA; 2nd Michael Most, Phoenix, AZ; 3rd Jeremiah Nilson, Alcester, SD.

WORKING TRUCK (ENGINE): 1st Tom & Kim Turner, Cynthiana, KY; 2nd Michael Most, Phoenix, AZ; 3rd Hector Santos, Riverside, CA.

LIMITED MILEAGE (INTERIOR): Mike Maggini, Riverdale, CA.

LIMITED MILEAGE (ENGINE): Bill Sandvik, Valley Center, CA.

LIMITED MILEAGE BOBTAIL (PAINT): Colton Pounds, Bakersfield, CA.

LIMITED MILEAGE COMBO (PAINT): Mike Maggini, Riverdale, CA.

BEST THEME (FROM TRUCK RODZ): Michael Most, Phoenix, AZ.

BEST STAINLESS (FROM ROADWORKS): Mike Maggini, Riverdale, CA.

LIMITED MILEAGE (BOBTAIL): 1st McRoberts Trucking, Homer, NB; 2nd Richard Hall, Chula Vista, CA; 3rd Colton Pounds, Bakersfield, CA.

LIMITED MILEAGE (COMBO): 1st Chuck Prigge, Valley Center, CA; 2nd Bill Sandvik, Valley Center, CA; 3rd Mike Maggini, Riverdale, CA.

BEST OF SHOW BOBTAIL: Michael Most, Phoenix, AZ “Legends & Heroes”

BEST OF SHOW COMBO: Tom & Kim Turner, Cynthiana, KY “El Dorado”