10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

MARCH 2005 SHOW & TELL
TRUCK SHOW ESSENTIALS
By Roving Reporter Suzanne Stempinski

It’s that time – you’re getting ready to bring your truck to a truck beauty competition. You’ve spent a bunch of time at home or at a couple of shops, cleaning, polishing, adding chrome or stainless, wiping away the traces of winter that really messed up your fine ride. Maybe you’re getting ready to debut your new truck; maybe you’ve repainted the frame or spruced up your old one; now you have to make some decisions. What do you need to take with you, and what can you leave at home?
Whether you’re bobtailing or pulling your trailer will make a difference. Are you going to be under a load that brings you close or deadheading from home? If you’re going to have your wife or buddies meet you at the show and someone’s driving your SUV or pickup, you can load ‘em up, too! So, what items are essential and which are optional?

Cleaning supplies – bucket, rags, scrub brush, Q-tips, old toothbrushes, degreaser, rubber gloves, safety glasses, mineral spirits, vinyl/leather/upholstery/carpet/window cleaner – all essential. Even if you’ve done the job at home, you’ll want to give your truck another going over after you arrive. You’d be surprised at how much grit and grime you’ll pick up, even if you’re only going a few miles down the road. If you get under your truck to get the grease off your axles and undercarriage, be sure to wear safety glasses. A trip to the emergency room because you got chemical gunk in your eyes is no fun. A couple of pieces of old carpet to lay down in your work area may spare your back or knees from wet or uneven ground.

Polish, wax and other types of shine it up stuff – essential. No kidding – that’s what it’s all about – presenting your truck in its most awesome light. You’ll also want to include a bottle of talc. After your final aluminum polish, put some on a rag and run it over the aluminum – it will remove the black residue that remains and provides the finishing touch on your deep gleam. Make sure you have some clean diapers (the real ones, not Pampers) or really soft cloth to avoid scratching your paint or aluminum. If the weather is cooperative, you’ll want to do a last wax job to bring out the luster in your paint. Also bring vinyl/leather/tire dressing.

Touch up paint and paint pens are also essential. You never know what you’ll encounter while driving to the show. Touch-up paint for your truck’s body and frame can minimize the appearance of road-rash or the signs of aging that all trucks experience. After all, they’re work vehicles – it’s an occupational expectation. A couple of cans of black spray paint can be worth their weight in gold and save you yet another trip to Wal-Mart. If you have a shiny deck plate and frame cover and the ugly, road-worn underside of your trailer is being reflected, it sure looks better in all black. Buy more paint pens or bottles of model paint and brushes than you expect to use. They don’t always go as far as you expect. And don’t apply the final coat of tire dressing until you’re sure the paint is dry. If you’re planning to stage your tires (and if you want to be a top contender, you do), bring a hand jack so you can align your wheels once you're parked. You can also apply tire dressing when staging your tires so that the whole surface is uniformly coated – even the treads – inside and outside.

Bring extra nut and bolt covers, trim rings, lights, bulbs and wire loom. Missing or ratty looking pieces will detract from your overall appearance. And lights have a tendency to go out – at the most inconvenient times. Make sure you have the tools you need – a few screwdrivers, nut drivers and wrenches will come in handy. A tube of silicone to keep that wobbly trim in place because you lost a screw or your self-stick tape has come unstuck is also a good idea. Bring an extra mud flap or two. Even if you “show as you go” you may need one. The likelihood of tearing off a mud flap on a curb on your way to a show is 500% more likely than at any other time (especially if you don’t have a spare) – and don’t forget the flap weights.

Do you “dress” your interior to show? Have funky pillows or fancy table settings or special decorations that enhance your theme? Bag ‘em and bring ‘em along! They’ll be part of your finishing touches. Do you have things to create an exterior display? Like to sprinkle pixie dust around your truck in a complementary color? Want to set a couple plants or flowers on display pillars to help draw a crowd? Optional. And speaking of bags – don’t forget to bring a few garbage bags with you. As you clean up your truck, you’ll use up your supplies – and cleaning up your area in time for “Rags Down” is always part of the deal.

And have I mentioned step stools or ladders? Step toolboxes, which are available everywhere, are very useful to have – you can sit on ‘em as you’re painting your tires and keep a bunch of supplies inside. You can also stand on ‘em as you’re reaching up to clean windows from the outside. A ladder will make you a highly sought-after individual on the show lot. If you have one, it will be a lot easier to get to the top of your stacks or wax your tractor and/or trailer. If you don't have a ladder, make friends with your neighbor who does have one – most competitors are more than happy to share. You might offer to help stage his or her tires in return (and you might even make a new friend in the process).

Whew, you’re exhausted. Your truck is as done as you can make it. A couple of folding chairs would be really nice right about now, so bring ‘em if you got ‘em. You can relax in comfort while waiting for the judges. Two final essentials – a smile and a good attitude – just bring those with you wherever you go. They don’t take up much room, but they’ll make all the difference! We hope to see you in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 31 - April 2 for the official kick-off of the 2005 truck show season.