This month’s creation was built for Kevin Zitting (50) of St. George, Utah. After spinning 2.7 million miles on his previous Peterbilt, which still looks brand new, Kevin decided it was time to “up his game” and get a new one. Not married, Kevin is 100% dedicated to trucking – and his dog, Annie – and he loves it.
Way back in the day, Kevin’s grandfather purchased some land near Buckhorn flats, in the middle of nowhere, in Utah. Kevin’s dad David and three of his ten brothers started a hay farm. Growing up, Kevin remembers moving a lot of sprinkler lines! The highway went through the middle of the farm, and Kevin loved to watch the trucks roll by. Kevin’s dad was also a Berkley Pump salesman and, later, got elected mayor of Hildale, Utah. His mom Jeane is a retired school teacher. Growing up, his parents were serious about education, and didn’t put up with much.
When Kevin was in the 9th grade, he started working for his uncle, Lorin Zitting, hauling firewood to Las Vegas. Once in Vegas, he had to hand unload the wood with a wheelbarrow. His uncle also ran a uranium trucking company, and since Kevin still couldn’t drive on the interstate legally, he drove a big Autocar haul truck with three transmissions and a 220 Cummins, 20 miles each way, on dirt roads with up to 12% grades, moving 90 tons at a time – and one of the transmissions had a broken 3rd gear!
Once he turned 21 and became legal, he started running a line haul truck for his uncle. When he was 22, a friend named Gary White bought a new truck and put Kevin in it. Over the next ten years, Kevin drove several different trucks for Gary. After that, he started pulling triples to Vegas for a buddy that owned a cabinet shop, which was very challenging work. After getting tired of that, Daniel Dutson, the owner of Tuf Transport and a guy Kevin knew from high school, asked him to come work for him. After Kevin agreed, Daniel ordered him a new 1999 Peterbilt 379 standup to drive.
After driving that ‘99 Pete for five years, Kevin convinced Daniel to sell it to him. In 2008, Kevin left Tuf Transport, got his own authority, and bought a step-deck. He still parks at the Tuf yard when he’s in Utah and loves all the guys in the shop. In fact, in 2012, along with a friend who could paint, they helped Kevin fix-up his ‘99 and repaint it orange and white.
After Kevin fixed-up his rig, he realized that things were different. When you run a nice truck, you have to up your game, because now you stand out and people notice you. At that point, he made a conscious effort to be a better person and a better driver. Kevin ended up running that truck 2.7 million miles, until he ordered and took delivery of the clean and simple new rig seen here, which he purchased from Clint.
Kevin’s new 2015 Peterbilt 389 has a 72” standup sleeper, a 315” wheelbase, a 550 ISX Cummins, an 18-speed, low low air-ride and all the goodies. Choosing gray paint to match the interior and Cummins red on the frame to match the engine, once the rig arrived at the dealership, Charlie installed a Gen 3 air-ride kit on the front axle from 12 Ga. Customs. After that, Leonard handled the rest of the build, which included one of Clint’s visors, nine cab lights, cab and sleeper skirts, dummy pipes, stainless Hogebuilt half fenders with Clint’s hidden brackets, and a Jim Crain light bar. He also added a bumper flip kit, stainless battery boxes, and double 359-style headlights. To finish it off, they hid the urea tank and Clint’s dad chopped the air cleaners.
Kevin runs a step-deck across the country, from one side to other, so he decided to buy a place in Stockton, Missouri. When you run coast to coast, it’s nice to have a place in the middle when you need to take a break. But being the go-getter Kevin is, he doesn’t take many breaks. And after running his 1999 Pete for so long and doing his best to always leave a good impression, once again he has had to “up his game” with this new ride – but he does not mind one bit!