This month’s truck was ordered and built for my friend Laddi Singh Aujla (29) of Goodwill Carriers in Bakersfield, CA. I am often amazed at the special group of people in this world that share the love of trucks. Laddi grew up in a small village in India with only 100 people. His family still has a small farm there. His grandparents moved to Canada in the late 1990s, along with other family members. Laddi was nine years old when his uncle showed him the truck he drove in Canada. Laddi decided right then and there, if God would give him a chance, driving a truck was his dream and what he wanted to do.
The older of two boys from dad Sukhwinder Singh Aujla and mom Karmjit Kaur Aujla, Laddi’s parents moved to Canada about four years ago, and his dad drives a truck. His brother Jaspreet Singh Aujla drives a truck, as well. Laddi made it through high school and went to college in India. He jokingly said, “College keeps you out of the fields, so school was good.”
In 2016 Laddi moved to the US through a sponsor and then got a job at a truck stop in Sacramento, CA while working to get his CDL. A lot of his friends drove trucks, which fueled his fire even more. Standford Transportation out of Bakersfield, CA helped Laddi get started in a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia, and by 2017 Laddi was driving. He eventually would purchase that truck on his own. As his love for trucks and trucking grew, Laddi made more friends, and then he began thinking about what his dream truck would be. Someone he knew had ordered a truck from me and gave him my number, and as we always say, the rest is history.
The first time Laddi came by the dealership we didn’t have any build slots, but I told him that if something became available, I would let him know. He remembers the exact spot where he was when I finally called him with a slot! Laddi had a dream, and he wanted a special color, not wanting it to be exactly the same as anyone else, so we picked an unpublished light blue paint. Once the truck was built and arrived, Mike got the assignment to dial in Laddi’s dream truck, and Cody and Pat helped along the way.
While driving the Freightliner he owned, he would often stop by and be so excited to see progress in the build as it went along. Laddi was always happy and excited, and never has had one negative thing to say. As you know, and I tell everyone, cool is not easy, but we worked hard to fulfill Laddi’s dream, because we knew how important it was to him. When it came time to pick the truck up, a few of his friends came with him, and it was an awesome celebration. The truck is a 389 Peterbilt 63” HR, powered by an X15 Cummins with 2,050 torque hooked to an 18-speed, with a 295”wheelbase, sitting on Low Low Air, and loaded with all the good stuff.
Wanting the frame to stay nice, Laddi opted to have us repaint it to help avoid any peeling as time went on. It was then outfitted with a Stuart air ride front end, one of my body drop kits, a stainless 12 Ga. grill, screen and bars, single headlights (capped and polished), lots of glass lights and amber under glow, a Kopy Kat visor, and 12 Ga. mirror arms. We also added strapless breathers, wide cowl panels, stainless boxes, Hogebuilt half fenders, a Jim Crain light bar, a painted Merritt flush deck plate with polished edge trim strips, and an air chime. We then hid the DEF tank and the hood latches, along with painting the air and fuel tanks. This was Laddi’s dream truck, so Mike, Cody, and Pat the painter made sure that he got everything he wanted.
To finish the build, Cody did paint correction and then ceramic coated the entire truck. Laddi also got his dream trailer – a polished and painted to match stainless Great Dane reefer, built by his friends at Quality Trailer Repair in Miami, FL. Laddi wanted to give special thanks to his friends and brothers Amrit Gill, Parry, Deepi, Benipal, Ranjot, Mani, and Sipa. They always encouraged him to fulfill his dream, and he is doing it. When I asked Laddi how things were going he said, “I am living my dream. God is great!”