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Gary
Gelinas And His Infamous Halloween Hauler
Driving a bright orange and black truck, especially around this time
of year, is a lot of fun for Owner Operator Gary Gelinas. In fact,
he’s already been hearing the "pumpkin" and
"Halloween" comments aplenty. Earlier this year, when we
saw Gary’s rig in a truck calendar, we knew this had to be our
October cover. Not only is this truck special, but the guy behind
the wheel is pretty unique too. With over twenty years of car
hauling experience under his belt, Gary is proud to work for
"Simply the Best" company of them all.
Born in Vermont but raised in California, Gary now calls the sleepy
suburb city of Santa Clarita, California, his
"non-rolling" home. Gary began his trucking career turning
wrenches at several shops around Los Angeles. After eleven years of
dirty hands and smelling like diesel fuel, Gary took the advice (and
help) of a friend and accepted a job hauling Rolls Royce automobiles
(packed into containers) out of the Port of Long Beach. Gary drove
his friend’s truck for a few months then bought his own. He’s
been an owner operator hauling specialized vehicles for over twenty
years now, the last six with Reliable Carriers, whom he couldn’t
say enough good things about.
Reliable Carriers hauls high-end lines of cars, collectibles,
antiques and other specialized vehicles all across the country.
Started in the 1950s by the Abrams family, Reliable now has some 320
pieces of company-owned equipment, 250 drivers (mostly owner
operators) and offices in Michigan, Florida, Arizona and, just
recently added, California. Fifty years later the company is still
owned and operated by the Abrams family and has an almost zero rate
of driver turnover. Tried and true to his company, Gary claims that
he bleeds orange. "The folks at Reliable treat their drivers
with real respect. They are always there when we need them. If
someone drops the ball there is always someone there to pick it up.
Reliable truly is one big happy family," said Gary. Reliable
has such a good standing in the trucking community, that they never
have to advertise for drivers - they already have a waiting list
with hundreds of names on it.
Gary’s latest hot rod rig, his seventh in the last twenty years,
is a long and low, bright orange 2000 Kenworth W900L accented with
exciting black and purple lightening-bolt stripes. The overall
scheme was Gary’s idea, but Mario at Forest Signs in South Bend,
Indiana, added his artistic talents and gave the bold vinyl graphics
their final touches. Power is supplied by a 550 Cat backed up by an
18-speed transmission and 3:36 rears. The exterior features several
custom stainless steel pieces including the visor, steps, side
panels and grill bars. Other extras include fiberglass full fenders,
nine lights across the top of the cab and sleeper, lots of diamond
deck plating and custom nut covers with the Kenworth logo (very
tiny) on the end. The truck’s overall wheelbase is 312" long.
Moving inside the truck’s self-contained 120" custom ICT
sleeper, several amenities can be found. With a full-size
refrigerator/freezer, a convection oven, a 44" shower and
complete bathroom, a rear door, a folding dining room table (which
makes way for the fold-down bed) and hardwood floor, this truck is
as comfortable to live in as Gary’s beautiful two-story house. The
truck’s sound system aint that bad either. Pounding out over 1200
watts, the Alpine stereo and CD changer send crystal clear sounds
through a bevy of Kicker speakers, amps and two 12" square
sub-woofers (equivalent in sound to six regular round ones). Gary
has helped promote the Kicker brand of sound equipment by displaying
his truck at a few audio shows around the country. Inside the cab
you’ll find full leather seating and an impressive custom dash
highlighted with lots of stainless steel knobs, switches and gauges
and a few pieces of wood.
Behind the truck, Gary pulls a 53’ enclosed Kentucky car hauling
trailer fitted with three articulating racks. The six-car trailer,
which incorporates the graphic scheme from the truck, has a hardwood
floor, a full-size liftgate (that works like an elevator), a
fiberglass roof and a stainless steel front, sides (along the
bottom) and rear. Set up as a completely self-contained unit, the
trailer can run on electricity or a PTO. Equipped with its own
batteries, the trailer can be loaded or unloaded even when detached
from the tractor. If Gary had the time, he would love to enter his
rig into shows, but the truth is, his customers come first. His
truck is a business - not a hobby - so he rarely shuts it down for a
truck show. In fact, he adds, as nice as Reliable’s fleet is, you’ll
rarely ever see one of their trucks parked at a show because they’re
out on the road. There’s plenty of work to keep their drivers busy
- with hardly ever any deadhead miles.
Gary
loves his trucking job and says he couldn’t be happier. The only
"gripe" we could get out of him was the cost of fuel,
which he attributes to politics and it being an election year. Gary
wants to continue trucking for as long as he can - he’s in no
hurry to retire. But when he does, he thinks maybe he’ll open a
nightclub with a hot rod/trucking theme. Sounds interesting. In
today’s "new" economy, only the strong will survive.
Companies that take good care of their drivers will prosper in the
coming years and the rest will probably go away. With Reliable’s
great reputation, combined with Gary’s commitment to his customers
and quality service, these two icons will surely be standing when
the dust settles. There’s no tricks, just treats, for Gary and his
"Halloweeen Hauler" - no matter what time of year.
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