Although he worked off-and-on with his father at the nursery, trucking was in Henk’s blood. He always loved trucks, and deep down inside he knew he was destined to be a trucker. In 1962 Henk bought a truck and began what would be a long and fruitful trucking career. His first truck was a Chevrolet cab-over he paid $9,000 for. The truck had a Detroit Diesel V-53 engine with a mere 195 horsepower - the truck made a lot of noise but had no power. For about ten years he hauled auto parts for Ford and General Motors from their manufacturing plants in Detroit to assembly plants in New Jersey (these plants have long since been closed down). Throughout the 1970s, Henk made a good living as a “wildcat” trucker, more commonly known in today’s terms as trip leasing. He jumped from carrier to carrier, oftentimes hauling a load one way for one company and coming back with a load from a different company. In the 1980s he began hauling machinery.

Three years ago Henk found his home at Premier Transportation in Long Beach, California. Premier is a relatively new company (about 12 years old) that specializes in hauling new tooling machinery, most of which comes in containers from overseas. Company drivers pickup the containers and bring them back to the warehouse where they are loaded onto dropdeck trailers, fully tarped (even if they are inside a sealed crate) and then taken to their final destination (which can be anywhere in the country). Premier’s fleet consists of about 35 owner operators and a few company drivers - and they all have fantastic trucks! Premier also has terminals in Elgin, Illinois and Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Over the years, Henk has owned many trucks. After wearing out the Chevrolet cab-over, he bought a GMC “Cracker Box” cab-over, then an Emeryville, then a GMC “Bubble Nose”, (2) Astros, an old Kenworth, an old Peterbilt cab-over, (4) Internationals, and now, having saved the best for last, the beautiful Pete featured on our cover this month.

One of Premier’s infamous owner operators, Winus Cleyne, was featured on our cover back in February of 1995, and then again inside the magazine as a “Reader’s Rig” a few years later when he got a new truck. Winus, who is also Dutch, is a close friend of Henk’s and the one that convinced him to build the flawless truck featured on our cover this month. Henk bought the truck new last year but didn’t really have any intentions of fixing it up. But Winus had other ideas. He pushed, prodded, and finally persuaded Henk to go all out on this, most likely, his “Last Ride” as a trucker. Once he decided to do it, Henk jumped in head-first and became obsessed with having nothing but the best of the best on his truck.

The 2000 Peterbilt 379 features a strong 550 horsepower Cat engine, an 18-speed transmission, 3:70 rears, a 275” wheelbase and a 3-cylinder Kubota diesel generator. On top of the cab sits a roof-mounted air conditioner and a satellite TV dome. With the flick of a switch (when stationary), the satellite finds and locks onto its signal wherever it is (or wherever you are). The system doesn’t work while the truck is moving, but who can watch TV and drive safely at the same time anyway. The exterior is adorned with chrome and stainless and the interior is covered in Rosewood. Behind the sleeper is a custom stainless steel drom box made by Brunner’s Fabrication in Joplin, Missouri, complete with several lights and the words, “The Flying Dutchmans” Last Ride. But what really separates this truck from the rest is the paint.

When Henk purchased the truck, it had been specially ordered by someone who never took delivery. The truck is painted Metallic Gray with Black Cherry fenders and tanks. Winus helped Henk with the initial design of the paint scheme, then Henk took the truck to Scott Signs in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to be hand-painted with murals depicting outdoor scapes and flying eagles. Henk’s one request was that both sides be painted differently. The driver’s side features an eagle in flight with a river below and the passenger side has an eagle landing on the top of a dead tree. Henk chose eagles because of the freedom and beauty they represent. Since birds can walk on the earth, fly in the sky, and many can swim in the water, they have true freedom. And the eagle, which also represents America, is undoubtedly the most majestic of all the birds. It took Scott five days to complete the job. After the murals were finished, two coats of clear were applied to the truck. The end result is a spectacular display of color and creativity, showing the world the level of pride that Henk has for his truck, the trucking industry, his country and himself.

At 67 years young, Henk says he doesn’t feel a day over 39. Although his mother passed away back in 1984, his father is still kicking at 101 years old. His health is not the best, but at 101 what do you expect. Henk just got back from a 4-week vacation in Holland and Scotland, visiting family and friends and, as always, making a few new ones. The KLM Airlines flight he took home was half deserted, having been just one week since the terrorist attacks on New York City.

As the subject of conversation shifted to the terrorist attacks, we could see that Henk was deeply affected by the events of September 11th. From the beach near Henk’s home, Brooklyn is visible just across the water, and Manhattan is just behind that. Henk recounted the hundreds of times he crossed the turnpike into New York, always glancing over at the skyline which was dominated by the World Trade Center Towers. And now, to look that way and see a gaping hole in the city, just breaks his heart.

Visibly shaken at the mere mention of the subject, Henk had to hold back the tears as he told us that he knew people who perished in the towers, not to mention, his son works just a few blocks away from them. It’s sad but true, that most immigrants have a deeper respect for the freedoms we have in this country than those of us that were born and raised here. We native Americans (and I’m not talking about Indians) have never experienced oppression, so we are, for the most part, naive to the thought of it. Henk is not. He doesn’t take his freedom for granted (and neither should you or I).

Henk figures he can get ten good years out of this “Last Ride,” putting him around 76 years old when he retires. But, he said, he’d retire early if he “came into some money” and travel the world. He still has a few things to do inside of the truck, but for the most part he is finished with it. Now he just wants to enjoy it. He told us it took him a few months for it to really sink in that this was HIS truck! He thanks Premier for the opportunity to earn a good living and to his family (one brother, one sister, three children and six grandchildren) and friends for making life worth living - especially his best friend - Winus. Without his friendly persistence, this truck would have never been built.

Henk Dekens works hard, but loves it. He couldn’t imagine his life doing anything other than driving a truck. When the call of the open road beckons you, there isn’t much you can do but put the pedal to the metal and go trucking. There’s nothing like the ultimate freedom of the open road stretching out ahead of you. And if this truly is Henk’s “Last Ride,” he certainly saved the best for last. Congratulations Henk.