COVER FEATURE - NOVEMBER 2002
People have always said
that the business of running trucks gets in your veins. It only makes sense,
then, to also assume that it can be passed from generation to generation. In
Fred Rivera's case, his grandfather got a drop in his bloodstream and then passed
it on to his son (Fred's dad), who obviously "infected" Fred, who
in turn is now passing it on to his offspring. Fred, a third generation trucker
from Stockton, California, is grooming his sons to continue the family trucking
tradition. It seems that even just a drop of diesel can go a long way.
Fred's grandfather Juan Rivera came
to the United States from Mexico in the 1930s. Fred's dad Louis was just a youngster
at the time. Moving to the fertile central valley of California, the Rivera
family began farming. Of course with farming comes trucks. In 1943 Juan purchased
a new half-ton gas-powered truck and formed Rivera Trucking. But Grandpa Juan
wasn't interested in trucking - he just wanted to get his produce to the local
markets. But that exposure to trucks led Louis to step up to the next level
when he took over.
After returning from the Korean War
in the early 1950s, Louis bought a gas-powered Chevy truck and trailer, and
then in 1952 stepped up to a 2-axle Diamond T diesel-powered truck. Fred's mom
can still recall Louis working hard all day and then spending half the night,
every night, getting the truck ready for the next day. At this time, Rivera
Trucking was growing and expanding, hauling hay to local dairies and farms.
Many of Louis' brothers also got involved with the operation. In 1965 Louis
bought a new Pete conventional which is still in the fleet and running today.
While growing up, it was Fred and his brother Sal's job to wash the trucks.
If they didn't do the job right, their dad would make them go out and do it
again. And if it still wasn't right, he'd make them do it again. The two boys
quickly learned to do the job right - and do it right the first time! Fred is
very thankful today to his father for teaching him such a good work ethic back
then.
After Fred graduated from high school
his father gave him two choices: go to school or go to work. Fred gave college
a try but quickly realized it wasn't what he wanted, so in 1977 his trucking
career began. Learning from their father, Fred and his brother Sal gained the
knowledge and experience they needed to take over the company in 1995. At that
time, Rivera Trucking had seven trucks and was mostly running agricultural commodities
like sugar beets, beans and grapes. But Fred and his brother were tired of the
seasonal work and the abuse their equipment was getting, so they bought some
flatbed trailers and started looking for other things to haul.
For a while, they hauled a lot of
potting soil to Home Depot stores, and then they got turned on to a roofing
tile company and began hauling loads for them. Today, roofing tile is Rivera's
main freight. They still have a few trucks running ag products when they are
in season but the rest of the time they are busy hauling tile. And with the
way the housing market has been, builders can't build houses fast enough so
business is booming for Fred and his brother. Since taking over the company,
Fred and Sal have purchased four trucks, bringing their fleet to eleven power
units, along with several sets of flats, bottom dumps and grain hopper trailers.
One of the trucks they acquired was the super-sharp 1998 Pete 379 seen on this
month's cover.
Fred and his brother ordered this
truck just the way they wanted it. Fred always wanted a show-worthy truck and
had high hopes for this Pete. But it didn't start out on a good foot. The company
color was always a specially-mixed burnt orange color called Rivera Orange.
All of the Rivera trucks are painted that color. But Fred wanted to add a second
color, so he ordered this truck with a Black Cherry frame and fenders. Fred's
dad, who is still active in the company and hauls a load of tile every day to
Sacramento, wasn't happy - he thought Fred was making a big mistake messing
with the company colors.
When the truck finally came, Fred
and Sal's hearts sank - not only was it wrong but it looked terrible. Peterbilt
mistakenly used a color called Chevy Purple which was much lighter than the
proposed Black Cherry. Fred and Sal both said, "Man, we messed up!"
At the advice of their father, they decided not to send the truck back for a
repaint, and instead to just live with it. But after the graphics and lettering
were applied and some of the chrome was added, the truck actually started to
look good. Eventually, they decided they really liked it and began painting
all their trucks those colors. Today, people always ask Fred how he came up
with such a unique color scheme and he just laughs and says, "I didn't
- Peterbilt screwed up and came up with it!"
The 3-axle truck has a strong 600
Caterpillar under the hood, an 18-speed transmission and 3:50 rears. Fred removed
the horns from the roof and added nine bullet lights across the top of the cab.
He also chopped the air cleaners, added seven-inch stacks and Double JJ blinker
bars, and turned the mirrors upside-down for that lower look. Several blue lights
have been hidden underneath the truck and behind the bumper to provide a nice
glow at night. He also found some very unique lights in a motorcycle magazine,
which he mounted on his side mirrors, that feature chrome flames on the lenses.
Although it looks like a chrome sticker was put on the outside surface of the
lens or maybe the flames were painted on, that is not the case. Both the inside
and the outside surfaces of these lenses are completely smooth. Somehow, the
design is seamlessly integrated into the lens. Fred also had ghost flames painted
on the lower portion of the truck's cab and on the fenders.
The truck's headlights prompted a funny story. It seems back in the early 1980s, Fred had a 1979 Pete 359 with the standard round headlights of that time. But when the new Petes came out with square lights, Fred had to have them, so he took off the round ones and put on a pair of new-style square ones. As most of you know, everything old is new again. When Fred ordered this truck, it came with square lights, which he quickly changed to the round lights he had from before. His father thought he was crazy! There's a lesson here: don't throw things away that are "out of style" or old. Chances are, one day, it will be back in style and sought after (like these old round 359 headlights).
The interior of Fred's truck is decked
out with plenty of rosewood and stainless. He also added a nice stereo. Under
the hood, most of the components on Fred's gleaming engine have been chromed.
Switching to hauling roofing tiles
not only helped the business, but it helped Fred's personal life too. While
at one of the tile companies he met his fiancé Cindy five years ago.
With plans to marry "sometime" next year, the two of them combined
have six children from previous relationships. Fred has three boys and a girl,
and Cindy has two boys. Fred's oldest son Steven (21) began driving for his
dad about two years ago and loves it, while his younger sons Nicholas (7) and
Louis (6) are just beginning to get interested in dad's trucks.
Happy with the way things are, Fred
is comfortable with the size of the business and isn't looking to grow - he's
content to just continue to satisfy his current customers. As a longtime reader
of 10-4, Fred was extremely excited and thankful about being featured on the
cover. Fred wanted to say "thanks" to some of the many people who
have helped him along the way. People like his uncle David (who taught him how
to polish) and uncle Frank, his late uncle Rudy, Trent Diaz (who does most of
his painting and fabrication), the boys at Shane & Dave's, Bob at Cherokee
Truck Parts, all of his drivers (including his son), his brother and partner
Sal and Sal's wife Judy who dispatches. And let's not forget Cindy. Behind every
great man is a great woman, and she sure seems to fit the bill. But he mostly
wanted to thank his father for getting it all started and raising him to be
an honest and dedicated hard worker.
This was more than just a story about a truck. This was a story about a family. A story about traditions and commitment. A story about how one small drop of diesel fuel, put into the right engine, can really produce some power! In this case, four generations of it and counting.