Rhett Butler is no stranger to
attention. With a name as well known as his, it hasn’t always been easy. But he’s had a lot of fun with it over the years. A good example of that would be his incredible
flagship “Frankly My Dear...” which he built to promote his company (and have some fun). Depicting characters and scenes from the classic movie “Gone with the Wind”, this truck is a rolling tribute to the spirit of pioneerism and freedom.
Rhett, who was named after Clark Gable’s character by his aunt, began his journey some 35 years ago when he started a one-truck company to haul feed and seed for his parents agricultural business. Due to the seasonal nature of the work, he quickly realized he would have to start hauling for hire and got his first authority.
Today, Rhett Butler Trucking, based in Andalusia, Alabama, is a large 125-truck operation that runs in all 48 states and most of Canada. With a van division, a tanker division and a bulk division, his
company hauls just about everything, from one end of the continent to the
other. In fact, business is going so well, they currently are awaiting the arrival of 21 brand new Kenworth W900s to add to the fleet. Although their current fleet (which consists almost entirely of KW T2000s) is very nice, none can compare with the rig on our cover this month. And Larry Weaver, the lucky driver/promoter (shown above) who gets to run it, frankly can’t believe it. He doesn’t know how he got the job, but he isn’t complaining.
After a long career in medicine, Larry retired early but got bored. Having grown up around trucking, he met with Rhett and soon thereafter became a driver. That was 8 years ago. Since then, Larry has also done safety training, driver orientations and recruiting. For the last year, Larry has been in charge of show truck promotions, and that keeps him pretty busy.
Last year, his first out in the new truck, he competed at nine truck shows. This year he had planned on hitting 18 shows, but that proved too much, so he has since cut it back to about 14. But this truck does more than just “show” - it works pretty hard too. When it’s not at a show, it’s working (unless its being worked on), and when it’s going to a show or returning home, it always has a load aboard. In fact, it was carrying a load when we shot these pictures. It might not run as many miles as the average truck, but it gets out there and runs a bit.
Originally, the truck was built to be a high-tech truck, but somewhere along the way, someone (rumor has it
that it was Rhett’s wife Lynn) had the idea to cover it with murals and make it a
full-blown show truck. And that’s what
they did. They hired artist Wes Hardin to airbrush the murals on the tractor. He then airbrushed a picture for the trailer sides
on a large canvas. This painting was then digitized and blown up. A large vinyl “sticker” was created and then applied to every side of the trailer.
The exterior, in addition to the murals, features ample amounts of Spectralite strip lighting, and the fenders (on both the tractor and trailer) feature famous quotes from the movie. On one side they say “I’ll think about it tomorrow!” and “Oh, fiddle dee dee!” and on the other it says “Mist’ Rhett, you is bad!” and “And you my dear, are no lady!” There aren’t many places to put chrome on a T2000, but they found a few spots. It’s a fun truck to spend some time with, walk around, laugh and try to
remember the parts of the movie you thought you forgot.
Inside the tractor, you’ll find the latest high-tech products available - some you’ve seen and maybe some you haven’t. When sitting behind the wheel, Larry has several monitors, mounted inside the cab, to help him keep tabs on what’s going on around the truck. There are cameras on the side of the truck to
monitor the no-zone areas, as well as one on the roof pointing forward. This is a night vision camera which sends enhanced pictures to a monitor in the cab. There is also a driver drowsiness system which emits a loud sound if Larry gets too close to the lines or begins to weave in the lane. The truck has an on-board scale, a GPS system, a DVD player and a satellite TV with a tracking dish (it works even while the truck is in motion). There are also two on-board computers - one monitors the truck’s internal systems and the other
provides clear communication with the company back home. A beautiful brown hardwood floor, accented with stainless steel strips in the gaps, helps give this
functional and somewhat sterile interior some grace and elegance.
Under the hood is a strong 600 Cat C-16, which delivers its power through a near-effortless Eaton 18-speed automatic transmission and 3:55 rears. The rig is also equipped with an automatic greasing system for both the tractor and trailer.
But, as incredible as it looked, there was a problem. At the truck shows, judges weren’t sure how to rate the combination. The tractor fell into the “murals” class and the trailer was in the “graphics” class. Ultimately, even though they brought home several trophies, this inconsistency hurt their overall scores. So they decided to build another trailer.
By the time you read these pages, Rhett Butler’s new trailer has probably already been unveiled - so that puts this article somewhere between old news and nostalgia - depending on how you look at it. Truth is, we knew the new trailer was coming, we just didn’t want to wait any longer. But what a great way to say “good-bye” to the old one. For now it is forever immortalized as our July 2002 centerfold and cover (cue the fanfare). So, quite possibly, this could be the last article you’ll ever read about Rhett’s “vinyl graphics” trailer.
Waiting in the wings, getting the final touches, is a new 53’ Utility trailer that has been completely airbrushed with murals from the motion picture. As you walk around the trailer, the murals take you on a scene-by-scene tour of the entire movie. Lavender neon strips line the top and bottom rails of the trailer and, underneath, every other rib has a neon strip. With both the tractor and trailer, working together harmoniously, this seamless combination will be one hard rig to beat.
Rhett goes to as many shows as he can but he’s a busy man with a company to run. When he can’t go with Larry, he’ll send along a helper - someone from inside the office - and give them a chance to see what’s its like to be out on the road. They get first-hand knowledge about driving endless miles, dealing with demanding customers and a lesson in polishing from Larry. This gives Rhett’s office staff a deeper appreciation for their drivers - and it gives them a fun vacation (sort of). We were lucky enough to meet Billy Saxon, Rhett Butler Trucking’s friendly director of sales and marketing.
Larry’s wife doesn’t take too kindly to him being gone so much - after all, he’s supposed to be retired! Maybe next time. Looking forward to hooking up the new trailer and kickin’ butt at the shows, both Larry and Rhett are excited about what they’re doing and where they’re going. Because, frankly (you’ve been waiting for this)... “They do give a damn!”
