COVER FEATURE - FEBRUARY 2004
Usually when you see a pink truck on the road, you almost automatically assume that a lady is behind the wheel. But not so with this flashy pink and magenta Peterbilt. Nope. Take a peek inside this rig as you pass by and you’ll see a gruff, fifty-year-old man with thirty years of driving under his belt behind the wheel. But, after a few seconds of gazing, you forget about missing the opportunity to check out some good-looking female trucker and are quickly drawn in to the beauty of Bob Smithson’s ride - bright pink and all!
Bob Smithson of Rancho Cucamonga, California uses this cool 1988 Pete 379 to run local pickups and deliveries around the Inland Empire. Leased on with Roadrunner Freight Systems based out of Cudahy, Wisconsin, Bob works out of their Fontana, California terminal. For months, Bob’s rig caught our eye, but we never had a chance to pull him over or get a name or phone number. But, thankfully, Bob did a very smart thing - he snapped a few pictures of his truck and e-mailed them to us with a note.
When we saw the photos, it was like it was meant to be, because earlier that very same day, we had seen him on the road but again failed to make a connection. Now that we had a name and contact information, it was only a matter of time before we would get together and do a photo shoot. But Bob had a hard time waiting. When we told him we would get together in about six months, we could tell that he didn’t want to wait. But good things come to those who wait, and besides, time goes pretty fast, and before we knew it, six months had passed and we found ourselves in a grassy field in San Bernardino, California, taking a ton of terrific shots of Bob’s truck.
Growing up in El Monte, California, Bob was passed the trucking “bug” from his father. His dad ran OTR most of his life, starting out when he was seventeen and just recently retiring in his late sixties. After graduating from high school, Bob went to college for a short time. He always liked numbers, so he thought he might enjoy accounting (I don’t know how anyone could “enjoy” accounting), but it didn’t take him long to realize that this course of study had little or nothing to do with numbers, so he quit. He worked a few odd jobs for a couple of years and then one day, at the age of 20, he climbed into his dad’s twin-stick Kenworth (dad was a KW man all his life) and off they went. Bob and his dad ran as a team for about three months. At that point, they both realized that if they spent one more day together on the road they would probably try to kill each other. So Bob went off on his own.
Bob never seemed to stay in one place for very long. Over the years, he drove for a lot of companies. His usual stay was about three or four years, then he’d get bored and move on to the next challenge. From general freight, to produce, to chemical fertilizers, Bob has hauled just about everything. In 1983 he went to work for RC Trucking of Yorba Linda, CA. At the time, owner Roger Conley was only an acquaintance, but over the years, the two became great friends. In 1993, Roger offered to sell one of his trucks to Bob. Up until then, Bob had always driven other people’s trucks, but he saw this as a great opportunity and bought it. The truck was none other than the one on our cover this month - of course, back then it didn’t look anything like it does now.
The first-year Pete 379 (1988) had the same basic configuration, but it was equipped with a 63-inch flat top sleeper. The truck was pink back then, but it was a darker metallic color and there were no graphics. It wasn’t fancy, but it was in good shape. Bob ran back and forth to Phoenix and the Bay area for RC Trucking for several years until they lost a few contracts. At that time, Bob bought a spread-axle reefer and began hauling frozen meat in California.
In February of 2001, Bob signed on with Roadrunner, who had just opened their latest facility in Fontana. In the morning, he hooks to a loaded trailer and goes out and makes multiple deliveries. Then, in the afternoon, he makes pickups which he brings back to the yard. He’s kind of like a UPS or FedEx driver, only he’s in a much cooler truck - and he’s hauling pallets, not letters. Realizing that he needed more maneuverability and better visibility, he took off the sleeper, which he wasn’t using anyway. But all those years of driving had taken their toll on Bob’s ride, and it was in need of some major TLC.
For years, Bob thought about fixing the truck up, but it just never happened. In fact, he was stockpiling parts in his garage. He’d find something on sale and buy it, then put it away. Finally, his wife even got on him to get the thing painted, and so the project was begun. And once it started, it went pretty fast. Beginning in April of 2003, the truck was basically finished three months later in July.
Bob took the truck to Universal Paint in Anaheim, CA where it spent quite a few weeks. Their dedicated team did a job that Bob was really impressed with. Occasionally, he would show up unannounced to see how things were going. One day he walked in and found seven guys sanding on the cab. When Bob showed the painter the colors that he had chosen, the guy said, “Really?” Most thought the pink was “too much” but Bob didn’t care - he liked it and that was all that mattered. And in the end, most everybody that had questioned Bob’s color choices liked them as well. Bob had sketched out the graphic design years ago on a sheet of paper, and to finally see it on his truck took his breath away. He loves it!
The entire frame and undercarriage was painted pink. Bob says the pink paint on the inside of the frame rails is just as perfect as the paint on the outside of his fiberglass full fenders. Universal sprayed the magenta first, then the pink, and then clear coated the entire truck. The air horns were removed from the roof and extra bus lights were added atop the truck’s cab.
Other revisions included shaving the turn signals off the ends of the headlights (his blinkers are now small lights mounted to the outside edge of his bumper), flipping his side mirrors upside-down to look lower, removing the hood handle, and adding a bunch of lights (including neon tubes underneath the frame rails and battery boxes and behind the front bumper). The lights were done by Ray Fries, better known as “The Light Man” to many truckers. Bob also removed the Peterbilt emblems, but it didn’t look right, so he put them back on. Basically, everything bolted onto the truck was replaced (such as the visor, air cleaners, mirrors and brackets, bumper, etc.), as well as all the glass.
From the back of the cab to the fifth wheel, a single piece of polished stainless steel deck plating was fastened between the frame rails in a way in which no bolts are visible. Bob had a special stainless steel box built and mounted to the deck plate to house his quick-connect air-line connections. The back of the truck features a light bar made years ago by Roger when it was his truck (it’s actually two light bars welded together). Bob currently has a new light bar on order and is anxiously awaiting its arrival. Dark-tinted glass was fit into the sleeper walk-through hole and now Bob has a nice (and big) rear window.
Wanting larger stacks but not wanting to pay the high price, Bob and Roger built their own from scratch. Starting with raw steel pipes, they miter-cut the ends themselves and then shipped the pipes to a place in South Carolina that could chrome plate pieces up to ten feet long. Bob and Roger made their own sleeves to fit the pipes (without any clamps) into the polished elbows. When it was all said and done, Bob saved $1,300 by doing the job himself. And now that they know how to do it, Roger wants a set for one of his trucks.
Mechanically, the truck is good too - even with over 1.7 million miles on the odometer. Featuring a Cummins 444 (which has had two or three complete overhauls), an 18-speed transmission and 3.55 rears, the truck is always good to go. The interior is pretty stock, with the exception of custom seats built by Elmer’s in Huntington Park (a longtime advertiser and friend of 10-4). These seats, when all the way up, are lower than most seats go down. And when they are down, the top of the cushion is only six inches above the floor.
Between running his business (he has a second truck and a driver), driving and working on the trucks, there isn’t much time for anything else. Thankfully, Judy (Bubbette) at Cross Country Licensing in Garden Grove, CA takes care of Bob’s filings and paperwork. When Bob does find some time, he enjoys relaxing with his family - especially his 6-year-old granddaughter Lexie (short for Alexandria). Lexie loves to drive in the truck and is the one that named it “Pinky”. Bob hopes to one day own enough trucks that he won’t have to drive them anymore - just have fun with them. Then he could stay home and play with Lexie all day (which is what he really wants to do). Bob has been happily married to his wife Ellen for 12 years, and they each have a grown-up daughter from previous marriages.
When Bob began building this truck, he had no intention of creating a “show” truck. It just sort of happened (as these things do). Truth is, he’s not really that interested in going to truck shows (at least to compete). In his humble opinion, he doesn’t stand a chance against the competition. But we would beg to differ. And if you think Bob is “soft” for having a pink truck, the words across his back window say it all: “That’s Right Bubba... It’s Pink!”