ITS 2001 Show Report
"Showtime in Vegas"

Many exhibitors noted a reduced number of people at the show, but then also reported making big transactions, confirming that ITS continues to deliver. The 10-4 Magazine booth, as usual, was bursting with activity. In fact, in our opinion (no bias here), the 10-4 booth stole the show. With the help of James Cotta’s “Millennium Mack” (last month’s cover truck) gracing our space, as well as free souvenir shirts, posters and caricatures, we always had a large, wide-eyed crowd (photo 1). For the first time ever at this show, we actually ran out of magazines on the morning of the last day.

Along with James Cotta and his family came a small army of friends and helpers. Engineer Gene Wagner was on hand to answer technical questions and give demos of the truck’s unique features, while friends Bob Hitchcock (owner of Cherokee Truck Parts) and Stephen Bernard (trucker and fan) were there making sure nobody leaned on the truck or touched something they weren’t supposed to. Everyone thought the truck was fiberglass - nobody could believe it when we told them it was all fabricated of aluminum and steel. The truck’s CD/DVD player provided great music and visual entertainment for everyone who stopped by the booth or just walked past.

There were no significant introductions at this year’s show, but there was plenty to see. Some of the more popular products were satellite radios, high-intensity headlights, LED lights (including a line of cool LEDs with clear bulbs and lenses that light up in color), lots of safety-related products and engine accessories (especially in the area of engine brakes), and much more. The presence of several major trailer makers made up for the few truck manufacturers that weren’t there. One attendee went as far as to call it the “International Trailer Show.” Products that increased efficiency or saved fuel were also a hot commodity.

After a Tuesday afternoon truck parade down the Las Vegas Strip (photo 5), over 50 of the finest rigs were staged and set to compete across the street from the convention center at the Show & Shine truck beauty contest. The show, an official event of the Stars & Stripes competition series, ran extra smooth despite the heat thanks to the hard work of Bob & Suzanne Stempinski and their crew, which included Rod & Kim Grimm, Angie Smith, Neil Holsomback, Darian Stephens, Tod Job, Victor Verrett and Roxane Campbell. These folks, as well as many others, made sure the beauty contest was fair, fun and well-organized.

The truck show circuit is an ever-evolving world, and this year was no exception. Over the last few years, murals and extravagant graphics were the dominant theme of many show trucks. But this year it seems the trend is moving toward simple and clean trucks with custom fabricated accessories and unique parts that can be hard to notice for the casual observer. The most popular items were Double JJ headlights and blinker bars, WTI fiberglass full fenders, hardwood interior floors, LEDs and neon lights.

This month’s cover truck is a good example of this simple and clean look. With rows and rows of eye candy, it was easy to overlook Vladimir Bilik’s clean black Pete and stainless reefer, but the judges sure didn’t. Winning Best of Show Combo, Participant’s Choice, Best Combo 1995 or Newer and Best Interior (OEM sleeper), Vlad took home a few extra pounds of cargo for his trophy room.

Of course, there were a few trucks that had extensive graphics and/or murals - and they were spectacular. Dean Pliaconis’ KW W900L combo, covered with stripes and bright ribbons of color, took top honors in the Professional Show Truck class while Larry Weaver of Rhett Butler Trucking won the New Truck Combo class with a high-tech KW T2000 adorned with painted pictures and vinyl graphics of scenes from the movie “Gone With the Wind” (photo 3). But the real show-stopper was Dale & Connie Ison’s “Dragon Master” - a KW T2000 covered (literally) with intertwining murals of half-naked warrior women, unicorns, castles, wizards, wild animals, and one mean dragon. Dale & Tabytha Young’s Volvo VN770 “Keeper of the Stars” was decorated with spiritual sayings and Native American murals. All of these trucks were fantastic and most won awards.

Once again, the folks at Sandvik Trucking cleaned up. Chuck Prigge and their “Kaotic” Pete (our May 2001 cover truck) won Best of Show Bobtail, 1st in Engine, 2nd in Bobtail 1995-1999, and 3rd in Interior (OEM sleeper). Ricky Torres and Sandvik’s “Delirious Dezire” took 1st in Combo 1986-1994, 2nd in Interior (aftermarket sleeper), 3rd in Engine, and was 1st runner-up in the Best of Show Combo class. Some other notable trucks included Russ & Debbie Brown’s “Razor’s Edge” KW, Chris Lewis’ blue and pink Pete, Mike Humphries’ yellow 1980 Pete, Steve & Melissa Woodard’s “Hillbilly Hilton” (photo 6), and Ron Watt’s maroon Pete featuring a custom-made metal “hammer” attached to his throttle linkage. When Ron “puts the hammer down” the hammer actually goes down!

The People’s Choice award is decided by anyone who wants to pay $1.00 and vote for their favorite rig. All of the money collected was split between the winner, Theresa Ferneyhough of Sky Trucking, and a donation to the “Trucker Buddy” program. This was a special award, given to Theresa out of admiration and respect for her and her husband, Philip, who are very well-known in the truck show circuit. Last year Philip suffered a debilitating stroke and has still not yet recovered. Theresa brought out their Freightliner and cleaned it up pretty good. Tears flowed as the couple’s story was told and the award was presented at the Trophy Dash on Friday afternoon.

Special thanks go out to Jerry Jeffries of Double JJ for all the ice cold water and to the guy with the Thrifty rig who passed out free ice cream. We’d also like to say “thanks” to Sue Fena and the rest of the ITS Management team. They always host a great show and take good care of us at 10-4. Next year’s show is being held on Thursday through Saturday (instead of Wednesday through Friday) on June 27-29, 2002. Be sure to make your reservations for this show early by calling (650) 349-4876. 10-4 would like to congratulate the winners (photo 4) and participants in the Show & Shine contest at ITS 2001. And they were: