TRUCKING
FOR
This month’s Readers And Their Rigs comes to us from Jim Ernst of Kerrville, Texas. Although not a trucker now, Jim drove for about four years in the late 1970’s. At that time, he decided to go into real estate and other investment-type businesses, but trucks never left his bloodstream. Shown below is Jim’s latest creation, a custom 45-foot motor coach and 28-foot cargo trailer which he built to attend hot rod, Harley and truck shows. After building two other coaches, Jim wanted something that looked (and felt) more like a truck, so he decided to make one from a show-worthy Pete 379. Ordering the last Cat 600 that came off the assembly line, he had the engine installed into a new 2003 Pete with an 18-speed Eaton AutoShift, then sent the tractor to United Specialties in Elkhart, Indiana, to have the custom coach built and fitted. Inside, the coach features a Southwest-style decor with all the latest electronics, including a 42-inch plasma TV that drops down from the ceiling, surround sound, a DVD player, an in-motion satellite system, and a second flat-screen TV in the bedroom. The living room area features a slide-out side for more room when parked, not to mention three roof-mounted A/C units and a tile floor. Next, the rig was sent to 4-State Trucks in Joplin, Missouri, where it spent three months getting decked out with LED lights, fiberglass fenders, fat stacks, a super-low drop-down visor and plenty of chrome, inside and out. Today, Jim owns and operates a ranch in Texas, which raises and sells exotic deer to finer restaurants throughout the country. But, after all these years, Jim still loves trucks, and hopes to take this latest ride to a few shows in 2004. |
