TEN FOUR MAGAZINE - TRUCKING ON-LINE MAGAZINE FOR TRUCKERS

GETTING READY
FOR LOUISVILLE
By Owner Operators Rod & Kim Grimm

After all the snow, ice and winter weather, it’s finally March and we can now turn our thoughts to spring. Daffodils, tulips, WARM rain and longer days, all sound good to me. Spring is always a brief period before we’re off into our next busy season filled with construction detours and bugs! Hey, it beats rough roads and snow and ice. Remember, you should always look for the bright side of things. Sometimes you just have to look harder than other times.

What would March be without that little slice of trucker’s heaven in Louisville, Kentucky? The Mid America Trucking Show 2004 is scheduled to be held on the 25th, 26th and 27th of March. Featuring the newest cool stuff for trucks, new trucks and trailers, informational seminars, recruiters, free concerts and my personal favorite, the working truck show outside!

For us, it’s the first time this year to really clean up the truck and trailer (just showing bobtail wasn’t enough work, so we added the trailer too). We’re going to have the frame on both the truck and trailer sandblasted and painted as part of our maintenance - and the timing couldn’t be better. We’ll arrive at the show with a spotless undercarriage (one more thing we won’t have to worry about while getting the truck cleaned up for the show). Clean and visit, visit and clean, until “rags down” on Thursday morning when the judging begins. Some drivers think those of us who participate in this madness are just as a British friend of ours put it, “absolutely mad”. And maybe we are, but when all the work is finished and you hear someone make a comment like, “This truck doesn’t work,” it’s with a lot of pride that you tell them, “She has a million miles on her.”

Extreme, yes. But a lot of drivers enjoy looking at all the different things we’ve done to our trucks, and it gives them ideas of things they might like to do to theirs, even if they’re not planning on showing it. For us it’s worth all the work and it really helps us better maintain our equipment. I also love sharing all the work my brother Paul has done inside our truck. Some drivers say, “I’d love to drive a truck like that, but I wouldn’t want to put that kind of work into it,” and that’s okay. Showing isn’t for everyone, but for those of us who do, it’s a passion!

Better than all those really cool trucks, is the really cool people who drive them - many of whom we proudly call our friends. It truly is a great group of drivers that really take pride in their trucks and are trying to project a better image of trucking. It’s a lot of fun when you can get together rolling down the road too. Especially if the trucks are really clean. I remember a few times running with Tod Job across I-40. Last summer Bette Garber was riding with us and we got to run with Dave Marcotte along I-84 out of Echo, Utah. He has a great truck and a beautiful tanker. Then, a few weeks ago, we ran with Heather and Roger Hogeland across I-40. We stopped in Kingman to get the trucks washed and then headed into California. That trip was a lot of fun. And as fantastic as the trucks looked, they had 2.25 million miles on them between the two! Tod is fast approaching the million mile mark too. Darian Stephens hit a million miles long ago. And the list goes on. These trucks really do work, so cleaning them for a show is a BIG job. But we do it for people to come and enjoy, so if you can make it to Louisville, come out and see all the great trucks. One tip: comfortable shoes are highly recommended, as you will be walking for miles through those crowded halls.

After enjoying all the trucks outside, a wealth of information can be found inside, where you’ll find booths showing off innovative new products and manufacturers there to listen to your complaints and hopefully solve any problems you might be having. Tell them about the good things too. Everyone seems so quick to criticize and slow to compliment. If you have something good to say about a product or service, don’t hold back. And if you’re looking for a new company, you’ll find almost every one there. Also offered are informational seminars on everything from how to be a good owner operator, with lots of useful tips on paperwork, maintenance and being in business for yourself, to new product information.

Manufacturers now want to hear from us drivers when it comes to designing new trucks. I’m proud to say that Kenworth was the first to do this in 1992 when they formed the Kenworth Drivers Board (I was a member back then). And last year, Rod and I became members again. They really listen to us. In the letter I sent to get on the first Board, I told them they needed doors on the closets instead of having everything out in the open. After all, we have doors on our closets at home, don’t we? We have doors now. Peterbilt followed with The Council of Class, so it must work or they wouldn’t still be doing it. Who knows these trucks better than us drivers? Development engineers? I don’t think so. Maybe we can’t engineer how to do it, but we can tell them what would be nice and where would be a good place to put it. They’re trying to make the trucks more driver-friendly, and sometimes it’s difficult. Take seat placement, for example. All drivers are not 5’7". They (manufacturers) have to find a happy medium that will work for the driver that’s 5' tall, as well as the guy who’s 6' 8". There is a lot of difference in reaching the pedals there!

And after you’ve checked out the trucks outside and walked the aisles inside, it’s time to relax and have some fun. NASCAR legends Ken Schrader and Elliot Sadler will make an appearance courtesy of OTR/Pro Trucker Magazines and The Midnight Trucking Radio Network will welcome country music icon Crystal Gayle. Friday night at 7:30, Kenworth will present The Charlie Daniels Band and Phil Vassar at Freedom Hall. All together, it’s too much to see in the three short days it runs, but try to come and see all you can! Please bring good weather with you if you can because you never know what Louisville will be like in March - sometimes it snows, other times it rains, but, hopefully, we’ll get to enjoy some warm sunshine. But whatever the weather, it’s still fun! Be sure to stop by and see us outside.

Of course, the VERY best part about Louisville this year will be taking delivery of the new truck and trailer we ordered at the show last year! But we’ll have more about that next month, so stay tuned!