Cover Feature: By Robb Mariani Angeles, CA. Not long after their meeting, Bob Illers helped Spooner obtain his Class A driver’s license. The phrase “helped Bob obtain his Class A license” was a bit of a euphemism. As Spooner told it, “Bob Illers went with me to the DMV, and he pretended to take the same test as me. I took my test into the booth, and he handed the papers to me under the partition on the other side – I made a 100 on that test!” In a twist of fate, Bob Illers’ trucking company was a hauler for Knott’s Berry Farm products. Spooner would soon begin his professional trucking career hauling jams and jelly for Knott’s Berry Farm, where he drove the stagecoach years earlier. While Spooner was working at Bob Illers’ trucking company, he was often tasked with picking up various maintenance parts for the fleet of Mack trucks they operated. At that time, the Los Angeles Mack dealership had nine new Peterbilt trucks on their lot. On one autumn day in 1960, Spooner was picking up some parts for Illers at the Mack dealer, and he went over to check out those new Peterbilt trucks that caught his eye. Bob did some inquiring while waiting for his parts and found out that a company called NJS had ordered the nine trucks for their chicken hauling operation. Bob Spooner fell in love with the Peterbilt trucks and told Bob Illers all about his affinity to own one of those Cummins powered Peterbilt 281s one day. Shortly thereafter, Bob Illers worked out a deal with Spooner and helped him finance a brand-new 1961 Peterbilt needle-nose in September of 1960 for the astounding price of just $15,700. Little did Bob know that he would drive that same 1961 Peterbilt for the next 60+ years and amass an astonishing 8 million+ mile career with that very same truck. The very first load that Bob hauled with his new Peterbilt was a load of Knott’s Berry Farm jams and jellies. Bob ran “the Grapevine” – that The term “legend” gets thrown around a lot these days, but one man – Bob Spooner – was the true definition of the word. Bob trucked for almost 65 years, and 63 of those years were in the same truck – his first one – a 1961 Peterbilt 281 with a butterfly hood. Over those 60+ years, he accrued over eight million miles, hauled countless loads, and made many friends along the way. I am honored to have been a friend to Mr. Bob Spooner, a trucking legend, in every sense of the word. Sadly, we lost Bob earlier this year, so this feature was done as a tribute to this amazing trucker. The world will never again see the likes of a man like Bob Spooner. Robert Milton Spooner was born in Mobile, Alabama on November 5th, 1941, to parents, Robert and Frances. Bob grew up in the 1940s and early 50s. As a rambunctious child, after Bob’s parents divorced, it made a big impact on him. Bob ran away from home on several occasions in his early youth, including hopping trains and heading West. His mother, Frances, declared Bob a wanderlust (foreshadowing as if his mother knew something Bob didn’t). Bob’s rebellious nature would be better described as determined more than a troublemaker. As a teen, Bob found work in Southern California at an amusement park called Knott’s Berry Farm. Knott’s began as a roadside stand that sold fresh berries and later became famous for serving chicken dinners. As its popularity grew, the founders added a ghost town to keep their patrons entertained. It officially became a theme park in 1947. Bob’s early driving career actually began at the ghost town, where he would drive parkgoers around Knott’s Berry Farm on an authentic stagecoach. By the time Bob turned 17, he had signed up for the US Marines for a two-year duty after getting an ultimatum from a California judge (he lied about his age in order to join). Once Bob was a Marine, he became a Motor Vehicle Operator (MOS 3531). An MVO was responsible for inspecting, operating, and maintaining medium and heavy vehicles, which included the 2.5-ton 6x6 trucks (predominantly the GMC CCKW of that era). Bob’s role was to transport troops and supplies and maintain the trucks that he operated. It seemed that his mother’s words were manifesting, as young Spooner didn’t know that driving serious trucks would become his destiny. Fresh out of the Marines in 1959 when he was only 19 years old and equipped with truck driving experience, Bob met a man named Bob Illers, who owned a trucking company near Los 10 10-4 Magazine / August 2026 A LEGENDARY LOSS
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