10-4 Magazine December 2023

helped give Kenny his entrepreneurial spirit that later helped him go out on his own and star t his company. Kenny’s last few years at Gardner were spent as Operations Manager of a yard they had in Fresno, CA. He loved working at Gardner and would not have left if they were not bought out by a bigger trucking company. By 2016, Gardner had acquired other companies and built their operation up to about 2,500 trucks and probably over 5,000 trailers. When word got out that Iowa-based CRST was purchasing Gardner Trucking in a monumental acquisition, Kenny no longer had the drive to “bring the heat” like he was taught. He loved the Lanting family and all the friends he made while there, but it was time for him to move on. In 2017, Kenny cashed out his 401K plan and bought his first truck – an ugly white 2010 Freightliner daycab – and formed Heet Trucking, LLC. Not wanting to put his own name on the truck and wanting to be perceived as a larger operation, he liked the way “Heet” looked over “Heat” so that is what he called the company (which represented his dad’s catch phrase of always bringing the heat and giving 100%). Right from the star t, Kenny knew he did not want to be leased to anyone and wanted to be completely independent, so he star ted recruiting owner operators. The following year, as he continued to grow, Kenny added a second company truck – a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia (but not the one seen here). Kenny specifically chose Freightliner Cascadia trucks because they were cheap to buy, economical to run, reliable, and par ts were affordable and readily available. It was a business decision. His third truck was a used 2017 Peterbilt 579, but he did not own it for very long after someone offered Kenny a sizable amount of money for the truck. Today, Kenny has five trucks, 21 various types of trailers, and about eight dedicated owner operators. Three years ago, he also star ted a brokering company called Heet Freight to help his company grow and keep his drivers and owner operators constantly busy. He also moved into his current 3-acre facility just outside of town (Dinuba, CA) a few years ago that was previously a packing house, so there is plenty of space. Enough in fact to have a small, covered storage facility for RVs and boats, and a nice outside area to host events like weddings, bir thday par ties, and Quinceaneras a few times a month. Like I said, Kenny is a very ambitious and industries young man who is always looking for new and innovative ways to increase his bottom line. The first truck Kenny decided to “fix up” was his 2015 Peterbilt 386, which was parked alongside his customized Cascadia, when we first met Kenny at the truck show in Fresno, CA earlier this year (2023). His longtime friend Noah Rios, who was working at a local glass manufacturing company, got laid off during the pandemic in 2020. Kenny told him if he went to truck driving school and got his CDL, he would hire him as a driver, and that is what they did. After driving for Kenny for a while, Noah began tinkering on the trucks, and Kenny quickly realized his talent as a painter and fabricator. Noah did all the customizing to the 386 Peterbilt, including building his own front air ride system from scratch, stretching the frame, adding a sleeper, painting it, and more. After that, Kenny convinced him to star t his own company called RNR Custom Rigs, which rents space from Kenny at their yard, and do nothing but build custom air ride systems, paint trucks, and do all sor ts of other custom fabrication and accessory installs. When it came time to build the Cascadia seen here and on our cover and centerfold this month, the job was given to Noah. The 2015 Freightliner Cascadia was bought in 2022 with relatively low miles (398K). It is powered by a 12.7L Detroit DD13 hooked to a 10-speed transmission. Kenny decided it would probably be around for a while, so he wanted to fix it up like the Peterbilt. He also thought it would be fun to build a customized Cascadia, as you don’t see many of those out on road or at 10-4 Magazine / December 2023 11