10-4 Magazine February 2024

32 10-4 Magazine / February 2024 rollin’ and movin’ down the highway in pristine mechanical condition, you either have to have a big wallet to afford the repair bills from time to time or you have to be a skilled mechanic with the knowledge and ability to turn those wrenches and make the repairs yourself. With that said, Jonathon told me a story of the time he changed the radiator on Top Shelf on an exit ramp off Interstate 76 in Ohio in the middle of winter. Reliving the experience, Jonathon said, “It was a couple of years ago, in January 2021. I had loaded in Appleton, Wisconsin, and was going to Cisco Foods in Philly. I was headed down the hill near Akron, Ohio, and turned the engine brake on. About the same time, the engine fan also kicked on and I heard a loud noise that wasn’t normal. Then, steam began rolling out from the hood, the dashboard lit up, and the engine shut-down warning came on.” Pulling off the interstate and parking on the exit ramp, Jonathon was shocked when he opened the hood and found chunks of the radiator fan missing and a big hole in the radiator. Continuing on with the story, with Jonathon’s boss Brian Dreher running not far behind, Brian pulled off at that exit to see what they needed to do. Not interested in sitting there and waiting on a repair truck, or even worse a tow truck, Brian told Jonathon, “If I can get you a radiator from Peterbilt, can you get it repaired?” In classic Jonathon style, he said, “I’ll have the old one out before the Peterbilt guy delivers the new one.” While Jonathon sat there for nearly four hours, from the time he broke down at 3:00 PM, he was rolling by 7:30 PM, and most of that time was spent waiting for Peterbilt to deliver the new radiator! Not one to let others work on his beloved Top Shelf Peterbilt, Jonathon carries a lot of tools in the truck with him, including a Milwaukee impact gun, so he can even change his own tires. Telling me, “I had an older truck driver approach me at a truck stop a while ago and he was shocked to see me changing my own tire. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw a driver doing this!” An old soul, for the most part, Jonathon lives and breathes his truck and loves old iron in general. He’s currently restoring a classic 1971 Ford F250 4x4 pickup truck, and his dream is to someday buy and restore a cool classic Needle Nose Peterbilt model 351. A big fan of the movie Smokey and the Bandit, he knows all the lines and has even visited some of the filming locations. When I asked Jonathon what he loves about trucking, and in particular his ride, his response said it best: “It’s the Largecar Lifestyle. It’s fun, it’s cool, and I get to drive a truck that not only gets compliments, but that many truckers remember and recognize.” Even though the younger generations may not fall in love with big trucks like many of us did, Jonathon is one exception, and he (and others like him) will keep the Largecar Lifestyle alive for years to come! n