10-4 Magazine July 2024

was still trucking, and his “shop” was just a small one-bay building next to their house. The first full build Rod did was a two-tone blue daycab Peterbilt 379 owned by John Kooy Jr. in 1996. This was one of the first really long and really low trucks out there, featuring that “sterile” simple look, while still being highly customized in a subtle way. Another first for this truck was painting the engine the same color as the body. Up until that point, there were plenty of chromed-out and customized engines, but none that Rod could think of that were painted to match the truck. This build was a collaboration between Rod and Kevin. At the time, Rod was running Pickett Custom Trucks and Kevin owned and operated Pickett Repair, a business that focused more on mobile repair work and truck maintenance. I remember seeing this Kooy truck (and taking pictures of it) at the Cherokee Truck Par ts show in Stockton, CA in 2003 and thinking, “Man, this thing is really different!” Funny thing is, this build was already seven years old, proving these guys have always been ahead of the curve. In 1998, Rod purchased a 1977 Peterbilt 359 with the intention of cleaning it up and then selling it. This truck was originally owned by none other than Bill Frampton of Ar tesia Ice in SoCal, which was well-known for having one of the coolest fleets on the west coast back in the day. After changing hands a few times, it ended up in Rod’s shop, but it turned out to be in worse shape than Rod thought. By the time he went through everything, he was in it too deep to sell it, so he kept it, using it to haul cars for a while. Rod quit trucking in 2000 to focus on Pickett Custom Trucks full time and never looked back. This black 359 daycab eventually got a small 36-inch sleeper, and with its dark purple frame and accents became very well-known as Pickett’s signature ride, winning several awards over the next few years (this truck was a game changer for many)! After he quit trucking, he used this truck to pull his race trailer and haul his drag car all over the west, competing in the Premier Street Car Association (PSCA) “Outlaw 10.5” class, which was all heads-up drag racing. He owned and raced a 1966 Chevy Nova with a 700 cubic inch big block engine and three stages of nitrous for almost 20 years, among other race cars. Powered by a 400-hp B-model CAT and stretched to 300 inches, Rod still has this old Peterbilt 359 tucked away and has plans to freshen her up in the near future. The year 2006 was a turning point for not only Rod Pickett, but also his brother Kevin, and a group of other well-known customizers. It was also a turning point, in general, for the world of truck shows, and all the businesses that fed off them, including we here at 10-4 Magazine. So, what happened in 2006? The television show Trick My Truck made its debut on CMT (Country Music Television) on February 3, 2006, and was 10-4 Magazine / July 2024 11