10-4 Magazine July 2024

10-4 Magazine / July 2024 13 In early 2022, Rod decided that he wanted to build an RV so he could take it to truck shows and, hopefully, on some vacations. Those of you out there who own small businesses know how hard it is for the owner to take a vacation! But, since he is a big rig builder, he decided he wanted to build the ultimate luxury motor coach out of a Peterbilt truck. He originally was going to build an older 359 Peterbilt, but after driving a new one and realizing how quiet and comfor table it was, he decided to star t with a brand-new truck. Ordering one of the last 2023 Peterbilt 389s through our friend and contributor Clint Moore at Kansas City Peterbilt, the black rig is powered by a 525-hp Cummins, hooked to an 18-speed AutoShift (that’s right, it’s an automatic, and Rod loves it), with locker rear-ends, and a 380-inch wheelbase, the longest Peterbilt will go. The truck arrived at Rod’s shop in January 2023, then he and his team spent the next four months customizing it. After installing air-ride on the front with dump valves, they did a body drop, installed nine cab lights, 7-inch Dynaflex exhaust with Pickett elbows (of course), and a 379 stainless grille surround from 12 Ga. with 13 Kenwor th grille bars. The truck also got 359 headlights, Pickett air cleaner lights and cab extensions, old-style Pickett battery boxes, a Picket/RLK visor, GGE chrome wiper arms, 12 Ga. mirror brackets, and a tapered front bumper from Valley Chrome, along with Pickett’s popular big-hole wheels, chopped breathers, and custom scripted “Peterbilt” hood logos from Dominguez Iron Work. A cool final touch is a vintage swan hood ornament off a 1953 Packard. In April 2023, once the truck customizing was done, Rod took it to 1492 Coachworks in Oklahoma City, OK where it spent a year being fitted with a 37-foot luxury motor coach body. Made to order, this all-aluminum custom RV frame and shell features four almost invisible flush-mount slide-outs and windows, a king size bed, 1.5 baths, a full-size refrigerator, fireplace, big screen TV, and opulent wood throughout. Everything is controlled through four handheld tablets including the lighting, slide-outs, climate control, fireplace, TV, awnings, and cameras. There is purple accent lighting both inside and outside, and the entire exterior is covered with over 100 glass watermelon lights! The coach was delivered to Rod just a few days before our TFK truck show in SoCal, and as stated previously, it made its debut at our show. Simply put, this is an amazing and luxurious motor coach, and Rod hopes to use it often. Their first big trip is scheduled to be Sturgis in South Dakota this coming August. Rod is also currently building a matching 30-foot Pace “stacker” trailer with a lift inside for vehicles so he can take a car, motorcycles, or whatever with him on trips. He might do a little more racing someday, and if so, this trailer will be good for hauling a race car, and everything else, as well. When finished, the trailer will be black like the truck, and have 90 glass watermelon lights. Wanting and needing a bigger location, Rod purchased a 3.5-acre farm on the outskir ts of Buckeye, AZ in 2023, and then worked in a few “open” bays for about eight months while the new shop was being built. The large new metal building is 200-feet long, 100-feet wide, and 36-feet tall, and has approximately 20,000 square feet of space inside. It has two main areas – one for customizing that holds 10+ trucks, and the other for paint and body work, which holds four or five more. The structure was built extra tall to help dissipate some of the heat down on the floor, and also to build offices and storage – and eventually a chrome shop – on a second level. With eight full-time employees, PCT is a diverse business that keeps busy doing insurance work, customizations, full builds and restorations, fabricating and selling custom par ts, accessory sales, and general repairs. Having built a beautiful home a few years ago not too far from the shop, Rod lives there with his girlfriend of five years, Jessica, and their two cool dogs – a one-year-old American Bully named Gotti, and a three-year-old French Bulldog named Capone. When landscaping the yard in front of their house, Rod included some rusty old “yard ar t” in the form of a 1946 Kenwor th, a 1929 Ford truck, and a 1956 Ford tractor, along with all the usual palm trees, rocks, cactus, and lights. The couple is planning to get married in 2026. Jessica has one son and two daughters, and she currently handles all the paperwork for the company.