10-4 Magazine June 2024

money, found and bought a beaten up and rusty 2005 Peterbilt 379 to fix up. When he drove it into the yard, both his dad and grandfather just stood there, with their arms crossed, shaking their heads, wondering what the heck Travis was thinking. Well, he worked his butt off on that truck, and eventually proved to them both that nice equipment could improve the company image and draw in better driver applicants. Along with help from “Lobster” (that old mechanic from Maine), he and Travis spent many evenings and weekends working on this truck, which made its debut at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in 2017, where it earned a 5th place trophy in the bobtail class – that’s pretty good for his first show ever. The truck ended up being painted red (like all the others) but it had a neon green frame and stripes, as well. Travis also competed in the inaugural season of the American Truck Show Circuit (ATSC) and attended all but one of their four events (he skipped the show in California) and did very well. His dad and grandfather went to one of these events and star ted to understand what Travis was doing and began to get on-board with the idea. So, a couple years later, when Travis first suggested that they build a special combination in honor of the company’s 45th anniversary, it didn’t take much to convince them that it was a good idea. And so it began! Ordering two Peterbilt 389 glider kits from 12 Ga. Customs in 2019 – one for grandpa and one for the special anniversary build – the fun began. Grandpa Larry wanted to get his truck on the road, so they focused on that one first, dropping a Cummins Signature 600 in it, and then cutting Larry loose. However, he quickly decided this rig was too loud, too low, and too long, so he promptly passed it down to another driver at the company. Building Larry’s truck was just the first of many things that slowed down the star t of the special build. Shor tly after that, two of the Sancken company trucks were involved in big accidents (not their fault) and both needed to be fixed at Total Appearance (TA) in Pewaukee, WI, where the special truck was supposed to be built, and both went ahead of the anniversary build in the cue, again delaying the star t of the project. Then covid hit, and we all know what happened there (par ts were hard to get and workers were even scarcer). Finally, in December 2021, the truck, which still did not have a drivetrain, was moved into the shop with a pickup truck. The initial goal was to have the project completed by March 2022 and to debut it at MATS in Louisville, KY, but that did not happen. In the meantime, Travis purchased a 2022 MAC LTT (Liquid Tank Trailer) to customize along with the tractor for the anniversary project. Then another snag happened when TA and their sister company Amcan Truck Par ts were acquired by JX Enterprises, so that change of ownership caused some delays, as well. The truck was completed in mid-2023 and made its soft debut, without the trailer, at the Amcan Truckfest in June of that year. This is where we first saw it, and it earned 10-4 Magazine / June 2024 11