10-4 Magazine June 2024
rigs we had never seen before, along with plenty of our old friends and their familiar trucks, which was cool. And for some reason, this event has become a gathering place for heavy haulers. We have always reserved a special section just for these enormous combinations, but this year the show had more than ever, and it was amazing to see them all lined up along that front fence. Thanks to outfits like Monzon & Son Enterprises, Marco Transpor t, Monarch, R.D. Reed Heavy Transpor t, Reeve Trucking, and Bragg Heavy Haul, our “heavy haulers” section was jammed with some amazing (and large) iron. Along with all the heavy haulers, several companies brought out multiple units such as NRT (who won our largest fleet award with 13 trucks), DDT, Central Valley Transpor t, Maggini & Son, Guzman Express, DeVries Transpor t, Ten West Towing, and others. Transfers were popular, too, and many were brought out by friends and past cover truckers like Bruce Campbell, Ron Ver Steeg, John Murray (M & J Transpor tation Services), and Miro Dragich Jr. (Quality Material Transpor t), along with dir t haulers like Los Morales Trucking, G.O. Rodriguez Trucking, and so many more. There was even a nice lineup of slammed Peterbilt car carriers from California that were lookin’ top notch, as well. Some of the individual standout rigs for me included J.M. Mascaro’s mint green Peterbilt hooked to a livestock trailer, a red Kenwor th W990 hooked to a matching reefer owned by Rollin R Enterprises, Cor tez & Son Trucking’s white and baby blue Peterbilt hooked to a clean and polished Extreme flatbed, and AMT Express and their maroon Kenwor th T660 hooked to a stepdeck. Daniel Moya of YMD Material brought out his new 2024 Peterbilt 389 transfer, painted peach and gray, which really stood out, and our friend and past cover trucker James Gasper brought out his black 2022 Peterbilt 389 that not only looked good sitting still but ran down the track at a rather impressive pace, as well. However, hands down, the truck that was turning the most heads and being talked about (and photographed) more than any other was the blacked-out Peterbilt 389 RV brought by Rod Pickett of Pickett Custom Trucks. Making its first public debut at Truckin’ For Kids, this baby was fresh out of the oven, and hot as the sidewalk on an August day in Phoenix! The black paint on this thing is so perfect, you can’t tell where the windows or slide-outs are, because everything is just so shiny and smooth. And the inside of this baby is like a mini rolling mansion – it is luxurious and gorgeous, inside and out. I’m sure you will be seeing more of this amazing ride in a future edition of 10-4 Magazine!! As Saturday afternoon winded down and evening approached, it was time for the “Light The Lot” display of lights. The light show at TFK is one of the most unique light displays of all the shows, and we often joke about how it is the loudest light show, too! With radios, horns, jake brakes, revving engines, and live bands, there is no other light display like it at any other truck show. I don’t know how else to describe it except to say that it is loud and lively, and a lot of fun. Day 1 officially ended at 10:00 PM on Saturday night, but we are sure that many who stayed par tied much later than that. Sunday morning came early, as the truck gate was scheduled to open at 6:00 AM. By the end of the day Saturday, most of the lot was full, but since we still had some pre-registered trucks not there yet, we held our breath, hoping we could accommodate everyone who showed up. Thankfully, or not, most of the trucks came in on Saturday and very few rolled in on Sunday, so we did not run out of space. Next year, we plan to extend the gate hours on Saturday to try and get everyone in and set that day. In the end, we still had just shy of 300 trucks on the lot, which is more than last year, so that was awesome. But we did have room for a few more. As the day got going, the vendors opened their booths, the Kid’s Zone reopened, a new coloring contest for the day began, the silent auction reopened, and our resident DJ Julian “Big Daddy” Perez got the tunes going. Over in the grandstands, our friends at Racers For Christ held a Sunday morning service for all those looking to star t the day right. Over in the 10-4 booth, magazine racks were restocked, posters were rolled, and shir ts were hung on display, in preparation for another busy day. Out in the “Welcome Tent” at the front gate where the spectators walk in, teams of volunteers took turns greeting people as they came in, handed out programs and People’s Choice ballots, and answered any questions. At noon, the track got loud and busy, as the drag racing por tion of the event got underway. Star ting out with a tribute to Ray Valenzuela, a trucker and former TFK volunteer who recently 10-4 Magazine / June 2024 23
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