12 10-4 Magazine / June 2025 all those trucks are gone now, except for that 1999 Peterbilt 379, which he has a driver in today, hauling hay. Eventually, some farmers he used to work for asked if he could move some hay to an exporter, and not long after that, he “accidentally” found himself brokering hay. Hay exporting is huge these days – much of the hay we grow here in the United States gets “pressed” into smaller bales and shipped via containers to other countries. Like Chino in California, which was once the dairy capital of the world until urban sprawl forced them out, Buckeye in Arizona was like that, too. At one time, there were a lot of dairies there, but most of them have either sold out or moved to larger facilities in eastern Arizona or New Mexico. There is still a lot of hay and alfalfa grown in the area, but most of it is sold and shipped abroad now. Today, David’s son Cayde (34) runs the hay business, operating as Viss Hay Co., and has ten subhaulers, including his dad and his dad’s other truck (the Peterbilt 379) with a driver in it. Most of the hay they haul these days is destined for an exporter that ships it out of the country. So, how did this amazing “Bullnose” find its way into the fleet? David’s brother Randy found it in Texas, so he bought it, thinking he could pull some local loads with it and use it at the RV park he owns. But, it didn’t take him long to figure out it wasn’t easy to climb in or out of, so he sold it to his brother, David. That was eight years ago. When David got the 1953 Kenworth KCD 825C “Bullnose” truck, it was painted dark green, had a worn-out old Big Cam Cummins hooked to a 10-speed in it, and had been fitted to a modern (1995) Freightliner conventional chassis. David’s dream was to have an old truck, but for it to drive like a new truck, and this KW seemed to be the perfect candidate to make that happen. But it was all cobbled together, and it needed a lot of work to get the truck where David wanted it to be. After pondering the KW project for about two years, David finally sent it to his friend Garrett Boyle of Boyle Restoration and Fabrication in Scottsdale, AZ. Tasked with the daunting job of replacing the engine, making the cab tilt, and getting the rig roadworthy, Garrett worked on the old truck part-time for a few years. These “Bullnose” KWs were built from 1948 to 1958, and they did not have a tilting cab. Access to the engine required removing the doghouse inside the cab and two small openings in the front of the truck, which was not convenient at all. David wanted the truck to be easy to service and easy to find parts for, so that became the main focus of the build. The 670-hp Cummins N14 engine came from a donor 9670 International cabover, which also provided most of the hydraulics and hinges for the tilting cab conversion. This was a big job. Since the chassis was from a conventional truck, the steering system was goofy, so the first thing he had to do was get all the steering geometry and angles correct. From there, that determined where the driver-side hinge and tilt cylinder could be placed, which then determined where they could put the radiator, which then determined where the passenger-side hinge and tilt cylinder could be installed. Garrett also had to rebuild the entire floor of the cab, which was made of plywood covered with sheets of aluminum, to give the structure more rigidity for tilting. Once all that work was done, the shift tower for the 13-speed transmission was set in place, along with a second stick to operate the splitter, then all the wiring and plumbing was updated so if David ever had a problem, he wouldn’t be looking for 70 year old parts. Garrett moved the bed back 7” to give David more leg room and make it feel more like a conventional, and then he lowered the driver seat 4” by placing it in a recessed pocket built into the floor. The cab was completely covered with four layers of insulation, the gauges and switches were replaced with newer ones from a 1996 W900, and multiple A/C units were added to keep David comfortable during those hot Arizona summers. After all that, the interior was redone by a local guy. The truck only has a 262” wheelbase, but it looks a lot longer than that. Garrett installed a modified 8’ Merritt drom behind the cab, which can hold six extra big bales, allowing David to haul 54 big bales of hay. Hooked to his set of Western doubles and fully loaded with hay, the seemingly long combination still fits on a 90’ scale. Garrett also added air-ride, modified a visor made for a K100 Kenworth, and built the entire 6” intake system, which was customized to accommodate the tilting cab. This truck originally came with single round headlights, but at some point they were changed to dual squares, which Garrett replaced with double rounds. It also
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