came with Freightliner steps, so Garrett replaced them with modified grab bars from a 362 Pete COE and then custom built the lower steps. Once Garrett got the rig roadworthy, David started running it. He was just supposed to run it for a little while to get the bugs out, but he liked it so much, he drove it for a couple years, putting 60,000 miles on it. Once all the gremlins were fixed, it was time to make it look pretty. Taking it to Rod Pickett at Pickett Custom Trucks (PCT) right there in Buckeye, the truck spent about a year there, before it was ready to make its debut at Rod’s “Diesels in the Desert” truck show in March of 2025, which is where we found it. While the truck was at PCT, they were in the middle of moving into a new shop, so it took them a little longer than expected to finish the Kenworth – but it was worth the wait. While at PCT, the truck got a new 18” Valley Chrome bumper, some new body panels, new 7” Dynaflex pipes with Pickett elbows and “Chino” tips, they rebuilt the entire grill, added bus glass, and replaced all the cab lights with new ones from Grand General with glass lenses. They also added Hadley horns to the roof, new Kenworth fuel tanks, Hogebuilt stainless quarter fenders, and built a small, custom deck plate, mounted behind the drom. The headlight bulbs were replaced with LEDs, blue and amber underglow lights were installed, and the truck was painted Dark Charcoal Metallic with a small Bright Blue Sapphire stripe. To finish it off, some tasteful pinstriping was done by Ron Hernandez. 10-4 Magazine / June 2025 13 This truck was supposed to be for David to semi-retire and slow down, but that hasn’t really happened. David has been a hard worker since he was 16 years old, and he really doesn’t know how to slow down (he might even be afraid to). Since putting the truck into regular service back in January (2025), he has put over 15,000 miles on it, and since he mostly runs local, that is more than it sounds. Working the truck about four days a week on average, it has proven to be what it was built to be – a cool old classic cabover that is quiet, comfortable, dependable, and easy to work on – everything he wanted it to be. The one thing he did not build it to be was a show pony, but now that he has went to a couple events with his family and really enjoyed them, he is “accidentally” getting into truck shows! And speaking of family, David and his wife Mia, who have been married for 14 years, have five mostly grown kids. David had three boys with his first wife – Slayde (39), Cayde (34), and another son named Wayde who passed away in 2022 at the age of 35. David and Mia have a daughter together named Victoria (20) that helps in the office and is currently studying to be a registered nurse, with her eventual goal of being a dermatologist. Mia has two other kids from a previous relationship, and both work in the family business – Ruben (34) is an owner operator that hauls hay for them, and Vanessa (33) helps them weigh the trucks in and out. Slayde, David’s oldest son, is on his own, and he feeds 3,000-4,000 heifers, unloads grain
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy