10-4 Magazine March 2022
14 10-4 Magazine / March 2022 about 610-hp now. With 343,000 miles on the truck today, you’d hardly think that by looking at the engine compar tment. Typically hooked to his 52’ 1998 Kentucky furniture van, painted white (duh) with Charcoal Metallic Grey rear doors and nose cone, it also has chrome door handles and a handy Interlift Tuck Under lift-gate. This trailer also spor ts orange and gray pinstriping, but it was done by Ron’s previous painter, Brian Stoner, who moved out of the area. In addition to this trailer, Ron also has a 2017 Reitnouer step deck with a conestoga top, along with a 2012 Dorsey flat floor 53’ van, that are available when needed. Having only owned a handful of trucks over his long trucking career, three to be exact, for a shor t time (from 2007 to 2010) Ron also owned a 1985 Kenwor th K100. Fitted with an Aerodyne sleeper and painted to look like a replica BJ and the Bear truck (red and white), Ron used this truck for a few deliveries but mostly just owned it for fun. Apparently, the ride was a little less than to be desired (rough!) making it not that fun to drive – especially after driving a comfor table Peterbilt for all those years. After fixing it up a bit and “playing” with it for about three years, he sold the cabover around 2010. By 2013, Ron’s company had grown to include seven leased owner operators, and things were going great. Then the pandemic hit in 2019. Everyone was affected by all the shutdowns, but most not as hard as the trade show and enter tainment industries. This being the core of Ron’s business, he recalled hauling his last trade show load in March of 2019, and then did not haul another one until January 2021. During that time, Ron cut all his owner operators loose, hooked up to his step deck, and went over-the-road, hauling anything he could put on that trailer. From machines to steel tubes and everything between, Ron was glad to find work and keep the doors open. Thankfully, as it seems we might be coming to the end of all this craziness, trade shows, concer ts, and other indoor events are star ting to happen again, and Ron is finally getting a bit back to normal. Planning our photo shoot on a perfect Southern California weekend in early February, we were blessed – or maybe cursed – with amazing weather (bright blue skies, temps in the 70s, and nothing but warm sun). The weather was so nice, everyone decided to go where we were going! Searching for beach locations and palm trees to represent Southern California, we found a few beautiful spots in Rancho Palos Verdes, an upscale area outside of Los Angeles with amazing estate homes, hiking trails, rocky cliffs, a stunning Trump golf course, and many unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean. After driving around all day on Saturday (and I mean all day), we found a few locations, with our favorite being a dir t parking lot next to the Point Vicente Lighthouse (see cover and centerfold pics). We also found a great ocean view up at the Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall, and decided a sunset shot up there would be amazing, so we did that one on Saturday night, as the sun went down (the land you see out in the ocean is actually Santa Catalina Island, which is 20 miles out from the coast). After having dinner, we headed over to the Anaheim Regional Transpor tation Intermodal Center, which is a train and bus station. Built in 2014, this futuristic structure features an arched steel frame, covered in glass, and illuminated with lights that change colors every few seconds. This location was Ron’s idea, and we thought it was a perfect spot for some night shots. We left our hotel at 9:00 AM that morning and got back around 11:00 PM. Like I said, it was a long day... and the real shooting hadn’t even begun yet.
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