10-4 Magazine March 2022

26 10-4 Magazine / March 2022 There are those who head down one path in life, but sometimes that path is not straight. They eventually get to where they are supposed to be, but only after some twists and turns along the way. Debbie Setter of Fargo, ND always knew she wanted to go trucking, but it didn’t happen as quickly as she would have liked. Coming from a trucking family, she had a desire for trucking, but it wasn’t encouraged, so she had to press a little harder than most, even though she knew she was destined to drive. The eldest of four children fromLeo and Karen Setter, Debbie and her family resided in Devils Lake, ND. Leo started out in the custom combining business, but eventually transitioned into trucking. He had started K&S Transport and was leased onto his brother’s company, D&S Transport out of Moorhead, MN. At 12 years old, Debbie and her family moved to Horace, ND, which is a small suburb just south of Fargo. Growing up within a trucking family, it isn’t much of a surprise that trucking was what Debbie wanted to do in life. At around three years old, Debbie was already riding around with her dad in the truck and absolutely loved it. In school, Debbie took an aptitude test, and the test came back with diesel mechanic or truck driver. Debbie had her learner’s permit for several years, and gained some experience with moving the trucks in and out of the shop at the yard. Over the years, Debbie did various jobs within her mom and dad’s company, including helping her mom with all the bookkeeping. Her father, however, was adamant that he didn’t want her to get into trucking. Debbie obtained her Class B CDL in 1991 to start driving a school bus and then moved into the trucking industry in 1993, working in dispatch. Her and her ex-husband had started buying their own trucks for their company, Golden Prairie Transport. The previous mention of Debbie’s dad not wanting her to drive proved futile. Debbie was going to have a friend teach her how to drive, but Leo wasn’t having it. Even though he was adamant that no daughter of his was going to drive a truck, he was definitely the only one that would be teaching her if she did. With his training, Debbie got her Class A CDL in 1995. This was also the year she purchased her first truck – a beautiful white 1994 Peterbilt 379. Up until this point, Debbie was a stay-at-home mom, and the trucks purchased were for supplemental income. In 1997, she went back to working for a trucking company as a dispatcher, and was later moved into the Safety Department. Fast forward, past other trucks she owned, when it was time to order a new truck, which was a painstaking process of figuring out exactly what she wanted. And the wait, she said, was like waiting for a baby to be born! Debbie ordered the truck in June of 2018 and didn’t take delivery of it until February 1, 2019. The pictured truck is jokingly called “Owe’n” because she is owing a lot of money on him. The truck is a uniquely customized 2019 Kenworth W900L with The Diesel Addict: By Stephanie Haas a 565 Cummins, an 18-speed, 3.36 rear gears, and a 285” wheelbase. Over the years, Debbie had learned exactly what she did and did not want on a truck and she was extremely particular when she ordered this one. She has a summer and winter bumper for reasons most who run all 48 states plus would understand. Both bumpers are from 12 Ga. Customs, with more lights on the summer bumper (as shown in the photos), and the winter bumper only having a light on each end. The truck also has a RoadWorks blind mount visor and directional/turn signals fromShift Products. TheKWwas ordered with a Studio sleeper, which Debbie fell in love with when her dad purchased a 1994 Kenworth W900 with just the third Studio sleeper ever built. Upon closer inspection, the KW also has California hookups, where the airlines come out of the back of the truck, along with full lockers, which is like four-wheel drive for a big truck. Also ordered were fuel tank heaters, fuel filter heaters, and extra insulation in the cab and sleeper, which is all part of the Arctic Package. From front to back, the DESTINED TO DRIVE