10-4 Magazine March 2023

34 10-4 Magazine / March 2023 After eyeing a yellow Peterbilt for a while without a box on it yet, once Dale knew his son Josh was serious about driving, he went ahead and bought that truck. Josh wasn’t necessarily a natural at trucking, but he had the drive and determination to learn. Already in good standing with his customers, Dale was able to talk to them and be able to bring Josh out to learn. Over time, finding good drivers became difficult, so Dale ended up downsizing to around three trucks. Dale had always admired that previously mentioned black 359 that Teddy owned, which he eventually sold to his driver, Curtis. In 2014, after Curtis had the truck parked for a number of years, Dale asked if he was interested in selling it. Although he did not want to sell it, he also knew it shouldn’t just be sitting, so he told Dale he’d like nothing more than for him to own it. Soon after the purchase, the motor was rebuilt, and Josh was actually the one who got to run it – and Dale couldn’t have been prouder of how he handled that truck. This is the truck you see featured here today. As stated before, it is a 1985 Peterbilt 359 extended hood with a CAT 3406E, 18-speed transmission, 3.55 rears, and a 265-inch wheelbase. Repainted in 2017 to keep the original black color, the truck has 7-inch Dynaflex stacks and pulls an aluminum 39-foot East dump trailer. A year after the paint, Dale decided that he wanted to truck with Josh to see the country. In 2002, Teddy Chapman bought himself a brand new Peterbilt 379, which was the truck that he drove full time. Eventually he went ahead and parked this truck in the shop where it sat for about eight years. Dale worked out a deal with Teddy and bought that blue 2002 Peterbilt 379 in 2018, which Josh bought from Dale in 2019, then started Bennett Trucking. That 379, which is also pictured, boasts a Caterpillar 6NZ, an 18-speed, 3.55 rear gears, a 270-inch wheelbase, and pulls a 39-foot 2015 East aluminum dump trailer. This rig always looks as good as it does in the picture, showing the pride Josh has for it. Today, Dale and Josh stay as local as they can, hauling for farmers during harvest season and switching to road salt and miscellaneous commodities in the winter. All the maintenance work on the trucks is done in-house except for engine rebuilding. Dale takes a lot of pride in his trusty old 359, which he has known since it was brand new, and loves the fact that it is dependable, has plenty of horsepower, and looks good going up and down the road. I met Dale last year at the 2022 Mayberry Truck Show (he was one of the chosen calendar spot holders for the show’s 2023 calendar). Dale and Josh other than trucking. Upon moving to North Carolina, he became friends with a man named Teddy Chapman (2005 Overdrive Trucker of the Year). In 1985, Teddy bought a Peterbilt 359 extended hood piloted by his driver Curtis who, over the years, had plenty of chances to get into a newer truck, but he loved that truck and couldn’t see driving anything else. This truck regularly made its way back and forth to California. In 1991, Dale purchased his first Peterbilt and took it to a show that used to be held in Winston-Salem, NC at the coliseum. As the years went on, Dale grew a small fleet of triaxle dump trucks. As both of his sons, Jeremy and Josh, became adults, he told them they could live in their house for as long as they wanted if they got a full-time job or went to college. Jeremy, the oldest, chose to go to college and Josh, once he turned 18 years old, told his dad he was tired of school and thought he would like to try his hand at trucking.