stopped, he decided to get his CDL (in 1998) and went to work at Oak Creek Ranch for Ed Bernard, a local hay hauler, running the squeeze and delivering hay. Over the next few years, Bobby worked for a few different people including Michael Dusi, his great uncle Paul Vaz, Nick Barbieri, and Gary Abatti hauling everything from hay, wine, beer, glass, propane and 200-proof pure alcohol. He also did some interesting work for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) at the nearby Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis Obispo, CA. Every so often they would shut down one of their two reactors/generators to make upgrades and repairs, and when they did, PG&E would bring in a bunch of short-time workers – Bobby was one of those, working on a winch crew, on three different occasions. In 2010 Bobby went to work for David Crye General Engineering in Morro Bay, CA, driving a transfer, pulling end dumps, and running various types of construction equipment. David Crye helped Bobby buy his first truck in 2011 – a blue 1990 Freightliner cabover – which he used to haul hay on the weekends and do some work for David. You might know David from the articles our contributor Clint Moore has done on some of the trucks he has ordered and/or built for him. Bobby loved working for David, but in 2013 he sold that truck and went back to work for Ed Bernard at Oak Creek Ranch hauling hay. Getting older, Ed brought Bobby in to help him run his operation, and over the next few years, Ed became the dad Bobby never had. Hauling hay exclusively at first, Bobby helped him to diversify, and they began hauling grapes and cattle, too. In 2015, after feeling the pressure from CARB to upgrade their truck, Ed ordered a custom 2-axle 2015 Peterbilt 389 with a small 10-4 Magazine / March 2025 11
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