air), mirror brackets, rear full fenders, battery boxes, cab and sleeper drop panels, visor and breathers, which also got painted front panels with (3) watermelon lights. The truck was also fitted with 8” dummy stacks, custom orange Peterbilt emblems, a custom orange tail plate with (14) recessed watermelon lights, and a custom orange “I-Panel” between the fuel tanks with (6) recessed watermelon lights (all with clear lenses). The back of the sleeper also got (6) recessed watermelon lights, three on each side, and the DEF tank was hidden. Much of the truck’s exterior (and interior) is accentuated with tastefully applied pinstriping, including the custom painted deck plate, complete with recessed connections (there are air and electrical connections out the back of the truck, as well). To finish off the exterior, the back of the polished front bumper is painted orange and pinstriped, too! Moving inside, the door and ceiling panels are painted orange, pinstriped, and feature a total of nine watermelon lights overhead. There are also billet foot pedals, a custom steering wheel, and a painted shifter floor plate. The dash panels are also painted orange, but the interior is not overly done. Putting the truck in service in August 2022, Bobby also bought a reefer trailer and painted it all to match, debuting the combination at the first Bobtail Apparel show in Dixon, CA a month or two later (where we first saw it). Although it is typically hooked to a tanker, Bobby will use this truck to pull just about anything. Admittedly, Bobby doesn’t get to drive as much as he used to, but when he does, he rides in style. And if the load he has to move is hay, he gets to be even cooler! With deep roots in dairy farming and cow relocating – and especially hay hauling – that go back almost 100 years, Bobby has a special truck for that job... the Peterbilt cabover truck and trailer seen on the cover and centerfold this month (and on some of these pages here). Purchased from John Oliviera in Gustine, CA back in 2021, the 1995 Peterbilt 362 truck and trailer was in pretty good shape when Bobby got it. John had been running the truck for years, but mounting pressure from CARB to replace it finally motivated John to sell it – and John’s loss was Bobby’s gain. Originally powered by a Detroit and a 10-speed, and equipped with a 12,000-lb. front axle, John re-powered the Peterbilt cabover with a 6NZ CAT (with a DPF filter) and a 13-speed and upgraded the front axle to a 14,000-lb. version. Painted white and red, John also added 13 bullet-style cab lights up on the roof, along with a big front bumper, which by the time Bobby got it, was a bit rotten with rust. After purchasing the cabover, Bobby drove it like he bought it for the first few months, but then stopped while on a trip down south at Vic Caliva’s place in Los Angeles, CA to get a new bumper installed (Bobby wasn’t cool with having a rusted-out bumper on his ride). That winter, they spruced up the COE by tearing it apart and fixing a few things. Installing a new clutch in the truck, they also replaced the shocks, air bags, shifting cables, and fixed some cracks in the rear ends. They (Bobby and Ryan) also did some maintenance on the truck bed and trailer, and installed new tail boards, as well. The following year, in August of 2023, it was time to really get serious and get the truck and trailer repainted. Taking it to Calvin Cox at Starcraft Commercial Big Rig Painting in Exeter, CA, Bobby opted to keep the paint scheme and striping the same and just update the colors – all the white parts were painted Peterbilt Cream, and all the red parts were painted Omaha Orange, to match the rest of his fleet. They also painted the fuel tanks, which were later pinstriped. After getting the fresh paint, Ryan and Bobby did everything else you see now, including installing all new lights (including a bunch of watermelons underneath), new fenders and stacks, polished and painted the emblems, and polished the steps (and anything else they could). With its big one-piece front windshield and triple wiper setup, old Peterbilt 362 cabovers like this are getting harder to find – and much 10-4 Magazine / March 2025 13
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