20 10-4 Magazine / March 2025 The Rabbit River is a tributary of the Kalamazoo River within Allegan County, which is one of two counties that Holland, MI calls home. There is a house bordered on three sides by the Rabbit River, which is owned by Bruce Hassevoort. Bruce (71) is also a father to two sons, Eric (49) and Jeremy (44) who own, after the river name, Rabbit River Transport II, LLC out of Holland, MI. Cattle have always been a kind of mainstay in the Hassevoort family, even going so far as starting a company in the early ‘90s for the purchasing and selling of cattle, along with owning a couple trucks called Rabbit River Farms. They eventually transitioned out of cattle into trucking only, and Rabbit River Transport II, LLC was born. Bruce started trucking in 1979 and basically paved the way for his sons to come on board as the second generation in the family. The company equipment used to be in the front yard of Bruce’s house, but as they grew, they rented a few different places. Eric learned how to drive from his dad, Bruce, having started around the age of 16. A couple years later, in 1993, he officially obtained his CDL and started out within Michigan, hauling live birds at night and local freight during the day. Being the younger brother, Jeremy had the benefit of learning from both Bruce and Eric, including riding with them a lot, before he started driving. Around age 14, Jeremy was driving on his own with no supervision and helping with truck maintenance, then got his CDL in 1998 when he turned 18. In 1999, Eric took the first step of ownership with the purchase of his first truck, which he leased on to the family business, and Jeremy did the same a short year later. The Diesel Addict: By Stephanie Haas Into the 2000s, the family and the company started growing, beginning with Jeremy marrying his wife Anne on May 6, 2006. Around 2008, Rabbit River Transport II, LLC bought their first shop, and May 16, 2009, Eric married his wife Jodi. Rabbit River remained in that shop for 17 years and was relocated to their amazing new facility in 2024 (see my story about that grand opening event in the Dec. 2024 edition). Doing an article about these two brothers, there wasn’t a way I could pick photographing one brother’s truck over the other, so I thought it would be a little change of pace to include both trucks. Eric’s truck is a 2021 Kenworth W900L with a Cummins X15, 18-speed transmission, 292-inch wheelbase, 3.36 rears, and can be found hooked to a 2016 Wilson livestock trailer. The truck sports a stainless American Eagle bumper, factory stacks with Dynaflex tops, Sutherland Bros. air ride, and Hogebuilt stainless full fenders. Jeremy’s truck is a 2018 Peterbilt 389 powered by a 550 Caterpillar 2WS, 13-speed transmission, 3.55 rears, and a 300-inch wheelbase. This classy truck has a Lincoln Chrome bumper, 12 Ga. Customs visor (as well as light bars and deckplate), Dynaflex 8-inch stacks, Shift Products fenders, and the interior was done by Davis Bros., with a nice stereo install by Kevin Johnson. I saw Jeremy’s FATHER AND SONS
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