10-4 Magazine May 2022

12 10-4 Magazine / May 2022 Tom took a job at K&D, which is based in Spring Valley, WI. Still running his Kenwor th T2000, Tom leased a trailer from another driver, Roger Wiff, for just over one year, then decided to buy his own, purchasing a new 2015 aluminum Wilson flatbed, which he still pulls today. In 2016, Tom bought a 2003 Peterbilt 379. Painted a maroon color, the truck had a 309-inch wheelbase and was powered with a 600 ISX Cummins, hooked to a 13-speed, and 3.55 rears. After adding cream stripes and a drom platform on the back (for hauling specialized loads), Tom put the Peterbilt to work at K&D, pulling his Wilson flatbed. Running Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, with an occasional trip to Michigan or Ohio, Tom hauls building materials and steel coils for K&D Transpor t. Driving that 2003 Peterbilt until ordering the 2020 Kenwor th T680 seen on these pages here and on the cover and centerfold this month, Big T spec’d it out in late 2018 and then took delivery in February of 2019. Ordered in Bright Silver with a 288-inch wheelbase and a Viper red chassis, the truck is powered by a 565-hp X15 Cummins, hooked to a 13-speed, and 3.08 rears. Tom requested that the truck not be delivered until April of 2019, but when it came in early in February, they made him take it. He also had ordered it with a back window, which Kenwor th later claimed couldn’t be done, so Tom’s relationship with this KW was rocky at the star t. Thankfully, with help from Adam and his new shop, Johnson Hill Customs, it got better. After taking delivery of the Kenwor th, some customizing was done by Johnson Hill Customs, like adding the back window, fabricating and then installing a custom platform topped with polished diamond plate, and making custom steps so Tom could get up on that platform. A slew of other accessories were added at this time including side boxes, a visor, and a headache rack, but most of these items were later replaced and upgraded with better stuff. In the beginning, Tom also added black vinyl stripes with Viper red outlines, which it still has. In preparation for the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, KY in March of 2022, the truck was completely gone through and improved, getting it to that next level of cool and custom, where it is today. There were a few things they did in the beginning that were not changed later – the air ride on the front and the exhaust, to name a few. The Hovde air ride on the front is made by a guy in nor thern Minnesota and was then installed by the crew at Johnson Hill Customs. Although the rig has a factory weed-burner exhaust system underneath, Tom wanted dummy pipes up the sides, so he installed a set of 7-inch Lincoln Chrome stacks with bull-hauler turnouts, then mounted them upside-down, creating unique elbows at the bottom with the turned-out ends. It was such an ingenious idea, he even stumped the guys at Lincoln, who saw the truck and asked, “Whose pipes and elbows are these?” Shutting the truck down for a few weeks in early 2022, Tom went to work on the truck, prepping it for the MATS show in March. All the side boxes, the headache rack, and rear bumper were replaced with new products from Brunner Fabrication, the visor was swapped out with a new one from 12 Ga. Customs, painted Shift single hump rear fenders were mounted, and tons of clear glass watermelon LEDs were added, including three on the deck plate under the fifth wheel. Most of these lights are underneath the truck or hidden, and all of them feature a unique spiderweb pattern in the glass. Johnson Hill Customs also made custom polished aluminum steps for the sides, fitted with step plates from Roadsknz, and then frenched-in all the air and electrical connections at the back of the frame. The biggest thing Tom wanted to get done before the MATS show was the truck’s interior. And boy did he go big! Turning to Zack Anibas