10-4 Magazine May 2022

Rory found a truck in Missouri that he had been looking for – a light blue 2003 Peterbilt 379 (pictured). Upon purchase, Rory did a few things to it to make it more his style and then went trucking. In June of 2021, Rory made the decision to shut the truck down and restore it. Though plenty had a hand in the truck you see today, much of the work was performed by Rory himself, as he wanted to be a big part of the process. Rory started the initial process by tearing out the interior and then spent a week tearing down the rest of the truck. Once the paint work was done, Rory was back at the truck, spending 14-16 hours a day, putting the truck back together. The truck was back together and dialed in on August 15, 2021. Behind the ideas for this restoration was a desire to pay his granddad drove a gas truck with a 26-foot trailer and a bench seat. Before he headed out, Rory’s grandma would always pack him three jugs of water, a box of cigars, and a couple bologna sandwiches to get him on his way. In the back of his mind, hauling cattlewaswhat Rory alwayswanted to do. After high school, at 18 years old, Rory joined the Marine Corps and completed a four-year commitment. While on leave during his first year in, he started dating Heather, who later became his wife. His dad, still against him getting into trucking, wouldn’t teach him, so Rory, at 22 years old, went to work at Prime, Inc. in Springfield, MO to get his CDL. During those first six months of driving for Prime, Rory made a lot of contacts and, after those first six months, went to drive a Peterbilt hauling livestock for Jeff Walters, father of one of Rory’s high school best friends. Driving for someone was not the goal Rory set out to do, because he knew he wanted to own his own truck one day, but this was a good place to start. Fast forward two years and he bought his first truck from Jeff Walters and started his company, Lazy R Trucking LLC. Rory pulled one of Jeff’s trailers for about a year, and then he bought his own. A couple years after Rory and Heather were married on July 13, 2013, Rory sold his truck at age 30 and became a driver for a friend. This was a great opportunity and something he did for about four and a half years, but then he got to the point that he wanted to own a truck again. In 2019, at 34 years old, 10-4 Magazine / May 2022 33