20 10-4 Magazine / May 2025 hate them – they are here, and people and companies are quickly coming up with parts to make them cooler. Some of the bigger companies that had custom 589s in their booth included Trux, Iowa Customs, RoadWorks, and Jade/Shift Products (this green beauty was one of our favorites on the show floor). Outside, there were several, as well, including a blue fuel hauler from Willis, a custom rose-colored 589 built by AMCAN, and many more. Folks are figuring out pretty quickly that it doesn’t take much to make these new trucks look a lot better. And speaking of the trucks, I got out there on Friday and couldn’t believe the level of craftsmanship on the 150 rigs competing in the PKY Truck Beauty Championships – definitely the best of the best! A few of the standouts for me included Kevin Voigt’s black and white 1998 Freightliner FLB cabover, Chad Ellison’s blue and black 2023 Peterbilt 389 with a matching painted 2026 Wilson livestock trailer, and John Dunnigan’s yellow and white “Afternoon Delight” 1985 Peterbilt 359 (which was awesome). Some other popular trucks were Brandon Smith’s gray and light blue Peterbilt 389, Brant Arnold’s brown 1970 Peterbilt 358 (which won the coveted People’s Choice award), and our past cover trucker Eric Gibbons of EMH and his gray and green 2024 Peterbilt 389, fitted with a cool reproduction Doonan roof cap on the sleeper, which Eric has been developing and will soon offer to the public. At one point, a few months before the show, there was a large contingency of California trucks slated to come out to MATS. We were so excited to finally have some west coast representation at the most prestigious truck beauty show in the world, but sadly, most ended up canceling. I was hoping they could all be parked together and be in “California Corner” or something, but circumstances for many prevented that from happening. We were bummed, but a few Cali trucks were there, including Cole Barbieri and Tommy Stine of North Coast Wine (they both won a ton of awards), along with our past cover trucker Bruce Campbell in his green and cream Peterbilt 389 dump truck. Last year he brought his transfer setup, but this year he pulled a matching pup trailer out, just to be different. Of course, the trucks outside getting the most attention were the three classy entrants in the Big Rig Build-Off. There was supposed to be five, but two did not finish their builds (Jordan Henderson of JSH Towing and our old friend Randy Manning). The three that did finish and were there competing included Brian and Tom Davis (Davis Brothers), Luke Rethwisch (Rethwisch Transport), and Bill and Cody Warner (Bill Warner & Son Towing). All these competitors built old trucks – Davis Brothers and Luke Rethwisch both built 1987 Peterbilt 359s and Bill and Cody Warner built a green 1988 Peterbilt 362 cabover. Show hours on Friday were 10-6 like on Thursday, but before the show closed for the day, we caught Brittnea Barnes of Lady Lines Pinstriping in the Valley Chrome booth striping their show truck right there on the show floor. It was pretty cool, and her work is amazing (see the feature we did on her in the June 2024 edition). After the show closed for the day, there was a free concert that featured Tony Justice and Colt Ford inside Freedom Hall starting at 7:00 PM on the show grounds. Unfortunately, we already had big dinner plans, so we were not able to attend the concert. Instead, we headed over to Mark’s Feed Store, a popular local BBQ joint, with 22 of our contributors, friends, show helpers, and other members of our extended 10-4 Family for a great night of food, fun, and conversation. And with our friend and contributor Miss Flatbed Red also there with a large group of her trucking friends, we pretty much took over the entire upstairs area of the restaurant! On Saturday the show opened at 9:00 AM and the awards ceremony started at 10:00 – and it was the fastest ever (it was over at 10:50). Then, we headed outside to get some pics of the winners with their trophies, including the winner of the Big Rig Build-Off, Luke Rethwisch. This young man really outdid himself, presenting his dark gray and maroon Peterbilt 359 like the show trucks of the past – with the wheels off (displayed on rotating stands), exposing everything that was chromed, including most of the suspension, the brake drums, the drivelines, and the engine. Other winners included the maroon 1986 International 9670 hooked to a completely polished Wilson livestock trailer built by our friends at VDZ Customs, Troy Massey’s “Wild Child” Kenworth (black with red stripes), and Cole Johnson’s (STS Transit) turquoise Peterbilt 389 and Muv-All with a tractor on the back. Some other folks who received big awards were Matt Green, Edward Homfeld, and Brian Bourke. One truck that did not win any awards but was getting a lot of attention was a magenta-colored 1997 Peterbilt 379 from Canada with murals and a chromed-out engine that looked like a time capsule, inside and out, from the late 1990s. While we were outside capturing pictures of some of the winners with their trophies, Miss Flatbed Red was in our booth inside from 12:00 to 1:00 for a
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