Cover Feature: By Daniel J. Linss Studying Business and Mechanical Engineering for about three years, David was recruited to go work for a large oil, gas and lubricant company in 2005, and he never went back. Leaving school before earning his degree, David became a salesman for this company and did quite well for himself. He stayed there for 15 years, and just about the time the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he left that company. Enjoying a nice pension and severance package, David took his time deciding his next move, but in 2021 his answer came clearer into focus, and he went back to trucking. After speaking with Dave Wilson, the owner of Intercity Lines, David purchased a used 2017 Peterbilt 579 and went back to hauling cars. While David liked this 579 Peterbilt, and it was a nice truck, it just wasn’t him. So, he started searching for a nice 379 Pete, eventually finding one in California, and buying it in June of 2023. Although it had 1.4 million miles on the odometer, the truck looked good and seemed solid, so David drove it home to Louisiana. From there, he began cleaning it up and replacing a few items, but he quickly realized this rig needed a lot more to be done to it – more than he could do himself – and he wanted it to be done right. David began looking for a place to take it, and fate, along with a good reference, brought him to Micheal Trahan (pronounced Traw-hon) at MW Trahan Restorations in Maurice, LA. David loved that Micheal was from Louisiana like him, and Micheal had a stellar reputation when it came to restoring Peterbilt 379s. Taking the truck to Micheal in June 2024, he did not start working on it until March 2025, as he had a few other jobs already in process that needed to be completed first. At that time, the 2002 Peterbilt 379 had a decent American Class interior, was white with three thin black stripes, had a shorter wheelbase, and a factory UltraCab with a 70” standup sleeper. The first thing he did was pull out the motor and then he started taking the rest of the truck apart. However, once Many people start trucking and then later decide to get out of the business for various reasons. However, trucking has a way of pulling people back. Some say it’s the diesel that gets in their veins, others end up missing the freedom and independence of the open road, and a few say they were simply born to do it. Either way, a good majority of people who leave trucking eventually go back. Such is the case for David Pitre (58) of West Monroe, LA. After trucking for many years, he left the industry for something entirely different, and when it was time to move on to something else, he chose a profession he had done before and loved doing – trucking! And this “second time around” is shaping up to be even better than the first. Growing up in a family deeply entrenched in trucking and oilfield work, David Pitre (properly pronounced Peet) was born and raised in Ville Platte, a small town in south-central Louisiana, between Alexandria and Lafayette, in the heart of Cajun country. From the start, he was pretty sure he’d end up doing the same kind of work as the generations before him, and for many years, he did. Both his grandfather and father, Rayford Pitre Sr. and Rayford Pitre Jr. respectively, drove trucks (his grandfather was also a carpenter). David did not know his grandfather, as he passed away before he was even born, but he did go trucking a lot with his dad while growing up. For most of David’s young life, his father was an owner operator that pulled reefers and tankers, but at one point he did have a small fleet. In 1988, when David turned 21, he went to truck driving school, got his chauffeur’s license, and then went to work at Fogelman Truck Lines out of Crowley, LA. Pulling dry vans filled with general freight, the company had nothing but cabovers, which was not uncommon back then, and David started out in a 1979 Freightliner. He stayed at Fogelman for about two years and then went to work with his dad in 1990. In 1996 he bought his first truck – a brand-new bright red 1996 Freightliner FLD Classic XL with a condo sleeper – and leased on with National Carriers, pulling reefers all across the country. Two years later, in 1998, David bought his next new truck – a white 1999 Peterbilt 379 with a factory bunk. Shortly thereafter, he changed over to Intercity Lines out of Warren, MA and started hauling cars in their enclosed trailers. Later, he replaced that factory bunk with a larger Double Eagle sleeper and repainted the truck, covering it with colorful stripes and graphics, and added louvers to the hood, which was popular back then. Traveling the country in this sweet ride, hauling all sorts of exotic cars, collector cars, supercars, show cars, race cars, high-end cars for auctions, and cars for snowbirds (people who migrate from the colder northern parts of the country to warmer southern locales, typically during the winter), he loved his job. In 2002, looking to make a change, David left trucking altogether to go back to school. 10 10-4 Magazine / May 2026 SECOND TIME AROUND
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