10-4 Magazine / May 2026 13 and grill all in one, a full bathroom and shower, a full-sized coffee maker, a larger refrigerator and freezer (separate units), wood floor, a large bed in the back, ceiling mounted heat and A/C, sink, extensive counter-tops and cabinets, and 50 gallons of hot or cold water. The upholstery in the sleeper was done by ATG, and it matches the material color and style of the cab, and there is even “bus glass” in the back window of the sleeper. Since David uses his iPad to watch movies and television shows, there was no need to mount a TV inside the bunk. Although Micheal does not build show trucks, David wanted his to make its debut at MATS in 2026, so they compromised, and David put it on display inside the show in the Intercity Lines booth, where they were looking to recruit drivers. The final push to get the truck done in time for the show forced Micheal, who is almost always alone in the shop, to have a couple friends, Nick Romero and Philip Leger, come out and help for a few weeks. After seeing pictures of the truck and asking a few people I respect about what to shoot the day after the show, two of my trusted associates both said this was their favorite truck at the show, so I made the call, setup the shoot for the next morning, and we got it done in a nearby park. During the shoot, we learned a lot more about David and Micheal, and we also talked about the connection we had to Intercity Lines from way back when. In March 2000 (that was 26 years ago), we featured an Intercity Lines truck on our cover that was owned by Tom and Jane Opliger. That “Hot Rod” truck was a 1996 Peterbilt 379 with a 132” ICT sleeper, and it was covered in murals, stripes and graphics. In those days, we were still a relatively unknown and small magazine, and besides the color cover, the 2-page story and pictures inside were black and white, and there was no centerfold yet (that did not debut for another year in March 2001). Talking to David while we took our pictures, I was surprised to hear that Dave Wilson, the owner of Intercity Lines, still has copies of that March 2000 issue in his office and still considers that cover feature to be a feather in their cap and a real accomplishment. David was still at Intercity when Tom and Jane were on the cover, and he remembers everyone being really excited about it. And when David decided to go all out with this build, his number one desire was not to win a trophy or a show, but to be on our cover! We had no idea about any of this when we set up the shoot, so to hear him say that, really blew us away – it seemed like it was meant to be!! And, in case anyone was wondering, David did not build this truck to park it in the barn or for parades – he built it to work it. After the photo shoot, he went directly back to Micheal’s shop where a few adjustments were made so he could go to work, and just a few days later, he was hooked to his company-owned 53’ matching
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy