Clint’s Creations: By Clint Moore fact that they were actually influential in some of the young men’s lives that were in the harvesting crews. Stephanie did their laundry, made sure they had lunch, and gave them a good dinner, but it wasn’t “free” – they were expected to work hard, and it was their way or the highway. A lot of the young men really stepped up and, of course, there was a few that thought they were too strict. Dan said, “The ones that stayed turned into amazing hardworking men.” Four years ago, they quit the harvesting deal and went trucking full-time. Liking nice stuff, Dan started to upgrade the equipment, buying low mileage used trucks, until I met Dan a few years back. He told me he had never ordered a new truck, but it was a lifelong dream of his to do so. We spent some time putting together some options for one of our first 589s, but right before he was going to order, he found a new 389 on a lot in Texas and bought that instead. I didn’t have any 389s left, so I understood – if that’s what he wanted, that’s cool. Occasionally, Dan brought his 389 to our dealership for warranty work, and he ended up forming a friendship with our foreman and friend Ross Whitmore in the body shop. Dan’s friend and helper Jimmy came and bought a new 589 stock truck last year and we hit it right off with Jimmy (featured in the August 2025 edition), as well. Dan and Steph decided last fall that they were going to upgrade one of their trucks to a new 589. They were excited to come to Kansas City and order their first new truck, exactly how Dan wanted it. That process and interaction went great, and we are both happy with how it turned out, so I wanted to share it here. This month’s creation was built for Dan Skinner (64) of Skinner Harvesting in Emporia, KS. Having recently lost his wife and the love of his life, Stephanie, at the age of 61, after a courageous fight with cancer, she and Dan had been married for 27 years. Obviously, Dan was really sad for a while and didn’t do much, which is totally understandable, but he eventually came to the realization that life must go on, so he decided to just keep forging ahead. Growing up in a family that farmed, after he graduated from high school in 1979, Dan rented some acres and gave farming a shot but quickly realized that to be a farmer you needed land, and where he was, he had no connections to go any further. After joining a custom harvesting group, he started his own harvesting company in 1992 with a used John Deere combine, servicing from Texas to the Canadian border. A friend introduced Dan to Stephanie in 1996. They were both recently divorced and not looking for a relationship, but they hit it off. Being an accountant, she thought of things in rows and columns, and took a look at his business plan and checkbook. Next thing you know, he added her to his account, and she took care of things from then on. He said, “I just like nice stuff, but she helped me balance things so that I could run a successful business.” In October 1997 she joined the harvest crew full-time. In the winter months, Dan, along with a couple of the other guys on the harvesting crew, would truck. Having met a little later in life, and neither had kids, they chose to buckle down and build the business. What they didn’t realize was the 10-4 Magazine / May 2026 27 The truck is a new 589 with a 72” high roof sleeper, painted Golden Amber, with a 565-hp X15 Cummins, an 18-speed, low air leaf, and all the good stuff. Once it showed up, Mike was given the task to dial it in for Brett, the driver who was going to get this truck. Mike installed a stainless drop visor from 4 State Trucks, a Merritt flush deck plate with a recessed “V” box, four load lights in the back of the sleeper, breather lights (front and back), and a set of my under glow panels. Polished half-fenders mounted on brackets from I-29 Custom Truck Parts were installed, along with one of my cross-members, and a Jim Crain light bar on the back. Nadine did some nice lettering and pinstriping, and then Thermo King of KC installed a new APU. Unfortunately, Dan would lose Stephanie before the truck was finished, so she never got to see it. When Steph got sick, people from all over reached out to help – they even had a previous helper that drove for somebody else who took a week off from his job to drive Dan’s truck so he could be with Steph as she was in the hospital. And after she passed, it was overwhelming the number of people that came to the funeral from all over the country. This brought Dan much joy in such a sad time. Losing his wife and best friend was the worst thing that has ever happened to Dan, but everyone just stepped up and helped, including all his regular guys, Jimmy, Austin and Brett (Jimmy’s wife Misty even stepped in to help with all the paperwork). After being sad for a while, he came to the realization that he is not the only person in the world that has lost their soul mate and that he needed to keep going. Life must go on – and she would want him to continue. So, Dan is now back on the road in his 389, and Brett is out driving the new 589 seen here. I wanted to thank Dan for his business and for playing a huge part in so many people’s lives. I know a lot of people/couples that were not able to have children, and many of them have had a profound effect on the people around them. Just like Dan and Steph, they touched lives and made friends wherever they went and were able to help some young boys mature into great men. Life is good, so we just need to keep forging ahead, even when it isn’t how we want it to be. n FORGING AHEAD
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