Special Feature: By Colin Kund The gorgeous Kenworth W900L pictured here went through quite the transformation! What started as a basic truck with a Seminole paint job in blue and white transformed into one of the nicest rigs in the “717” of Pennsylvania. Ashton Kaley (21) pilots this fine ride. Ashton’s parents, Chris and Tara Kaley, own two distribution centers located in Mount Joy, PA and Prospect, CT. Ashton says his dad, who drove for over 30 years (for another egg company) had a huge influence on Ashton’s desire to truck. Spending his days off from school and weekends driving all over with his father, but mostly to New York City, those early days ignited a passion in Ashton. His parents currently operate a fleet of six box trucks, two tractors, and three trailers. Although Ashton got his CDL at age 18, he started “driving” way before then, mostly in parking lots and moving trucks around for his dad and, of course, off the road. Once he passed his CDL exam he immediately hopped in a truck and started driving for his parents. His first assigned truck was a ten-wheeler refrigerated box truck where he would haul eggs to diners, supermarkets, dairies and country stores primarily in York, PA and Lancaster, PA. Eventually, Ashton hopped from the straight truck into a tractor and started using that to deliver eggs across Pennsylvania. These days, Ashton pulls a reefer trailer and hauls for Dutchland Refrigerated Transport, which is based out of Newmanstown, PA. Dutchland specializes in frozen and fresh goods, but Ashton will still haul eggs on occasion, as well. Traveling all over now, Ashton is usually on the road Sunday afternoon and back home Friday or Saturday. He really enjoys the change of scenery and meeting people in the trucking world. The truck is a 1995 Kenworth W900L that was built by LK Kustomz in Manheim, PA. You may recognize the name of this builder from the March issue featuring “Adaline” (the white and black Peterbilt). While still relatively new to the scene, LK has been putting out some incredible rides. This truck originally had a 265” wheelbase and an 8-bag suspension. The decision was made to stretch the truck to 280” with a AG400L cutoff. The heart of the truck is a N14 Cummins “Red Top” Celect, which is mated to an 18-speed Eaton-Fuller, that sends power to 3.36 rears. The hood was originally in the KW Seminole paint scheme while the cab and original bunk were just blue. A factory Kenworth Aero One bunk was sourced from Charlie Klopp who had reskinned it. The entire truck is now a beautiful metallic blue, sprayed by Gordon’s Painting & Detailing, and Ashton says it’s the exact color he had envisioned when the project started. 717 Fab Shop made the deck plate, cab trim and bunk trim. The striping and lettering were done by Horst Signs and they, according to Ashton, “nailed it” just right. The exterior lights are all glass watermelons from Grand General with custom billet bases by LK Kustomz and LED bulbs, with hidden Betz lights providing the underglow. An LK Kustomz air ride kit was installed on the front end to give the truck a mean stance, and then 6” Lincoln Chrome pipes were added. To finish off the exterior, Tim at 717 Shine applied his skills to really enhance the aluminum and stainless. Moving inside, like so many other amazing rides these days, Spare Time Fab did the full interior on the truck, including a killer sound system with two 12” subs. Ashton picked the hardwood floor and interior color and let Randy run with the rest. Ashton said, “I was more than happy with how it turned out.” More glass lenses adorn the interior, with Grand General lenses mounted on Grand General bases, with LED bulbs. The steering wheel and interior panels are painted to match the exterior of the truck, and the factory shifter was replaced with a custom short shifter. While the original plan did not involve showing the truck at MATS 2026, Ashton and his parents decided to go for it anyway. Arguably the coolest part to me is the fact that Ashton worked the truck on his way to the show. He hooked to his trailer on Sunday morning and went to the dock to load up. He had four stops along the way, and within two hours after leaving, he hit rain. As Ashton put it, “The truck was completely trashed by the time I got to Louisville on Tuesday morning after my deliveries.” When Wednesday morning came around, he and five friends spent the entire day cleaning the truck from top to bottom. The truck got a lot of attention in the PKY lot, and for good reason – it is such a simple and clean build. 32 10-4 Magazine / May 2026 TRANSFORMED!
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