10-4 Magazine November 2021

14 10-4 Magazine / November 2021 in bad shape, and he wanted to get it replaced before the photo shoot, but due to material and worker shor tages, it was not going to be done in time. Thankfully, after explaining the situation to Ray, he personally made sure the tapered bumper was built and delivered to Schott in time for Gus to get it mounted. Thank you, Ray, and everyone at Valley Chrome, for always taking great care of your customers. As mentioned previously, Gus and his dad star ted collecting old trucks many years ago, and today they have a bunch of cool old stuff in the backyard. The first truck they purchased together was a really nice 1973 Peterbilt cabover they bought from Troy Larsen. Gus was still in high school when they bought this COE, and he wasn’t even licensed to drive it, so he registered it as an antique, which allowed him to drive it with just a regular car license. Treating this green and yellow cabover like a car, Gus would drive it to school, through the drive-thru at fast food joints, and anywhere else he wanted or needed to go. This would be the beginning of an addiction that continues today. Many of the trucks in their backyard (Gus and his family still live in the house his mom and dad bought when they moved to Terrebonne after getting married) are owned by Gus, some belong to his dad Jeff, and a few of them they bought together. Currently, they have Jeff’s old 1979 Peterbilt 359 (the glider he built using the drivetrain from grandpa’s wrecked Freightliner), a 1965 Emeryville cabover, a 1967 International conventional, a 1978 Powerliner cabover fitted with a V8 Detroit, a 1981 Freightliner FLC, a 1966 Freightliner cabover, a narrow-nose 1966 Kenwor th, and a 1953 Peterbilt “Bubblenose” cabover. They also have the 1972 Peterbilt 359 transfer that Jeff used to wash (and drive), when he was 16 years old, in Southern California. Their most recent acquisition is a beautiful 1972 Peterbilt 359 long hood they purchased from a man in Idaho named Dennis Detweiler. Dennis bought this truck new and ran it for almost 50 years! The truck runs well and drives nice. Gus even drove it down from Oregon to the show in Red Bluff, CA last August. He mostly just wants to preserve this classic, but would like to work it a bit in the summer, as well. All the trucks in their “backyard museum” are roadwor thy, except for the Bubblenose (Gus has a new engine for it, but hasn’t been able to install it yet). In addition to all the old trucks, there are also four Mercury sleepers, cattle trailers, and more. As much as Gus loves his old trucks, he loves his family even more. His wife Natalie is a stay-at-home mom, and she takes care of the kids and everything else at home. Their son Gerrit (7) is a cer tified truck fanatic. Currently, he believes that everything in his life is just in the way of him driving trucks. He is ready, willing, and able to do it right now, and probably could. Their daughter Grae (5) loves riding in the truck, but she has lots of other activities to keep her busy. Gerrit, however, is laser-focused on trucks and everything truck-related. Taking care of his truck himself, Gus does all his own work on the 379. Unless a problem is deep in the motor or inside the transmission, Gus will fix it himself, right there in his backyard, laying in the gravel, in the rain, snow, or freezing cold. He loves to teach his kids through example what it means to take pride in your work and love what you do. Besides “playing” with his old trucks, he also plays drums in a band that formed back in high school. Writing and performing original rock songs, “The Old Revival” plays gigs when they can. Since the pandemic began, they have not been able to do much, but they look forward to getting back out there soon. Playing live music is a great way to have fun, relax, and connect with people. To find some of their music, search for the band on Spotify and iTunes. Jeff and Chris, Gus’ parents, are technically still married, but they have been separated since Gus was in high school – almost 20 years! It seems strange, but it works for them. They still get along great, and both enjoy spending time together with their grandkids. Gus loves the freedom of being a single truck owner operator, and has a lot of pride in what he does. Providing for his family and taking care of them is his number one job, and he is going to keep doing what he does (and having fun doing it) until someone says he can’t. He has no interest in buying a new truck and would leave Oregon if they forced him to do so. “We need to stop rolling over and star t fighting for what we believe in, while we still can,” he said. When I asked Gus if there were par ticular people or companies he wanted to thank, he said, “I want to star t by thanking God for all that he has blessed me with, along with the veterans, both the heroes who’ve lost their lives and the active-duty men and women who are currently protecting our country and freedoms. Also, I’d like to thank my dad and mom for always suppor ting my love for trucking and wanting to continue the family tradition, along with Terry Stafek, for being like a grandfather to me since the age of two. Anytime I need advice about maintaining equipment correctly, he always has the answers I need. Then there’s Dick Dyer for his 60+ years of mechanical knowledge, Lance Shinkle with Sunburst Trucking for keeping the truck loaded, Blair Ashley for selling me the sleeper, and anyone else I may have forgot.” But, most of all, he wanted to send special thanks to his wife Natalie for not only putting up with all this trucking nonsense, but helping him with it, as well. She handles everything at home while he is out trucking, does tons of stuff for the kids, cooks and cleans, manages the bills, and even holds the flashlight for Gus or hands him the tools he needs when he is forced to work on the truck outside, at night, in the dark. She takes good care of Gus and the entire family, and for that, he is forever grateful. We had a great time shooting the pictures of Gus and his truck (and his family) after the show in Brooks, OR. What makes Gus the real deal? He comes from an old-school trucking family, he was taught how to truck by his dad, the family had – and in some cases still has – some of the coolest trucks ever made, he works on his own stuff, he drives his 25-year-old truck every day, he loves God and his family and is not embarrassed to talk about it, he works hard, and he is genuinely a really nice guy. Yes, Gus Hulstein is the real deal, and we are proud to welcome him into the 10-4 family! n