10-4 Magazine November 2024

WhileClaryTrucking is aKenworth fleet, there is one very special Peterbilt that sports the iconic viper red paint scheme of the company. Ordered by Dan in 2006 as a gift for his father Jesse Clary Jr.’s 66th birthday, Dan told me that his dad always wanted a Peterbilt. “My grandfather always wanted a Diamond REO, and sadly never bought one, and my dad always wanted a Peterbilt, so I decided to get him his dream truck for his birthday in 2006,” Dan told me. The 2006 Peterbilt model 379 rides on a 238” wheelbase and is equipped with a 48” flat-top sleeper and has every option you could get, including a full gauge package, American Class interior, and a window in the back of the sleeper, just to name a few items. The Peterbilt is powered by a 565-hp Cummins ISX, with power being pushed through an Eaton-Fuller 18-speed transmission, then out to 3.90 geared rear-ends. Explaining his choice of rear-end gears in the truck, Dan said, “When I ordered this truck, the speed limit was only 55 mph statewide throughout Ohio.” Currently, this big Peterbilt only has 83,000 miles on its odometer. “My dad loved this truck and used to have a ball driving it,” as Dan told me about his father. Sadly, Jesse Clary Jr. passed away on September 14, 2023, at the age of 83. While gone, his memory lives on and his hard work, vision, and smart business sense has been a huge part of Clary Trucking’s ongoing success. Founded in 1947 with one truck by Dan’s grandfather, Jesse Clary Sr., the company got its start hauling coal to local schools in the Chillicothe area. Jesse Sr. went and bought a tow truck a year later to expand the business. But it wasn’t until Jesse Jr. got his driver’s license in 1956, at the age of 16, when the ambitious young man saw potential and began hauling household coal and aggregate materials. “My grandfather didn’t really enjoy dealing with the public, but he told my dad that if he did, there was opportunity to do much more,” Dan explained. With that said, 10-4 Magazine / November 2024 65 Clary Trucking began to grow, and when Jesse Sr. passed away in 1970, the company was running 15 trucks hauling coal and was involved in hauling road materials for the construction of Ohio Route 32. Known as The Appalachian Highway, this route stretches 183 miles across southern Ohio from Cincinnati to Parkersburg, West Virginia. Crediting his mom and dad for instilling values like hard work, honesty, and the importance of family, Dan told me, “My parents were married for over 60 years and ran all aspects of the business until us kids came of age.” Now, 77 years later, four generations have been involved in the family-owned business. “My son Scott runs all the maintenance, and my son John handles dispatch operations,” said Dan. “Our customer base is pretty diverse,” as Dan told me about what and where their trucks haul. “We operate over 300 Fruehauf, Wabash National, and Stoughton van trailers, along with EAST spread-axle aluminum flatbeds with conestoga tarp systems, and EAST aluminum frame-type dump trailers.” Dan said, “In my opinion, the best trucks ever built are the Mack R-Model and the Kenworth T800, along with any Kenworth that used the B cab. We operated a lot of those years ago and they were the most reliable rigs we ever ran.” While times have changed, technology has influenced both truck manufacturing and the trucks themselves. Dan said, “Technology can be frustrating at times, with both the trucks and in business.