The Diesel Addict: By Stephanie Haas for over a year, trying a few different things, but Wisconsin eventually called him home. Once he was back, he went to work for a milk hauler for a couple of years, then for a company owned by one of his dad’s friends for about a year. In 2012, Kevin started his own company with a 2005 Western Star quad-axle milk truck running a milk route. By 2014, he added two more semis to haul whey. In 2022, he let his milk route go to focus on the whey hauling. In the winter of 2022, Kevin had ordered a few trucks, and once they were completed in May 2023, he went to the factory in Texas to get them. Included with these new trucks was a numbered 2024 Peterbilt 389X. He didn’t want to risk getting rock chips or put extra miles on the trucks getting them delivered to the dealership from the factory, which is why he asked for permission to pick them up himself. The 389X is #247 and is equipped with a 605-hp X15 Cummins engine, an 18-speed transmission, 3.08 rears and a 308” wheelbase. There are also plenty of cool extras including an in-house built deck plate, train horns, double square 359 headlights, a Dane Nelson bug shield, RLK visor, Shift Products fenders, Lifetime billet oil covers, 12 Ga. Customs DPF cover, and a 4 State Trucks battery box. The most interesting thing about this truck is the pinstriping. The artwork is detailed and there is something to see around every corner of the truck, inside and out. Kevin wanted an old western gunslinging theme with gold leaf, trains, and six shooters, all while incorporating the gold rush. Brittnea of Lady Lines Pinstriping knocked it out of the park, to say the least. One of the cool things about this artwork is that I actually got 34 10-4 Magazine / November 2025 SMALL TOWNS & BIG RIDES Some areas of Wisconsin are well known for farms dotting the landscape, rolling hills, rivers, lakes, and calming views that seem to be good for the soul. A drive to the southwest side of the state has what I described, where the pace of life might not be slower, but it definitely has that feeling, with less of the big city vibe and more of that country charm. That drive also takes you through small towns and unincorporated communities like Paoli and Basco. This happened to be the route I took to the Village of South Wayne to photograph one classy 389X, owned by Kevin Babler (42) of Kevin Babler Trucking, where small towns and big rides seem to go hand-in-hand. As a third generation of truckers in his family, it came as no surprise that as a kid, he would end up following in his father’s (Ron) and grandfather’s (Bruce) footsteps getting into the industry. Bruce started out with a trucking company in Martintown, WI called Babler Trucking, Inc. around the 30s or 40s. Kevin’s dad Ron started driving for Bruce in 1962 at the age of 18. Kevin was already driving in the yard at nine years old, and he learned how to drive mostly from his dad. After getting his CDL in 2001 at the age of eighteen, Kevin worked at his grandfather’s company driving a tri-axle milk truck making farm pick-ups every other day, and on the opposite days, he would offload and reload onto a semi, which was then hauled to bottling plants and cheese factories. After Kevin’s mom passed away, his father opted to retire and get out of trucking in 2007. Kevin decided to move to California and worked out there
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