10-4 Magazine October 2021

A month after his dad’s passing, Josh told his mom he was gonna go trucking – she thought he had lost his mind. That statement didn’t stop Josh because he quit his paramedic position, sold the septic company, bought his first truck, and star ted living his dream. Although this wasn’t his first truck, this beautiful 359 that is pictured, was purchased by Josh in 2018 from Floyd, VA and was owned by a logger. At the time, the truck, which was barely running, was painted white with two-tone red stripes and had a flat top “coffin bunk” sleeper. When purchased, the truck was being powered by a Cummins Big Cam 400. Josh is the fifth owner of this truck, and once it was road ready, he ran it about a month before he star ted the ongoing restoration project. The first changes this truck saw was a stretched frame and a Pete FlexAir suspension. In July 2019, Josh swapped the Cummins out for the CAT NXS engine it has today. Fast forward to June of 2020 and the truck not only received a new paint job with a dark gray base and a Metallic Flame Red and Silver stripe, but also saw a sleeper swap to a 48-inch stand up from the original 36-inch flat top. The sleeper swap and paint were completed in just nine days because Josh had to get back to trucking! The pictured truck, as previously stated, is a 1983 Peterbilt 359 that boasts a CAT NXS engine, 13-speed transmission, 3:25 gear ratio and a 269-inch wheelbase. As most may notice, this 359 is a shor t hood, which is uncommon amongst the many extended hoods that are still running the roads today. The truck has received all its chrome from The Chrome Shack in White Pine, TN and spor ts some custom pieces such as the 7-inch Dynaflex pipes, Hogebuilt full fenders, and hub oilers from Lifetime Nut Covers. What I found most interesting about the truck, besides the fact that it is beautiful, is how the truck came together and what Josh used to make that happen. Everything on the truck, except the chrome and custom par ts, came from Strickland’s Auto & Truck, including the sleeper, suspension, transmission and engine. A repair and par ts facility in Cana, VA, Strickland’s also has 15 acres of salvage to shop from. This truck was truly boneyard built. Having a great conversation, Josh and I talked all about his childhood and everything involving trucks leading up to today. As with everyone I write ar ticles about, I try to get their favorite memories from drivers when they were kids, as well as their favorite memory from their 10-4 Magazine / October 2021 11 trucking years, so far. Josh remembered his dad hauling wood chips and one time, when they were at the paper mill, Josh needed to get out of his dad’s truck and hop into his friend’s truck. This friend, who’s handle was Taterhead, owned a cabover Mack truck, and Josh thought it was just the coolest thing riding on the dog box, heading out of the mill that day.