10-4 Magazine October 2022

grew up trucking with his dad. At an early age, he began working in the shop and moving trucks around the yard. In those days, his dad Jason was still out on the road a lot, running hard, to provide for his family. Boe has always liked trucks with lots of lights, and remembers dusk being his favorite time of day when out on the road, as all the trucks around them, including his dad, turned on their lights. With an older brother named Matt (34), who did not get into trucking, sometimes all of them went out in the truck together, but as the boys got older and space became an issue, they began to go out with their dad by themselves. This was a special bonding time for Hunter and Boe with their dad. As Hunter and Boe came of age and star ted driving for the company, Jason began to grow the business more. Getting his CDL at the age of 18, Boe remembers one of his first hauls. He had been driving for just a couple months, and was pulling a hopper trailer, along with his brother Hunter, when a snowstorm came. Missing their turn, Boe made the mistake of stopping, on a hill, with lots of ice underneath him. Because of that, he couldn’t get star ted. He vividly remembers he and Hunter, out in the freezing cold in their coveralls, chipping away at that ice, trying to get the truck freed up. Finally, a local farmer helped them get rolling, and they got to their destination. But it was one of those moments that forced Boe to decide if this was really what he wanted to do or not – obviously, he chose to stick it out! The first truck Boe drove was a 2000 Freightliner FLD. In fact, he took his driving test in this same truck, and today it is still his winter truck. Hunter also learned how to drive in this maroon-colored truck, as well. They call this old Freightliner “The Mule” because, with a stout 6NZ CAT under the hood, she pulls anything and everything she is asked to haul with ease. Boe drove this truck for about three years, pulling mostly a hopper trailer, before the company purchased the 2005 Peterbilt 379 seen on these pages, and our cover and centerfold, this month. He always wanted to pull a reefer trailer, so he convinced his dad to get one and, later, found some great dedicated hauls for it. Purchasing the truck in October 2018 from a guy named Brandon Gregoire, the rig had the same paint scheme but was not as customized 10-4 Magazine / October 2022 11 as it is today. It also had a 70-inch standup sleeper, which they kept on it for several years. Boe’s dad was (is) a big believer in pusher axles because it allows them to haul more freight, so a drop axle was installed on the truck early on. At first, before the reefer trailer was purchased, Boe pulled a nice, matching, brand-new black hopper trailer, but what he really wanted to pull was a shiny reefer. So, about a year and a half ago, they found this sharp Great Dane and bought it. And from there, it was game on! We first met Boe and the entire DelaBarre family at the Wheel Jam Truck Show in Huron, SD in June 2021. At that time, his truck was hooked to the reefer trailer, which had a matching unit and painted rails. Along with Boe’s truck was also Hunter’s bright green 2007 Peterbilt 379 hooked to a polished bull rack, and dad’s yellow and black 2006 Peterbilt 379, hooked to a nice, polished hopper trailer. Together, these three rigs were very impressive, and each one them earned a trophy for something, but it was Boe’s truck that really stood out to us for whatever reason (probably the colors). Fast forward about six months, to the beginning of 2022, and it was decided that Boe’s truck and trailer would get some more work done to it. After Boe and Hunter removed the pusher axle, the truck was taken to our friends at VDZ Customs in Hull, IA where Tyler Van Der Zwaag and his team filled in all the holes left from the pusher axle in the frame and installed a lift axle to the back of the trailer. When it left there, the frame was clean and smooth, as all of the frame