10-4 Magazine September 2023

Truckopedia: By Mark Harter & Tim Begle If you know me, you know I have an affinity for old trucks. What’s old though? I guess it’s all relative to your age. For me, 1993 doesn’t seem that long ago, and neither do the trucks from that time period. Think about it though, the Peterbilt model 379 was only six years old, the Kenworth W900L had just turned three, aero trucks were becoming more common (like the Kenworth T600), the Freightliner FLD 120, the Peterbilt 377, the Mack CH600, the WHITE GMC WIA, and the International 9400 were all roaming the highways. There were still a lot of fleets operating cabovers at that time, too. You could still order new cabovers like the Kenworth K100E, Peterbilt 362, and its aero counterpart, the model 372, along with other COEs from Freightliner and International. But what’s amazing to think, of all the truck models listed above, only one of them is still in production to this day – the Kenworth W900L. While the Kenworth W900 line of trucks has been produced since 1961, the L model was introduced in 1990 as a special edition to celebrate Kenworth’s involvement in the James Bond film, License to Kill. When our fearless leader and editor here at 10-4 Magazine, Dan Linss, called me a few months ago and asked me to help him find 1993 model year trucks that were still working for this 30th anniversary issue, I reached out to some friends who I thought might be able to help. After making a phone call to my good friend Tim Begle, he told me he might know of one. A few days later I received an email from Tim with photos of the red 1993 Kenworth W900L, equipped with an Aerodyne sleeper, seen here. Owned by Huntingburg, IN based owner operator, Stanley Offil (40), this truck is still used every day. For a lot of us who love trucks (or call it a sickness), there’s certain trucks that have made an impact on our lives. Those trucks are the ones we dreamed of owning and driving when we were kids. For Stanley, who grew up in a trucking family, he remembers riding with his father during the summer and any time he could. “I loved being in the truck, and I probably drove my dad nuts when I was a kid,” Stanley said. “I remember seeing those Aerodyne sleepers and I always liked them and wanted one,” continued Stanley, as he began telling me how he acquired this 1993 Kenworth W900L, along with what he knew about the truck’s history. Originally purchased new by Georgia based Carpet Transport, Inc. (CTI), the truck eventually found its way to West Virginia after being sold out of the CTI fleet where it was operated by an owner operator for several years. “I guess that guy broke down around here, and he had a shop in Leavenworth, IN, do an overhaul on the engine,” he said. Stanley continued with, “He was unable to pay for the overhaul and the truck sat at that shop for a few years before the guy I bought it from purchased it from that repair shop.” Sporting its factory 265-inch wheelbase, Kenworth battery boxes and steps, and 150-gallon tanks, Stanley’s classic W900L rides on a Kenworth 8-bag air-ride suspension with 24.5 Alcoa aluminum, wrapped in 24.5 lo-pro rubber, and has 3.36 geared rear-ends. As I talked with Stanley, he jokingly told me that he’s nicknamed the truck “Yesterday’sDream,Today’sNightmare” referring to the amount of money he’s 38 10-4 Magazine / September 2023 A WORKING RESTORATION