34 10-4 Magazine / September 2025 When you’ve spent a good portion of your life rollin’ down the highway, many truckers have a hard time retiring. The sound of the engine, grabbin’ gears, the whine of rubber on the road, fancy paint, chicken lights, shiny stainless and chrome, polished aluminum, along with the freedom of the open road, gets in your blood, making it hard to call it quits. For a lot of truckers, they love a certain marquee and build a bond with their rig, and that truck can become part of their identity. For other truckers, they buy and sell or trade up as time goes by, but the common theme is, they love their trucks, new or old. One way that many semi-retired or retired truckers satisfy that craving of a diesel engine and a ride down the road is with a retirement playtoy, and Dennis Sikorski (68), owner of D&P Express in Bancroft, Wisconsin, has just that. After spending 45+ years as an owner operator and building a small fleet of trucks that run reefers to the west coast and back, Dennis is now beginning to slow down and enjoy life at home with his family. But, to scratch that itch for the open road, Dennis decided to do something he had always wanted to do but never had the time – build and restore a cool largecar he could share and enjoy with his family, yet still work from time to time, and take to shows. Needless to say, in 2017, a 1995 Peterbilt model 362 cabover, for sale in South Dakota, caught Dennis’ attention. Made from 1981 through 2005, the Peterbilt model 362 replaced the 352 in 1981 and was Peterbilt’s last on-highway cab-over-engine offering. Designed to be more efficient and aerodynamic, the 362 had many upgrades over the 352, like a unique three piece windshield, equipped with three windshield wipers, or a four piece windshield with two wipers, when it was introduced. Other available options on the 362 included a set-back front axle version and even a twin-steer option, both available from Peterbilt. Several cab configurations were offered that ranged from a daycab to the popular 110-inch sleeper cab. When Dennis purchased the 1995 Peterbilt model 362 (seen here) in March of 2017, the truck wasn’t the beauty queen it is today. Telling me some of the history on the truck and what he knows, Dennis said, “I purchased the truck from Truckapedia: By Mark Harter its original owner. He ran it pretty hard pulling a cattle pot for years out west and back. He sold it, then ended up buying it back later on.” Originally painted green, the Pete had been re-powered by a 6NZ C15 Caterpillar at some point. “It looked better in the photos than in person when I found it,” said Dennis, also adding, “I figured we’d be able to drive it home, but the CAT had a blown head gasket, so I ended up having to get it towed back to my shop here in Bancroft.” After the 362 Peterbilt arrived at Dennis’ shop, a year-long full frame-off restoration ensued. “My son Shane and I literally took the truck apart bolt by bolt. A RETIREMENT PLAYTOY
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy