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Truckers work hard -- and so do their trucks. But that shouldn’t stop drivers from smiling every time they look at their rig.
For years, truckers were at the mercy of a couple of factories. They drove whatever rolled off the line. Today, as seen in the popular CMT show “Trick My Truck” and by the proliferation of custom shops across the country, truckers can personalize their vehicles in ways unimaginable just a few years ago.
“We’ve built hoods for over 30 years,” says Dave Jones, president of Jones Performance Products. “For years, body styles didn’t change. All we did was put on stainless steel or lights; there was nothing we could do about the shape. Now, with fiberglass and other changes, we can do a lot. And it doesn’t cost any more than the original equipment.”
Truck Rods Are Hot
Hot rod trucks -- “truck rods” -- are very popular, Jones says. When he started, he thought such designs would be used only as replacements. But plenty of people now buy hot rod hoods for brand new trucks.
“We design different styles every day,” Jones reports. Many are long and low. There are also many requests for shaved headlight designs. Recently, Jones added Kenworth-style lights to a Peterbilt.
Jones also built the first 379 Peterbilt fiberglass hood. That material, in place of aluminum, allows his crew to modify looks with scoops, side vents and six types of fenders. “A fender is 40 percent of a truck,” he notes. “When you change the fender, the effect is huge.”
Jones offers a dozen scoop designs for the side of any hood. “There’s a lot of mixing and matching,” he says. “No two hoods should ever look the same.”
Aerodynamics Is Not a Drag
A personalized truck should look good, but it also must drive well. “Aerodynamics is always part of our design,” Jones emphasizes. “Sleek is in, and of course that creates less drag.”
Jones’s company supplies all the hoods for “Trick My Truck.”
“That’s a blast,” he says. “We’re able to do things we normally couldn’t, like make a truck look like a tractor or a low-rider Chevrolet.”
Rod Pickett and the Chrome Shop Mafia
Rod Pickett is the owner of Pickett Custom Trucks and a cofounder of Chrome Shop Mafia, which appears on “Trick My Truck”. Pickett agreed to do the show, because he wanted to make sure there was a positive portrayal of truckers on TV. His own preference is visors for bigger drops and stacks up to 10 inches. Bigger bumpers and rear fenders make trucks look “lower and meaner,” he says. Made of stainless steel, they can be painted any way a driver wants.
Pickett shaves bolt heads to create a smooth frame. He also has shaved headlights for a Peterbilt.
Building His Own
After customizing other drivers’ trucks that were speced and ordered from Peterbilt (they arrived in basic form, with no cab lights, air cleaner lights, fenders, deck plates, visors or exhaust), Pickett took a different approach with his own rig. He wanted a 359 Peterbilt, which is no longer built, so he bought a truck from a local company and then totally dismantled it.
The back and top of the cab and the entire cab were reskinned. Many parts had to be custom made. New frame rails were ordered blind and blank (without predrilled holes). The taper at the back was cut in his shop, and the doors were stripped bare and reskinned too.
The front and rear suspension was mounted high on the frame to get the truck as low as possible. Pickett made custom steps, along with a light panel under the frame and light bar on the rear. The driveline, suspension hangers, motor parts and many others were sent off to be chromed. Except for the chrome, motor overhaul and interior upholstery, all work -- including paint -- was done in Pickett’s shop.
The five-month job was well worth it, Pickett says. Customers have the same reaction when they see their own newly customized trucks.
Trick Your Own Truck
Of course, drivers can trick their own trucks. All they need are catalogs from truck accessory distributors (often accessible online), a good idea of what they want and plenty of time to do it right.
If you want to stay ahead of the game, you also might want to consider the next big trend: “The new thing is clean -- less is more,” Pickett says. “Guys are taking lights off, filling holes. Before it was put stuff on; now it’s take it off. It’s like the bike or street rod trend. Drivers are younger, and they want a clean look.”
Jones recently purchased a 3-D CAD machine. That will cut his design time and give him even more freedom. The market, he promises, “hasn’t seen anything yet!”
