# Some Classy 18 wheeler pics from the Great American Truck Show



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

I've been in the trucking business all my life but until last week I had never been to a truck show. Last week, up in Dallas, the Great American Truck Show was held, the company I work for has a show truck that we entered (we did not place) so I spent three days up there attending this thing.

WOW!!! I had never seen such beauty! Some of these trucks are actual working trucks (ours works some) and others are only for show.

The first four pictures are our show truck...





































This truck was the overall show winner, it was simply beautiful! This truck does not actually work, it's just for show...













































It had an acrylic back on the fuel tank where you could actually see the fuel in it and inside the tank were turn signals....2cool!


----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

This one is for sale, it's a 1999 model. Asking price is $225,000


----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)




----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

It was estimated that there was nearly $1,000,000 spent on this rig...


----------



## patwilson (Jan 13, 2006)

Nice!


----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)




----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)




----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

I apologize for the somewhat blurry pictures, I had forgotten my real camera and only had my iPhone to use. I think all the lights and shiny chrome was making my camera blurry OR it could have been from the mass quantities of Jack Daniels from the previous night that made my hands a bit shaky!


----------



## capt.sandbar (Aug 31, 2007)

That's insane!!! Wow!!!


----------



## spike404 (Sep 13, 2010)

Better than a hot rod show.

I wonder how they transport them to the shows? Piggy-back? One rig for the trailer, and another for the tractor? They would have to be covered, correct?


----------



## BlueWaveCapt (Jan 8, 2007)

Wow - those are amazing. Thanks for the pics!!


----------



## poncho n' lefty (Sep 21, 2009)

some amazing trucks, thanks for sharing that


----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

spike404 said:


> Better than a hot rod show.
> 
> I wonder how they transport them to the shows? Piggy-back? One rig for the trailer, and another for the tractor? They would have to be covered, correct?


Most of them are driven to the shows, we hauled ours down from Chicago on a lowboy trailer. Ours was not covered for the ride down... we had it all nice and clean and prayed that it didn't get caught in a rainstorm. Once our truck arrived we paid a cleaning crew $750 to go over it again!

Some of the trucks work every day and those guys were out in the parking lot at the convention center for a couple days cleaning and polishing everything before the show... those guys show a lot of dedication! It was 112 degrees last Wednesday when we arrived and those guys were out in the middle of an asphalt parking lot cleaning their stuff up.


----------



## Tight Knot (Sep 8, 2004)

Thanks for sharing T Rod. Project One is a great looking truck.


----------



## jdusek (Apr 7, 2006)

Man I thought any minute a picture was going to be shown of one of them transforming into a transformer! Maybe optimus prime brother


----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

Tight Knot said:


> Thanks for sharing T Rod. Project One is a great looking truck.


It does look good but I personally think that it's just "too much". It has been the top winner at shows before but not this time. It was built by the "Texas Chrome Shop" in San Antonio a few years ago.


----------



## Ducatibilt (Jul 8, 2010)

How did you let those pics of the KW and the Intl slip in there?


----------



## WilliamH (May 21, 2004)

What make is this truck?


----------



## Ducatibilt (Jul 8, 2010)

WilliamH said:


> What make is this truck?


International Lone Star.

They also make it in a Harley Edition kind of like Ford did.


----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

Ducatibilt said:


> How did you let those pics of the KW and the Intl slip in there?


LOL... All trucks need a little love!

I'm personally not a Peterbilt fan, at least from a driving aspect. I have driven almost every brand of class 8 truck available in the U.S. market and I would say that my favorite, from a drivers comfort level, is without a doubt Volvo. It is the quietest, most comfortable truck built but the resale is HORRIBLE!

We only buy Peterbilt trucks (built in Denton, TX), mostly for the resale value.

Just in case some of you don't have a clue what a new big truck cost... a truck (without all the chrome and goodies) similar to our show truck is $114,000. We have just ordered 10 of those to be placed into crude oil transport. A new Peterbilt like the one below, before we rig it out with extras is around $165,000 (we just ordered another 10 of those as well). The tank trailers we purchase are anywhere from $80,000 up to $150,000 each.


----------



## Ducatibilt (Jul 8, 2010)

trodery said:


> LOL... All trucks need a little love!
> 
> I'm personally not a Peterbilt fan, at least from a driving aspect. I have driven almost every brand of class 8 truck available in the U.S. market and I would say that my favorite, from a drivers comfort level, is without a doubt Volvo. It is the quietest, most comfortable truck built but the resale is HORRIBLE!
> 
> ...


I'm kind of partial to Peterbilt, I think everyone should RUSH out and get one!


----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

Ducatibilt said:


> I'm kind of partial to Peterbilt, I think everyone should RUSH out and get one!


LOL.... Do you work at Rush Peterbilt?


----------



## WilliamH (May 21, 2004)

Ducatibilt said:


> International Lone Star.
> 
> They also make it in a Harley Edition kind of like Ford did.


I like the grill! LOL . . .


----------



## Ducatibilt (Jul 8, 2010)

trodery said:


> LOL.... Do you work at Rush Peterbilt?


I don't "work" there!

I just come in everyday and use their computers to get on 2cool!


----------



## Bearkat (Jul 18, 2008)

Ducatibilt said:


> International Lone Star.
> 
> They also make it in a Harley Edition kind of like Ford did.


Those are cool looking rigs.


----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

Ducatibilt said:


> I don't "work" there!
> 
> I just come in everyday and use their computers to get on 2cool!


Ha ha! Understood!


----------



## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

trodery said:


> LOL... All trucks need a little love!
> 
> I'm personally not a Peterbilt fan, at least from a driving aspect. I have driven almost every brand of class 8 truck available in the U.S. market and I would say that my favorite, from a drivers comfort level, is without a doubt Volvo. It is the quietest, most comfortable truck built but the resale is HORRIBLE!
> 
> ...


I still want to take that truck out for a spin.


----------



## Spirit (Nov 19, 2008)

That looks like a face ... big grinning mouth and hooded eyes. It could so easily be painted as a evil skull clown. Would be a cool theme for it.

Thanks for sharing the pics. When I was a teenager, driving a big rig was my dream job. I still ooh and aww over them.....and wave at every trucker I see on the highway.


----------



## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

spirit said:


> That looks like a face ... big grinning mouth and hooded eyes. It could so easily be painted as a evil skull clown. Would be a cool theme for it.
> 
> Thanks for sharing the pics. When I was a teenager, driving a big rig was my dream job. I still ooh and aww over them.....and wave at every trucker I see on the highway.


don't be shy, show some thigh


----------



## reelthreat (Jul 11, 2006)

Those are dang nice but the seats do not look that comfortable... if one was mine I would straight up mount a lazyboy in the cab.


----------



## Shallow_Minded (Sep 21, 2004)

Man that orange rig is sick! That's some serious dollar signs there....

S.M.


----------



## fishin shallow (Jul 31, 2005)

trodery said:


> LOL... All trucks need a little love!
> 
> I'm personally not a Peterbilt fan, at least from a driving aspect. I have driven almost every brand of class 8 truck available in the U.S. market and I would say that my favorite, from a drivers comfort level, is without a doubt Volvo. It is the quietest, most comfortable truck built but the resale is HORRIBLE!


When in the trucking industry my drivers hated me when I switched over to Volvo until they took their first trip. When they got back they didn't feel beat to death and said the ride was a whole lot better. Plus the fuel economy what way better that any peterbuilt or KW I had owned previous. Now when the economy tanked and I got out then I hated the Volvo because of the horrible resale valuesad2sm


----------



## Bluewaterbound (Aug 3, 2006)

Those are all sweet !!!!

Buddy of mine that does heavy haul out of Channelview had his truck pimped out by "Texas Chrome" last year .


----------



## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

fishin shallow said:


> When in the trucking industry my drivers hated me when I switched over to Volvo until they took their first trip. When they got back they didn't feel beat to death and said the ride was a whole lot better. Plus the fuel economy what way better that any peterbuilt or KW I had owned previous. Now when the economy tanked and I got out then I hated the Volvo because of the horrible resale valuesad2sm


There is actually a "state of the art" new truck seat out that is abolutely INCREDIBLE!!! They had a simulator at the truck show that simulated a rough, bouncy road... they would then turn the seat on (yeah, it's full of electronics) and the seat was STILL! The bad thing about the seat, it's $6000!!! That is about $4500 more than most of the other good seats available.
http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/bose_ride_system/index.jsp


----------



## PiratesRun (Jun 23, 2004)

Dude, that right there is why the Taliban hates us. Awesome!!!!!


----------



## thebigredboat (Feb 2, 2011)

I have always wondered just what is in the back of the cabs-reefers, beds, potties, micowaves? Some of these cabs are bigger than my first apartment.


----------

