Custom Rigs

Trucker of the Year

Owner-op holy grail: Decades of direct freight in a custom '81 359

Owner-operator Ron Kelsey has been hauling for the same two shipper customers since he got his authority as an independent in 1994. Managing those relationships, and his award-winning 1981 Peterbilt 359, keep his business running strong.

July 31, 2025

Ron Kelsey, pictured here with his 'Sunrise Express' 1981 Peterbilt 359, is Overdrive's Trucker of the Month for July, putting him in the running for the 2025 Trucker of the Year award.

23-year-old Cameron Bagley's 1999 Pete 379 carries on father's legacy

Sometimes a family's legacy takes the form of a chromed-out, reefer-hauling 1999 Peterbilt 379 with a brother, sister, and mother owner-operator team.

July 31, 2025

Cameron Bagely's 1999 Peterbilt 379 parked at the Gear Jammer Magazine Truck Show in Epping, New Hampshire.

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The ALL NEW JBL FLIP 7 - Featuring AI sound boost, deeper base, longer battery life, and Auracast... it's MADE to be HEARD.

June 16, 2025

The ALL NEW JBL FLIP 7 - Featuring AI sound boost, deeper base, longer battery life, and Auracast... it's MADE to be HEARD.

Gear Jammer Magazine Truck Show: Winners, drag racing tips and tricks, history

Gear Jammer's 8th-annual truck show has come and gone, but the glory and burnt rubber on the drag strip remain. Also remaining $120,000 for charity.

July 25, 2025

Gear Jammer Truck Show Recap Drag Racing Thumb

'Black Widow' '86 GMC General: 'Poor man's Peterbilt' for owner

Indiana-based Stuart Geltmaker bought the truck mostly for its two-stroke V8 Detroit engine and has since built it into a chromed-out showpiece.

July 24, 2025

Heavy machinery-hauling 2023 Peterbilt 589 shows strong at Gear Jammer

With a few custom touches, this Pete 589 really shines hauling big machines on low boys up and down the East Coast.

July 22, 2025

T-Quip's Peterbilt 589 works hauling heavy equipment around the East Coast.

Overdrive Radio

Truck-ownership traditions staying alive: Owner-operators Lucas Zach, Harlan Martin

These two Wisconsin truck owners in their early-mid 20s talk custom adds and operations for their 2017 and 2023 modified Peterbilt 389s, in this week's Overdrive Radio edition. Said owner-operator Zach: "Hard to keep something nice if you're in the hopper world." Yet, he does.

July 21, 2025

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Gear Jammer truck show kicks off: Truck drag races, chrome, concerts

The 8th Annual Gear Jammer Magazine Truck Show kicked off on Friday at the New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire. Catch scenes from some of the action here.

July 18, 2025

Drag races will go on throughout the day Friday and Saturday at the 8th Annual Gear Jammer Magazine Truck Show.

Built for the hammer lane: Retired boat hauler's one-of-a-kind Frankenstein 'One Piece at a Time'

From a 1953 Ford C-500 base, Wayne Trent built his boat-haul truck out of parts from other trucks, cars, vans -- even boats. See the video here for a detailed look at the various parts and pieces that brought the whole rig together.

July 17, 2025

Custom-rigs winners crowned at annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree: Full results

More than 45,600 people attended the three-day event at the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, Iowa. The Super Truck Beauty Contest featured 87 trucks from 23 states, many of which you can see up close here.

July 16, 2025

Dozens of trucks competed in the Super Truck Beauty Contest at the 2025 Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop.

Rare 1981 'Midnight Eagle Brougham' International cabover fully restored

According to Dusty Veldkamp, who helped rebuild the rig from the frame up, the truck as spec'd from the factory was one of only five just like it.

July 10, 2025

Oversize-haul owner-op's 'clean and simple' 2020 Peterbilt 389

Texas-based Thomas Milstead, leased to SPB Trucking, hauls mostly high and wide platform freight with his custom 2020 Peterbilt 389. He bought the truck new in 2019.

July 3, 2025

Small Fleet Champ

Sharp new glider additions to Rissler small fleet underscore driver, family value

Walk through two new glider additions to Small Fleet Champ Paul Rissler Transportation, a 2016 flattop Pete and a 2019 studio-sleeper outfitted KW picked up for Wes Martin's wife, Bev, to accompany the longtime Rissler driver OTR.

June 26, 2025

Dywana Miller's 2013 Kenworth T660 hauls doors, machinery

The trucking veteran says the truck is "one of the best-running trucks" she's driven in her 43 years on the road.

June 24, 2025

Kenworth celebrates history with 4th annual parade

Trucks spanning more than 100 years of Kenworth history participated in the Kenworth Truck Parade in Chillicothe, Ohio. Also: Semi-truck uphill drag races coming to Ohio; Relay Payments expands into truck service, repair and maintenance payments; Truck Parking Club rolling mobile access controls for gated lots.

June 20, 2025

Among the iconic Kenworths participating in the 4th annual Kenworth Truck Parade in Chillicothe, Ohio, was this 1966 Kenworth W923.

2001 Peterbilt 379 is 'pride' of Top Notch Transport small fleet

Owner Patrick White noted that while the truck wasn't the matriarch of his small, West Virginia-based fleet, it has become the pride of the fleet.

June 20, 2025

Rare 190-inch Double Eagle sleeper rides on custom '96 International

Pennsylvania-based Jesse Shirey found the truck three years ago sitting by a barn surrounded by weeds. With his wife and father, Shirey rebuilt the rig from the ground up, inside and out.

June 19, 2025

Missouri logger's 1991 Peterbilt 378

Niangua, Missouri-based Charlie McClain has owned and operated this 1991 Peterbilt 378 as part of his McClain Farms and Logging business for 25 years. Submit your truck to Overdrive's Reader Rigs gallery here.

June 17, 2025

Overdrive Extra

Visual tour, impressions of the ATHS 2025 National Convention

Overdrive 2024 Trucker of the Year Alan Kitzhaber offers this window on the ATHS National Convention, held last week, June 4-6, in Madison, Wisconsin, and featuring 850-plus trucks from all along the past century and more.

June 13, 2025

It was beautifully restored and fully loaded with cargo. It tells a story, takes you back more than 100 years.

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$2.30, $3, $10/mile: Which haul would you choose? Profit analysis might surprise you

Pull up Overdrive's relatively new Load Profit Analyzer tool and follow along with this detailed walk-through with owner-operator business coach and longtime Overdrive contributor Gary Buchs. This week's Overdrive Radio breaks down profit results from wildly divergent rates that might make you think differently about load choice.

Ron Kelsey, pictured here with his 'Sunrise Express' 1981 Peterbilt 359, is Overdrive's Trucker of the Month for July, putting him in the running for the 2025 Trucker of the Year award.

Owner-op holy grail: Decades of direct freight in a custom '81 359

Cameron Bagely's 1999 Peterbilt 379 parked at the Gear Jammer Magazine Truck Show in Epping, New Hampshire.

23-year-old Cameron Bagley's 1999 Pete 379 carries on father's legacy

California Highway Patrol said it won't enforce President Donald Trump's English language proficiency mandate as it's 'not part of California law.'

Enforcing Trump's English language mandate 'not part of California law': CHP

The ALL NEW JBL FLIP 7 - Featuring AI sound boost, deeper base, longer battery life, and Auracast... it's MADE to be HEARD.

The ALL NEW JBL FLIP 7 - Featuring AI sound boost, deeper base, longer battery life, and Auracast... it's MADE to be HEARD.

$2.30, $3, $10/mile: Which haul would you choose? Profit analysis might surprise you

More episodes »

Pride & Polish

Overdrive’s annual Pride & Polish virtual truck show attracts entries from across the nation showcasing show-quality design, mechanical ingenuity and plenty of trucking-business pride. Find recent-history awards shows, in-depth features about the winners, and more.

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