Brian Beltran hauls a little bit of everything for Nelson Truck Lines (NTL), out of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, with the 2019 Kenworth W900 featured in the video above.
The 75-truck fleet pulls dry vans, reefers, RGNs, flatbeds, conestogas and more -- “kind of have our fingers in a lot of facets of the industry,” Beltran said.
Beltran, an 18-year trucking veteran, has been driving for NTL for a little more than a year and a half and said “it’s one of the finer companies that I’ve worked for so far.”
He was one of more than 500 truckers who brought their rigs to the 35th and final Waupun Truck-N-Show back in August, where the W9 he drives picked up a first place win in the Dry Van category.
Beltran said the W900 was one of the last gliders built by Kenworth, given regulatory restrictions on gliders that took effect at the end of the last decade. Powered by a Cat motor with an 18-speed, he said “it's pretty nice to have a glider and don't have to worry about” an electronic logging device.
Though he doesn’t own the truck himself, Beltran said NTL leadership allows their drivers to have some say in the look and feel of the trucks they drive.
“The boss let me kind of do a couple things to it and build it the way that I wanted to,” Beltran said.
Notable changes on the rig include a new front bumper, 13-foot, 7-inch straight stacks rather than the turn-outs that were on it originally, an air ride front suspension from Southerland Bros. Air & Fab, a custom deck plate, stainless fenders, a custom T-bar and more. Beltran noted that he has a few other things in mind for the exterior, including moving the fuel tanks forward and some other aesthetic touches.
All of the lights on the rig are glass lights from JML Kustoms. Beltran said he “just wanted something different from everybody else…. Just wanted a little bit of a different look.”
Beltran said all of NTL’s trucks have different color and paint schemes, and this truck was already purple with the gray vinyl stripes when he got it.
Really complementing the look of Beltran’s W9 at the show was the 2022 Great Dane dry van it was pulling. The trailer is a show trailer for NTL, used at truck shows and in parades. It’s also a memorial to the U.S. Armed Forces, as company owner Aaron Nelson’s family is full of servicemembers, including a brother who recently retired from the U.S. Marine Corps.
“He’s very into military service,” Beltran said. “So, he had the paint scheme done on [the trailer]. And when he told me I could pull it [to Waupun], I was definitely proud to represent our company."
[Related: Illinois fleet's brand-new 2025 Kenworth W900L, fresh from the custom shop]
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Brian Beltran: My name is Brian Beltran, work for NTL, based out of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. We haul anything from drive van, reefer, RGN, flatbed, conestoga. So we kind of have our fingers in a lot of, a lot of facets in an industry.
Matt Cole: How long you've been driving overall?
Beltran: 18 years. And, it's one of the finer companies that I've worked for so far.
Cole: All right, well, tell me about the truck behind you.
Beltran: It's a 2019 Kenworth W900. One of the last gliders that they actually built. It has a Cat motor in it. 18-speed. Basically, it's pretty nice to have a glider and don't have to worry about that e-log. The boss let me kind of do a couple things to it, you know, build it the way that I wanted to. And the really patient wife, to appreciate what I do. So very supportive.
First off, we got rid of the bumper that was on here. Exhaust is 13-7 up in the air. They were, instead of the turnouts. Southerland Fab air right front suspension, custom deck plate, stainless fenders, T-bar in the back. So, I mean, just kind of made it different.
And all the glass… all the lights on it are glass with JML [Kustoms] lights in it. So it's all, just wanted something different from everybody else.
Cole: The paint stripe colors and everything, was that your choice or is that a company color?
Beltran: Actually, all the trucks are different from everybody else. So it's, this is how I got it with the vinyl that's on it. And, just try to make it your own, I guess. So it's, it's pretty nice to have a boss to kind of let you kind of do what you want to do with things.
Cole: The trailer really stands out. What's the story on that?
Beltran: That is actually the the boss’s trailer that he kind of pulls around for parades. So it's a 2022 Great Dane, and his family is in the service. His brother just retired from the Marine Corps. So he's very into military service. And when he told me I could pull it, I was definitely proud to represent our company. So it was pretty cool.
