Owner-operator Brian "Napster" Bucenell, owner of BCB Trucking, hauls "anything we can put in a hopper bottom," leased to Drake Hauling out of Greenup, Illinois.
Bucenell, who said he got his "Napster" nickname because if "I ain't driving, I'm taking a nap," has been trucking for about 15 years, the last seven or so as an owner-operator.
Brian Bucenell
Hauling agricultural products, Bucenell said business has been steady in recent times with good customers Drake Hauling has built up. Hauling in a 2002 Peterbilt 379, featured in the video up top and powered by a 14-liter Detroit Series 60, Bucenell said the biggest thing he's done to cut costs of late is slow down to save fuel.
"We don't drive as fast anymore because we burn too much fuel," he said. "So yeah, try to do what you can, save on fuel. That's really your biggest cost. That's really the one thing you can change the easiest and the fastest is how much fuel you're burning."
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Bucenell had his Peterbilt, nicknamed "Conviction," on display at the 2024 Waupun Truck-N-Show in Wisconsin in August. He picked up two first-place trophies at the show -- first in Antique Working Show for Hopper Bottom, and first in Standard DOT Regulated Lights for Hopper Bottom.
He said when he bought the truck, it had well over a million miles behind it and was "bone stock," painted burgundy red with black fenders. When he got ahold of it, Bucenell stretched the frame 30 inches, re-fiberglassed the hood, roof and sleeper, put on an Airliner suspension, House of Air front air ride, repainted it and much more. "Anything and everything that could be replaced, we replaced it," he said.
Bucenell also added full fenders over the drive tires, a custom deck plate and more.
He swapped out the Cummins N14 motor when he bought it and dropped in a 12.7-liter Detroit Series 60. He said he "turned it up too much," however, and ended up having to replace it with a 14-liter Detroit Series 60 that is currently in the truck. The cab itself has over 3 million miles on it today, yet the 14-liter Detroit, at the time of the Waupun show in August, had just over 100,000 on it.
The custom interior is painted to match the exterior with a red dash and black accents. The truck also boasts a wood floor and much more.
Bucenell said he raked the suspension some, where the rear end sits a little higher than the front end, part of an idea to give the truck an "aggressive" look.
"I wanted something kind of aggressive, but not like in-your-face aggressive," he said.
He liked the look of the red cab with black stripes, and the color scheme coupled with the rake gave him what he was looking for. "Something that kind of looked fast" and "mean," he said. "It looks cool riding down the road. You know, like an old-school race car. That's kind of what we envisioned for it."
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Find plenty more views of the rig in the video up top, and for more videos and custom-equipment features delivered to your email inbox, subscribe to Overdrive's weekly Custom Rigs newsletter via this link.
Brian Bucenell: My name’s Brian Bucenell. Everybody calls me Napster. Started my own company about seven years ago. BCB trucking leased on to Drake Hauling.
Matt Cole: What kind of freight do you guys haul?
Bucenell: Anything we can put in the hopper bottom, really. Companies out of Greenup, Illinois. We mainly around a lot of 65. Just up and down, trying to do what we can do. But right there in Lowell, Indiana, right there next to the scales.
’02 379. I bought it, it was bone stock, burgundy red with black fenders. Stretched it 30 inches, fiberglass roof and the hood and the sleeper. Took the N14 out, put a 12.7 Detroit in it. Then we put a 14-liter Detroit in it. Put Airliner suspension, House of Air front air ride, repainted it. Just anything and everything that could be replaced, we replaced it.
Cole: So how many miles did it have on it when you bought it?
Bucenell: A lot. Over a million. And the motor had been rebuilt at that time. And then I turned it up too much, so then we had to replace that motor. So I think the chassis has over three on it now. Motor has maybe 100,000 on it. So this motor does not.
Cole: What was the thought process behind the paint scheme?
Bucenell: I wanted something kind of aggressive but like not like in-your-face aggressive but I always like red and black. I wanted something that that kind of looked fast and look you know, mean. And I put the red lights on the windshield. So it kind of looks like a beast coming at you at nighttime. And like I said, it's got that rake design that’s in front end kind of lower. And it just it looks cool riding on a road, you know, like an old-school race car. That's kind of what we envisioned for it.
