Our introduction to truck beauty contests came in August of 1997 when our sleeper manufacturer asked us if we would like to show our sleeper at an event their company would be attending. At that time we were not aware of what participating in a truck show was all about but we were encouraged by many people to give it a try because of the uniqueness and appealing design of our truck. So we entered the truck beauty contest
at The Consolidated Truck Stops Truck Show held in Dallas Pike, West Virginia
We entered in two categories Specialty Truck and Custom Sleeper. Aside from winning trophies in each category what was really overwhelming was the acceptance of our truck in a big rig competition. Until then the medium duty expedited truck had no competitive representation in such an event. Wherever we participated we competed with the big rigs because a separate expedite straight truck category did not
exist.
The look of expedited trucks today is very different than years ago. As we did with the White Tiger, people have put their imagination and character into the design of their trucks creating a new generation of straight trucks. Today there are many beautiful straight trucks out there competing in truck show beauty contests.
Why did we participate in truck show beauty contests?
The people involved in the trucking industry, contrary to the
misconceptions of the general public, are good people with hearts of gold and who take pride in their job. At truck shows you have the opportunity to meet other drivers, share stories, learn more about the industry and you can talk to equipment manufactures as well as find about new products. The beauty contest not only provides an opportunity for you to show the pride that you have in your truck but helps keep your truck looking its best. The preparation involved to enter a contest requires
a lot of scrubbing, waxing, detailing and paint touch-ups. You must turn a working truck into a spotless display truck. Hard work? Yes, but very rewarding. Whether or not you take home a trophy the reward comes in seeing your equipment look almost as good as the day you brought it home and being able to talk to thousands of people about your truck and the job that you do. One important thing to mention is that besides beautifying your truck you are also inspecting areas of your truck that are
difficult to get to or see allowing you to catch things that maybe a potential problem
Doesn't competing in a show take time away from work?
Yes, but sometimes after working as hard as you do it would be nice to take some time to enjoy a fun filled industry event. Our first show opened
our eyes to the family atmosphere and driver companionship that we didn't know existed. The very same people we were competing against came over to us offering their knowledge and advice in order to help us better prepare for the competition. These people were very receptive to a little six-wheeler entering their world of competition. Without doubt we respect their knowledge and equipment and admire their credentials. We will always be grateful to the big rigs who have guided us in our
various competitions. | 
