Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/490954
CUSTOM RIGS PRIDE & POLISH 56 | Overdrive | April 2015 person," Stephens says. "I like what [the cars] did, but I think we ended up getting to that level and surpassing it," he says. In the mid- to late '90s, lights also exploded, Martin says. Custom truck owners hung lights wherever they could, with trailer lights being a go-to for both show and working truck owners. Also popular in the mid- to late '90s were striped paint jobs, Martin says, like those that came stock on Peterbilt and Kenworth models in the '70s. At the turn of the century, the game changed again, with lights and stainless losing their luster. Painted components, stretched frames and low front ends took their place. "People always want to see what they can do to take the crown," says Stephens. "We were always trying to design and come ]X_Q\P[\]ٺ\W\Za\WLW \PQVO[LQٺMZMV\;WUM body would come in with [WUM\PQVOLQٺMZMV\·\PM ZQOP\\W]KP·IVL[WUM body else would say 'I like that. That's what I need to do to compete.' We all get inspired from shows, and that's how it evolved." Martin marks this era as the one that accelerated both the interest and the innovation of custom truck design. "Around 2000, the bar just got raised," he says. "People started looking at these trucks as a canvas and started really think- ing outside the box. I keep thinking that when it comes to custom trucks, every- thing's been done. But then there's something new that comes along." Some of the current trends have their roots in the car and truck customiza- tion television shows of the last decade, notably "Trick My Truck," which began in 2006. That show, featuring \PM+PZWUM;PWX5IÅI group of 4 State Trucks, popularized the "gangsta" look of big, low visors and low-riding bodies. :M\ZW·TWWS[NZWU\PM ¼[IVL¼ [·IT[W[MMU[ to be making a comeback, says both Martin and Stephens. Smaller visors, striped paint patterns and stainless once again are growing in popularity. But elements of all of the trends from the last quarter-century continue to PWTL·[WUMKPZWUM[WUM lights and lots of paint. Re- cent years also have seen a rise in wild interiors and an MUXPI[Q[WVWVMWٺXIZ\[ and metal fabrication. "We're doing things now that 15 years ago we would have thought were nuts," Martin says. Stephens sees origi- VITQ\aIVLWVMWٺXIZ\[ continuing to be the trend. "Uniqueness, tedious LM\IQTQVOIVLKTMIVQVO· \PI\¼[\PM[\]ٺ\PI\[M\[ITW\ of people apart. I just see more of that coming." John O'Keefe's 2007 Peterbilt 379 [left] and Randy Stroup's 2005 Peterbilt 379, while taking cues from nearly all of the trends in the last 25 years, repre- sent well the modern take on show trucks: Ground-up builds with themes that all parts are designed to show. Both of these trucks won the Pride & Polish National Championship in their category in 2012. Elaborate builds with loads of one-off fabricated parts remain popular today. Mike Lemley's 2000 Peterbilt 379, "Cathouse," won Best of Show at the Great American Trucking Show in 2014. Lemley's rig has a mix of painted parts – the fenders, drop visor and grille – while still sporting a little chrome on the stacks and front bumper. The clean lines of Lemley's rig play well on the Pride & Polish circuit today. Overdrive is celebrating the 25th anniver- sary of Pride & Polish this year with profiles of Pride & Polish legends and other retro- spectives. Visit OverdriveOnline. com/25Pride for more coverage. Murals and airbrush painting, as seen here in Overdrive's May 1994 issue covering that year's Louisville Pride & Polish event, were popular in the early days of show trucks.