Overdrive

O wner-op- erator Paul Rissler doesn't know if he likes the color green, but if you saw his custom 1996 Peterbilt 379 and 2008 Great Dane reefer, you'd believe it's his favorite color. The truck's exterior is white with a green wrap around the bottom that matches the wrap around the trailer's bottom. Rissler, of California, Missouri, built the truck's interior in his own shop. It's green throughout with a drip effect. The truck, named "RisslerBilt," has a Cum- mins N14 engine tuned to 600 horsepower with a FASS system and an 18-speed transmission. Rissler added vent shades, a new visor, 8-inch Dynaf- lex pipes and a 20-inch American Eagle bumper. The truck has a 304-inch wheelbase, and Rissler also stretched it to a long hood. He painted the grille and windshield wiper arms white. On the inside, the truck has a 63-inch sleeper, which Rissler outfitted to resemble a 120-inch version. It has a sink, refrigerator, microwave and memory foam mattress. "It was me and two other guys who did all the interior at my shop," Rissler says. "One guy's in a wheelchair, so he rolls around on the bottom here, and he's look- ing up all the time, so ev- erything had to be covered up. Everything had to flow evenly with the green and the black, and no screws." Rissler has his own authority and usually hauls less-than-truckload and refrigerated foods. "The pride and ac- complishment you've got in it, when you pull into a fuel island and everybody comes over and starts taking pictures, it makes you feel good that you did something with your bare hands to make it look like this," he says. Rissler is a regular com- petitor in the annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs contest and also takes his truck to other shows. Paul Rissler and his wife, Michelle, attended the Shell Rotella SuperRigs show May 18-20 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Custom Rigs The entire cab of Rissler's truck has been redone in a custom green-drip design. 48 | Overdrive | July 2017 Paul Rissler stretched his 1996 Peterbilt 379 to a long hood. It has a 304-inch wheelbase and Cummins power. 'RisslerBilt' Owner-operator's self-built 379 BY DEANNE WINSLETT

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