Overdrive

CUSTOM RIGS February 2018 | Overdrive | 39 T his 1989 Peterbilt 362 double-bunk cabover has been in James Ryan's fam- ily for years after its fi rst life as a Congare fl eet truck hauling a reefer. Ryan's father, Art Nel- son, used it in his small military-household-goods fl eet with three other nearly identical trucks, with consecutive VIN numbers, before Ryan convinced the fl eet owner to sell it to him seven years ago. Two more of those consecutive production units – Ryan's is the fi rst of the four – survive to this day, he says. He continues to work on his with big plans for the exterior and interior, as he fi nds the time between regular runs to the Port of Savannah with an empty container, loaded back to a Charlotte-area distribu- tion center. Ryan's done most of his work to keep the rig in top mechanical order, refurbishing from the inside out, bottom up. As his grandfather told him early on about it: With this truck, "You'll either be a mechanic, or you'll be out of business." Ryan's learned his stuff , no doubt. Pete cabover a work in progress BY TODD DILLS At youtube.com/OverdriveMag, visit the Custom Rigs playlist to see more on Ryan's truck. James Ryan con- vinced his father, the truck's original owner, to sell him his 1989 Peterbilt 362 cabover seven years ago. He's since rebuilt the engine and the front end, added a new transmission and more. The future hauler in the driver's seat is Greyson, one of Ryan's two sons. Ryan plans to stretch the 190-inch-wheelbase unit to 250-260 inches with a frame out of a newer Peterbilt 386 for an improved ride and enhanced look. Ryan, of Belmont, North Carolina, is leased to Lightning Transportation of Hagerstown, Maryland.

• Cover
• ELD shutdowns: Protests and practicality.
• Pulse: Tax reform yields owner-operator tax cut.
• Wendy Parker wants some things to go away in 2018.
• TRUCKING LEADER’S LEGACY | Readers pay tribute to Jim Johnston, left, OOIDA’s president, CEO and founding member, who died last month at 78.
• “Wes Memphis” gets past paper logs’ phantom limb.
• Two drivers persist in PSP report challenge.
• Swift IT worker pleads guilty to theft.
• “Highway Justice” pair tackles human trafficking.
• Fleet to pay driver $54,000 to settle lawsuit.
• Business: Expanded bonus depreciation Under the tax overhaul enacted in late December, owner-operators will be able to claim bonus depreciation on purchases of used trucks and trailers. Prior tax law allowed bonus depreciation only for new equipment purc
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• Cover story: Into the limelight Though there are tens of thousands of Sikhs in trucking, traditional American truckers have little information and a lot of misconceptions about them. But their strong ELD activism has helped build bridges with their n
• $25,000 awaits top owner-operator Philip Keith, Kevin Kocmich and Bryan Smith are finalists for the 2017 Owner-Operator of the Year award, produced by the Truckload Carriers Association and Overdrive.
• Equipment Spotlight: Coolants Learn about formulations and specifications for a wide variety of cooling system products from 13 manufacturers.
• Cabover still a work in progress.
• Trucker’s antique W9 restoration project.
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