Overdrive

46 | Overdrive | June 2017 J ay Holsomback earned two PKY Truck Beauty Cham- pionship trophies for his 1996 Kenworth W900L at this year's Mid-America Trucking Show in Louis- ville, Kentucky: Third in Working Bobtail and Sec- ond in Working Interior. It was the first MATS show- ing for Holsomback and his KW, quite a milestone for the son of father Neal Holsomback, well-known for his custom Peterbilt, one of the 1990s and 2000s classics of Overdrive's Pride & Polish. Neal's also served as a coordinator and judge in the series. Jay's KW by many ac- counts has gone beyond the high legacy of his father, particularly now on the inte- rior. The sleeper previously had a classic button-tuck de- sign on the ceiling and side panels, but Holsomback wanted to take it further. As he was contemplating new door panels, he hooked up with a man with custom-car experience via a mutual friend, custom fabricator Brent Mitchell, who had worked on Holsomback's KW. That new acquaintance – Dalton, Georgia-based Aniceto Ocampo, with his son, Carlos – did a lot of the work on the new interior, crafted primarily from easy- to-clean marine-grade vinyl, to bring the exterior paint scheme into the truck. Ocampo and Holsom- back worked on the interior on weekends through most of February, as Holsomback spent the weeks hauling freight out of Fleet Movers Inc.'s hub in Charleston, South Carolina. He took off from early March to finish in time for MATS. A couple things remain, Holsomback says. "We basically ran out of time on the floor – I'm look- ing to go with a painted floor" among other things. "When you run the truck all the time, it's hard to take off time to do it." Mitchell and Holsom- back's friends, Daniel Jolliss and Jason West, both at the truck show, also were instrumental in prepping the unit, Hol- somback says. Custom KW's interior gets a facelift BY TODD DILLS The 1996 Kenworth W900L is powered by a 550-hp Cat with an 18-speed transmis- sion and 3:55 rears and sits on a 305-inch wheelbase. The airbrushed design on the back of Holsomback's '96 KW W900L is bolstered by a couple of significant trophies from the PKY Truck Beauty Championships at this year's MATS. Custom Rigs The marine-grade vinyl used was the result of Holsomback's request that materials be simple to clean. This stuff, he says, only needs basic window cleaner – dirt "comes right off." Owner-operator Jay Holsomback has had the rig since December 2004 and has been planning cus- tom work since 2007. The recession slowed down his plans, but the truck's exterior has been complete since March 2015.

• Cover
• CAT ON A GREASY FIFTH WHEEL Wendy Parker’s pet feline snaps and nearly ruins her new couches.
• BUSINESS: Uber enters freight-matching market “Uber for trucking,” a descriptor long touted by app-based load-matching services, has taken a literal form now that the ride-sharing giant last month unveiled its Uber Freight app. It’s aimed at the owner-op
• COVER STORY: Path to prosperity Overdrive’s Most Beautiful winner Stephanie Klang spreads the word of how trucking served as her ticket to the good life.
• Where the rubber meets the road A tire might look like a simple component – a round piece of rubber with a tread design – though it’s anything but.
• The crazy quilt of intrastate logging States failing to adopt an e-logging mandate. State hours of service differing from the federal rule. ELDs missing state-specific features. For the intrastate driver required to use e-logs, the change could get compl
• Diversions Re-creation of “Bandit” bridge jump set; Trucker Talent Search winner teams with fellow finalists; a new book from one of Overdrive’s own.
• The safety flaw of 14 straight hours.
• Pulse: Uber’s load plan.
• Bringing apnea experts into the truck.
• Indie truck stops remain popular.
• TSA warns of truck- ramming terrorism.
• Wireless roadside inspections hit brakes.
• Trailer emissions order in question.
• Florida, Texas rank highest for congestion costs.
• Car haulers’ touching tribute to police.
• Rethwisch wins Shell Rotella’s SuperRigs.
• Proffitt racks up Bandit Series wins.
• Custom KW’s interior gets a facelift.
• Reader Rigs: ’07 W900L a desert runner; ’05 9400i flying like an Eagle; ’15 389 has Pride and Class; ’09 389 a quad-axle Pete; ’14 389 has northern exposure; ’16 389 steps across borders.