Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/989498
CUSToM RIgS 48 | Overdrive | June 2018 T heresa DeSan- tis has been a truck driver for 34 years and has been driving the same 1985 Peterbilt 359 since she and her husband, Dean, bought it new. In recent years, she has trans- formed the rig into "The Witches Inn," making light of how she was received early in her career of haul- ing hazmat. "The theme came from stopping at railroad tracks and getting called some- thing other than a witch," says DeSantis, who hauls steel coils and "whatever can fi t on a fl atbed" every- where except the North- west and Canada. DeSantis, of Apache Junction, Arizona, entered her truck in the PKY Truck Beauty Contest at the 2018 Mid-America Trucking Show in Louis- ville, Kentucky. She won Working Combo Best of Show, fi rst place in Work- ing Combo Custom Paint and Graphics, fi rst place in Working Engine and fi rst place in Working Interior OEM Cab and Sleeper. The truck's grille fea- tures hundreds of witch hat cutouts, and the front bum- per has witch boot cutouts. The hood ornament is also a pair of witch boots. The truck's colors are original from 1985 when Peterbilt made only 250 or so trucks with the red and orange paint scheme. It has been repainted a few times, keeping with the same scheme, but adding graphics, including bats on the rear fenders. Under the hood, the rig sports the original 3406 Caterpillar engine, which has been rebuilt fi ve times over 33 years. DeSantis switched to an 18-speed transmission with 3:25 rears a couple years ago. She also has stretched the wheelbase from 252 inches to 285 and added an ex- tended hood. 'The Witches Inn' Arizona hauler's classic Pete 359 BY MATT COLE Theresa DeSantis is the original owner of "The Witches Inn." Most of the paint scheme is original, but DeSantis has added her own personal flair to it with many nods to the truck's moniker. The 2016 East curtainside trailer features witches at a cauldron. At MATS in March, she added Dorothy's feet from the classic film "The Wizard of Oz." See more on Theresa DeSantis' classic Pete at youtube.com/OverdriveMag in the Custom Rigs playlist. Theresa DeSantis has been driving "The Witches Inn" for 33 of her 34 years in trucking.