Dumptrucks rule US Superrigs
At this year’s Superrigs....Todd Rockapriore nearly pulled off a clean sweep with his 2004 Peterbilt 379 and Mac end-dump trailer. That’s right – a working dumptruck!
Of the show-and-shine trucking events around the United States and Canada, the must-attend is the Shell Rotella Superrigs.
But while the prizes are pretty nice – cash alone totals $25,000 and there’s donated Shell and other product – it’s not the money that brings in the top trucks. It’s a shot at immortality-for-a-month – a place on the next year’s Superrigs calendar.
Superrigs is a fun event. Created 28 years ago, the annual event was conceived to recognise real-world, working glamour trucks. So the judging is not static as in most events. A trucker can pull through the judging line at any time during the three-day event and can even be back on the road, looking after business, during the awards ceremony.
For the most part though, the serious contenders shut the trucks down for a week at the venue, polish the trucks, then roll through toward the end of the event and stay to pick up the awards….and hang on the hope that their trucks will be picked for the calendar.
As a judge for this event for something like 20 of those 28 years, I’ve learnt a couple of things. One – when judging the early trucks, you have to leave plenty of “headroom” for the supertrucks that will roll through near the end.
Two – how to deflect the inevitable question: “How do I get on the calendar.” That’s an interesting one, as the calendar has little to do with the beauty show… except it brings in the top trucks.
The choices for the photography are always based on how well the truck and its colour or paint scheme fit into the pre-chosen photo locations – scoped out months before the event.
And to keep the calendar fresh, the event moves around the country.
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