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STORY: This Old Truck * USA - One driver, 28 years, 3.75 million miles
Perrysburg,OH,USA -Road King, by Doug Donnelly -28 May 2008: -- When Bill Donnelly drove out of the parking lot of the Kenworth dealership in Perrysburg, Ohio, his new, long-nose, double-sleeper had five miles on it. Donnelly doesn’t take credit for those miles. He will, however, proudly take the credit for the other 3.75 million miles of smooth running on his 1980 chassis... Bill Donnelly is my father, and when he drove that 1980 Kenworth into our driveway for the first time I was crushed... Still, the 1980 Kenworth was a sight to see in our driveway — a model W900 with an extra long hood and a Cummins KTA 525 motor. The blue beauty had a 14-speed Spicer transmission. I missed the “doghouse” that I would sleep on when I was growing up, but walking around inside the cab, turning on the TV and having a place for the refrigerator had its advantages... So I warmed up to the Kenworth over time and became accustomed to watching Dad go through his usual ritual once he got home. He always believed in keeping up his outfit, figuring that as long as he was behind the wheel he wanted the best. After every trip, he would walk around the truck, put up the hood and look for spots of oil or loose bolts, check for hanging wires or cracked light covers. If something needed fixing — no matter how small — he fixed it right then... The miles have piled up over the years and odometers have been replaced. But, through logbooks and fuel permits, Dad is very aware of the miles he’s traveled... 
For years he ran across I-80, coast-to-coast. Then he began running more north and south routes in the Midwest. Whatever the location, Dad always stays by his rig. In truckstop restaurants he sits at booths where he can see the truck. I always respected him for caring about his truck like it was a member of the family. In a lot of ways, it is. Inevitably, conversations either start or end up centered around that Kenworth... Today, Dad lives in Illinois and makes a few trips a week to the south side of Chicago. The round trips are a lot closer than going from Sunshine Biscuit in Oakland, Calif., to Hunts Point in New York City — the places I remember so well from the road stories he told. But the miles still count. And keep adding up...Labels: trucks and truckers stories
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