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Mid-America Trucking Show Recap


Nuke-E

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Another one down!  For those that couldn't make it, I thought I'd give a quick rundown of how the group get-together came together...

Well, it didn't.  Despite Paul's best efforts, by the time the rally started, the group was down to Paul & Paula, myself, and Scrap.  I found Dirt out in the RV parking lot, repositioning an axle on his trailer (only one trailer this time...).  Paul was a HUGE help with me getting things set up, showing up with his truck on move-in day to cart things in for the display (which I didn't get a picture of this year).  Thank you Paul!!

Weather for the week/weekend was far better than last year, which was great if you wanted to see all of the show trucks outside.  It wasn't so good for foot traffic inside, which from where I was, seemed a lot lighter than last year.  Like last year, it seemed like there was a coordinated effort to ask about trucks that I don't have an offering for--last year, I was asked about Pete 386/387s more than I could keep track of, this year it was ProStars.  I never made much past my booth, so I can't speak to anything else new on display--though I did see a 2018 Cascadia while visiting with an old customer.  It's a very sharp truck in person.

The rest of this post is just some pictures and video I came away with.  There was a certain politician in Louisville on Monday (before the show).  I was aware of the visit, and looked up the venue to make sure it wasn't at the Expo center.  Seeing it was at Freedom Hall, I cast it aside as not too relevant--but still figured there'd be some traffic messes, with the airport very close to the Expo center.  To my surprise, on arriving, I saw a crowd of protestors, welcome messages, etc....uh-oh.  I managed to get over to the RV lot without issue, even bypassing all of the police cars that seemed to be set up to inspect vehicles coming to the event.

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If you look closely, you can see that it was a presidential event, and see the Freedom Hall lettering on the building.  Yep, Freedom Hall is the arena at the Expo center.  Taking Milo out for a walk, a certain 747 caught my attention--no, not Steve's.

IMG_20170320_184850-e1490906797842.jpg

Seconds later...

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That plane creates a minor traffic disruption, closing 2 interstates temporarily. 

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At last year's show, I snapped pictures of this guy, who probably shouldn't try driving through Houston:

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Especially now that this year, his trailer looks even less like an "RV"...

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But that perhaps isn't quite so bad.  He's at least parked in the RV lot.  These guys, on the other hand, were parked on the show floor, not too far from me:

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Yep, non-commercial Minnesota RV tags.  I can see their strategy for getting off the hook though--they were giving away free beer (Bud Light, but free beer nonetheless).

After the show, there's an unofficial "light parade"--kind of like the Indy 500 for big trucks, with bonus points for loud horns, lights, and exhaust brakes.  They loop the one-way three-lane loop around the Expo center, which has only one stop near the main gate, and is probably about the same length as Talledega.  They do this for what seems like several hours, and I was parked in just the right spot to see, hear, and feel them go by.  Here are a few short videos I took:

http://rvnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/VID_20170325_192310.mp4

http://rvnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/VID_20170325_192449.mp4

http://rvnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/VID_20170325_194241.mp4

 

 

 

 

 

45' 2004 Showhauler -- VNL300, ISX, FreedomLine -- RVnerds.com -- where I've started to write about what I'm up to

Headlight and Fog Light Upgrades http://deepspacelighting.com

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Enjoy the videos, It's always amazing to see this trucks that people drive everyday at a big truck show. I have been there showing old B model Macks, lot of work and fun. We have show trucks for the last ten years off & on.

07 630 VNL Volvo
16 Smart Car
2017 DRV 40KSSB4

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David, clearly there is some confusion over the terms "Beer" and "Bud Light"...One is, one ain't

Paul & Paula + Daisy the amazing wiggle worm dog...

2001 Volvo 770 Autoshift, Singled, w/ Aluminum Bed - Toy Draggin

2013 395AMP XLR Thunderbolt Toy Hauler

2013 Smart Passion

2012 CanAm Spyder RT

2013 Harley Davidson Street Glide

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30 minutes ago, adept99 said:

David, clearly there is some confusion over the terms "Beer" and "Bud Light"...One is, one ain't

The sign overhead said free beer, the tap handle disagreed.  They'd hired cute staff to distract from the bait-and-switch...

45' 2004 Showhauler -- VNL300, ISX, FreedomLine -- RVnerds.com -- where I've started to write about what I'm up to

Headlight and Fog Light Upgrades http://deepspacelighting.com

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David,

As we discussed DW and I were right across the river tickets in hand to go Thursday but had some severe GI issues.  adept99 assured me it was the Indiana water as retaliation to Kentucky for the toll bridges.  Think Donna was more disappointed than me that we had to make a dash back home.  Don't think the Bud Light would have solved the problem but might have made me not care.:ph34r:

2006 Volvo 780 "Hoss" Volvo D12, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift

Bed Build by "JW Morgan's Custom Welding"

2017 DRV 39DBRS3

2013 Smart Passion Coupe "Itty Bitty"

 

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!"

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  I had the tickets in hand, but Susan's mom chose that week to go be with her departed husband of 66 years, so that weekend was spent with the outlaws.  Some day, it will be our turn.

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio@yahoo.com

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