Life is good if you’re Bob Roberts.

For starters, the Wichita, Kan., owner-operator works out of a truck most drivers can only dream about running. It’s a sparkling new 2002 Peterbilt Model 379 complete with a Unibilt UltraSleeper.

Roberts also has a job that is the envy of most truckers. Operating under his own authority, Roberts has been hauling cattle for almost three years. His work week starts Tuesday morning and ends when he returns to Wichita Friday, giving him regular three-day weekends. The job pays weekly and pays well. And the cargo unloads itself in a matter of minutes without the help of a lumper.

They just walk out the end of the trailer, says the 43-year-old Roberts. With this truck and the job I’ve got, this is the best deal I’ve had since I’ve been in trucking. Not too many people get to run the miles I do in this kind of equipment.

Plus, Roberts and his wife Donna are the proud parents of a newborn son, Tyler.

The only downside is that Donna, half of the Roberts driving team, had to stay home during the latter stages of her pregnancy and now during their son’s infancy.

But Bob and Donna plan to make trucking a family affair again soon.
The refrigerator in the sleeper will be storing baby bottles before long, says Donna.

Working his way up

Bob Roberts has been trucking since the mid 1980s, and like many truckers, he capitalized on an opportunity to become an independent when he had the chance in 1992. Roberts’ resolve to reach new professional heights in trucking was evident in the truck he chose to purchase at that time: a new Peterbilt Model 379.

I used to drive cabover fleet trucks of another make for a big company, Roberts recalls. They had no power steering. I had arms like a weightlifter.
So I started saving. Not only did I want to get out on my own, I wanted to do it in the best truck there is. It was a matter of class.
Donna, who worked at a competitor’s dealership, told her co-workers that they could forget about working a deal with her husband.

‘Don’t even bother,’ I told them, she recalls. ‘You’re wasting your time. He’s all Peterbilt.’

Bottom line

Driving a Peterbilt Model 379 is the peak of pride and achievement for an owner-operator, but the benefits of ownership are economic as well. Roberts, whose current truck is the fourth new Peterbilt he’s purchased, usually runs his Peterbilts up to 500,000 miles before trading for a new one.

Even in this truck market, you still get good money on a Peterbilt, he says. When I trade them, there’s still warranty left on the engine, which further adds to the value.

Out on the highway, Roberts also minimizes his overall cost of ownership and operation on a daily basis. He recently calculated that he’s been getting 5.73 miles per gallon. That’s an impressive figure considering the parachute-like trailer behind his rig. He attributes his fuel efficiency to spec’ing decisions such as a Cat 3406E engine.

The ‘bull rack’ catches an awful lot of wind, he says. Those cattle move around a lot and it’s a real top-heavy load. When the signs tell you to slow down to 30 mph on turns, you might want to do even 5 mph under that.
But out on the highway, I’ve got it geared out so I don’t have to do a lot of shifting, he adds. I can cruise at 70 mph (where legal) while only turning 1,400 rpm. That’s where I get the fuel mileage.

Consider fuel efficiency, resale value, pride in ownership, spaciousness and comfort levels suitable even for a newborn and it’s no wonder Bob Roberts is living an owner-operator’s dream.