Our Classy Truck feature was born in the 1990s and has been popular with pumpers even since. Many of you have shared photos of your trucks over the years, first sending paper print photos through the U.S. mail and then via email, which has made the process much easier.

And now it’s about time we bring our monthly vacuum truck beauty pageant into the 21st century with a stronger social media presence. We want to make it easier for you to compare notes with other pumper truck lovers about how to spec out trucks for improved service, better ergonomics and, of course, making them more effective rolling billboards for your company.

So here’s the skinny on building a bigger Classy Truck community: To get more involved in the feature that has been part of Pumper magazine for a generation, check our new Facebook group page at www.facebook.com/groups/pumperclassytruck. The Classy Truck group is private, so you’ll have to answer a few questions to join, but we want to welcome all fans of vacuum truck building. To make it easy-peasy, scan the QR code to the left and you’ll be taken directly to an invitation to join the group.

Also, you can follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pumpermagazine/. And if you want to post a photo of your latest rig, use the #classytruck@pumpermagazine hashtag. Also, I will continue to explore Instagram looking for pumpers who frequently post photos and videos of their trucks in action.

POST A VIDEO

Speaking of videos, we invite you to add a walk-around tour of your service trucks for our social media visitors to get a better look at the custom features you find most important. That could include a peek under the hood to see the power plant and inside the cab to review your interior choices. Show us your pump, chrome accents and convenience items like sight glasses, hose trays, equipment cabinets, etc. All this added information will come in handy when …

… Pumper readers are asked to vote for the Classy Truck of the Year. That’s right. Since 2006, we’ve assembled the monthly trucks in a virtual garage, where you are invited to help us choose the cream of the crop for our annual honor. Being featured on the cover of our WWETT Show issue in February has become a source of great pride for Classy Truck owners. It has been so cool to distribute extra copies of the magazine at the WWETT Show for many years and pay tribute to some top-notch trucks.

In 2020, we designed a monthly Classy Truck logo vinyl graphic that is given to the owner of each of our featured trucks. I’m including a copy of the logo here. The annual Classy Truck winner is given a second special vinyl to add to the truck. These vinyls are a stamp of approval that shows your truck meets a high standard of professionalism in the pumping industry. If you’ve received one of the vinyls and it is affixed to your truck, we’d love for you to post a photo of it on our social media channels.

LOOKING BACK

When planning for this column, I thought it would be interesting to review our first Classy Truck winner from 2006 and our most recent winner from 2022. I’ve included photos here.

Our first winner was the late Ed McGuire, from McGuire’s Septic Service in Rome, Pennsylvania. A late-model dirt track racer and old-car buff, Ed chose a fitting two-tone paint job for his Sterling Acterra build-out by Pik-Rite — 1957 Chevy turquoise and Chrysler Super White. The truck carried a 2,500-gallon steel tank, 8-speed Eaton Fuller transmission and an R-260 Jurop pump. Recently I heard word that this great truck is still on the road serving pumper customers.

“I never dreamed that we’d win,” Ed told me at the time. “I’m overwhelmed. I’ve chuckled to myself a few times about it. I’ve been doing this for 40 years and I know what I want. [Pik-Rite] did a super job. They had some neat ideas and we worked really well together.’’

Our latest Classy Truck annual winners are Jerry and Chris Jakubowicz, of Rural Septic Service in Boyd, Wisconsin. Their pride and joy is a $285,000 buildout of a Peterbilt 567 from Imperial Industries. The all-red rig is powered by a Cummins X15 100th Anniversary edition 450 hp engine pulling a 5,000-gallon steel tank. The truck utilizes a National Vacuum Equipment blower and Allison automatic transmission, two features that would have been fairly rare in earlier trucks like Ed’s.

Jerry had a similar response to Ed’s when he was told his truck won the prize.

“I was shocked. I didn’t think I’d ever win. There’s a lot of nice trucks out there,” he said earlier this year. “What can I say [about the truck] other than I love it? Imperial did a hell of a job building it.”

STAKE YOUR CLAIM

You can join Ed and Jerry in writing the next chapter of our Classy Truck feature.

If you have submitted a Classy Truck for publication in the past, you know the routine. And you’re always invited back to share your latest new truck or a restoration of an existing rig. If you’ve never participated before, the process is quick and simple. Let me explain:

First, shoot a photo of your truck. You can use your smartphone or a digital camera, but please set it for the highest-quality image because we need lots of pixels to publish a photo in the print magazine. Make sure to show the entire truck, from bumper to bumper, with a side view to show off both the cab and the tank. You can choose the driver or passenger side based on the features you would like to include. Just like people, every truck has a better side for photos, right?

Look for an interesting backdrop for the photo, such as a tree-lined natural area or an interesting commercial customer’s business. And one last piece of photography advice: point your truck into the sun so it is brightly lit and not backlit. Early morning or late afternoon sun is the best as it casts a warmer glow on your beautiful paint job and polished chrome.

Along with your photos, we ask you to fill out a brief questionnaire with details about your truck. Here’s what we want to know so we can share with readers: The owner; the driver; what type of work the truck performs; the paint scheme; brand, model and year of the truck; engine specifications, including horsepower, model name or number; the company that added the tank and built out the truck; the tank capacity and material — steel, stainless steel or aluminum; favorite exterior and interior features; the name of the company that added graphics.

SEE YOU SOON

So join us on Facebook or Instagram or simply email me your photo and information to editor@pumper.com. We love to talk trucks, and enjoy publishing Classy Trucks in the magazine. We hope to see yours soon!