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Off to Oz
When Steve and Martha Brooks visit their six grandchildren, they travel in royal style aboard the "Emerald Palace," a 1995 extended hood 379 Peterbilt. They also work the truck pulling flatbeds, and the creature comforts while on the road are all they could wish for. So who needs the Emerald City and some wizard?
The Brookses are leased to Mercer Transportation of New Albany, Ind., and spend considerable time on the road. The 220-inch wheelbase tractor has a 3406 Caterpillar engine, 15-speed transmission, 3.73 rears and two 240-gallon fuel tanks. Their custom-built, 144-inch Double Eagle sleeper packs a shower and toilet, double sinks, microwave-convection oven, countertop electric stove, TV/VCR, stereo with speakers inside and out, a refrigerator-freezer, three wardrobes and a pantry.
Miniature strip lighting along the floor gives the inside a cozy glow at night and also serves as a night light. A Kubota generator powers the appliances.
The bed runs lengthwise along one side of the sleeper, and there is a telephone intercom so whoever's in the bunk can talk to the driver. The light grey interior has green and lavender accents, There's a pull-out clothes hamper that can be emptied or filled through an exterior hatch, so they don't have to lug laundry through the cab. Chrome is everywhere inside and out, from the custom bumper to the dash to the fuel tanks to accents in the sleeper.
"We run hard and this makes life a lot easier. We save a lot of time, and time and miles are the money in trucking. One of us can shower, eat, relax and keep up with paperwork while we're going down the road," she says. "Also, we don't smoke and having all the comforts of home here means we don't waste time trying to find non-smoking places to stop.
"This is pretty close to a palace as far as I am concerned. The only thing I'd like to find are replacement lights. I'd like to see the industry design something more classy than fluorescent light fixtures," she adds.
When they can, they stop to see the grandkids whose pictures adorn the sleeper. When Grandpa and Grandma pull up in the Emerald Palace, the kids have no doubt that they're being visited by the King and Queen of the road.
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