It was a sight to warm the heart of any big truck fan — people parking and getting out of their cars, then trotting up to admire a big truck close-up. This wasn't your everyday freight hauler, though — it was one of the holiday caravan rigs annually fielded by Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated.
The rig, one of seven that tour the U.S. during December, was parked at a Kroger Supermarket in Hendersonville, Tenn. It was a blustery night that would have quickly chilled a six-pack of Coke to perfection, but that didn't keep the crowds away.
A local keyboard player serenaded the crowd with holiday tunes as the rig's driver, Michael Cardenas, 37, of Chicago, gave Road King a quick tour.
This rig is pulled by a Cummins-powered, red Peterbilt 377, which has been outlined in white strip lights. There's a small sleeper, enough for occasional breaks on the road. The company puts Cardenas up at motels while he's in a city, and most of his runs are short enough that the sleeper is fine.
The real heart of the caravan is the 48-foot trailer, which was customized by Craftsman Trailers of St. Joseph, Mo. The trailer appears to be speckled with thousands of lights until you get close. Then you can see they are actually thumb-sized plastic pegs, around 25,000 of them. They function like fiber optics, glowing with light produced by banks of fluorescent tubes that line the inside walls of the trailer. Obviously, he can't run the lights while he's on the road, although he gets lots of requests to do so.
Depending on the location, the rig can serve as a stage for local performers. It carries Christmas wreaths and trees to set up around a portable stage, as well as a powerful sound system.
Cardenas has been driving rigs for more than five years. A musician, he decided to try the road life, and started with local P&D in Chicago. Then he went over-the-road for a chicken wing maker on a dedicated route, before he happened to go to a marketing trade show. He found out about the traveling exhibit niche of trucking and "doors opened for me," he says.
Exhibit runs are not as glamorous as they may seem, since you're usually out for a long time, he says. On the other hand, your runs are fairly short, you have an expense account that pays for meals and motels, and you see some interesting things. For example, Cardenas hauls an exhibit trailer for Pennzoil to events like the International Trucking Show in Las Vegas.
The Coca-Cola Holiday Caravan is in its sixth year, and many of you may have seen one of the rigs on the road, or the TV ads promoting it. If not, it will be running until just before Christmas — if you miss it, be really good and maybe you will see it next year.
