With its black paint job and bright pink accents, the color scheme isn’t the only unique thing about this rig.
In addition to being a hard-working truck, this 1996 Peterbilt 379 sports solar panels to power its accessories.
Owner Chad Fowler said that as a kid, he would often see advertisements for solar panels in magazines and wonder why no one used them, because they made free energy.
A couple of years after buying the truck, someone hit the rig at a truck stop. During his downtime, Chad made a plan to install solar panels on the truck.
The panels charge a battery bank while he drives, and they can power everything in his sleeper including a television, cooking equipment and the air conditioner. Chad no longer has to idle his rig to power everything, which he said saved him about $20,000 his first year.
On the road, the truck has a 700 horsepower Caterpillar 3406E engine with a 13-speed transmission. Another detail on the truck is the EKG pattern on the hood that represents the “heartbeat” of the engine. Chad added the pink paint because it’s his favorite color, and the Batman logos are a tribute to his ex-wife’s son who passed away.
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A former military public affairs specialist, Cody Graves has a journalism career that has spanned radio, television and print. For the last ten years, he produced special sections for Arkansas’ only statewide newspaper. During his time in the U.S. Army Reserves, Cody served tours in El Salvador, Iraq and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his spare time, he plays guitar in a local band and spends time with his dogs, Lucy and Daisy.