The Overdrive 40th Anniversary Voice of the American Trucker Tour left Cottondale, Ala., Aug. 5, bound for Dallas – the long way, via New Jersey and Portland, Ore.

En route, magazine staffers and ace trucker Harvey Zander had plenty of adventures. They saw Mount Shasta and the Grand Canyon. They visited the New River Valley Volvo plant in Dublin, Va., where the VN 770 tour truck was manufactured, and the Pacific Northwest Truck Museum, where it was part of Truck Show 2001. They dealt with Tropical Storm Barry in Alabama, a sandstorm in New Mexico and two heat waves: California was the hotter at 104 degrees, but Virginia was more humid.

And most importantly, the intrepid travelers met people: the founder of the Petro chain, a man named Diesel Trailer Truck (really!), a professional hypnotist – and hundreds of truckers.

Here are just a few of the voices that made this tour, like the past 40 years, truly memorable.

TA, Cottondale, Ala.
“Ever since I was little, this is what I wanted to do,” said Robert Dieter, who hauls for Crete Carriers. “I finally got the guts to last year. It’s a hard life. You don’t realize how hard it really is until you’ve lived it. I’m on the road for three or four weeks at a time.”

Petro, Bankhead Highway, Atlanta
Frank Smith, an owner-operator leased to Prime who drives team with his wife, Lori Smith, said he wished Overdrive still had photos of scantily clad women. “I understand why you don’t anymore, but I used to hang them all over my cab. Hey, my wife didn’t mind. I looked forward to Overdrive like a lot of guys look forward to the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.”