And then you turn the corner to see Jeff Botelho’s 1998 Peterbilt 379, and at that moment, you know that no one will give a damn about your truck as your Best of Show dreams are quickly dashed away. You shouldn’t feel that bad though because you’re in the same boat as thousands of others who have also been shot down by this big rig. In fact, when the truck debuted in 2007, Botelho and his crew took the truck to 28 shows in that year alone, winning 24 Best of Show awards (the other four the truck was showing in exhibition)!  If there is one thing you can take solace in, it’s that this truck has been in the making for over 20 years. Since the age of 15, Bortelho had been dreaming of building this very truck, collecting and saving parts over the years from the family business, Botelho Brothers Trucking in Los Banos, California. “When I was 15 we had a driver roll a truck,” Botelho says. “We tried to make my dad let us turn the truck into a convertible but he thought we were crazy. From that day on, I swore that one day I would build my dream truck.” 
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After buying into the family trucking business at 25, Botelho began building custom big rigs on the side, but never getting the chance to build the dream that he so long sought after. “I had been building custom rigs for myself mostly,” Botelho says. “However, someone would usually come along and buy them as soon as they were finished or sometimes even before I would get a chance to finish it.”However, in late 2006, Botelho was asked to participate in the Big Rig Build-Off at the Mid-America Trucking show in Louisville, Kentucky, a prestigious event in the big rig world. The rules are simple enough: each builder has 90 days to complete their build and it must be able to drive into the show under its own power. If the 90 day deadline wasn’t short enough, at the time of his invitation, Botelho was already behind seven days, leaving him with just 83 days to create this beast. Knowing it was time to turn his dream into reality, Botelho began making arrangements to begin the build.Finally being able to use all of the parts that he been hoarding all of those years, Botelho blew the dust off of the rolled over cab from back when he was a teenager and purchased a burnt up 1998 Peterbilt for the chassis and suspension. Deciding to build the frame at his friend’s shop, the truck was moved an hour away to John Chamoro’s shop, Solo Customs. It was there that Botelho and three friends worked tirelessly for fifty days to perfect the chassis and suspension, boxing and smoothing everything. Due to the very nature of the project, nearly everything had to be handmade, from the four link bushings to the rear fenders. The frame was notched over each axle to accommodate for the drop while six 400 psi Slam Specialties air bags provide the lift. Beyond the engine compressor for the air brakes, four Air Zenith compressors and six stainless air tanks provide the air management for this semi. No custom big rig would be complete without some giant rolling attire and thanks to his cousin, who happens to be a machinist, (6) 24.5 Alcoa’s were machined down to 24”, allowing them to be wrapped in Pirelli 305/35/ZR24s. 
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