Beginning in the 1970s, the United States saw a dramatic rise in the popularity of trucker culture. Many television shows and movies highlighted the adventures of life on the open road, and more than a few drivers on the road today credit their original interest in trucking to these Hollywood offerings. Several popular TV shows and movies from the 1970s and ‘80s included what quickly became iconic Kenworth trucks.
Running from 1974-1976 on NBC, the show featured two truckers, Sonny Pruitt and Will Chandler (played by Claude Akins and Frank Converse), in a total of 44 episodes. The episodes were filmed across the United States and followed Pruitt and Chandler on their travels and subsequent adventures.
Akins and Converse obtained their chauffeur’s licenses before the series began (this was before CDL requirements were introduced, of course), allowing the stars of the show to actually drive the trucks during filming.
The original truck used in the first season of the show was a 1974 Kenworth W-925, the first double sleeper offered by Kenworth. Kenworth provided the studio with a total of four new trucks, two for each year of the show.
Of the four trucks used for filming, there is only one still around. The original 1974 truck was retired from showbiz in 1975 and went to work on the road. It has had seven or eight owners over its lifetime, as well as several different engines and paint schemes. It is currently undergoing a complete restoration to return it to its original 1974 condition.
