In a special ceremony at Melton Truck Lines, company Chairman and CEO Bob Peterson received the keys to a new 2020 Kenworth T680, representing the 5,000th milestone Kenworth truck purchased by Melton Truck Lines. A leader in the flatbed industry for 65 years, Melton Truck Lines serves customers from coast-to-coast, as well as in Canada and Mexico. “Over the years, we’ve operated all the Kenworth fuel-efficient, aerodynamic models — such as the 1,400 Kenworth T680s we run today — and they’ve kept improving,” says Peterson. “The positive way our drivers have viewed Kenworth has never waned. We have always spec’d the trucks nicely and the fleet age averages less than two years old. I would not have our drivers in a truck that I wouldn’t want to drive myself.”
The 5,000th Kenworth T680, spec’d with a 76-inch mid-roof sleeper, features the complete PACCAR Powertrain with a PACCAR MX-13 engine rated at 455 hp, PACCAR 12-speed automated transmission, and PACCAR 40K tandem axles. The T680 is specified with Kenworth TruckTech+® Remote Diagnostics and driver comfort features include the stowable upper bunk, auxiliary bunk heater, drawer-style refrigerator and freezer, and television installation package. Melton was among the first fleets to put the fuel-efficient T680 to the test upon its introduction, and the T680 quickly proved itself to the company’s management and drivers. “MHC Kenworth – Tulsa has been great to work with over the years,” says Peterson. “But ultimately, it’s about the metrics — sales price and resale value, fuel economy and vehicle weight, cost of maintenance, and how drivers respond to the truck. If Kenworth didn’t come out at the top of the class, we wouldn’t be here to celebrate this milestone.”
