'Semper Fi': Michael and Jackie Wallace's custom big-bunk 2007 Freightliner Coronado

Landstar-leased owner-operators Michael and Jackie Wallace, today out of Ashville, Alabama, purchased this '07 Freightliner Coronado new, taking delivery in Miami, where they lived at the time. The rig came with a fairly standard 70-inch sleeper, 600-hp Detroit engine, 3:58 rears and a 288-inch wheelbase. There was one little hiccup, though.

As with the engine and make -- the pair's two previous used-purchased trucks had both been Freightliners -- Michael had spec'd a Super 10 transmission. The rig they now proudly owned had a 13 speed in it. The ensuing crash course Wallace took on effectively working the transmission for maximum efficiency is a story Michael tells in the video talk with pair here, conducted at Walcott Truckers Jamboree in July this year.

Michael, a Marine veteran, expresses military pride through numerous emblems and custom touches on the interior, as you'll see -- and through the unit's name, of course, Semper Fi. The pair have certainly made the rig their own through a 50-inch extension of the sleeper to 120 inches by Evans Add-Ons some years ago, outfitting the interior with the creature comforts of a home on the road.

It also features Talladega Fiberglass fenders and rear T bar, running lights Michael installed all around the rig himself, and many other custom touches. The most important of the adds, though, Michael noted, have less to do with any look but with maximizing efficiency for profit and long-term dependability. The pair's owned Great Dane dry van features the SmartTruck UnderTray system, for instance, custom spoilers then on the tractor helping air flow more smoothly around the gap between the tractor and trailer.

After going back OTR with this unit following 10 years in which Michael did more local/regional intermodal work around the Port of Miami, the pair seem to have truly found their home in this rig, with it's creature comforts. "It's the best job I've ever had," said Jackie.

Find plenty views of the 2007 Coronado, both inside and out, in the video.

You can hear more from the Wallaces in this recent-past edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast about current business challenges of significance: https://www.overdriveonline.com/overd...