Robert Barnette
Robert Barnette is a Lake City, FL native and has been in the trucking industry for over 36 years, including the last 18 as a driver. He has been an owner-operator for the past 5 years and his truck is one of the coolest International ProStars on the road today.
Robert got his 2011 ProStar in December of 2012 and his heart almost broke in June of 2016 when a car spun out in front of him and caused quite a bit of damage to his truck. Robert took it to his lifelong friend, Joey Weeks, who owns "Black Creek Diesel" in Jacksonville, FL. They got Robert's truck back up and running and Joey decided he wanted to wrap the truck in custom vinyl graphics to make it stand out in a crowd. He and Robert got together and the end result is one of the coolest you'll ever see! Robert & Joey collaborated together and decided to make the truck a rolling tribute to Robert's family. The truck was done in honor of Robert's mother, father, and two brothers. Joey incorporated skulls into the custom wrap for a one-of-a-kind look, and the tombstones on the hood are in honor of Robert's family.
The truck is powered by an ISX Cummins 595 HP engine that's paired with a 13- speed Eaton transmission, and a 3:58 gear ratio. The 252" wheelbase rides like a dream on those long hauls and Robert has all of the comforts of home in the 73" sleeper.
Robert has nicknamed his truck "Fat Boy Boogie" and he has plenty of followers on Facebook, along with getting plenty of second looks on the highway. He is leased on to Swift Transportation, delivering general freight wherever the loads take him. Since reworking the truck, Robert has been featured on 50 different Facebook sites, gotten his own CAT Scale card with his truck on it, and even has had his truck used in the White Diamond Metal Polish commercials. Robert took the truck to the 2017 Mercer Transportation "Show Us Your Truck" Invitational Truck Show and took home the People's Choice award along with 3rd place in his class. He is still working on the truck and he wanted to send big thanks out to everyone who has helped make his dream truck a reality. Robert gives special thanks to his wife and family for all of their love and support, and he enjoys spending time with his 4 children & 7 grand children when he's not out on the road.
Movin' Out salutes Robert Barnette for all of his hard work and dedication by choosing his "Fat Boy Boogie" IH as our May 2018 Working Show Truck of the Month.