Truckers of Both Sexes Gear Up Over Latest Rigs

Although she has competed successfully in a man’s world for the past seven years, Rose Denning’s father still thinks her place is in the kitchen, or at home watching a house full of kids.

But Denning, 31, is not ready for motherhood. Instead, she spends most of her money and energy on her “son” Clyde--a 1974 International truck with 13 gears and a 350 “Deetroit” engine “that’ll put you 300 horses to the ground.”

Women truck drivers are still a rarity, and Denning, who is less than 5 feet tall, said she gets stares when she drives the rig--or, worse, nasty comments from a small minority of male drivers who wish she would take her father’s advice.

”. . . Clyde and I can back a 48-foot trailer into some pretty tight places, and I know men who have been driving longer than me who can try all day but can never back in straight with a 48,” Denning said.

On Saturday, Denning, her husband, Don, 33, and Clyde were at a truck show sponsored by Hawthorne Engine Systems and Caterpillar in Kearny Mesa. The Dennings, San Diegans who own and operate their own rig, were among 200 or so truckers and their families who came to admire the new line of tractor rigs and truck engines on display.

Some of the trucks can best be described as condominiums on wheels. A giant Kenworth that sells for almost $100,000 seemed to impress the crowd the most. Its powerful engine is bigger than some Japanese cars, but it was the cab’s sleeping quarters that drew rave reviews.

A couch stylish enough to grace most homes doubles as a twin bed. While the driver is resting in air-conditioned comfort, he can soothe his nerves with a quality stereo system capable of complementing Mozart or the most backwater country band. A small built-in refrigerator can store several frozen dinners, which can be heated in the microwave oven that sits above the refrigerator.

Of course, some old-timers scoff at the new amenities.

“Big Dan” Cooper pointed to an article in the current issue of American Trucker magazine about a woman trucker who cooks a London broil on the manifold of her truck while she drives. She also recommended a truck’s oil cooler as a “super slow cooker” that will do a roast in 20 hours during a drive through three states.

Kenworth trucks don’t impress Rose Denning, either. To her, they’re for sissies, and the more glorified Peterbilts “are for cowboys.” Rose favors International trucks and she is currently “saving all my coin” to buy a 1982 model.

“To me, the International is a working woman’s truck. Don has already told me what he wants in the new truck when we get it. But the engine has got to be a Cat. I like the way that sucker purrs,” she said.

Don agrees.

“She knows what she’s talking about. Some guys don’t like me because my wife is a driver,” he said. “They think that this is a man’s job, but she worked hard to get her license, and I’ll share the steering wheel with her before I share it with another man . . .

“When she began driving, I wanted her to be better than the next guy, because everyone was going to be looking at her because she’s a woman. She may be a woman, but she’s no pushover.”