What did you do on Drive Your Old Truck Day 2024?

DYOTD ’24 is featured in the September/October 2024 issue.

By Brad Bowling, Editor of Vintage Truck Magazine

It just does not feel like summer until we get the pickup out of the garage for Vintage Truck Drive Your Old Truck Day (DYOTD), which so many of our readers look forward to. We were all facing some brutally high temperatures this year, but DYOTD was the perfect excuse to get those classic pickups and SUVs out of the garage for an ice cream run or cross-country road trip.

It turns out the thermometer wasn’t the only thing breaking records; the VT staff received more than 100 DYOTD entries* from readers—marking the most participation we have ever seen! We were also pleased to see that well over half of truck owners observed our second annual Vintage Truck Drive Your Old Truck Day Photo Contest (VTDYOTDPC) “Railroads” theme. That’s right, 65 percent of submissions in some manner honored the role that trains and trucks played in building America’s infrastructure and economy.

DYOTD began in 2014 when Ertel Publishing founder Pat Ertel declared every final Sunday of June to be a special day honoring old-truck enthusiasts and their rides.

We want to thank those who repeatedly celebrate DYOTD with us and have gotten their friends involved. We also want to welcome folks who are new to the tradition this year. We hope everyone will join us again for the next DYOTD and VTDYOTDPC on June 29, 2025.

And the Winner is… Congrats to Frank & Cindy!

Frank & Cindy Keil—Clarkston, Michigan, 1959 Chevrolet Apache 3600
“What a pair of classics! Our factory NAPCO 4X4 (built in Oakland, California, in the final year that General Motors used the NAPCO system) is parked here with the Huckleberry Railroad (HRR) 1920 Baldwin narrow-gauge 4-6-0 locomotive No. 152, which was built to serve the Alaska Railroad. It is still running live steam excursions after being rebuilt and restored by the train shop crew at Crossroads Village in Flint, Michigan, which is about 35 miles from our home. Many thanks to the HRR train crew who so graciously accommodated our photo request and who are also genuine vintage truck enthusiasts.”

Honorable Mentions…

Congratulations to the honorable mentions you see here, and to all our readers who used DYOTD as a reason to get out the vintage truck and do some driving! Many of our DYOTD ’24 submissions will be posted periodically on our social media so check us out on Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.

RUNNER UP: Jerry Mattison—Glastenbury, Vermont, 1956 Dodge Power Wagon
“Built in 1880, this station was the result of lobbying and business activities of Trenor W. Park of Mariposa Gold Mines fame. Two lines intersected here—one serving Boston and Maine, the other serving New York Central. Teddy Roosevelt gave a campaign speech here from the back of a coach car during his successful run for president.”

SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE: Alf Toews—Abbotsford, British Columbia, 1979 Chevrolet El Camino SS
“The train in the background is crossing the Fraser River—the longest river in British Columbia—at the city of Mission.”

BEST COLOR POP: Peter Chudzinski—Fremont, Ohio, 1968 IH Scout fire vehicle
“My place of work is located across from the Norfolk & Western Railroad Depot in Fremont. I am a retired volunteer fireman and specialize in ‘false alarms’ when I drive my Scout to work.”

WHO’S A GOOD GIRL?: Brian Anderson—Anchorage, Alaska, multiple vehicles
“Five members of the Antique Auto Mushers of Alaska gathered for a photo along the Alaska Railroad tracks at the Potter Section House State Historic Site in Anchorage. The site features a vintage rotary snowplow and outfit car. The following owners and their vehicles were present, from left to right: David Jensen and sweet, four-legged Iris (1931 Ford Model A), Brian Anderson (1962 Willys Jeep 6-230 4X4 Utility Wagon), Dick Anderson (1955 Ford F-100), Michael Wiedmer (1946 REO Model 19C2, built in Canada), and Ken Evans (1969 Chevrolet K10 4X4).”

RIDING THE RAILS: Jerry Ratcliff—Chickamauga, Georgia, 1984 Dodge D-100
“I drove my Dodge to the old depot in Historic Chickamauga. My parents bought the truck new from Pete Ellis Dodge in Los Angeles the year I turned 16. It was the first new vehicle and first manual transmission I had ever driven. We moved back to Georgia in 1987, and I’ve owned the truck since 1992. It has been everything from daily driver to work truck to winning a trophy at a car show. I even took my trophy wife on a few dates in this truck! I learned to drive a stick in it and taught both of our daughters to drive it, as well. Most of all, it has been my friend and ‘therapist.’ Just a drive with my arm out the window, listening to that 318 V-8 sing, without a care in the world, just makes me feel better.”