This article originally appeared in the March 2022 issue.
“Things must be pretty slow for you in the office these days, huh? Just staring at the walls–am I right, my friend? Heh, heh.”
I am at a party.
I know no one at this party and have been dragged here by my wife.
The only thing I'm worse at than small talk is small talk with strangers. But here I am, trying to earn good husband points, talking with someone whose name has already escaped me even though it’s only been 30 seconds since I heard it. I am trying to concentrate on what he is saying while my eyes desperately scan the room for my wife or, if she truly loved me, my wife with her coat on.
Alas, no such luck, so I am locked in with hearty-laugh guy, trying to explain that, while it's certainly not prime truck season, as the executive editor of Diesel Tech magazine there is plenty going on to keep us busy as a magazine this time of year.
He doesn’t understand, so he just laughs, jowls a-flopping. He's an arm gripper, this one, so as he braces himself on me for what I am sure will be a doozy, I grab a piece of paper and start writing a living will. I am convinced I will not get out of this one alive.
Eventually I manage to extricate myself by mentioning I have to leave early to start writing my next column for the March issue since we work a couple of months ahead of our cover date. He doesn't understand that either, but I don't care; I'm halfway to the bean dip by the time he can ask.
You, however, knowledgeable reader, know exactly why truck “season” is really 12 months a year. I guess the outside perception of a diesel pickup truck magazine staff is we only work during the summer months. At least, that’s what the jowl-flopper thinks. It’s true most of the major diesel events do happen between May and September; I’m not arguing that. But as far as writing, the winter season is by far our busiest months. Even though truck owners across many northern states are thinking more about getting through the snow than what their next aftermarket upgrade might be, our keyboards are heating up as we focus on the announcements that were recently shared at SEMA, as well as the new aftermarket products that are being released into our industry for 2022. You wouldn’t believe the time that goes into collecting info and writing our “off-season” issues.
As far as travel, the time behind the monitor is so crucial during the colder months that these are really the only months where I try to stay off an airplane if I can. The rest of the year however, is fair game. I’m on the road an average of about a week a month, although the prime summer months when truck events are happening nearly every weekend kill that average – just ask my family. There are plenty of other professions that require a lot more travel time so I’m not complaining, nor bragging, just further clarifying the year-round commitment to our readers. The major truck events start heating up in the spring and that’s usually when builds start popping out of shops or new projects begin, which we seek out to cover.
Part of my summer is filled with collecting editorial stories and photos of unique trucks for the magazine by meeting with different diesel enthusiasts around the country. It’s a highlight for me to be able to tell their stories in our pages and on our website of the steps taken to reach specific goals on a truck build. Toward the end of the summer we crash a few local truck events to support our community and then it’s time to start gearing up for the SEMA show. So, while it may seem strange to some that we really are quite busy this time of year, rest assured we’re fully committed to our readers 12 months a year.