The vibe, as we opened the driver-side door, was fun in the sun with trucks airing down and boats splashing into beautiful Lake Havasu. The 2005 Havasu Spring Break Nationals began with the typical show wipe-down and cleaning of everything our trucks accumulated during the State 2 State Cruise from Southern California to Arizona. Making this show unique, however, was the lovely scenery of mountain peaks, bikinis, and enough custom trucks to fill a weekend.
Activities were as numerous as the trucks entering the London Bridge Resort Golf Club: a wet T-shirt contest, bikini contest held at the Kokomo club, insane motocross riders from LBZ blasting 80 feet, and boats galore filling the channel. Anything and everything was available to buy, from 'bags for your truck to thongs for your girl, all you needed were greenbacks. As the night set and even more fun began, the city of Lake Havasu was a cruiser's dream with stoplights providing the opportunity to drop local and non-local Spring Breakers' jaws alike. If you like having a good time and were not at the show, consider yourself warned because we will be back at Havasu next year, and you had better be there. Don't worry, we'll supply the beads.
Getting to Know Our ReadersHard Luck AwardCustom truck enthusiasts and longtime buddies Fez Pandey, a body and paint specialist, and Nick Schintgen, a graduate of Wyoming Tech Institute, decided to drive to Havasu from Blain, Minnesota. The distance from Blain to Line-X in Huntington Beach, California, where Truckin's State 2 State Cruise began, is 1,957 miles. Add another 314 miles to the Truckin' Nationals held in Havasu City, Arizona, for a total of 2,271 miles. They started the Truckin' Nationals excursion at midnight on Tuesday, allowing only three days to drive to Huntington Beach. Only a couple of hours into their trip, drama struck. With their '98 Dodge Dakota in tow and Fez at the wheel, they came upon a police officer who had pulled over a motorist. Fez changed lanes to give the fuzz some room, hitting black ice and instantly sending the trailer and Dakota spinning and jack-knifing. The trailer and Dakota slammed into the tow vehicle, mashing the Dakota's front left fender and driver-side door. After being pulled out of the ditch, Fez, Nick, and the in-tow Dakota continued their way west, with no further drama.
Bummed, but not out, the guys continued to Flagstaff, Arizona, where they picked up Nate Nelson and Donny Minardi, two old high school buddies from Minnesota, currently attending Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.
Upon arrival at Line-X, they were just in time to grab some doughnuts, coffee, and catch the last of registration before rolling out on the State 2 State Cruise. After arriving in Havasu many hours later, they rolled the wounded Dakota off the trailer and drove to the display area, which shored up to the Lake Havasu canal. Some minor hydraulic switch-box wrenching was needed to get the Dakota to show off its athleticism. The unfortunate incident during their journey became the major hardship story of the event. And because of that, Fez and Nick received the first-ever, Truckin' Nationals Hard Luck Award.