Custom work: Area man gets an updated semi thanks to TV show

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- A few weeks ago, truck driver Frank Russell was pulled over by an Illinois State Police officer who just wanted to check out his ride.

The Marble Hill man was recently selected from thousands of entries for the County Music Television channel's "Trick My Truck" series. The show, which airs at 7 tonight on CMT, features the Chrome Shop Mafia mechanics who surprise truck drivers and customize their semis.

"I think it's amazing," said Russell, who stood next to his customized semi outside his rural Marble Hill home Thursday.

The truck's original white-and-maroon-striped paint job was replaced with a coat of green and silver designs. New wheels and silver spiked hubcaps decorate the outside.

Inside the truck, the two seats have been reupholstered and transformed into massage chairs. A 27-inch plasma television hangs from the wall over a new custom-made mattress. Red and white strobe lights blink inside, and a green light underneath the truck illuminates it at night.

Russell's truck was named the "24/7," by the show's producers. The numbers are painted on the back of the vehicle. "They named it that because he's working all the time," said Russell's wife, Robin.

Russell drives for Mercer Transportation, a trucking company based in Louisville, Ky. He's typically on the road for up to 10 days at a time.

Robin never travels with her husband while he's on business but said she may now. "I'm worried he might be able to get one of those hoochie-coochie girls now with this truck. He's already told me he's been flashed," she said.

The flashes came from cameras, Frank said. "At least three or four times I'm out on the road I see people taking pictures of my truck," he said.

The Russells' daughter, Sheila Rodas, nominated her father for the show. She sent the producers an e-mail describing her father's battle with Lyme disease and how his fatigue makes trucking extremely difficult.

Russell contracted Lyme disease from a deer tick near his home just before the Fourth of July in 1999. "The first two years were pretty rough," he said. "It can feel like an extreme case of fatigue, and then I have really bad joint pains."

Russell's Springfield, Mo., doctor is working to get him in remission with heavy doses of antibiotics, but he can suffer from the disease for the rest of his life.

Amanda Murphy, CMT's senior publicist, said the "Trick My Truck" series producers look for people who have a need for an improved truck. "It's really about helping people just as much as tricking out their truck. We're looking for someone who could really benefit from this," she said.

The television series is filmed in Joplin, Mo., and has transformed drivers' trucks from all over the country. "It was just one of those things that you don't ever think will happen to you, and when it does you're shocked," Russell said of being selected for the show.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

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