Portail Client 
EN 
Every fleet has its legends, and for The Erb Group, one truck holds a particularly special place: Truck 381. This 1981 International TranStar tractor isn’t just a machine; it’s a living piece of the company’s history. As the last glider kit assembled by Erb, Truck 381 represents the ingenuity, craftsmanship, and dedication that built The Erb Group’s fleet into what it is today.
Originally purchased by founder Vernon Erb and assembled in the company’s shop in New Hamburg, which is now the Head Office. The truck became a key asset as the demand for refrigerated trucking grew, hauling temperature-controlled goods across the US and eventually becoming a favourite at truck shows and employee events decades later.
The history of 381
Truck 381’s story goes all the way back to the late 1960s, when International first introduced the Transtar series in 1968. In 1974, the model was upgraded and became the Transtar II, a truck that quickly became a familiar sight on the road and a staple for many fleets at the time.
Alongside the mass-produced Transtar cabovers, International also offered glider kits. These kits included the cab, front axle, fuel tanks, and other key components, but left out the engine, transmission, rear axles, and rear suspension. For many fleets, it was a smart and resourceful way to “build” a new truck using trusted components already on hand, often salvaged from a wreck or existing equipment. It was a practical solution, but also a creative one. It gave good parts a second life and kept trucks like 381 working for years longer than expected.
Since this was Erb’s last Transtar II in the fleet, it was made a little extra distinctive. “This one is kind of special since it was the last one,” said Kevin Becker, former Baden Shop Manager. “It was built up to be our flagship truck at the time, with aluminum wheels all the way around and a deluxe interior.” Those features helped make Truck 381 a true standout in the fleet. In 1986, it made history as the first Erb truck to travel to California, hauling a load of vegetables with driver Harry Roode behind the wheel.
Team members like Becker, who began as a high school co-op student and later became both a mechanic and driver, spent time on the road in this truck during the 1980s. Custom “winter fronts” were built to insulate the front of the cab, helping keep drafts out in colder weather. When something went wrong on the road, drivers often had to be their own mechanics, pulling over and referring to the truck’s wiring schematics to troubleshoot. The suspension was rough, and the rides were bumpy, but those challenges only added to Truck 381’s character and to the pride of those who drove it.
Bringing history back to life
After decades of service, Truck 381 was retired to Erb’s Antique Museum, part of a collection of roughly 25 historic trucks. It had been sitting quietly since 2002, when it was last registered, waiting for the day it would roll again. The spark for its revival came in the summer of 2023 when Wendell and his brother Daryl returned from a Ritchie Brothers Auction in Maryland with two trailers.
“We need a proper tractor to pull these trailers,” Wendell said. Truck 381, resting in the back of the museum, seemed like the perfect candidate.
Wendell recalls telling Darry to “Fire that thing up, and take it over to the shop.” That moment brought the truck back into the hands of experienced mechanics. John Ward, a night-shift mechanic with 40 years at Erb, took the lead, and the whole shop seemed to come alive.
“When this truck came in, everyone dropped what they were doing,” Wendell said. “It was like everyone wanted to work on the old truck.”
The restoration of Truck 381 began in the fall of 2023, with the goal of having it ready for the Clifford Truck Show in June 2024. The team worked tirelessly to bring it back to life.
The mechanical portion of the restoration proved to be one of the biggest challenges, as nearly everything had seized or rusted out over time. Truck 381 spent months at Erb’s Baden Shop Facility, where it received extensive mechanical updates to get it back in running order. A significant amount of time was also spent sourcing and fabricating older parts to make the restoration possible.
Once the mechanical work was complete, the truck was handed over to the Body Shop. Mark Binkley and Rob Kelly stripped the body down and began the preparation process for paint. In the end, the final paint job turned out better than it did when the truck first left the factory.
Wendell remembers one late night: “It was 9 p.m. on Thursday, and I was fixing a headlight just to make the show the next morning. Those car shows really do have real deadlines, no fake drama!” 381 may still ride like the classic it is, but the restoration made it look better than ever, and it brings back memories every time it hits the road.
From the garage to the spotlight
With the restoration complete, Truck 381 returned to the road in summer 2024, and it didn’t waste any time getting back into the spotlight. Throughout the season, it toured local terminals and rolled into major truck shows, bringing a piece of The Erb Group’s heritage to life along the way. More than just a restored classic, Truck 381 is a rolling reminder of where we started, and the pride we carry as we keep moving forward.
Highlights included:
- Tackaberry Truck Show / Athens Truck Show
- Clifford Truck Show
- Paris Special Olympics Truck Ride
- 2024/25 Erb BBQ Tour to our Eastern and Southern Ontario terminals.
At each stop, employees and trucking enthusiasts could climb into the cab, take photos, and hear stories from those who had driven or restored it. Truck 381 went from sitting quietly in a museum back to center stage, connecting current team members with the company’s history and showing the pride and dedication that have gone into the fleet for decades.
Did you know?
- From 2002 to 2023, it lived in Vernon Erb’s antique museum.
- In 1986, it became the first Erb truck to cross the country to California.
- Back then, drivers battled cold cabs, bumpy rides, and winter weather, with custom-made “winter fronts” to help block drafts.
- One of our stainless-steel trailers originally hauled potatoes to Campbell’s Soup in Camden, New Jersey.
- These trailers were built for bulk loads like potatoes; loaded in by auger and dumped out by tilting the whole truck and trailer.
- Truck 381 is estimated to have logged over 3 million kilometres.
Truck 381 has brought a lot of people together this year, from terminals to truck shows. Do you have a photo, memory, or story connected to Truck 381? Share it with marketing@erbgroup.com so we can highlight it and keep the legacy rolling!
