Another Work Truck Review issue has been delivered to your hands. That makes six issues of WTR we've published now. I think every issue is getting better, but the real judgment is up to you. In case you're a bit confused, every other issue in 2013 will be a Work Truck Review theme. It started with the February issue, so after this issue you will also be getting WTR for the June, August, October, and December issues.

Im jetting out to Detroit tomorrow morning to take a look at the new 2014 Chevy Silverado. The 1500 is not an eight-lug truck, but my interest in seeing it up close and personal goes beyond the number of lug nuts each wheel requires. You see, in 2013, we will be devoting half of our 8-Lug issues to Work Truck Review magazine. And work trucks come in all sizes. So, my feelers are out for any truck that might be of use to a hard-working contractor or other kind of crew.

Welcome to another issue of 8-Lug Presents Work Truck Review. You’ll be seeing the WTR edition of 8-Lug every other issue here on out for 2013. Why? Because the response has been significant. Both advertisers and readers tell us there is a serious lack of information for people who use their truck for work and what Work Truck Review does is right on target.

For Real
People often wonder if a cover truck ever gets used as a real truck in real life. This one does. Here’s a photo of a recent hunting trip with the crew from Tru-Edge Custom Calls.

Looking Back
I need to find a copy of the August ’10 issue of 8-Lug HD Truck magazine. How do I go about doing that?
Bango DePangassar

Boy, we’re having a great time here at 8-Lug HD Truck magazine! We’ve been able to travel all over the country to see some really awesome trucks and talk to truck owners who love building them.

If you’re a regular reader of 8-Lug, you no doubt have noticed this issue is the third in a row in which we’ve devoted our pages to work trucks. The title of this magazine is 8-Lug Magazine Presents Work Truck Review, and maybe I should do a little more explaining for those who aren’t yet up to speed.

We have been increasing the amount of coverage we’ve been giving to work-related HD trucks for more than a year now. And then we did a one-time special issue called Work Truck Review. It was a smash hit with both readers and advertisers. What we’ve discovered is there’s another niche out there that’s not being serviced. There are a whole lot of heavy-duty truck owners who use their vehicle all week long at work and then they use it on the weekends for fun time, too. It’s a seven-day-a-week truck, and it not only has to be extremely reliable, but it has to look good, as it is an extension of the owner’s (and the company’s) good taste and attention to detail.

We decided to run Work Truck Review issues three times in a row to finish up our 2012 magazine season. Next year (2013), we’re going to run WTR every other issue. So look forward to the return of 8-Lug’s focus on show trucks in the January issue before we bounce right back to WTR for the February issue. And then it will continue to alternate for the rest of the year.

You’d like to see your truck in 8-Lug magazine, right? Or maybe one of the Work Truck Review issues we publish? Pay attention. I’m going to explain how to make your dream come true—and what not to do.

Send one or two good photos to Bob.Carpenter@sorc.com. Don’t send 20 high-resolution photos, either, as that will clog up my inbox. And send me a good photo, too. Don’t just grab something off your phone that is underlit, out of focus, cuts off half the truck, shows your only dent, and the color is completely out of whack. Trust me, I’ve seen all of these.

If you are a longtime reader of 8-Lug HD Truck magazine, you might be wondering why there are so many work trucks in this issue. Allow me to explain. The magazine has continued to evolve in the seven years it has been published, and that will always be the case. In fact, we even changed the name slightly to reflect a big change. Remember when it was called 8-Lug Diesel Truck magazine? Well, after deciding to include gasoline-powered eight-lug trucks in our midst, we thought it would be best to change the word “diesel” to “HD.”

So, here’s another change we’ve been gravitating toward lately: work trucks. It seems that more and more heavy-duty truck owners are using their pickups during the week for some kind of work (be it pipeline work or as a contractor, landscape artist, or small business owner) and then use the same truck on the weekends to haul their toys out to the desert, sand, mountains, and beyond.

Oh boy, there’s a lot going on here at 8-Lug! As I write this editorial, I’m returning from visiting a manufacturer. It was a good trip. I saw some awesome products, got to drive fast and swervy in a truck, visited the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum, and had the opportunity to catch up with some of the other journalists who cover the heavy-duty truck industry.

I often smirk when I read magazine editors going on and on about how lucky they are to have the job they do and all the cool things they get to do. I mean, sometimes I think they shouldn’t rub it into the faces of the readers.

Traveling all over the country (and sometimes to other countries), getting to drive the latest trucks, visiting impressive companies, hob-nobbing with the industry giants, and getting to see the best trucks ever built is the kind of thing that’s hard not to crow about.

Have you noticed things are a bit different here at 8-Lug HD Truck magazine? Subtle things, I mean. For instance: There aren’t as many huge, lifted show trucks as there used to be. And there are a lot more realistic trucks and more work trucks. That’s not an accident, we’re continuing to refine the focus of what the magazine covers based on trends we see, the realities of the new economy, and, frankly…sales.

8-Lug magazine is working on its 7th year of existence thanks to the many, many people who think it’s worth their money to grab it off the newsstand every month. I can’t tell you how appreciative I am of that fact. And let me assure you, I know it can often be hard to find 8-Lug on the newsstand, especially in rural communities. The fact that 8-Lug does not have subscriptions has been a long-discussed topic and the source for many a heated debate.

“I’ve been everywhere, man…” the song ran through my head as I drove home from the Western Hunting Show in Salt Lake City, Utah, recently. It was an interesting show. There wasn’t as much HD truck stuff as I was hoping for, but I still had a great time. Heck, I have a great time everywhere I go. That is one of the biggest perks the job of a magazine editor has: the ability to travel all over the country (and sometimes to other countries) and see some incredible things.

I got an email yesterday from a manufacturer. He was just checking with me to see if a guy was legitimate. I had never heard of the guy. And this guy claimed his truck was going to be in a particular company’s booth at the next SEMA show, but when I checked with that company, I received blank stares. So it got my attention.

We have an embarrassment of riches here at 8-Lug HD Truck magazine. I mean it, too. Do you have any idea how many awesome trucks want to be featured in this fine magazine? Well, their owners want them to be in the magazine, anyway. It seems like being in our 6th year of publishing this magazine, we’ve really started to hit full stride. We’ve become the go-to magazine for anyone with a nice, custom HD truck. It’s a great feeling, but it does lead to some consternation on my part.

You have no idea how many truck features I have on file. I’ve shot a ton of trucks the past few months. I did about 12 photo shoots leading up to the famous SEMA show alone, in both our studio and at outdoor locations. Then there’s the four or five trucks I shot while at the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, the four or five more I shot at the TS Performance Outlaw event, the trucks I shot while at the Weekend on the Edge event, the numerous SoCal trucks I’ve shot…the list goes on and on and on!

I just returned home from the annual SEMA trade show in Las Vegas, and boy are my feet tired! I know it sounds like I’m trying to twist around an old joke there, but it’s the truth. If you don’t know what the SEMA show is, I’ll explain using SEMA’s own words:

“The Specialty Equipment Market Association is an organization dedicated to vehicles. A love for cars, trucks, and SUVs is the motivating force behind the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA). This trade association consists of a diverse group of manufacturers, distributors, retailers, publishing companies, auto restorers, street rod builders, restylers, car clubs, race teams, and more. The companies that founded SEMA—and the entire specialty parts and accessories industry, for that matter—were started by people who loved cars and trucks and turned their hobby into a career. Most people in the industry today still feel this way. That’s one of the things that makes SEMA and its members unique.

Every first Monday in October I make a mental note that it’s my anniversary of working in the magazine business. No parties, no fanfare, just a deep satisfaction that I have been doing what I love for a very long time.

This past October I mentioned to my family that I started at Dirt Rider magazine at the old Petersen Publishing firm 29 years ago. That meant 2012 represented my 30th year in the magazine business, and we joked around about a whirlwind tour or some kind of PR campaign to celebrate. But I’m not that kind of guy; I don’t need the extra attention to feel good about myself.

“I screwed up.” It’s not that hard of a sentence to say, really. Especially when it’s true. If a shop botches an install, someone dings your truck, a company doesn’t ship your parts on time, or some other goof occurs, while the person responsible may not be able to completely remedy it, if he or she simply takes the blame, it can make things a lot better. The next step, of course, is for that person to try and make it right.

I got a call from my friend Mike Dillehay the other day, and he said, “You screwed up.” It’s not like no one has ever said that before, but it does make you pause. “Mmm hmm. What now?”

“Why can’t I find 8-Lug on the newsstand?” “Why don’t you offer subscriptions?” These two questions dominate the inbox of my email on a regular basis. Longtime readers have gotten tired of hearing my answers. I sympathize with them.

There were times when we thought subscriptions were right around the corner. Then there were times when we were told subscriptions were nowhere near the radarscope. At this moment, we’re somewhere in-between. How about a quick explanation for the newer readers? Bear with me, old sages.

When I first started driving with a learner’s permit, it was 1975. Not all cars had seatbelts in them. There was no law requiring it until 1968, and no law saying you had to use them until 1986 (in California, anyway). In fact, I remember jumping up and down on the bench seat of my mom’s station wagon while she tooled around town. No one thought it was necessary to wear a seatbelt back then.

As much as I love pickup trucks, there are other things I enjoy. Here’s a few of them:

Social Media. It’s all the rage, isn’t it? Everyone and their grandmother is on Facebook. Seems like there’s a blog for everything, too. You like ketchup? There’s a blog for that. Don’t bother Googling it—we already checked. YouTube has channels for every subject you can imagine. And Twitter. How about those 140-character Tweets? Why would anyone care about all this stuff?

There’s a lot involved in producing a monthly national publication that rarely gets talked about. We at 8-Lug HD Truck magazine are doing our best to peel back the layers and be more transparent with what we do and how we do it.

Boy, I’ve been traveling a lot lately. It can wear you down, but you simply can’t stay on your own block and still be on top of what’s going on in the world. I have seen some incredible things in the past 30 days—most of which will eventually show up in the pages of 8-Lug.