Desperado and the Expressmen: John and Tracey Rehe’s Kenworth

Rear Vision | First published in Australian Custom Trucks, Issue 2, Summer 2013.

Few Australian custom trucks acquired a following like the Desperado. When ACT interviewed John “JR” and Tracey Rehe for Issue 2, they traced the truck’s changing appearance, their years running two-up and the posters that brought the Kenworth to workshops across the country.

JR began customising trucks long before the best-known Desperado. He sold his earlier Blue Max to his brother Tex, who suggested the new name. JR first used it on a White Road Boss, then on a new Kenworth W900 bought in 1983. The W model had a Detroit engine, a 13-speed Roadranger, a long double-rail chassis and a high-rise Keith sleeper.

Six looks, one name

JR began modifying the W900 as soon as it arrived, changing mudflaps, lights, badges, grille bars and the dash. The truck went through six paint schemes over its life: charcoal, two silver versions, midnight blue, white, and finally cream and plum before it was sold. For the Rehes, it was a working vehicle and a continuing custom project.

Tracey was a central part of that story. The pair drove two-up, and she recalled the freedom of seeing the country and the community of regular Brisbane runners. People later told her that seeing a woman behind the wheel, or seeing the Desperado itself, helped draw them into trucking.

Carl Stowe of Christopher Carl Co commissioned Australian truck posters after being asked why his range featured overseas rigs. Desperado and Tracey became familiar faces in those prints. The truck was sold in 1998; Tracey told ACT she found parting with it difficult. In the 2013 interview, the Rehes were looking forward to its restoration under new owner Peter Blanas. That was the position at publication, not a verified account of what followed.

Words: Chris Smith. Photographs: Chris Carl Co, Toyo Australia, John and Tracey Rehe (supplied). Images recovered from the original ACT Issue 2 print file.

Featured image: The Desperado in a later cream and plum scheme. Images supplied and credited jointly in ACT Issue 2.

Rear Vision: where is it now?

This is a 2013 archive account, not a statement of current ownership or operations. Where is the Desperado now? If you have a verified update or photographs of a later restoration, ACT would like to hear from you. Tell ACT what happened next and share a current photograph.