A cross-country road trip in a custom semi-truck hauling a stable of high-horsepower project cars sounds like a dream for any gearhead.
For YouTuber Westen Champlin and his crew, however, their recent 1,000-mile journey home from Utah quickly turned into a non-stop battle against mechanical failures, including a dangerous fire on a steep mountain pass.
The trip began at Power Driven Diesel, where Westen picked up his infamous Smoke Stang. The Cummins-swapped Mustang received a freshly rebuilt 6.1L stroker 12-valve engine after Westen admitted he “got a little bit wild… and I hurt her motor” at a SEMA event.
With the 980-horsepower Mustang loaded into the trailer behind his custom Peterbilt 379, the team set off for their home base in Kansas, ready for what they hoped would be a smooth ride.
That hope faded quickly. While climbing a mountain pass in Colorado, Westen explained that “the truck just lost complete power and died, and then smoke started billowing out of the hood, and it caught fire.”
A positive starter cable rubbed through a fuel line, sparking a fire that a broken airline then fanned. After a local tow service rescued them, the team made repairs and got back on the road, only to face another major breakdown.
The alternator belt on the Peterbilt snapped, leaving them stranded in a remote area with no way to charge the batteries.
Their solution was pure ingenuity. As Westen described it, they decided to “fire up the Smoke Stang… let it idle and run some jumper cables to the truck… use the charging system on the Smoke Stang to keep the truck going.”
They successfully limped the entire rig to an auto parts store for a new belt. The trip was also marked by a bizarre incident at a taco stop where a fan on a motorcycle was arrested by a nearby police officer after doing a wheelie.
Friendly reminder: when you see your idols on the road (just like this guy), don’t get too excited, or you might end up with a ticket.
Despite the chaos, the crew finally made it home. Westen summed up the trip perfectly: “This truck has broken down like at least six times, but we’ve made it!”
A 1,000-mile road trip is always an adventure, but a journey filled with this many roadside repairs, creative fixes, and unexpected drama makes it worth sharing.
