3rd Annual South Western Ford Truck Nationals March 13-15, 2026

If you have a 1997 and older Ford Truck this is the show for you. With only “Fords” this is your event to share that ride of yours. Robert Phillips and Jason Noel from Fat Fender Garage made the 3 rd annual meet up it best to date with rides from Texas to Arizona and of course a few California and a few from the far east side, kool rides for sure. Besides trucks, many Broncos, Rancheros, Vans and of course B-100’s were welcomed to come out and be part of this gathering of the Fords! What’s the last multi day event you only paid $40? Fat Fender Garage’s goal was to provide a venue we can enjoy Fords without others if you know what I mean, sorry Chevy, Ram and Toyo guys, this is not your venue! Looking for food, you have choices, vendors abound, swap meet for those duplicate parts and hand me down and trophies for sure. Oh yes, the best of Show award was a bad ass ice chest painted by artist painter Dave Betnheimer from Northern Arizona.

If you missed it, you missed a great event that brings out Fords including cruisers, off roaders, supper high lifted big boys and daily drivers and of course a few “Farm Trucks” if you know what I mean LOL. Throughout the day there was a steady stream of spectators, motorheads and yes, many snowbirds, Havasu is a mecca for those from snow country to thaw out for the winter. Word on the streets of Havasu is if you missed this event you lose, it’s the talk of the town.

The weekend was about every Ford Hauler you can imagine from Resto mod Truck that would blow your doors off to classic Fords that look like they just came off the assembly line, look out Detroit, we are back. There were so many crew cabs that I lost count and never saw so many doors in one place. Big Windows, Small Windows, fleet sides, fat fenders, flat beds, hefty haulers, Farm Trucks (Ya think), Pre Runners, off roaders and trophy hunter trucks were all represented. One of this writer’s favorite was the 1963 F-600, formally a water truck from Tucson built back in the day by Stageway Coachworks of Fort Smith Arkansas. This cool dually ride is one of 25 every built and now it one kool hauler. Look for a feature in an upcoming issue. Oh yes powered by a 6.0 bullet proof Powerstroke course we would expect noting less LOL.

The weekend was almost a blur as it was seamless from getting there, parking, cruising the streets of Havasu, through the awards ceremony. Parking was handled so we were directed to spots with little delay and assistance in parking our classic rides. Great
Food and beverages were available all weekend.

The weather for the event was perfect, little wind, no heat just very comfortable to be outside in Havasu. This event has become a tradition that we Ford Truck Folks will look forward to every year. Thank you Robert Phillips for providing this venue for our bad to the bone Ford Haulers. Save the date for 2026. See you there next year to check out some of the best koolest Fords around! Thank you Alexa for taking photos great job you captured the event!