A Calendar Dream on Wheels

By George L. Nitti

When Josh Aldrich ordered his 2024 Hino L6 rollback, he knew he wanted a truck that would get noticed. Now, his eye-catching Finish Line Towing rig is hoping to take that attention one step further—as an entry in Hino’s annual calendar contest.

Based in North Haverhill, New Hampshire, Aldrich operates Finish Line Towing as a one-truck operation. His 2024 Hino L6 is equipped with a 21-foot steel Jerr-Dan bed, but it’s the truck’s graphics that immediately set it apart.

Blue, black and brilliant green dominate the design, accented by sweeping racing stripes and a black-and-white checkerboard pattern. The Finish Line Towing name stretches prominently across the doors, while a stylized race-car graphic reinforces the racing theme.

The bold design has already earned Finish Line Towing a place among the trucks featured in Hino’s calendar contest, where distinctive Hino trucks compete for a spot in the company’s annual calendar.

Speaking about his graphic designer Jacob Leete, Aldrich said, “I let him just go wild with it. It’s going to be a billboard and my business card, so I wanted it to be flashy.”

The racing theme connects the truck to Aldrich’s family and to the origins of the Finish Line name itself. Aldrich's late brother died in a motorcycle accident 10 years ago. Before his death, the two had planned to go into business together. His brother was a carpenter, and their original idea was to establish Finish Line Carpentry.

“After he had his accident, I just kept that name to kind of carry on his name, our idea,” Aldrich said. The family’s involvement in racing eventually gave the name another dimension. 

The unit has several customizations. A plastic cover normally found on the body was removed and taken to a local fabrication shop, where it was recreated in aluminum and customized with the Finish Line name. “That kind of specialized my truck a little bit,” he said. 

Aldrich has continued adding functional and cosmetic touches. EZ Steel Fabrication in Bath, New Hampshire, built specialty winch-out pulleys for the back of the bed. Aldrich also fabricated wheel dollies that attach to the bed and added protective containers to hold the air valves controlling the equipment.  

“In the New England weather, where it gets in the elements of salt and sand and snow and ice, we had to design containers that they go into that are sealed,” Aldrich said.  

Aldrich had never owned a Hino before, but stated, “I just I like the visibility and the ride on it.” 

The 21-foot steel Jerr-Dan rollback gives Aldrich the versatility he needs. His work ranges from conventional towing and roadside assistance to more unusual jobs. “I do mid-sized vehicles, winch-outs, any lockout stuff, fuel delivery, tire changes, accident scene stuff, motorcycles,” he said. “I’ve moved sheds with it before. Pretty much anything I can put on it legally.” 

Today, Aldrich handles AAA work as well as cash calls, putting the Hino and its Jerr-Dan bed to work throughout his area. 

Aldrich previously used the slogan “Leading the Way,” but a more irreverent message now appears in the rear window: ‘Legal Hooker.’ 

“It’s just a funny wordplay on hooking onto cars and doing it legally,” he said. 

For a one-truck company competing for attention in a crowded roadside environment, the Hino already does what Aldrich hoped it would do: it gets noticed. Now, he’s hoping that attention carries all the way to the pages of Hino’s calendar.

For Aldrich, seeing his truck featured in the calendar would be more than recognition for a flashy design. It would be another way for the Finish Line name—and the story behind it—to go a little farther down the road.