For more than 60 years, the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby has been a cherished tradition that celebrates ingenuity, creativity and hard work. One Webelos Scout recently took that to the next level by building a Pinewood Derby entry that won’t soon be forgotten: a miniature replica of a U-Haul truck.
“When my son Stephen decided to build a U-Haul truck, he wanted to make sure that it would do justice to the original, so we reached out to U-Haul Media and Public Relations Manager Jeff Lockridge for assistance,” notes Den Leader Donn Westerhoff. “He went above and beyond to help us, from offering advice to sending us links to logos and stickers that we could use.”
“It was my pleasure to help Stephen and Donn,” says Lockridge. “The U-Haul brand, like the Pinewood Derby, is a piece of Americana that has been around for decades, and I was touched by the duo’s desire to honor that in a creative and innovative way. I believe Stephen and Donn earned a U-Haul merit badge for engineering!”
“A fun challenge”
Once Stephen and Donn had done their research, they began to design and build their truck.
“Stephen cut the wood block, making sure to add the Mom’s Attic,” Westerhoff says.
“Of course, we had to use the Florida Alligator SuperGraphic for the truck sides. The side doors were a little too tough for us to paint or find online, so we went to a local U-Haul store, took pictures of actual doors and printed them onto address labels. It was a fun challenge.”
Hard work rewarded
The finished U-Haul truck went on to steal the show at the Pinewood Derby, where it won Best Design.
“It didn’t do too shabby in speed, either!” Westerhoff exclaims. “I’m so proud of my son and all of the hard work that he put into this project. I’m definitely grateful to U-Haul, as well. Whenever we had any questions about design elements or anything else, they were always there to help.”
From block of wood, to U-Haul truck to Pinewood Derby champion. Just another day of Making Moving Easier… down the racetrack!
What started as a humble block of wood… 
…turned into a prize-winning miniature U-Haul truck.
