The Top 5 Trucker Movies That Still Nail It Today
Recently, we dove into a bunch of old trucker movies and TV shows from over the years.
We watched, reviewed, and soaked in all the action, stunts, and trucking history.
Along the way, we discovered which movies are worth the time for pure fun, nostalgia, and some serious big-rig thrills.
After all that, we picked a Top 5 favorites…..the ones that were the most entertaining and had some seriously memorable truck scenes.
5 Best Trucker Movies/TV Shows
- Convoy (1978) – Epic convoy action and over-the-top stunts. Truck Spotlight: Lots of Cabovers and conventional trucks 🚛 9/10
- Smokey and the Bandit (1977) – Fun, fast-paced, and iconic trucks. Truck Spotlight: Kenworth (Bandit’s truck) 🚚 8.5/10
- Duel (1971) – The 1955 Peterbilt steals the show. 🚛 8/10
- Hijack (1973) – Classic trucker thrills, including a helicopter ram. Truck Spotlight: White Freightliner 🚚 8/10
- Moving On (1974–1976) – Kenworth 925 Good action with classic trucker vibes. 🚛 7.5/10
Grab your coffee, strap in, and let’s hit the road through some trucking history.
Got my trucker boots on, my chain-drive wallet ready, and we’re rolling!
Trucker Movie & TV Shows Summaries
Duel (1971)
Dennis Weaver stars, but the real star? The 1955 Peterbilt. The movie featured a little red car being chased across the California desert by a tanker truck. Spielberg needed the truck to hit 90 mph, so they modified a 281 model with a tag axle to make it look like a 351 Pete. Sadly, the truck was destroyed in the final scene.
Truck Spotlight: The Peterbilt 281 (modified to resemble a 351) | Year: 1955 | Trivia: Needed modifications to hit 90 mph. The driver didn’t get credit in the film. Figures.
Movin’ On (1974–1976)
A TV show starring Claude Akins and Frank Converse. The storylines were hokey, but the Kenworth 925 truck caught my eye. I bought both seasons just to watch the trucking action. Claude Akins nailed the gruff, rough-around-the-edges trucker vibe.
Truck Spotlight: Kenworth 925 (predecessor to W900) | Trivia: Claude Akins’ performance reminded me of older truckers I knew. Second bit of trivia: This is where my CB handle came from! I didn’t adopt it, but other truckers started to call me ‘Sonny’ and it stuck!
White Line Fever (1975)
Featuring Jan Michael Vincent and Slim Pickens, this film’s main action is about an independent driver fighting the system. The highlight: the “Blue Mule” cab-over Ford being driven right through the bad guys’ glass-fronted headquarters. Fun movie, though I found it just okay.
Truck Spotlight: The Ford cab-over “Blue Mule” | Trivia: Iconic stunt of driving through the glass-fronted building.
Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, and Jerry Reed brought this one home. Famous for its chase scenes, fun tricks on the cops, and the iconic black Trans Am….a lighthearted classic. The Bandit’s truck was classic and the Hobbs 40-foot trailer Jerry Reed pulled was a rare Texas-built beauty.
Truck Spotlight: Kenworth (Bandit’s truck) | Trailer: Hobbs 40-foot trailer | Trivia: It was a huge box office hit…..$300 million first year.
Convoy (1978)
Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine, and Burt Young star in this one. Based on the CW McCall song, the movie has a massive convoy and some over-the-top action. My favorite scene? Handcuffing Borgnine to a bar stool, only to have a truck stop waitress slide the handcuffs off. Fun in parts, unrealistic overall.
Truck Spotlight: Various trucks including Cabovers and standard models. Trivia: Inspired by the hit song and lots of Hollywood stuff on real convoys.
Black Dog (1998)
Patrick Swayze, Randy Travis, and Meat Loaf in this one. Trucks and props galore, but the movie kind missed the mark, like when Swayze putting on driving gloves before hitting the wheel? Instant goof. Crash scenes were okay, but the rest… meh. Fun fact: in 45 years of trucking, I’ve never seen a “Black Dog” as the movie describes it.
Truck Spotlight: Various trucks, including classic big rigs.
BJ and the Bear (1979–1981)
Greg Evigan and a monkey take the wheel in this TV show. The truck is a Kenworth Aerodyne Cabover with a matching trailer. Plot made little sense, and the monkey probably drove for Swift at one time! I wasn’t so crazy over this show.
Truck Spotlight: The Kenworth Aerodyne Cabover. Trivia: Monkey co-star, truck with matching trailer but plot was goofy.
High Ballin’ (1978)
Jerry Reed and Peter Fonda ride around causing crashes, chase scenes, even a kidnapping. The highlight? A Cabover Kenworth. They drive under a low bridge by letting all the air out of the tires, then reinflate to get away. Wild. The movie itself? Waste of time.
Truck Spotlight: Kenworth Cabover. Trivia: Drove under low bridges by deflating tires…. then re-inflate after going under the bridge!
Hijack (1973)
David Janssen and Keenan Wynn play two team drivers who get a chance to haul a secret, high-dollar load. The company reinstates Janssen’s license and pushes the overweight truck through scales. Bad guys try to kill for the load, and Janssen even rams a helicopter with a White Freightliner. Classic trucker movie; I liked it a lot.
Truck Spotlight: White Freightliner Year: Early 1970s Trivia: Ramming a helicopter in a truck stunt.
Breaker! Breaker! (1977)
Chuck Norris. Plot? Chuck Norris beats up everybody. Not much else. Good fight scenes, bad acting. Passable time-killer.
Truck Spotlight: Generic big rig (mostly conventional) Year: 1970’s Trivia: Norris fight sequences dominate the truck action.
Joyride (2001)
Paul Walker and Steve Zahn. Features a black 359 Peterbilt and good actors. Entertaining, though the truck is driven by a crazy guy—kind of scary.
Truck Spotlight: Peterbilt 359 Year: 2001 Trivia: Truck driven by a deranged antagonist.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Kurt Russell drives a 1985 FLC120 Freightliner. Only a couple of truck scenes; the rest is Chinese black magic and karate. Lost me there.
Truck Spotlight: Freightliner FLC120 Year: 1985 Trivia: Limited truck action. Mostly martial arts chaos.
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Stephen King story with an AC/DC soundtrack. Radiation from a comet makes machines, especially trucks, turn on humans. Trucks drive themselves. Imagine being trapped at a Pilot with 100 trucks circling for days. I’ll take that warning seriously.
Truck Spotlight: Various big trucks. Year: Mid-1980s Trivia: Autonomous trucks attacking humans. Yikes.
Drive by Night (1940)
Humphrey Bogart and George Raft play the Fabrini brothers, hauling loads across California in a cramped old stake truck with no sleeper. Ralph crashes after dozing off, costing Bogart an arm, and Raft ends up tangled with his boss’s murderous wife. Courtroom drama clears him, and he reunites with his ex-waitress girlfriend. Classic black-and-white trucking drama.
Truck Spotlight: Old stake truck (no sleeper) Year: Late 1930’s / 1940 (approximate) Trivia: The side-by-side cab and spring/rubber-block suspension made it nearly impossible for the non-driving brother to get any rest.
So that’s our ride through trucking entertainment history.
Hope you enjoyed the trip.
