From Three Rivers to the world: The unusual business behind these hunting trucksA Three Rivers company is turning brand-new pickup trucks into highly customized hunting vehicles, and its customers are coming from across the United States and around the world.Performance Top Drives has been doing the work for about 30 years at its shop along Highway 281 in the middle of Three Rivers.Owner Rodney Gisler says the company's custom hunting vehicles can range from about $5,000 to as much as $800,000, depending on the vehicle and the work being done."We build for celebrities, sports people, we build for senators, for congressmen, really for whoever," Gisler said.One of the company's specialties is a drive-by-wire steering system that allows a vehicle to be operated from two different driving stations."The drive-by-wire system uses the computer in the truck and we trick it in a few different ways to get it to see two different driving stations," Gisler said.The system can accommodate two throttles, two shifters and two steering wheels, allowing the vehicle to be driven from both the conventional position and an elevated position.The company is also turning brand-new trucks into specialized hunting vehicles.Lead welder Raymond Benavidez is currently working on a new Ford Lightning that originally cost about $90,000. The truck is being stripped down and transformed into a high-end quail hunting vehicle for a customer in Georgia.Benavidez has been doing the work for about 20 years."A lot of times it's excitement because I get to start another rig," Benavidez said. "I'm excited as one's going and another one is coming in."Performance Top Drives now builds about 80 hunting vehicles each year.The company has about 50 employees who build the vehicles and also service and maintain them after they are shipped to customers, including customers in other countries.Gisler says business remains strong enough that the company is preparing to expand its operation.What started as a custom hunting vehicle business in Three Rivers has grown into a company with customers reaching far beyond South Texas.
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