There's something about mini-trucks that gets Maple Ridge resident Troy Bergmann revved up.

So much so, he woke up bright and early Saturday morning and drove his souped-up 1986 Chevy S-10 across the Golden Ears Bridge to Langley City, where he parked it along the southern half of Fraser Highway for the annual Good Times Cruise-In.

Langley's annual show 'n shine is one of the largest mixed car shows in Canada.

Bergmann, a Cruise-In newbie, was happy to show the truck he's owned for about two months at the event.

"I've been into mini-trucks since I was about 16 years old," Bergmann said, speaking over the piercing mechanical screams of a hopped-up engine revving nearby. "This is my third one, now. It's the first kind of truck that I saw. Even when I was about 15 I saw a low-rider truck and ever since then I always wanted to own one. For the past 10 years, now, I've just been into them."

Prior to purchasing the eye-catching orange S-10 in Port Alberni, Bergmann owned a 1996 S-10 and a 1987 that was converted into a V-8.

His newest ride, which has about 160,000 kilometres on it, is equipped with a stock 2.8-litre V6 Chevy engine, but he said the motor's been "chromed out" and painted.

It's been "bagged and body dropped," Bergmann explained, with all halfinch lines and valves, braided lines, Russel fittings, Viair compressors, a four-link suspension, 20-inch boss rims on a Toyo proxes tires, chrome headers, and a side-exit exhaust with a flowmaster muffler.

He said a friend did "a little bit of work" to the truck, but the bulk of the alterations were done sometime in 2006 in Burnaby.

Bergmann has such an admiration for this style of vehicle, he's joined others just like him: he is affiliated with Sunset Canada, a worldwide mini-truck club.

Founded by Bob Hase in December 1976, Sunset is one of the oldest and most respected clubs in the mini-truck scene, Bergmann said, adding that the club has chapters in Boston, California, Detroit, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, but is now "worldwide with Australia and Canada."

"We host two of the greatest shows in the minitruck scene, West Coast Nationals and the Famous Resolutions, both of which received show of the year by Mini-Truck Magazine," Bergmann noted. "We are 35 years old and still going strong."

As for the truck he drove to Cruise-In, it's "a summer toy."

Bergmann said his S-10 has "never seen rain."

"It's just a hobby," Bergmann said.

The S-10 will be put in storage sometime around the end of September.

tlandreville@mrtimes.com