Keep on truckin’

Mike Sciacca

Dean Rief has purchased trucks from all over the worldwithout

really leaving Southern California.

That collection, too large for storage in his Huntington Beach

home of 37 years, has found a home at his business, a local warehouse

distribution center for supplies, equipment and food services for

supermarkets and independent grocery stores.

The trucks that Rief collects are not for the road: this

70-year-old is a connoisseur of beer truck toys.

At last count, his collection of toy beer trucks numbered about

1,750.

He began his hobby about six years ago. It wasn’t planned, he

said. He had no idea that a modest purchase would grow into a

collection that, he says, just keeps growing.

“It has become a hobby that I never thought would reach this

state,” Rief said. “I retired -- well, semi-retired -- at the end of

the last century, but this hobby has been keeping me pleasantly busy.

I’ve met some really great and interesting people from around the

world through this collection. That’s the great bonus to this.”

Rief’s collection is unique in that his toy beer trucks come in

all shapes and sizes, with more than 30 manufacturers represented.

He says that, to his knowledge, there is only one other collector

of toy beer trucks, and that collection is of small scale models.

“I got in at just the right time and truly believe that no one

could duplicate this collection today,” he said.

Rief’s toy beer truck collection consists of die-cast and plastic

models that have been purchased from all over the United States as

well as from Asia and most of Europe.

The largest truck in his collection, which he has cataloged,

measures about 20 inches long; the smallest, a mere 2 1/2 inches, he

said.

“I think at first he was just interested in this, but after he

bought his first couple of trucks it really grew into a hobby,” said

Terry Rief, Dean’s wife of 47 years. “He’s played golf, but never

really has had a hobby. I’m even still finding boxes and cupboards

here at the house filled with some of his collection. But I’m very

happy for him.

“I think this hobby has helped him make that transition from work,

work, work to semi-retirement,” she said. “It provides him with a new

interest and a creative outlook.”

Rief’s purchases have come directly through buyers and by surfing

E-bay. Two collectors he has befriended through his hobby, both

Europeans, have visited the Rief home on recent trips to the States.

One is a pilot in the German Air Force who owns every match box car

ever made, he said.

Rief displays his collection in acrylic cases and on shelves. Some

of the toy trucks even lay around on various tables.

Although he says there is no magic number for how many toy beer

trucks he would like to collect, Rief says that there is one, rare

toy beer truck open for bidding on E-bay. The present bid is $380.

He says the rare finds are becoming harder to track down.

“But they are worth it when you do find them,” he said, noting

that the most he has spent on one purchase is $304 for a very old and

rare Labatt’s beer truck. “The fun part, for me, is finding those

rare pieces.”

Rief says he buys a piece every couple of weeks. He has already

invested well over $40,000 in his hobby, but estimates that his

collection of nearly 1,750 toy beer trucks is worth in excess of

$65,000.

“Toys are a big business,” he said. “If there’s something out

there to collect, you can bet there will be someone out there to buy.

I never intended this to be an investment, just a fun, little hobby.

It even amazes me how large my collection has become.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.