What does it Take to get the Job Done?
At the ranch our trucks are made to last, we drive them everywhere, get the job done and they work after a quick bush fix. But what happens when the bush fix isn’t enough? Then, we call in the specialists – Albert and his team at ASC Automotive Repair. That’s exactly what happened over a couple of days in July.
The truck involved was our monster truck: a big, matt black beast of a Chevy Suburban. It’s V8 engine rumbles and roars as it bumps its way over logging roads, mud and dirt. Although it’s a two wheel drive, it get will get you safely to your destination – wherever that might be.
Like all our trucks, it has its little idiosyncrasies. Underneath its matt black exterior, the insides of the doors tell the truth – once this truck was metallic blue. One of the doors is actually whit. That and the window crank when the windows on the other doors are electric tell us this truck has a story to tell. The gas gauge is a little unreliable, telling you it is 1/4 full when it’s actually empty. The lack of 4WD makes it a little more challenging to drive in winter.
But this truck has a special charm that attracts us all to it. It even gets the name of “monster” truck when the other trucks are referred to by their colour. So, when the monster truck started popping and back firing, we knew we would do whatever it took to keep it running. And we were real appreciative that Albert had the same attitude.
On Monday afternoon, Kevan hooked the horse trailer onto the back of the monster truck and hit the road to Lillooet, en route to Kamloops. Two hours after he left, we received the phone call we always make to let everyone at the ranch know we’ve made it safely to Lillooet. Except this time, Kevan wasn’t telling us all was good and he was on his way to Kamloops. Instead, he told us the monster truck was backfiring and he needed someone to bring the blue truck to pull the trailer and take the monster truck to the shop.
So I packed up everything I’d need for a few days and the blue truck roared to life. I met Kevan in Lillooet and we swapped the trailer onto the blue truck. Kevan drove the blue truck and I followed behind in the monster truck, listening for any signs that it was popping and backfiring again.
Even uphill, the truck ran well. I didn’t hear any noises that would make me worry. We stopped at Cache Creek. The truck had behaved, but still, we needed to know what was going on. So I stayed in Cache Creek with the monster truck and Kevan drove onto Kamloops where in the morning he’d load up the horse trailer with wheels for a sprinkler pipe.
The next morning, I made the five minute drive to ASC, listening for any small sound that my truck might break down before I got there. The truck still sounded good.
Kevan had called Albert the night before so he and his team were waiting for me. They already an idea of what the problem was. After working on the truck in the shop, Albert told me the truck needed some new spark plug wires. They’d been able to find one but the others couldn’t be delivered until tomorrow. After talking to Kevan on the phone, we made a new plan.
The Lordco in Kamloops had the wires we needed. Albert lent me his pick up truck and I drove the hour each way to pick them up. They fitted the wires quickly and now I could drive over to Kamloops (again) to meet Kevan. I climbed into the monster truck, the engine sounded great now, almost purring. But 20 minutes into the drive, there were two loud bangs like gunshots and then the engine started making popping noises. I took my foot of the gas, not sure what to do. This was the first time I’d heard the noise and was a little worried. Was it safe to drive the truck like this? Would I make it worse? I stopped at the side of the road and tried to wave someone down to borrow a phone so I could call Kevan and ask for advice. I didn’t have a cell phone and had forgot to pick up the satellite phone from Kevan the night before. No one stopped and because I knew Kevan had driven with the truck backfiring, I thought I would be able to as well. So the monster truck limped at 60km/h (sometimes 40) along the highway to meet Kevan.
We assessed the situation. The shop was now closed so it didn’t makes sense to drive back to Ashcroft. I helped Kevan load up the wheels for the sprinkler line and in the morning, I left Kamloops at 6 to go back to the shop. It popped a little on the way, but I could at least get it to 80km/h now.
Albert and his team were straight back to work on the monster truck, taking it for a drive to find out what was happening. This time, they found another problem. One side of the ignition wires had fused together – something they thought likely happened because the backfiring had melted them. They found the wires they needed in the shop – another benefit of having an older truck (the monster truck is 27 years old) is the parts are often simple to find and fix.
Albert handed me the keys much sooner than I’d expected, saying I could take the monster truck for a drive to work out the kinks before Kevan arrived from Kamloops. This was a good plan as we would know for sure the truck was running good and I was close to the shop if any final adjustments needed to be made. Everything sounded good so when Kevan arrived we hooked up the horse trailer to the monster truck and left the blue truck at the shop – there were a few things needed fixing on this one too.
Albert and his team had really gone out of their way to help us with the truck, checking every option and getting the job done. But their input wasn’t over yet. The monster truck, loaded with its trailer full of wheels, made it all the way to Lillooet. At the top of a hill, the truck died, as if the key had been turned off, and Kevan had no choice but to roll it down hill to a pull out. Lea was with us now as she’d met us in town so she and I could take the wheels up to Lee Creek while Kevan picked up supplies in town.
The three of us got the hood up and checked every wire and connection. We couldn’t see anything out of place, even when Kevan climbed in the hood and looked around. We knew what the next option was. Call Albert. Without being able to see the truck, but having worked on it enough to know what was what with it, Albert could walk us through three different things to try over the phone – the fuel pump and the ignition coil. Using this process of elimination, we found a possible culprit, another part of the spark plug system. Albert called Lordco in Lillooet and in ten minutes, they pulled up beside us and delivered the part. We fitted it and the truck roared back to life.
Kevan took Lea’s truck to pick up the supplies while Lea drove the monster truck and trailer up the dirt road to Lee Creek, with me as passenger for moral support. With this new part, the truck ran smoothly – even as it lurched over the washboards. At Lee Creek, we unloaded the wheels and it was my turn to drive. This was an opportunity for me to practice my trailer driving skills. The truck ran perfectly. We met Kevan at Lillooet and Lea picked up her truck. Kevan and I drove the trailer back to the ranch with no more problems. That evening, Albert called to make sure we’d made it home safely.
Thanks to Albert’s problem-solving persistence, over-the-phone support and solution-orientated attitude, the monster truck was rescued from almost certain death not once but three times. We are sure appreciative for all the help we received from Albert as he tried every option to systematically work through the problem and get the job done.
Charlie, UK
