Leroy is my 2000 Dodge Quad cab gold pickup truck. (yes we name all our vehicles) We adopted
Leroy from Don Davis Auto Sales in Arlington, Texas in 2001 when he had 39K miles
on him. I drove Leroy as my primary
vehicle every day and spent a lot of years letting him pull my boat, small trailers,
and always hauling something. I had no problem driving Leroy out of town and we
took many trips with him for vacationing and camping.
When my son Ricky went to college, Leroy pulled the trailer
with all his stuff to Abilene, Texas. We almost didn’t make it back though; Leroy’s
brakes were squealing and we had to find a shop that Saturday to get all new
front brakes and rotors. Once we got that done we headed home to North Richland
Hills, Texas. Leroy has been a huge help to the whole family when they needed a
truck for hauling, Leroy was there for them. When a friend called and needed a
truck, I always volunteered Leroy for the job. I kept him in great shape and
did all the routine maintenance to keep him going strong.
After my son graduated from college in 2005, he sold his car
to my youngest son who needed transportation and then he drove…yep he drove Leroy!
Once Ricky purchased his first truck t about a year later then I got Leroy back
complete with gun rack on the back window and an ACU sticker on the window.
Once again I was reunited with my truck and it felt great. A little while down
the road, my daughter calls and needed to borrow a vehicle. Thiers bit the dust
and they could not buy a new car right then. So once again I offered up Leroy Brown.
She drove Leroy for about a year or so and finally I got him back. Yes, is great
driving Leroy again.
For the next year or so my youngest son was between cars now
and then and needed a ride so Leroy filled in. Well, one early fall day, I sent
Joey, in Leroy Brown, to pick up some fire wood in Corsicana for me, about an
hour away. He loaded up Leroy’s bed full of oak wood great for the fireplace
and headed back to Waco where we lived then. It was getting dark and about half
way back….it happened. Leroy had an engine failure and almost died that
evening. I drove to meet Joey right away and we were able to start Leroy and
pull him off the side of the road to a parking lot. He had over 170K miles on
him by now. We managed to tow him home the next day and there he sat in the
drive way, completely disabled. My son-in-law offered to rebuild the engine so
Leroy was trailered to Corsicana for the rebuild. There he sat for almost 2
years, out in the pasture, waiting for Jessie to find the time for the daunting
task. We would visit my daughter now and then and every time I would see Leroy
just sitting there all alone with his engine pulled. Once we came to visit and
he had his hood off and just bare naked to the elements. It was hard to see him
like that.
Well, long story short, Leroy got his new engine and boy oh
boy does he run great. Jessie went all out with the rebuild and Leroy has never
run so well! He got a new water pump, fuel pump, oil pump, rings, pistons,
gaskets, had the engine bored, and all new belts and filters. The day he came
home to Waco and was in my driveway was a glorious day for me. Leroy is back! Leroy
has now been driven by every member of our family and always been there to haul
us around. He has seen many sets of tires, oil changes, tune ups, inspections,
and the wash jobs. He has a few battle scars but nothing major that would hold
him back. Now thirteen years later there he is sitting my driveway again ready
to work and drive. I don’t know how many days he has left with 173K miles now
and fourteen years old but I will drive him till he drops. I love my truck!
Rick Cadden
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