REMEMBER WHEN in Salem . It was about a ten-minute drive from our apartment . So , we decided to go check it out . As we pulled up to the lot , we saw one of the custom-made trucks with a large fifth wheel attached . What an impressive sight ! We parked , got out , and walked over to get a closer look . We assumed that it belonged to a customer , so we just walked around checking it out without touching anything .
“ Get in ! have a seat ! It ’ s OK . It ’ s one of our display models .” A voice came from behind us .
We turned around to see who was speaking . It was a man that appeared to be in his fifties or maybe early sixties . He held out his hand , which I took .
“ Hi ! Bill Cook ”, He said . “ I own this place !”
“ Paul Cox , ‘’ I replied , “ And this is my wife , Sharon .”
“ The fifth wheel is mine . I just keep it here because it ’ s more convenient than parking it at my house . We don ’ t sell RVs here , just trucks .” He told us .
Then he went on to tell us about the truck , which was now for sale . For the last year , it had been a display model to give customers an idea of how these tow vehicles were set up . He invited us to get in and have a seat . It was a four-door model , and we got into the front seats . We were surprised that the seats sank a little with our weight . They were air-suspended ! The dashboard was filled with switches and gauges and two large round speakers , one on each side of the impressive wood-grained dash . And it was wide ! There was about two feet of space between the seats . Behind those seats was a long cushy-looking bench seat with four sets of seat belts draped over it . The cab was about seven and a half feet wide , and four could easily sit in the back seat .
Then we got out , and he opened the front end . The whole front end of the truck tilted forward to reveal the 300 HP Caterpillar engine . The transmission was a six-speed Allison automatic . I was hooked already ! Then we moved back around to the driver ’ s side door . He reached inside and flipped a switch . We heard a hissing of air , and to our surprise , the back end of the truck had lowered down , the back bumper almost touching the ground ! He told us that it helps level the fifth wheel without disconnecting from the truck when stopping overnight .
The bed of the truck had large storage compartments on each side . There was also a built-in toolbox on one side and a fifty-foot air hose on an electric reel enclosed behind a door on the other side . A high-capacity air compressor was mounted underneath .
He told us there were extras available , too , wheel simulators , air horns , and a visor over the windshield with five running lights . And then he got down to business .
He told us they had ordered a new display that would be arriving soon , so they would sell this one , which had been driven about 200 miles while doing customer demonstration drives , and it is being offered at dealer cost . After looking over his papers showing the dealer cost , we didn ’ t need any more encouragement and told him we would take it .
So we went inside to get our paperwork started . As we sat down , It occurred to me that we hadn ’ t discussed our car . I asked him how much we could get for it as a trade-in . He responded that they didn ’ t take trade-ins because they didn ’ t want to get into the business of selling used cars . About that time , the parts manager was walking by and overheard us .
“ Is that your Grand Prix out there ?” he asked , also apologizing for intruding . “ Yes , it is ,” I answered . “ Is anything wrong with it ?” “ Nope . Runs like a top ! It ’ s been my baby ever since we bought it brand new !”
Long story short , the man offered us $ 3,000 cash for the car , and I signed over the title about an hour later after he went to his bank to get the money . We would be leaving there in a new International 4700 custom-made medium-duty truck . We also ordered all of the aforementioned extras . “ We are going to look so cool !”
MY STORIES ARE ALL ABOUT A LIFETIME OF GOOD BAD AND FUNNY CAMPING AND RV ADVENTURES . — Paul Cox
Inspired , Paul and Sharon began to collect documentation written by their ancestors in family bibles , on the backs of pictures , newspaper articles , and obituaries . Using that information , Paul wrote his first book , “ Sparks of Memory ”. It was published in late 2021 and will be followed by a second book , “ Embers of Memory ” in the summer of 2022 . Stay tuned for his newest endeavor , a seven book series that follows a fictitious family , closely resembling his own , on a nearly 250 year journey beginning in 1770 England to present day Washington State . Visit www . mistykittybooks . com /
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