Kofi's Pick Truck "Rupununi Way"

There are very few resources here in the Rupununi, so, if you want or need something, you better be prepared to grow, catch, build, fix or repair it yourself...we call it doing things the "Rupununi Way." And that is the beginning of the story about Kofi's pick-up truck, Rupununi Way.

First, a bit about Kofi. Like many Guyanese, he has very little formal education, but is incredibly intelligent. Somewhere along the line someone decided that Kofi, Bina Hill Institute...somebody needed a truck. Kofi started the project without aid of service manuals, a few tools and a whole lot of just plain smarts. It was amazing to watch him as he put the puzzle pieces in place. Now, down here in the interior, there are only two trucks...Bedfords that do the heavy hauling and 1/2-ton toyotas, generally crew-cab, solid axles and leaf springs...these are the toughest little trucks on the planet. Oh, there are pretenders...Land Rovers, fancy Hi-Luxes with chrome winches and independent suspensions...Hell, there are even a few GMCs and Fords...but when the going gets tough, the tough get going...here come the Bedfords and the 1/2-ton Toyotas. The big problem is buying a new one...they are prohibitively expensive. So, when you need a truck, what do you do? You buld one.

Yep, you build one. Starting with only a frame and a bunch of parts, Kofi proceeded to build a truck. First, the frame was finished, axles and wheels attached...then the motor was mounted, drive train installed, all the parts started coming together to build a truck.

Parts were pirated from the several relics scattered about the institution grounds. Along the way, Gilbert (Kofi's right-hand man) helped the project by rolling an almost identical truck over off a bridge into a stream...the steering arm let go allowing the front tires to go anywhere they wanted to go. Much to Gilbert's dismay they chose to go into the stream. Instead of grief, there was joy...MORE PARTS!!!

On Kofi toiled, little by little bringing the project closer to completion. A welder was brought in from Lethem to do some major re-fabrication on the frame and motor mounts. But...a problem arose. The welder's generator would not produce enough amperage to operate the welding equipment, sooooo, in fine Rupununi fashion, the truck was rolled...pushed by some students nearly half a mile to the Annai Secondary School where theschool's generator WOULD produce enough amperage to run the welder. Mission accomplished. Kofi's truck was returned to the garage...oh, did I mention that in order to get the truck out of the garage, the front wall had to be knocked down??? Not a problem. A sledge hammer, then minutes of pounding and Kofi's truck is out the door.

The first item to be attached to the frame was the cargo body pirated from one of the derelicts who so generously gave of themselves through the "body-parts donor" program. The body was in relatively good condition, needing only some minor sledge-hammer detail adjustments.



Next on the list was the passenger cab. Now, Kofi had one that had been in a rollover (not Gilbert's), but it needed some minor body work. Again, in the finest Rupununi Way, jacks, blocking, hammers, etc. were employed to reshape the crumpled cab into something that closely resembled its previous condition. However, there were some minor problems...you know, half to three-quarters of and inch misalignment...not to worry. Hugh, another welder, was brought in from Lethem to do some acetylene body work. It was determined that the best course would be to cut the top off Gilbert's rollover. That done, Kofi's Truck was taking shape.

Then, one afternoon, with a roar and a cloud of diesel smoke, Kofi's truck fired to life for the fist time. All was not perfect. Several more days of tinkering would be required before Kofi's Truck' Rupununi Way would roll down the road to Lethem. On Monday, may 4th, 2009, Rupununi Way, with Kofi behind the wheel headed for Lethem. The word is...he made it.