Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/795447
COVER STORY CAREER LEADERSHIP AWARD "Our home is 10 feet in front of where my wife was born," he says. "We are not ones who like to move around much." Known to many as "The King of Corrosion" – "Rusty" to others and "Mr. Rust" to several more – Gam- brell etched his legacy in trucking on the corroding undercarriages of trucks and trailers nationwide. But more than 40 years before he would become king, Gambrell started out as a farmhand, as is the case in many rural Southern towns. Growing up on a farm opened a window through which Gam- brell eventually would climb through into trucking. "I have always had a knack for equipment and how it func- tions," he says, adding that he learned to fi x and fabricate out of necessity. "Most of the equipment or machinery we had was either so old that parts were not available, or they were just plain worn out. We did not have ready funds to buy better, so we learned to make do with what we had, and we learned to either make parts or rebuild what we had with scrap that we were able to fi nd." Gambrell's father and uncle were both mechanics by trade, although he says today they would be called technicians. They passed their knowledge along to the youngster in between his parts runs. "Both of them would do extra jobs at home, and I was the parts cleaner and tool getter," he says. While still in high school, Gambrell got a part-time job at Harbin Transmission Shop, where he learned how to disassemble and reassemble various types of manual transmissions. "From three speeds up to 10-speed," he recalls. "I had some experience with about every make there was during the time – Eaton, Spicer, Saginaw, Muncie, Clark and many others." After high school graduation, the farm beckoned, but a local wrecker and auto salvage service allowed Gambrell to work after fi nishing his morning chores. "I did all types of repairs and also made wrecker runs," he says, adding that it was there where he learned the fi nesse of boring blocks and grinding valves. With this newfound skill – and now a newlywed to his wife of 48 years, Linda – Gambrell struck out on his new career in 1969. "My father came in contact with John Adair, who was the service manager for Hertz Truck Rental in Nashville," Gambrell says. "This was what opened the door for my career in trucking." Gambrell worked the evening shift at Hertz and was charged with washing the trucks and checking for repairs before passing the work off to the night foreman. But he wasn't looking to make a career out of wash- ing. The King of Corrosion was ready to claw his way to the throne. "The fuel pumps were at the front of the building near the service bay where preventive maintenance and oil and lube services were done," he says. "If I was caught up with fueling and washing, I would help the mechanic and be his assistant." Shortly thereafter, he was trans- ferred to the maintenance shop full time, trading in his sponge for a wrench. T.G. McNeese took the young me- chanic under his wing and told Gam- brell about the classes Hertz offered in conjunction with its suppliers. "Mr. Mac told me that if I wanted to make trucking my career, I should get all the education I could," Gam- brell recalled. Training classes were offered only during the day shift, so Gambrell – Growing up on a farm opened a window through which Roy Gambrell, shown here at age 5, eventually would climb through into trucking. Roy Gambrell's father was a mechanic by trade and passed his knowledge along to the youngster in between his parts runs. would become king, Gambrell started out as a farmhand, as is the Growing up on a farm opened a window through which Roy Gambrell, shown here at age 5, eventually would climb through into trucking.