Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/795447
COVER STORY CAREER LEADERSHIP AWARD still working the evening shift – was able to attend classes during his time off. The education paid off. Gambrell graduated from the preventive main- tenance lane to "grunt work," he says. "Removing and replacing defective parts and repairing units to get back on the road. With the many training aids and classes and my own study, I was able to grow my knowledge and perform even tougher repairs. I got very good at troubleshooting and diagnosing problems." Gambrell rode the success at his job in Nashville – about 40 miles south of New Deal – to get a private phone line at his and Linda's home. "It was the fi rst private line," he says. "At that time, everyone had either an eight-party line or a four- party line." ON-THE-JOB TRAINING Gambrell's ability to figure things out was instrumental in his devel- oping career, but a heavy reliance on wits and good sense certainly doesn't make your life any easier – especially if you're in charge of making things that should move, but don't, move again. "At Hertz, about the only time a wrecker was dis- patched to a unit was if it had been in an accident," he says. "If a unit was down for a mechanical reason, a mechanic was given a re- placement truck and took it and parts and a toolbox and went to the downed unit." The mechanic's job was to swap units with the driver, then get the downed truck repaired and back to the Nashville shop. "I remember my fi rst trip I was sent out on," he recalls. "It was a GMC gas straight truck that the newspaper company used to deliver papers to the route people." Gambrell delivered the re- placement truck and helped them unload the newspa- pers. With the customer on his way, Gambrell quickly found the downtime culprit – a faulty clutch – and walked about a mile to the nearest phone to call Mr. Mac for a wrecker. "He told me to get the truck in, or he would send somebody who could, and he hung up," Gam- brell says. Undaunted, Gambrell walked back a mile to the truck, cut six limbs off a bush and fl attened each side with a small taper. He used a bar to push down the clutch pedal and wedged it against the seat to hold it down. "I knew the clutch was out," he says. "All the lining was in the cover. I took the limbs and a hammer and drove them between the fl ywheel and pressure plate. I placed them in six different places around the plate and removed the bar to release the clutch pedal." Gambrell drove the truck back to Nashville, shutting it off to stop at red lights. "I didn't want to push the [clutch] After high school graduation, a local wrecker and auto salvage service allowed Roy Gambrell to hone his craft. Roy Gambrell holds an associate degree in business and commerce from Volunteer State Community College. I have always had a knack for equipment and how it functions.