Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
It Passes Through Kimball For Caravan Of Toyota SR5 Pickups
Diego Mendez and his entourage overnighted in Kimball on their way to Guatemala with 14 Toyota SR5 pickups.
The capitalistic spirit is alive in the Central American country of Guatemala.
A caravan of used Toyota SR5 pickups stopped at Days Inn in Kimball on its way from Gillette, Wyo., where they were acquired to be sold and used in Guatemala.
Twenty-year-old businessman and mechanic Diego Mendez said they located the vehicles in South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska, and then picked them up in Gillette. The parade of Toyotas had seven drivers, each driving one vehicle and towing another pickup.
Mendez explained that some of the pickups have problems.
"We fix it," he said. "Some of the trucks have problems with the engine, so we have to work on them. Me and my dad and another guy are the mechanics."
The group spent one week in Gillette and will spend two weeks driving to Guatemala, "four days driving in the United States and four days driving in Mexico."
Mendez said lots of people do this, and the price depends on the shape of the vehicle.
Toyota SR5s are the only vehicles that he buys.
According to Autoweek, Mendez is onto something because "Minty Toyota pickup trucks from the 1980s have seen a sharp rise in demand over the past five years, and 4x4 SR5 versions of these trucks have presided over this niche market with an iron fist."
MotorBiscuit said these pickups are known for reliability due to the body and engine, and the 1986 model year is known for its ability to last for hundreds of thousands of miles.
