WorldWide Drilling Resource

by Tim Rasmussen Part of the preparations for the use of a rotary drilling rig involved getting a large truck to carry the drill stems and pipe for the rig. The truck needed to be heavy with a 20-foot bed. We knew it would be hard to find one in Guatemala, so Gary began check- ing around in our area to see what could be obtained. A look at an agricultural magazine yielded one possibility, a 1983 International with a purely mechanical diesel engine and low miles. It was located in Lind, Washington, about 80 miles from Spokane. Gary called Wes Loomis, the owner of Loomis Truck and Tractor and inquired about the truck for sale. As they talked, Gary learned the advertised truck was not really suitable for us, the bed was only 16 feet and there were a couple of aspects of the truck which were not what we were looking for. After the initial call, Gary received a return call from Wes. He had been thinking about our project and said he would be willing to donate the truck to Water For Life, and if we would help pay a little of the cost, he would modify the truck to suit us. He inquired if we were interested. The answer was yes, of course. This began a series of phone calls and plans moving toward acquiring this useful vehicle. After several weeks and several decisions, Gary and I decided to go down to Lind, meet Wes, and take a look at this truck he had donated and was having modified for our purposes. When we arrived, Wes was not there, having gone to Moses Lake to take the drive shaft to a shop for lengthening, but Gary called him and he invited us to go into the shop and meet his helper, Dick Eichler, who was actually doing the mod- ifications. Dick Eichler is experienced in heavy truck repair and modifications. The work he had done on the truck was remarkable. The frame had been lengthened eight feet using T-1 steel. The beams had been shaped in Spokane and fitted to the existing frame. All the welding was top-notch. Dick had installed large heavy hooks front and rear, and was fashioning a two-inch receiver for the rear, attached to a heavy plate between the frame rails. Lengthening the frame meant moving the springs and rear axle, requiring the longer drive shaft. We are going to install a hoist behind the cab so the battery box and muffler were also relocated. We spent a very pleasant hour visiting with these two men. They were happy to know the product of their work and donation was going to be placed on a ship to join the other equipment we have working to provide clean water to poor folks in Guatemala. I will try a get a photo of their truck at work in a village in the jungle of Guatemala to send them to hang on the wall of the shop. If you would like to help, contact Gary Bartholomew at 509-466-5075 or 509-939-1941 Tim Tim Rasmussen may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 41 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2019 Open the Doorway to all the Event Photos during Empire State Water Well Drillers Association 2019. To see all the photos from this event, go to worldwidedrillingresource.com or click here. Feel free to download at will and print the photo(s) of your choice. Compliments of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® . Photos are copyrighted and released for personal use only - no commercial use permitted. WTR Wes, Tim, and Dick. For every extra kilogram carried on a space flight, 530 kilograms of extra fuel is needed at liftoff. Whisky was invented in ancient China, and then arrived in Ireland where it was distilled by monks.