The story behind David Duchnowski, a.k.a. “Ranger Dave” and the death of his truck, "Kut2Tuk"…..

Thoughts of this column were racing through my head this weekend. After 6 years of building a truck, there are too many stories of friendship, hardship, fame and just pure luck. Where do I start? Unfortunately, my thoughts were interrupted by the vibrating of my cell phone. It was David’s buddy Chris calling. He had an accident. While he and his fiancée were cruising around in their show truck, the nuts on his wheel loosened and the wheel fell off, leaving them stranded on Route 82. I told him to hold on and we’d have help to him ASAP. I hung up and hit the speed dial button to call David. After a few rings and then some silence, with a raspy voice, David grumbled a short “hello” and “what the heck do you want now.” He had been up all last night and with roughly 20 minutes of sleep; he had worked an 8-hour shift and was lying down for the first time in two days. I gave him the news about Chris being in trouble, to which David threw his clothes on and ran out to give him a hand. That's David in a nutshell. He’s always going out of his way to help a friend in need. His friends are the same way.

Being mechanics yourselves, I'm sure you can understand that when there is a big show, there are set timeframes and most problems occur when you’re running down to the wire. Either you turn the key and the engine won’t start, or you’ve run out of custom paint and the paint store is closed. If you’re lucky enough, you’re blessed with friends who will rush to your side and help you cross the finish line to meet your goal.

David’s life-long goal was to finish his truck, (his first attempt at anything custom), and take it to the 2006 Indy Truck Bash Nationals, where he would hopefully get noticed and be published in a magazine. David sent his custom 1997 Ford Ranger to a reputable body shop in the winter of 2006 to have it painted and to have the owner assist him with a few of the modifications. The truck was scheduled to be fully painted with flame graphics by the beginning of summer. The body shop ran into a few problems but had the truck back to David one week before the show. The exterior was painted, however due to the timing it was without graphics. With one week left, the interior of the cab was the last part needing to be painted. Imagine spending 100 hours in only six days to crank out your mini in time for the biggest show in your area. With his friends at his side, he was able to finish the cab with only 30 minutes left until deadline.  It was crazy; it was hectic; it was worth it. He won first place in his division, (“custom mini-truck wild”) and had photo-shoots with a few different magazines and online magazines, one of which was Mini Truckin. He went on to win awards at various shows across the United States and even landed a spot in the auto section of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland’s largest newspaper. He couldn’t have done it without the help of his friends.

David and I were engaged in the winter of 2006. He figured that if I was as patient with the build over the past 6 years, with him being at the garage all of the time, I would be able to put up with anything. We had little money to start our life together and he was contemplating selling his truck to be able to afford a house. Because the truck was the true story of how we met, I was very hesitant to let him put it up for sale. Knowing that he wouldn’t feel fulfilled without finishing his truck with graphics and showing it one last time, I told him that we should add the graphics and take it to our favorite show, the Indy Truck Bash National. After that we could sell the truck, marry and use the money as a down-payment on a house.

Everything seemed to be coming together and running smoothly. His truck had been finished for almost a year. It was the first time that he wouldn’t have to put much work into it before the big show. Approximately 10 days before the show, all David had left to do was have graphics artist come out and paint custom graphics along the sides and interior of the truck. The graphics artist was scheduled to meet him at the garage the next day to start his work.

The night of August 7th was dark and humid. There had been a thunderstorm and a lot of rain, but it had subsided by 9 pm. I was lounging around in our air-conditioned family room, spending time with my sister who was about to move back to college. I forgot that I had my cell phone in my pocket so I jumped when it started vibrating from an incoming call. I squeezed my hand into my pocket and pulled it out to see that David’s best friend Greg was calling me. A little confused, I answered my phone thinking that he was calling to tell me one of his stories. Greg is a natural-born storyteller. He always had the craziest weekends and phoned me every time something I’d “never believe” happened. Right away I noticed the fear in his voice. He was choked-up about something. He told me that I had to throw my things together and drive out to a development in a nearby city where an accident took place. He mentioned that he and David were alright, but I needed to rush because something bad happened. Thoughts of terror and confusion swept through my mind. What happened? Was this a mean joke? Something felt wrong.

David had a lot of extra time on his hands, so he decided that he would help Greg to finish his truck, so that he could also attend the show. As before every big show, they ran into a few problems. Seeing the frustrated look on his buddy’s face, David decided that the best way to cheer him up would be to take him for a motivational cruise in his truck. They rolled down a few streets and turned into a friend’s development. As they were cruising, Greg smelled something burning. He turned around to catch a glimpse of bright orange and yellow flames, darting in and out of passenger side of the bed of the truck. Greg shouted “Dave! Dave! Get out! Get out! Fire….fire….FIIIRRREEE!!” David stopped the truck. They both jumped out and at that immediate moment, the bed burst into flames. A few neighbors ran to the rescue with a wet blanket, a garden hose and two fire extinguishers. With the bed being made primarily of fiber glass, their efforts were unsuccessful. Knowing they could not put the fire out, they called 911 to report the emergency.

David and Greg stood helpless next to the truck. Years of welding, cutting, priming, sanding, wiring, re-wiring, cruising, breaking down and repairing flashed before their eyes. They stood in the wake of the blaze for 9 grueling minutes before the fire trucks arrived. The fire was finally put out and the damage was substantial. The entire street smelled of smoke and burned fiberglass. The truck was lifted onto a flat-bed tow truck and transported back to David’s garage.

We do not know how the fire started or how David and Greg made it out alive and without a single scratch. For now, David has been defeated. We were so close to making it to the 2007 Indy Truck Bash Nationals, which would’ve been our last show before we are married. David was planning on getting it appraised so that we could sell it and use the money towards a down-payment on a house. Since it hasn’t been appraised, we are afraid that he’s only going to receive whatever Blue Book says a 1997 Ford Ranger is worth. After the truck went up in flames, we realized that it wasn’t the money we wanted. The truck built friendships, a strong relationship and thousands of memories. I cannot let David live the rest of his life with this big of a piece of him missing. With marriage on the horizon, we cannot afford to rebuild. He has lost all hope and is planning on tearing the truck apart and selling what is left. I can’t let his dream or his truck die this way and I am turning to all of you for your help.

A lot of people look at his truck as just a “cool-looking” truck. When they find out that it’s completely custom-made and that the work was done primarily by the owner, they are in awe. To David, it was a hard-earned accomplishment; to his friends, an inspiring testament of living life to the fullest and never falling victim to ‘the norm.’ The truck built friendships. It had over 6 years of blood, sweat and tears invested into it. We all know that you should not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Hope begins in the dark; the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work; you don’t give up.

Any leads on anywhere I can find a sponsorship would be greatly appreciated. Please contact me at LMMikes@yahoo.com. If anyone here knows him, please keep it on the quiet side. I want to surprise him. If you'd like to see pics of the damage, please visit ohiominitrucks.com and look under the forum labeled "Photos" and then under "Bad Accident Last Night".

God bless,
Lauren
(David’s fiancée)  

D a m n  
( I had too spell it out,erase it if you have to)
Its the only word I could use to describe what I see and feel ........
Man!
I am sooooooo sorry.
Being a Lil guy "in terms of a guy with connections" I prob cant do anything except send my apologizes and promise to do what I can to help you and david out.

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I must have missed this a while back
I feel like such an ***  

hey,
sorry to hear about this! BUT, but, you guys didn't lose the whole truck! And at least it was featured first.
Good luck with everything.    

Whoa sorry to hear about wut happened to your truck! thats krazy! well im kinda in that situation where my truck was crashed my my own dad and my cousin on new years day! So dat sucked lol! But leased you can always make it better!  

That sucks, A friend shot pics of this truck for a couple online mags. Its a shame  

It's been well over a year and there's been a lot of changes. David was unfortunate with the insurance company. He didn't update the information with them and they offered him to either total it or give him way less than what it was worth. David took the money and sold what was left of the truck to a close friend, who is rebuilding it to what it was before the accident, with a few moderations.

With his own hands and with the help of his close friends, David accomplished his dream of being featured in Mini Truckin. He continues to be an inspiration to a lot of minitruckers, who e-mail him for pointers on their projects.

Thanks for all your kind words and thoughts. We're getting married in October...I'm sure we'll have kids in the next 2 years or so, and I'm sure he'll want to build a truck for one of them. Keep your eyes peeled....I'm sure the best is yet to come!!

Stay safe this summer!!

God bless,
Lauren  

Lauren <><,
I think it's really cool that you're so supportive and proud of him!
Thanks for the update, congrats on getting married soon!!