Whiteouts And Wind Chills

A bad winter breakdown sticks with you — and so does a quick, reliable fix. That’s probably why Skyler Droubay, equipment manager for Double D Distribution, remembers this episode from a dozen years ago so vividly.

Skyler was hauling a load of asphalt oil from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Salt Lake City, Utah, when he found himself in windy, whiteout conditions.

“We couldn’t see the road,” he says. “We had to watch for the delineator posts as our headlights would hit them.”

From Bad To Worse

After passing over Elk Mountain, Skyler thought he’d made it through the worst of the weather. But with five hours left in the haul, his truck’s check engine and low coolant lights suddenly came on. He pulled over and popped the hood to discover he’d lost one of the main lower radiator hoses and dropped 12 gallons of coolant all at once.

“I can’t run the engine with no coolant,” he says, “and it’s 12 degrees at 2 a.m. on the side of the road in Wyoming — and that’s before wind chill, of course.”

Through the blowing snow, Skyler could see there was an exit about a mile ahead, so he pulled forward carefully, parked his rig and called for help.

Safely Home, Thanks To Reliable Cat Parts

That’s when Skyler’s luck changed for the better. He described the busted hose, and the mobile repair tech on the other end of the phone immediately knew which Cat replacement part to grab.

“It took him a few hours to get out there because it was in the middle of nowhere,” Skyler says. “He threw the hose on in a few minutes, dumped it full of coolant and I was more than happy to get out of Wamsutter, Wyoming.”

Skyler’s story is proof that even in the middle of nowhere — even in the middle of a winter storm — genuine Cat truck engine parts deliver. Want to hear more about how they helped him get home? Watch the video.