When your truck is your office, workshop and moving billboard, it makes your days better when you love the truck.
Garkane Energy Cooperative, Inc. serves all or parts of six counties in South-Central Utah and two counties in North-Central Arizona, a rural area. The Cooperative serves four national parks, two national monuments, a national recreation area, three national forests, and considerable BLM lands. We serve over 15,000 members across 16,000 square miles of service territory.
Eyes on a New Knuckle Boom Truck
As a service technician at Garkane Propane, Dustin Riddle was asked to pick out a truck. Having eyed a FISK truck for a long time, that’s what he chose – a brand new TX-1 with a backlit custom fender.
The knuckle crane on the TX-1 helps Riddle to complete more jobs with confidence. He can quickly use the remote to set out the outriggers, and can then maneuver the crane into really tight places. He likes that the crane sits in the middle of the truck to balance the weight. The center position of the crane lets Riddle work all the way around the truck, which helps him set and service tanks in any position from the truck. “The knuckle crane is the best I’ve ever had. Hands down I love the knuckle.”
Huge Service Area and Diverse Terrain
Garkane Propane is a branch of Garkane Energy, based in Hatch, Utah. With two service techs and five delivery drivers, they stay busy servicing an area from the north rim of the Grand Canyon up to Zion National Park and Capitol Reef National Park, over 16,000 square miles of territory.
As a service tech, Riddle spends his days setting tanks, running lines, fixing appliances and more. Garkane services the National Parks in his area, but also the commercial and residential areas. The diversity of service areas means Riddle has to be ready for anything, from servicing cabins in mountains to tourist-filled restaurants.
Storage to Keep Organized
Having plenty of storage options helps Riddle with his daily work. “On the passenger side on the bottom, I keep all of my regulators together. That’s a feature that I love.”
On the driver side, he uses his multiple shelves for gauges, leak check equipment, wrenches, spray cans, lubricants, etc. In the drawers with dividers, he keeps barb fittings, gauges, poly connection fittings and more. “My old truck was always a mess. I love the dividers in these boxes!”
With such an expansive service area, it’s a huge benefit to be able to carry more tanks. The 14- foot bed of the TX-1 offers enough space to safely haul two 1,000 gallon tanks. “What’s amazing is the bed of the truck. There is so much room on the back of the deck, and to be able to carry two 1,000 gallon tanks and not affect the boxes is amazing.”
“What’s amazing is the bed of the truck. There is so much room on the back of the deck, and to be able to carry two 1,000 gallon tanks is amazing.” – Dustin Riddle, Garkane Propane
Always Be Safe
Safety is another feature that Riddle finds important. When talking about the steps on the passenger side that go up to the bed, he says, “I use the step a lot, I love that. It’s easier on your body when you have steps to get in and out.”
Lighting for Efficiency
Lighting is important to Riddle when working in off-peak hours. “I love the LED lights on the inside. Those lights are amazing!” says Riddle of the internal LED box lights. He also has a light on the back of the trucks that they mounted a pole to be able to turn 360 degrees when working. Riddle added a light bar to the winch in front of the truck, which helps him work more efficiently, too.
Modifications for Better Organization
Riddle carries two sizes of poly on his truck, so he had a welder help him modify a poly holder to be larger and hold it all. They bought two poly holders, added a bracket to the top and bottom so it can hold both sizes. They also added an aluminum box on the bed to carry straps and hoses. These modifications gave Riddle more organization and productivity at the job site.
Riddle is on his 2nd Fisk truck and still can’t say enough positive things about it. His first truck is still in use by Garkane Propane as a backup truck. The other service technician also has a Fisk truck, but opted for the TX-2 stick boom.
Riddle gets a ton of compliments on the truck. People tell him “That is a sweet truck!” With the company logo on the door and a laser cut lit logo in the fender, Riddle is proud to drive his propane service truck, and even happier that it makes his work easier.
“When you have a truck that you love, it makes your job easier.” – Dustin Riddle, Garkane Propane
Download the Case Study Here:
Learn more about the TX-1 Features
- 14′ All aluminum bed
- Headache and side rack with various E-track placements
- Double and triple door storage compartments
- Easy-up staircase
- L.E.D. Lighting and adjustable spotlight
