I have been part of a bakkie (pickup truck or utility vehicle) family for most of my 60 years in good old sunny — and often dusty — South Africa.
First Recollections
Thinking back, my first memories of a bakkie are those spent on the back holding on to the cattle rails (“skaapkraaltjie”) while enjoying the wind in my face along with an over excited dog. As the children of a fruit farmer, we were often bundled into the canopy of our Datsun bakkies. The most harrowing of them all: the yearly Easter trek from Buffeljachtsrivier to Gouritzmond.
I still cannot tell which was the worst: the trans induced by the exhaust fumes or the dust from the dirt road between Albertinia and Gouritzmond, which transformed us into blondes with invisible eyelashes!
I also recall the first bakkie I owned, a Ford Bantam that was used as a commuter and weekend builder vehicle. The failure to keep stones and other debris out of the gap at the tailgate irritated me and it soon required respraying to prevent rust.
An Idea started to grow
My subsequent bakkie, an Isuzu that I used as a contractor and builder, did not fare any better. It was particularly good at sucking up every single dust particle possible, leaving all the electric tools and furniture with an evenly distributed layer of dust.
Personally, I view a problem as an opportunity, and this got me thinking: “How can I solve this problem?”
The quiet period during Covid, allowed me some free time to really focus and pursue the development of a practical solution.
And, as they say, the rest is History!