Make the most of what you've got... and then pile on a little more
My neighbor in Guayaquil owns and drives a Ford F150.
He’s a plastic surgeon.
This iconic contractor truck in the USA is simply a high status symbol for wealthy Ecuadorians, who can barely maneuver the monster through densely disorganized city traffic better suited to the tiniest of cars and motorcycles—which is what contractors use.
I’ve never actually seen tools or even garden supplies in the truck bed of an F150 in Guayaquil. Costing nearly $100,000 nobody in their right mind would put such a luxury to work.
My plumber, who gets his hands dirty, rides the bus. He will never own a pickup truck. Painters and electricians with transportation generally ride on a motorcycle with tool boxes and a ladder rack.
Here’s a handful of snapshots of local contractors getting tools and materials to the jobsite.
Unloading roofing materials from a mule:
— Fernando Pagés Ruiz is ProTradeCraft's Latin America Editor. He is currently building a business in Ecuador and a house in Mexico. Formerly, he was a builder in the Great Plains and mountain states. He is author of Building an Affordable House and Affordable Remodel (Taunton Press).
