NORTHFIELD, Minnesota — If you've ever had a truck that feels like a part of the family, then a father and son from Northfield have a story that's right up your alley.
"It was pretty emotional," said Dave Parrott. "Like a piece of me that came back."
Dave Parrott is talking about the moment back in January, when he was reunited with his beloved 1998 Chevy Silverado, after selling it more than a decade ago.
The reunion, which brought him to tears, was captured on camera, posted to Facebook and all made possible thanks to his son Dustin Parrott.
Months later, the father and son are working to get it back to its original glory.
"We're just getting reacquainted again," Dave Parrott said.
The fact that they two are working side-by-side, says a lot about how much the truck means to both of them.
"We haven't worked together in years," Dave said. "When you get two people who are almost exactly alike, you don't get along very well."
Luckily the super-sized Silverado, nicknamed Big Red, has plenty of room for both of their egos.
Dave Parrott: "It's the only truck I ever brought brand new off the lot," Dave Parrott said. "I called up Grossman Chevrolet back then and said, 'I want a Chevy one ton, single rear wheel four door long box, and they're like..."
Dustin Parrott: "Why..." (Laughing)
Dave Parrott: "(Laughing) They're like, we've got your truck. Ain't nobody else looking for something like that, come on up."
For the next 15 years, Big Red pulled the family camper, pulled race cars, and pulled the family closer.
Dave Parrott: "It was a memory-making truck."
Dustin Parrott: "It was a lot of bonding I guess."
And if you're wondering how that bond between men and machine was broken, look no further than Dave's wife, and Dustin's mom, Dawn Parrott.
"I am the villain of the story," she said, with a laugh.
Dave's wife said the day came when Big Red, just wasn't quite big enough.
Dawn Parrott: "We had a bigger RV so we bought a bigger truck. A family doesn't need two one tons, so I said, one has to go. I made him sell this one."
Dave Parrott: "At the time it was more a financial thing than anything else, but I'm not a financial wizard. If she says it has to go, I stomp my feet and flop around on the floor like a crappie and go, 'Okay.'"
Little did they know, Dusty never really let go. He spent the next 10 years asking around and searching the internet to find out where the truck might be. Then, in December, a friend helped him track down the current owner on Facebook.
"Once I opened the message I'm like, that's definitely my dad's," he said.
So he coordinated a trip four hours north and even offered up one of his favorite trucks, a self-customized Chevy Tahoe, up for trade or sale to make it happen.
Dustin Parrott: "People were like, 'Dude, you're crazy man.' I'm like, I need this. I can find another Tahoe, I need to get this truck back. Whatever it takes."
Dave Parrott: "The story of him putting up one of his Tahoe's for sale. I've never heard that side of the story before. You know, that would be like him selling his dog. I knew he had a big heart but I didn't think he had one that big."
Not everyone may think of a truck as family, but this was a reunion nobody could deny.
"It's good now," Dawn Parrott said. "We're in a better situation than we were back then and he can keep it... for a while."