If you’ve seen Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, you know that going on road trips for a certain goal is quite the adventure. Daniel and Betty Staab of Mondovi, Wisconsin had a better motive for their road trip than hamburgers though; they got a new truck and a horse trailer! The epic part of it all? They went from their home in Wisconsin to Arizona and put almost 4,000 miles on their new truck they picked up on the way from us!
Where are you from and how far away is that from Runde’s?
Mondovi, Wisconsin. It was exactly 205 miles to get to Runde’s from where we live. It took a bit more than 4 hours because we went down during a snowstorm.
Is the area you’re from known for anything?
Buffalo County, we have the biggest flag-tailed bucks in the country. Martin Trucking has their home base here as well.
What vehicle did you get and what are you going to use it for?
We got a 2009 3500 HD Crew Cab Dually. We got it to pull a horse trailer. We were actually on our way to Arizona to pick up the horse trailer.
You got the truck on the way to Arizona? That’s quite the trip for you guys…
Oh yeah it was. We bought it with 50,000 miles on it and now we are sitting at home with 54,000 miles on it.
How long did the trip take?
Six days. It was really nice except for the first two days that we drove through the winter storm.
Was Runde’s your first stop, then?
Yep. We went to Runde’s and traded our Ford ¾ ton, got the new 3500 and went on our way.
How did the truck treat you during the trip?
Oh, it worked perfectly. We actually saved about 3 miles per gallon compared to our smaller Ford truck. We even saved a couple of miles per gallon on our way home when it was pulling the trailer compared to the other truck when we used to pull trailers on it. The new truck pulled so well it was as if it wasn’t even there. It was pulling a big trailer, too, at 12,000 lbs.
How many horses do you have?
We had eight but we are down to 6. We use them for barrel races and trail riding.
How long have you lived in Mondovi?
We built this house in 2000. So we’ve been here for 13 years. My wife has lived here all her life though, and I’ve lived in Wisconsin all my life.
What are your past times and hobbies?
We have a little hobby farm that keeps me out of trouble as I’m retired.
How was your overall experience with Runde’s?
It was super I just wish you guys weren’t so far away!
How did you like your salesman, Jake Meyer?
He was great. Communication was fantastic; I just can’t say enough good things about the whole deal.
Have any kids?
Yep, they are all grown up and out of the house.
Do you remember your first date with your wife?
Oh geez, I’ve known her forever. We were in the army together but we didn’t start dating until we were at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. I was about 40 and she was 24 when we met.
Do you have any family traditions, trips or other unique things you and your wife or kids do together?
Besides horsing we also like to motorcycle. We love to travel. We go on cruises and we go to Mexico every year. Next year we are going to Alaska, this year we are going horseback riding in Missouri, Wyoming and Illinois. We’ve both been to Europe a couple of times.
I was going to ask you if you had any pets but I’m assuming you have quite a few on the farm…
We have 2 dogs, 3 cats and 6 horses.
Do you have a favorite restaurant?
We used to go to Famous Dave’s but I can’t eat some of their foods because I developed intolerance to wheat products. So that killed my beer consumption, I used to love enjoying various kinds of beer. A lot of restaurants now have gluten-free menu’s, like Olive Garden so we go there often.
We like to entertain here at home mostly though. We cook a lot of Mexican dishes and some German dishes.
Do you have a favorite movie?
Maybe Dances with Wolves.
What led you to Runde’s in the first place and to purchase the vehicle from us?
The availability was the thing that got me right away. This particular truck didn’t have many dealerships that had one in their inventory. Runde’s was the third farthest away from us as far as dealers that did have the truck I was looking for but the other two closer ones had more miles, weren’t as clean-looking and were more expensive.
I believe you guys were about $2,000 lower than the other dealerships. And to make things even better, they gave us what we wanted to get out of our truck in the trade. It was even a bigger surprise to learn that there was a goose hitch in the truck which really excited us because that meant we could just go straight from Runde’s to Arizona instead of going with our truck then stopping at Runde’s on our way home. It’s like my wife said: It’s like it was meant to be.
Would you recommend Runde’s to friends and family?
Oh yes, I already have.
That’s all the questions I had for you, Daniel, thank you for the great comments and enjoy your truck and trailer!
