Port St. Lucie man drives truck one million miles

PALM CITY — For most people, hitting 100,000 miles in a vehicle is a milestone. Double that — 200,000 — is quite a feat.

Few vehicles, survive to 300,000 or 400,000 miles.

Phil Marsella just hit 1 million miles in his 2006 Ford F-250 pickup.

That’s right, 1,000,000 miles. In four years.

Marsella, a Port St. Lucie resident who breeds and transports racing greyhounds for a living, turned the 1 million mile mark on his 2006 Ford F-250 pickup, and one of the true benefactors of the milestone — his mechanic — is throwing a party in Marsella’s honor Saturday.

"I’ve serviced the truck since day one, and we’re just going to have a customer appreciation day saying thanks for 1 million miles of service," said Buddy Hawkins, manager of Total Tire in Palm City.

That adds up to about $67,000 worth of oil changes and wrench-turning on Marsella’s white, four-wheel drive truck specially equipped with an air-conditioned dog hauler in place of a bed.

"It’s all these guys," Marsella said of Hawkins’ crew. "We came in here not long after I bought the truck. We lived in Palm City, and it was convenient. They get me in and out of here, and sometimes I just park it and throw the keys under the door. They’ve even put the dogs in the backroom while they work on it."

With his odometer spinning rapidly, Marsella could have circumnavigated the earth 4o times at the equator. Instead he has been crisscrossing Florida, barreling north to West Virginia and trekking west to Arkansas, transporting his canine cargo to dog tracks, adoption groups and veterinarians’ offices.

Before he mounted an external air conditioner on the truck, he would sometimes leave it running for "14 or 15 days straight to keep the dogs cool," he said.

Marsella and his wife, Heather, got into the greyhound business about five years ago, and after encountering logistical problems getting his pack to the track, he decided to begin hauling his own. Once the word got out, Marsella said his phone never stops ringing with calls for pickups or deliveries or just to ask where in the deep, dark night he is.

"I don’t listen to music in the truck," Marsella said. "I’m always on the phone. It keeps you awake."

Marsella has spun a number of air conditioner pumps, generators and "a couple of clutches" off his truck and replaced the gas-powered engine at 400,000 miles — with one from the salvage yard that had 100,000 miles on it.

Otherwise, either he or his two sons, 22-year-old Mike and 18-year-old Joe, who have recently taken over some of Dad’s driving duties, stop into the shop every week for the 7,000-mile, high-mileage oil change, and it’s back on the road.

Marsella said he has long since mastered the art of pacing himself and staying awake for hours on end or riding the clutch pedal in Interstate 4 traffic through Orlando.

"Keeping weight off and circulation in your legs are the hardest parts," he said.

The party will run from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday at Total Tire, 3050 S.W. Martin Highway in Palm City. Food and beverages will be provided by AutoZone, and Bridgestone/Firestone Tires will be on hand to present Marsella with new tires.

He only managed 144,000 miles on his last set.