Pickup trucks dominate the roads in Western Canada. They’re tough, reliable, and can easily navigate B.C.’s rugged terrain.
But despite the number of pickups, Colin Dale’s truck is like no other.
His 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 is covered, from boot to hood, in decals of zombies and scenes from The Walking Dead, hence its name: The Dead Mobile.
“It gets a lot of attention,” said Dale. “It was meant to just be a tailgate, and it morphed into the rest.”
As he continued to work on the truck, it became more easily recognizable. In turn, people started approaching Dale about the pickup.
“I was down at Walmart one day,” said Dale. “This guy came up and he said to me, ‘Do you mind if my daughter takes pictures? She loves the truck.’ Everybody, from kids to pensioners, loves the truck.”
However, not everyone who sees the truck knows why Dale went to the lengths he did.
Dale started his zombie truck about three years ago after an injury that led to him developing complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
“It was after my injury, and I just thought well why not?” Dale said. “With my CRPS, I got anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and chronic pain. By doing the truck, it actually helped me deal with this stuff better.”
Through The Dead Mobile, people stopped questioning why Dale’s arm is in a sling, and instead focused on what he was doing.
Dale, through the support of sponsors, takes The Dead Mobile to charities and zombie walks free of charge.
“A lot of people said, ‘Well, why don’t you charge?’ I (just) love seeing people appreciate what I’m doing. If it makes one person’s day, or if it makes 10 peoples’ day, to me that’s worth it,” he said.
“If I can get it out there to more charities, if it helps them raise money for what they’re doing, then that’s a big win.”
To promote the truck, Dale created a Facebook page for The Dead Mobile.
“Within hours, I had 6,000 people going, ‘I’d love it for you to bring it to where I live,’” he said.
As Dale doesn’t charge for people to show The Dead Mobile, to be able to afford to travel across Canada, he is in need of sponsors.
“If I can get it all nice and finished and be able to take it round Canada and across the border, to me that would make it worthwhile.
“To me, that’s what it’s all about. It’s seeing other people’s enjoyment.”
Dale wants to take The Dead Mobile to the San Diego Comic-con — one of the biggest in the world — to have people from The Walking Dead sign it.
“That would be the icing on the cake,” he said.
But it’s more than just an attention-grabbing pickup truck.
“It shows that, if you’ve got depression, you can still do things. It’s given me a new way of looking at things. If people know that I’ve got depression but I’m still doing that, that might inspire somebody.
“It doesn’t make the depression or the anxiety go away, but it helps.”
For more information about The Dead Mobile, contact Dale directly at knight20001@live.ca, or visit his Facebook page.