If there were an Olympic event for hauling ridiculous car parts across a junkyard, one man just broke the world record, and possibly a vertebra in the process. For $75 flat, he strapped an entire steel truck bed to his back and marched toward the checkout like a warrior carrying a medieval shield designed by Detroit.
The Facebook Reel from Texas-based repair technician Thomas Bendon (@irontodiesel) doesn’t identify the automotive superhero who’s got the massive bed cinched to his torso as he takes full advantage of the "all you can carry" promise that’s the main attraction of pick-a-part events. Whether he succeeded in what looks like a Sisyphean feat is a mystery, but just attempting it feels worthy of applause.
"If this isn’t the most American thing I’ve seen in my entire life," Bendon observes in the clip, which has been viewed more than 4.3 million times. "Who else remembers going to the pick-and-pull Saturday morning to pick up an engine block with your stepdad? Kudos, sir."
Truck Bed or Giant Exosuit?
The visual alone makes the clip unforgettable.
Steel pickup beds are enormous structural assemblies made from stamped sheet metal, reinforcement ribs, welded mounting points, and boxed sidewalls. Depending on the generation, a full-size truck bed can weigh 250 to 400 pounds, according to OEM service documentation from manufacturers like Ford, GM, and Ram. They’re so bulky that they are often removed with an engine hoist, multiple helpers, or a forklift, not a homemade strap harness.
The man in the video does not attempt any of these recommended approaches. With pick-and-pull rules banning carts, dollies, dragging, or team lifting, he does the next-most-extreme thing: he straps the entire bed upright to his back and leans forward into a determined shuffle. The bed rises well above his head and extends far behind him, shifting heavily with each step. Even with its weight distributed across his torso, every movement requires a full-body counterbalance that would make a strength coach wince.
What makes the image so arresting is that a truck bed, unlike a plastic liner, is completely rigid. When it shifts, it shifts him, not the other way around.
Pick-n-Pull and similar self-service salvage yards around the country host "all-you-can-carry" days as customer appreciation promotions and inventory-clearing events. The concept is simple: pay a flat fee, often between $60 and $100, and whatever you can carry across a marked finish line without dropping it is yours. Junkyards such as Pick-n-Pull and U-Pull-&-Pay have advertised these events for years, and they’ve become something like an automotive folk sport.
Used auto parts remain a multi-billion-dollar industry, with LKQ Corporation reporting just shy of $14 billion in revenue from recycled and aftermarket components in 2023. For do-it-yourself mechanics, getting a part for a flat fee instead of paying market rates, such as hundreds of dollars or up to $2,000 for a truck bed, or thousands for engines and transmissions, can feel like winning the lottery.
The rules inevitably lead to creativity, improvisation, and occasionally feats that border on the ludicrous. Because carts, dollies, wagons, and team lifting are typically not allowed, participants often resort to seatbelt slings, makeshift harnesses, and sheer willpower to haul oversized parts out of the yard.
Humor in the Comments
Like many viral automotive clips, this one inspired a comment section that evolved into a full-blown block party. Some viewers applauded the man’s determination; others swapped stories of their own junkyard exploits, including carrying axles, transmissions, and even full engine blocks during similar events in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Several users joked that the man was destined to become a chiropractor after hauling a bed that weighed several times more than the average person’s gym. Others shared surprisingly wholesome memories, such as first dates spent wrenching in salvage yards, or early lessons in mechanical problem-solving passed down from parents and grandparents.
The leveling effect of junkyards was on full display: seasoned mechanics, hobbyists, first-timers, and chronic overachievers all found common ground in laughing at a moment of pure, unnecessary overcommitment.
The Physics of Carrying a Truck Bed
A truck bed is not just heavy; it is deeply awkward. With its mass distributed across long, rigid surfaces, it generates enormous leverage forces. Engineers would describe what the man is doing as operating with a catastrophically long moment arm, where every inch the bed hangs behind him multiplies the load on his spine and hips.
The bed’s shape increases the difficulty. Tall, wide, and aerodynamically primitive, it catches wind like a billboard and resists small course corrections. Because the man straps it tightly to his torso, he loses almost all ability to shift weight independently. Every misstep becomes a potential toppling event, and every wobbly counterbalance risks a fall.
What he’s attempting is not simply a test of strength. It is a test of leverage, endurance, and the kind of stubborn determination that often precedes a very expensive physical therapy bill.
The clip resonates for the same reason pick-a-part culture has endured for decades: it captures the spirit of a community defined by ingenuity, improvisation, and occasionally heroic levels of misplaced confidence. In an era when more and more automotive innovation happens in software rather than steel, moments like this tap into an older, grittier version of car culture where parts are heavy, tools are physical, and effort often matters as much as skill.
Whether the man completed the carry or collapsed halfway to the finish line doesn’t seem to matter. The attempt alone was enough to unite millions of viewers in laughter, nostalgia, and a kind of secondhand awe.
Motor1 reached out to Bendon via direct message and comment on the clip. We’ll update this if he responds.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motor1.com?
Take our 3 minute survey.- The Motor1.com Team