American dream alive at mobile repair business Diesel Integrated Solutions

Pedro Lara had spent most of his life just a few miles away from San Diego, where he was always wrenching on his own car as a teen and dreaming of owning a business. But he was born on the other side of the border—in Tijuana, Mexico. By 2019, drug cartels tightened their grip on the city and opportunities were becoming more scarce for honest workers like Pedro, who worked his way up from a local diesel school to a Cummins distributor.

“Growing up in Tijuana was a little harsh,” Pedro recalled. “What is most famous about Tijuana is it’s not a place where you want to raise your children. We wanted the kids to have a more stable life.”

So in 2019, Pedro; his wife, Stephanie; and their three children, who are now 16, 14, and 11; packed up and went in search of one. Both Stephanie and the couple’s children are all U.S. natives, but even once they’d arrived in a permanent home on U.S. soil, life was not easy. Stephanie was laid off a month after their arrival in the states, and at the time, Pedro’s work permit hadn’t arrived yet. This left the family to make money any way they could.

“We started selling burritos; we were selling cupcakes,” Stephanie recalled. “Pedro was donating blood twice a week, just so we could get some money to pay the rent.”

In January 2020, Pedro’s work permit finally arrived—just in time for COVID to hit, making the job market a battlefield once again. It was four months before Pedro was able to land a job with Road King Diesel, a 24-hour mobile truck and trailer repair and heavy-duty towing business, and at last, the Laras were able to experience some stability in their new home.

Pedro worked his way up and learned everything he could about the American trucking industry. In the meantime, the Laras had another child and continued to save up for the business. Finally, in January 2022, Stephanie took the leap to establish the couple’s LLC, register their company, and get their employer identification number.

Pedro officially left Road King Diesel in March. Then the couple got to work making their business, Diesel Integrated Solutions, based in Spring Valley, California, a reality. And they did it without any loans, only the money they had saved over the course of two years, which came out to about $30,000.

“It was tough because we didn't have any contracts,” Stephanie said, who handles Diesel Integrated Solutions’ insurance and legal work, dispatch, customer relations, HR, and payroll. “Nobody knew who we were.”

Then, one of Pedro’s former customers from his days working for Road Diesel King reached out.

“The manager of the site, she really liked Pedro and the way he works and his honesty,” Stephanie stated. “She said ‘Well, I'm actually looking for a new vendor. Would you be interested in taking this account?’”

The account in question was a former United Parcel Service operation called TForce Freight. This became the Laras' first customer and quickly filled Pedro and Stephanie’s days. Pedro would work with TForce to go through their driver vehicle inspection reports and driver complaints, figure out what vehicle work needed to be done, and then submit it to management for approval. Upon approval, they would then schedule Pedro’s repair days.

“We're keeping them on the road every morning and trying to push as much equipment that we can,” Pedro explained. This included emergency breakdown services, tire repair, DOT inspections, and oil and fuel filter changes as needed. And after six months of relying on their savings for their operations, Diesel Integrated Solutions received their first paycheck.

Now, after three years, the business has only grown, working with fleets including Amerit Fleet, Ferguson, and Penske. The mobile repair business handles everything from axle and drivetrain repair to all things aftertreatment. They even repair other mobile trucks.

And they do so with flying colors, as the business has a perfect five stars on Google reviews.

One reviewer, Matt Humlick, wrote: "Pedro is a great mechanic. He is honest, fast, and very thorough. Mechanics like him are hard to find. Now if the truck would only break down in his area.... life wouldn't be so bad having to fix the truck."

Another noted how he would respond to calls at 2 a.m. and still charge fair prices. The recurring theme in all is that Pedro is honest, professional, and most importantly, skilled at what he does.

The hard work has helped the business grow, and the Lara family has grown as well. The couple welcomed a new baby earlier this year.

“We never imagined that [the business] was going to get this big this soon,” Stephanie said. “It is our life now.”

For Lara, his dream has become a calling that shows his kids that hard work can bring them a better life.

“We’d like our kids to know what it is to earn a good living and do things the right way,” Pedro explained. “In the United States of America, you can do as much as you can, or as much as you want, and you'll have a better advantage over doing that in our country.”