Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 281 i Owner Driver

“They buy me a new truck all the time” THE DISTINCTIVE red and green colour scheme of De Bruyn’s Transport is a regular sight along Tasmania’s highways. With more than 100 trucks in its fleet, De Bruyn’s handle a variety of facets of road transport in the apple isle. The company prides itself on promoting a safe and healthy work environment. At last year’s Castrol Vecton Awards dinner in Melbourne, its transport maintenance manager Damien Allison was announced as the 2015 winner of the Craig Roseneder Award for Technical and Maintenance Excellence in the workshop. It’s no surprise that De Bruyn’s drivers are in it for the long haul, as Owner//Driver discovered when it caught up with Rodney Vos and John Astell at the Epping Forest Caltex Roadhouse, just south…

LATE IN 2011, an invitation arrived to travel to Port Augusta to drive a couple of Macks up a stretch of the Stuart Highway. One was a Super-Liner pulling roadtrain doubles, the other a Titan towing triples. It took a little while to soak into the brain box, but it was soon clear that this was no ordinary test drive, and definitely a big deal for Mack. The good folk from the kennel were, in fact, providing a first crack at their latest big bangers, powered by the newly available 16-litre MP10 engine. As Mack was quick to mention, it now had the world’s most powerful conventional production truck and, as sales stats would soon enough confirm, this event would mark the creation of an entirely new chapter for the…

THIS SEPTEMBER will see the first induction to the Deniliquin and District Transport Industry Wall of Fame, which will be held on September 9, on the eve of the Deniliquin Truck Show and Industry Expo. An initiative of the show and expo committee, the Wall of Fame will honour people in the industry in the Southern Riverina region – Deniliquin, Finley, Berrigan, Barooga, Barham, Tocumwal, Hay, Mathoura, Moama, Moulamein, Barham, Conargo and Jerilderie. The committee says the Wall of Fame is a way of honouring anyone who has made a difference, contribution or had an impact on the local trucking industry. Posthumous award nominations are also welcome. All nominations that meet the criteria will be judged by an independent judging panel and the 2016 inductee will be announced at a…

SCANIA BELIEVES it could have a commercially-available autonomous vehicle servicing the industrial area on the market within five years. The Swedish truck maker, which has already trialled self-driving mining trucks, concedes that while the opportunities in self-driving vehicles are vast, it sees mining, ports, and terminals as the most viable options for testing programs on the back of their controlled environment and economic potential. Scania senior engineer Tom Nyström says the restricted environments are tailored for early trials. “We chose industrial applications as our first business area because they have a great economic potential, it’s legally possible to operate self-driving vehicles, and the environment is relatively controlled,” Nyström says. “Still, it’s in no way a trivial thing to operate heavy self-driving machines anywhere. They obviously need to be safe, and…

FREIGHTLINER has introduced what is says is Australia’s best warranty on any American truck. The extended warranty covers the Argosy cab-over and Coronado 114 conventional truck for four years or 800,000km. However, Freightliner says the extended warranty is not a short term offer, and will be made available for new customers until December 31, 2016. “Freightliner is committed to supporting our customers and their businesses,” Freightliner Australia director Stephen Downes says. “Offering Australia’s best warranty on any American truck is a good example of that commitment.” All Freightliner trucks are covered by a standard one year/unlimited kilometre warranty, while the extended warranty has been introduced for the most popular models in the range, the Argosy and Coronado 114. According to Freightliner, there are two parts to the extended warranty program.…

ZF SERVICES Australia says it is gaining traction in the concrete mixer drive market with its Ecomix II transmission. ZF says the new transmission is up to 50 per cent smaller and 24 per cent lighter in comparison to previous units. The Ecomix II claimed to provide quieter running (up to 10dB lower) and improved ride comfort due to mechanical decoupling of the drum and vehicle, while allowing for installation angles of up to 20 degrees, irrespective of the size and filling of the mixer drum. Available in three sizes — CML 10, CML 12 and CML 16 — the range caters for drum capacities from eight up to 16 cubic metres, with a maximum output torque of up to 90,000Nm. ZF says maintenance is simplified with lifetime oil filling,…

THE BRIDGESTONE Bandag Highway Guardian award has been presented to Victorian truck driver Matthew Mitchell for his efforts to comfort a fatally wounded motorist after a car crash in Pakenham. Awarded at the 2016 International Truck, Trailer and Equipment Show in May, the commendation highlights professional truck drivers who go above and beyond the call of duty in the name of community service during their working day. For Mitchell, the incident came earlier this year at the scene of a two-vehicle crash, where he went from vehicle to vehicle to check on the occupants. Being one of the first people to the accident, he discovered one of the drivers was slumped over the steering wheel. “I couldn’t get the door to open, so I reached in and wound the window…

“Very few children are afraid of traffi c” AS WE all know, garbage trucks are often out and about at the same time as children heading to school in the morning. So, who better to help launch a child pedestrian safety campaign than a waste management company? Toxfree is also a major customer of Volvo Trucks, so the national operator was the ideal partner to help launch the Australian version of Volvo’s global effort. Trucking companies and their drivers everywhere are asked to become involved in the ‘Stop, Look, Wave’ campaign targeted at young schoolkids. Volvo says a staggering 260,000 children are expected to be killed on the world’s roads this year, with 10 million injured. Volvo Group Australia points to an expected boom in the number of trucks on…

BRETT BARNDON pulls into the BP Kewdale Truck Stop in Perth’s eastern suburbs for a snooze before heading north to Mt Magnet, a run of some 560km with a load of bulk oil for the power house there. Brett drives a 2015 model Kenworth K200 for Geraldton Fuels, one of 24 trucks in the fleet. “It’s a good little trip up to Mt. Magnet, a short run,” Brett smiles. He explains that the trucks have set runs, but the drivers go “here, there and everywhere”. “One day you can be going to Carnarvon and the next day you’re down in Perth, the next in Hedland; the variety is the best part of this job.” As well as Mt Magnet, Carnarvon and the head office, Geraldton Fuels has depots in Port…

“WE HAVE a waiting list of over 500 women,” Heather Jones states. “Women actually want to drive trucks.” Well known in Western Australia as the owner-operator of Success Transport, two years ago Heather co-founded the Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls in Karratha, a project aimed at promoting a career pathway for women, and young people in general, to enter the road transport industry. Heather’s efforts were recognised last year when she received the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Trucking Industry during the Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA) 25th Anniversary Gala Dinner in Hobart. Volvo Group Australia (VGA) president Peter Voorhoeve, who attended the dinner, presented Heather with the award. He came away impressed with the Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls’ enterprise. “It’s such a beautiful and a fantastic initiative that she…

IT’S HARD to know whether it’s contentment or confidence. Maybe a mix of both. Whatever, it’s easy to form the impression that Peter Voorhoeve’s head is in a particularly good space these days. Sure, I don’t work for him and therefore don’t know the attitudes and complexities that drive his daily demeanour. He is, after all, a corporate businessman, and there’s little doubt that beyond the quick smile and likeable character lurks an entirely pragmatic and fiercely focused individual. Still, at a recent meeting in Sydney, the Volvo Group Australia (VGA) president and chief executive officer certainly seemed satisfied with life in general and business in particular. In fact, the only disappointment even partially evident during an hour-long discussion was the upcoming departure of VGA’s dynamic marketing and communications vice-president,…

CLIMBING INTO Terry Green’s 1987 112M Scania is like stepping back in time. The 30-year-old truck’s interior has barely changed since it left the factory, but a smart phone and Bluetooth have brought a touch of the 21st century into the cab. Terry has also installed a digital radio. He uses it to play old classics from the 1980s. Some of these songs were in the charts back when the truck’s original radio only picked up AM frequencies. “They don’t make music like they used to,” says Terry, who has travelled 1.5 million kilometres in the Scania since he bought it with 100,000km on the clock in 1988. Back in 1991 — the same year he made his last repayment — Terry installed a Scania air seat. “I think that’s…

PACCAR AUSTRALIA has announced the delivery of its 4000th DAF vehicle since it began importing DAFs into Australia in 1998, following the parent company taking global ownership of DAF in 1996. It was owner-operator Steve Brown of S&J Brown who took delivery of the 4000th vehicle, receiving a phone call from Suttons Kenworth DAF Arncliffe to discover he was involved in a second milestone with Paccar. “It was a bit of a surprise, being the 4000th truck [as] I was also their first CF85 customer in 2002,” Brown says. When he started out in car transport in 2000, Brown owned a Ford Louisville, but he says he found it difficult getting in and out of car dealerships as they became tighter with more stock. To solve the problem he purchased…

Narva used a life-size mural of a Kenworth, along with a real bull bar, to showcase a selection of its truck-related lighting products at the recent International Truck, Trailer and Equipment Show in Melbourne. Included in the interactive display was a double pair of 7.0-inch Narva Trucklite LED headlamps, ‘Model 54’ front facing indicators, bull bar-mounted Ultima 225 50W HID driving lamps with LED position light, and a double row LED bar. Narva’s Victorian sales manager Dave Nichols said the striking display created a lot of interest among showgoers.…

Hooked to the Stralis test truck was the latest evolution of Freighter’s EziLiner curtain-sider, equipped with a number of innovative features progressively released over the last year or so. For the record, the demonstration trailer stood 4.3m tall, 13.73m long and, according to Freighter, had an estimated tare weight of 7871kg. Described as one of Freighter’s most successful developments over the past decade and winner of an Australian Design Award in 2008, EziLiner is protected by patents that make it a uniquely Freighter design for both trailer and rigid body configurations. As Freighter explains, EziLiner uses a pneumatically actuated arm that hooks to a high-tensile cable running through a series of arcs at the bottom of the curtain to automatically create vertical tension. In effect, it replaces the 22 buckles…

THE QUAD 4.5m AG Widener, Drake Trailer’s latest innovation, was specially designed for agricultural work and can carry 50-tonne payloads with ease across a variable width of 2.5m to 4.5m. Drake says this is made possible through the company’s own hi-tensile beams and fabricated cross members, all designed and made in Australia. Rounding out the massive customisable package is the Drake hydraulic suspension system, which is aimed at optimising stability. Drake Trailers, has been plying its trade for around 50 years, says it backs its products with a proven support system and readily available spare parts. This release of the Drake 4.5m Ag Widener follows the company’s recent acquisition of O’Phee Trailers, enabling it to offer both agricultural and construction equipment.…

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR and industry expert Kim Hassall says under the safe rates regime, owner-drivers would have ended up restricting their profit margins due to equity and vehicle financing techniques playing key roles in their success. Hassall explains a majority of owner-drivers acquire their vehicles through the second hand market and not through financial leases. He shares the example of a group of owner-drivers who were able to use equity to their advantage while staying competitive in the market. The group comprised around 40 owner-drivers, who worked for a medium-to-large Melbourne-based road transport company during peak and special periods, and were able to almost entirely dictate the rules of their runs. Aged between 40 and 65, many of these owner-drivers had been working in the industry for 20 to 30 years.…

TRANSPORT WORKERS’ Union (TWU) members, truck drivers, and other transport workers blocked traffic on the York and King Streets intersection in Sydney last month in a show of protest against the termination of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT’s) minimum rates order. Protestors blocked the streets holding white crosses and white boots in memory of those killed in truck crashes in April, The group demanded the federal government reinstate the Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order 2016 (RSRO) to help combat road safety issues in the transport industry. “The evidence from Safe Work Australia clearly shows the pressure drivers are under: one in three transport employers say their workers break safety rules to get the job done,” TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon says. “Malcolm Turnbull needs no more…

THE ROAD Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT’s) minimum rates order to regulate non-directional driver rates — backloads — would have caused major problems, industry economist and academic Kim Hassall says. Demand and supply across a network calls for a need of spot rates, particularly for the lower demand backhauls. “In many circumstances, backhauls are essentially repositioning trips to get the truck back to a particular town or city in order to undertake another trip in the next day or so,” Hassall says. “This is particularly true with the aviation industry, who will regularly offer massive discounts in order to reposition their planes. “The trucking industry is not dissimilar. Sometimes backhauls will be undertaken for a fuel-only cost plus a margin and this might be even less than a per hour labour…

Mel Murphy, born in Western Australia’s north, says trucks were her mind as a schoolkid. She’d grown up around them, plus her mother had driven trucks. Before she began driving, however, Mel worked in hospitality and day care, relocating to Sydney for five years. Moving back to WA and basing herself in Perth, she’d indirectly heard about a female company owner who was encouraging women to drive trucks. That woman was Heather Jones. “I didn’t think much of it,” Mel says. However, she eventually went for her heavy rigid licence. “The very next day Heather gave me a job,” Mel recalls. “I had a little eight-wheeler tipper truck. It didn’t do more than 80km/h, and used to cart asphalt all around town. “I’ve worked with Heather off and on for…

ALTHOUGH THE Sterling brand is fast becoming part of truck history, Graeme Witnish’s 2008 model looks as good as the day it first hit the road. Graeme, based in Donnybrook, Western Australia, is the Sterling’s second owner, having had it for close on four years. First owned by fuel haulage specialists Maktrans in Toowoomba, it has now clocked up more than 1.3 million kilometres. Graeme says Maktrans had around “seven or eight” Sterlings. “They look after their gear and this one has the 54-inch sleeper, and a 14 litre Detroit under the bonnet set at 550hp,” he says. Graeme rates the Sterling’s sleeper among the truck’s good points. “It’s air-conditioned, and there’s nothing wrong with the bed. The struggle is getting out of it,” he grins. It’s a long way…

As Hino Australia celebrates 10 years since introducing the 300 Series Hybrid, the City of Darwin has renewed its trust in hybrid technology by training operations staff at its Winnellie headquarters. Council workers were taken through a diagnostics and product familiarisation course focused on the Hino Hybrid battery unit that was conducted by Hino Australia’s fleet training manager Sergio Bonvini. City of Darwin’s fleet manager Peter Newcombe says hybrid trucks are becoming commonplace in its fleet. “It’s getting harder to compare the Hybrid versus diesel performance in our fleet because we’re running out of diesel trucks to compare them to,” Newcombe says. City of Darwin was the first council in Australia to introduce Hino Hybrid trucks to its fleet back in 2007. “We’ve seen a 15.84 per cent economy advantage…

IT’S ALWAYS good to get a pat on the back from the boss. And that’s apparently what Volvo Group Australia executives have enjoyed, courtesy of new global Volvo Group chief Martin Lundstedt. And why not? The Volvo, Mack and UD brands between them last year secured over a quarter of the Australian heavy duty truck market. Their share of 26 per cent in 2015 was up on nearly 25 per cent in 2014. It makes them the top-selling supplier of heavy duty (HD) trucks in this country. The Volvo cab-over brand achieved a whisker under 15 per cent share of the heavy duty market, with stablemate Mack at nine per cent, and Japanese sibling UD two per cent. Paccar (Kenworth and DAF) came in at second place as a truck…

THE FREIGHTLINER Argosy has loomed large in my professional driving past. Over the years, I’ve intermittently driven various incarnations of the cab-over contender, from early Cat and Cummins powered models to later Detroit models. I’ve delighted in its manoeuvrability when backing a double, and I’ve both cursed and praised the swing out step. Like many who have spent more than a little bit of time behind the wheel of the Argosy, I’m more than aware of the cab-over’s niggles and foibles. They squeak, they rattle and sometimes things fall off inside. The Argosy cab is quite spacious even in 90-inch guise; the 100- and 110-inch versions are an easy place to live for a working week. I just always wanted it to be … well … better. It has essentially…

THE FIRST all-electric truck fleet test in Germany started last month, with Fuso working with the Municipality of Stuttgart and logistics company Hermes, who are running five electric Canter E-Cell trucks. The six-tonne trucks will undergone a rigorous 12 month trial. Two have been fitted with hydraulic tipper bodies and will be used for road construction and landscaping, while the other two run box bodies and will be used for waste bin transport and furniture delivery. Hermes will also carry out parcel delivery with one E-Cell test truck in Stuttgart. An important test partner of Mercedes-Benz since as far back as the 1990s in the area of alternative commercial vehicle technology, Hermes has more recently tested the electric Vito E-Cell on parcel delivery routes in Berlin and Hamburg. It aims…