Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 290 i Owner Driver

There were no shortage of Kenworths on show at Tooradin, including a T604 nicknamed ‘Lou’s nightmare’ owned by Dougie Reynolds and his wife Louise. “It’s a 2002 build with 1.4 million kilometres on the clock and a Detroit under the bonnet,” Dougie smiles. “We had it for three months and the Detroit let go; we rebuilt it and it let go again three months later. “So we put a new crate motor in it and it’s been good ever since then.” Dougie has been an owner-driver for 14 years, starting out with a Kenworth T600 before moving onto the T604 in 2006. He started out hauling steel out of Western Port Bay for a few years, then oversized loads of houses and school buildings. “It is a very nice truck…

Van Diemen Transport has been bringing its P Series Scania to Tooradin for the last five Tooradin events, this year winning the Best Scania award. Mark Van Diemen has driven the Scania since new, and he brought along his father Martin and son Bailey. “It works five-and-a-half days a week towing a 3-axle dog trailer,” Mark says, adding that it has clocked up 1.6 million kilometres. “When dad was driving, we had three trucks and then I cut back to two. Now we just have this one.” Mark’s first truck was a Road Commander but he says that Scanias are well suited to the job of doing local deliveries. However, the Van Diemens may have another truck to show off next year. “Bailey is a diesel mechanic and we have…

A nine-year-old boy drowned and another child and a man were taken to hospital in critical condition following a tragic incident at Tin Can Bay in Queensland on Sunday, February 12. The two boys were fighting against a current in deep water after they lost contact with their inflatable toy when 49-year-old truckie Adam Whitehouse swam out to help the pair. Graeme Spillman, who saw the ordeal from his nearby yacht, used his tinny to save Adam and one of the two boys, aged eight. He and other members of the public performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but the nine-year-old was declared dead at the scene. Graeme is also a truckie and touted Adam as a superhero, commending him for risking his life outside of the truck. The two Gympie-based…

Popular 2GB talkback host and NRL commentator Ray Hadley has put his face and voice behind the television and radio commercials for this year’s Brisbane Truck Show. Hadley has long been a supporter and advocate for the trucking industry, so was particularly pleased to be asked to promote the 50th anniversary event. The Ray Hadley Show, syndicated across metropolitan and regional radio networks, strongly promotes the well-being of truckies and other Australian industry. The commercials will hit screens and airwaves through April and May.…

“It’s much easier to get in and out of bed” RURAL HAULAGE Australia, operated by Glen and Susie Clyne, is a fairly modest-sized outfit. With its head office based in Naracoorte amid South Australia’s Limestone Coast region, the company has three trucks in its fleet – all Kenworths. It’s also where you’ll find Mick Thompson, the regular driver for the company’s 2012 Kenworth K200. A K104 and a K104b complete the trio of trucks. However, Mick reckons he’s got the best deal with the K200 being the newest in the fleet. “While the boss does drive, I’ve got the K200 and love it,” he says. Rural Haulage Australia started off with one truck in 2006. Its regular freight is hay, wool and general. However, it’s all farm related and, when…

FREIGHTLINER HAS celebrated its best performers at its annual Dealer Awards in Melbourne, with Daimler Trucks Perth taking out the 2016 Metropolitan Dealer of the Year award. Daimler Truck and Bus managing director Daniel Whitehead and Freightliner director Stephen Downes were on hand to present the awards, which included Mavin Truck Centre WHICH picked up the Rural Dealer of the Year award. The 2016 Freightliner Sales Person of the Year award was presented to Sean Edwards from Daimler Trucks, Perth, while the Freightliner Parts Manager of the Year award was presented to Jon Bartlett from Dandenong’s Whitehorse Truck Centre. Downes also presented the 2016 Freightliner Rookie of the Year award to Matt Morell from Daimler trucks Melbourne, Somerton, saluting his enthusiasm for growing strong customer relations.…

VOLVO GROUP AUSTRALIA (VGA) has announced VCV Brisbane and VCV Newcastle as the 2016 Dealers of the Year at VGA’s annual awards dinner on the Gold Coast. VCV Brisbane was awarded 2016 Metropolitan Dealer of the Year, which was accepted by dealer principal Joe White. Branch manager Scott Hughes accepted the award on behalf of VCV Newcastle, which claimed the title of 2016 Regional Dealer of the Year. Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Group Australia and Tom Conlon, vice president of retail operations presented both awards. “It’s no secret my mantra is ‘service, service, service’, and it is really humbling to see that both dealerships have fully adopted this philosophy,” Voorhoeve says.…

“If a truck can survive here, it can survive anywhere” IN ANOTHER Year or so, it’ll be 50 years since Volvo decided to establish a company-owned outpost in this far-off island of ours. Yet even with the advantages of history and hindsight, the reasons for such a fateful and ultimately fortunate decision may not be particularly apparent. Pragmatic and purposeful, the Swedes would’ve certainly known that a start-up operation in this challenging part of the world was fraught with hardship and little likelihood of big numbers anytime soon. Maybe not as brutal as today but, even back then, competition was tough and margins modest. Starting from scratch, the potential for pain stood significantly taller than the possibility of profit. Then again, Swedes are an industrious, persistent lot. Besides, it was…

Iveco has confirmed that, despite its North American origins, the new International ProStar line-up will have a distinct local flavour to meet Australia’s unique operating environment. International’s local engineering manager Adrian Wright says the ProStar project followed a comprehensive integrated product development process that began by working out the key requirements for the Australian market. “Obviously, one was RHD [right-hand drive] – fortunately the cab was designed from the outset to accommodate either LHD or RHD, so we had a solid place to start from, we also wanted a short bumper to back of cab for B-double applications, and a 15-litre 550hp engine,” Wright says. “The Cummins X15 was the obvious choice – it is the evolution of the ISXe5, an engine now well proven in Australian conditions.” Cummins has…

Following its unveiling in late September 2016 at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hannover, Germany, the first Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks featuring the Active Brake Assist 4 (ABA 4) safety assistance system with pedestrian detection and Sideguard Assist have been delivered to European customers this year. One of the first customers to put an Actros on the road with ABA 4, which also includes lane keeping assist, proximity control assist, attention assist and driver’s airbag is SiloNet, a company based in Beckum and Sulingen, two towns in north-west Germany. The business is using the Actros 1843 with silo semi-trailer to transport cement, raw materials for cement and pulverised lignite, primarily on a regional basis. These transport routes contain a high proportion of urban areas. Not only can the new ABA…

THE AUSTRALIAN Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) has applauded the “common-sense approach” of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) in developing the new national animal welfare notice. The updated National Livestock Welfare Work and Rest Exemption (Notice) 2017 (No.1) came into force on February 10 across NHVR’s participating states and territories including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory. The notice offers drivers of heavy vehicles carrying livestock with limited flexibility for the purpose of managing animal welfare requirements in unusual or unforeseen circumstances. Livestock drivers operating under the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme’s (NHVAS) Standard and Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) certification will have up to one hour additional driving time to deal with potential animal welfare threats. The notice can be used on…

EDEN LAYBOURNE and his nephew Jacob travelled over from Geelong in Kenworth T359. Eden says a friend who came to Tooradin last year was full of praise for the event, so he decided to make the trip. Eden’s father Glen owns Geelong Power Sweep, and Tooradin 2017 was the third truck show the T359 had entered. “This is a unique little truck; it’s the only one of its kind, certainly in Australia and perhaps even in America,” Eden says. “It’s the flagship of the fleet.” “We have blinged it up a bit with twin stacks. “Klos Brothers did some chrome work and we added lights. “I said to dad that if we were going to do it once, we are going to do it properly.” Eden picked up second place…

Justin Hambly, an expat New Zealander, brought along his pride and joy Western Star to Tooradin – one of three trucks in his fleet. Justin also owns earthmoving equipment for general excavations, landscaping, basement dig-outs and house foundations. “I love truck driving, and it’s nice having a good truck to show off,” he says. Justin says he can’t see the day where he’d sell the 'Star. Arriving in Australia four years ago, he first worked as a high-voltage linesman. However, he soon “got the bug”, brought on by his father Brent Hambly who now manages a New Zealand trucking company.…

IT’S OFFICIAL: trucking operators in Australia are paying more in fuel tax and registration than their trucks are costing governments for roads. State and federal transport ministers admit this and are acting to fix the situation. Fleet and truck owners are also forking out a small fortune for the toll roads their rigs drive on in the capital cities. Meanwhile, in contrast, some of the wealthiest companies in Australia are benefiting from billion-dollar transport infrastructure for free, or very little. Take the giant Westfield shopping centres corporation, which paid next to nothing towards a dedicated bus road in Brisbane that carries thousands of customers past its front door every day and cost a billion dollars to build. Under the concept of ‘value capture’, which is now being promoted by planning…

 THERE WAS a time when 200hp was something to brag about in a truck. It was also a time when sleeper cabs were a luxury in long-haul trucking, let alone a prime mover that only had one gear stick. As the old saying went: “If it’s got headlights, you don’t need a bunk.” “Why Ford thought that a small-block V8 used in a family car would be any good in a truck is beyond me” The International DCO isn’t exactly an iconic model. It doesn’t feature highly in the soot-stained annals of Aussie highway myth and folklore. For a start, the fully imported cab-over was only on the market for a couple of short years before the arrival of the more popular cab-over Transtar that replaced it. Yet for a…

THIS WHOLE automated transmission caper is really getting up my nose. I know it’s a bit late to be having this conversation, they’re here and they’re not going anywhere. But in all honesty, they really shit me to tears. And before you ask, I’ve driven a shitload of them and I still hate them, all of them. Truck magazines don’t help either. They’re full of pictures of drivers standing in front of their shiny new automated trucks smiling with gratitude and waxing lyrical about how much nicer they are to drive. Bullshit! Old mate probably hasn’t had a new truck for over a decade and is just happy that the bloody thing doesn’t have a stuffed driver’s seat and broken air-con. I’d be happy too. I get why the Euro…

TCTC Kenworth DAF Wodonga has been awarded the 2016 Kenworth Dealer of the Year for the sixth time. Open to Kenworth dealers across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, the award is judged on a points system across five main areas, including general dealership performance, truck sales, customer service, finance and parts support. Paccar Australia’s director sales and marketing, Brad May, congratulated the dealership’s co-owners – dealer principal Chris Dziedzic and sales manager Justin Brooks – at the Paccar Dealer Awards dinner at Sanctuary Cove in February. “The Kenworth Dealer of the Year award is not about who sells the most trucks, but which dealer provides the best overall performance for the customer,“ May says. Also on the night, Paccar presented the DAF Dealer of the Year award to…

WHILE AUTOMATED platooning is the cause of widespread debate, a more hands-on version is already underway in northern Europe and paying dividends. An example of how it can work was presented recently by Scania Transport Laboratory (STL) at its headquarters in Södertälje, Sweden, to a delegation of Australian journalists, along with then New South Wales freight minister Duncan Gay and his entourage. Gay, who was on a worldwide northern hemisphere tour of the US and Europe to gauge technological and regulatory developments in transport, heard that STL uses platooning to test on-board systems and save fuel. The concept made headlines in March and April 2016 during the European Truck Platooning Challenge, a demonstration by European manufacturers aimed at grabbing political attention on potential efficiency and productivity advances. Platooning generally is…

“We’re going to ask a lot more of our dealers, and if they don’t stand up, then we’ll do it with our own dealers” PRIOR TO A couple of laps around Brisbane’s Mt Cotton driver training centre a few months back at the launch of the 560hp (418kW) D38 engine, it had been a long time since I’d driven an MAN truck of any sort for any length of time. It was, I think, back in the days when MAN’s Australian operation was still under the direct control of head office in Munich, and that certainly wasn’t yesterday. Anyway, it’s not that I’ve declined any offers to steer a MAN in the interim. Quite simply, the opportunities just haven’t eventuated and, given the German maker’s historically modest and sometimes indifferent…

To be blunt, I wasn’t expecting much when the discussion with Mitch Peden turned to new product developments. After all, this was a Volvo executive I was talking to and, despite the initiatives and innovations of recent years, some things just aren’t open for public discussion. Consequently, I wasn’t surprised or disappointed at his smiling reply when asked what’s happening behind closed doors. “I’d love to tell you, mate, but that’s not for me to talk about. You know how it is.” Indeed I do! Still, not everything was off the agenda. Like, looking ahead, what will be the biggest driver of new developments? “The main game now is fuel efficiency and genuine return on investment,” he answered without hesitation. “To take a much more holistic view of what our…

Freightliner Racing has revealed a new-look Coronado prime mover to haul its Commodore Supercar to each race for the 2017 season. The Albury-based team has switched from black and red to a white and silver livery topped off with a striking new shade of red for the car driven by two-time race winner Tim Slade. It has also replaced its Freightliner Argosy cab-over prime mover with a Freightliner Coronado 114, a model with a set-forward front axle that can haul a 34-pallet B-double trailer set. The team transporter, nicknamed Stax, is driven by Paul Eddy, who clocks up around 45,000km a year behind the wheel towing a B-double trailer loaded with two cars and mass of spares and equipment. However, the 15-litre Detroit 6-cylinder turbo diesel, generating 560hp and 1850ft-lb…

MORE THAN 200 tonnes of hay and stock feed supplies, as well as $100,000 worth of fencing gear was delivered to fire-stricken Uarbry and Leadville farms in the upper Hunter region of New South Wales on February 26. In the wake of the Sir Ivan fires more than 150 volunteers and multiple trucking companies banded together to help out the farms. The day kicked off with the 55-vehicle-strong convoy, led by the Kingdon Ponds Rural Fire Service, taking off through the thankful streets of Scone. From Scone the volunteers dispersed, delivering hay to 13 farms in the Cassilis and Coolah regions, while fencing crews worked hard at eight properties along the decimated stretch of land between Uarbry and Leadville. Brad Smith, one of four event organisers, says the day was…

 THE TOORADIN Tractor Pull and Truck Show usually boasts about being the first trucking event of the calendar year. However in 2017 it had to share that title with the Koroit Truck Show in western Victoria, which was held on the same day. “I have occasionally swapped with another driver and his K200 and that is a completely different rig to drive” This year’s Tooradin Tractor Pull and Truck Show was held on Saturday, January 21, at its usual venue of the Rutter Reserve in Tooradin. The event has been running since 1998 and has grown markedly since then, helped by its fairly close proximity to Melbourne. As usual, there were plenty of standout trucks on show, but none better than Victorian Freight Specialists’ black Mercedes-Benz 2663. Chris Deeley brought…

One of the few Macks at the show was Redline Towing’s Super-Liner, driven by Steve Viney. Steve has been in the industry for 30 years, including 18 years doing interstate. He’s been with Redline for the past six months. Redline is based at Hastings, and the Super-Liner is the newest in the five-truck fleet. The Mack has a custom-built bull bar, lots of aluminium and stainless and around 140 LED lights. It has a 600hp engine and 12-speed automated ’90 towing a tri-axle float. Steve says it drives well, and is comfortable too with its 52-inch bunk and twin doors. “It definitely spins heads when I’m out driving,” Steve says. “The boss likes his gear and he told me off the other day because it was dirty, so I asked…

 Although there are a couple of UDs in the Brad Scott Excavation fleet, including a brand new one, the business’s flagship truck is a Kenworth K104, so it was a no-brainer to bring it along to Tooradin. “I don’t have my name on it but everyone knows my truck” Originally a logging truck from Tasmania, Brad Scott has owned the cab-over Kenworth for eight years. The Kenworth has clocked up 1.3 million kilometres, although it’s on its second engine. The Hendrickson six rod rear-end suspension has come in handy. “It is heavy but it suits me for what I do,” Brad says. “The 600hp is used to pull a tagalong tri-axle trailer on which I move my three excavators all over Victoria doing house blocks and that sort of thing.…

 THE HIPSTER foodie world of lentil tofu and kale burgers, biodynamic salad wraps and chia smoothies seems very far removed from the gritty chips, chicken salt and gravy world of trucking and transport. “It’s just easy to drive and easy to park where I need it to be” Speaking of which, what part of the chicken is chicken salt made out of, anyway?! But even the purveyors of tasty morsels need reliable commercial wheels to get them from A to B with their kitchens on their backs. So I thought I’d take a closer look at the burgeoning food truck trend and spend some time with a Melbourne-based food truck. I was hoping that there may even be some snack-related action along the way. And I didn’t have to grow…

THE BRISBANE Truck Show Awards will undergo a revamp in 2017 by showcasing the past two years’ best design, engineering and manufacturing achievements, influenced by a culture of innovation and safety. Presented by show organiser Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) with the support of Platinum Partner BP Australia, this year’s awards will be judged by a cohort of the country’s leading transport and equipment journalists and will highlight the industry’s latest product and service innovations. Australia’s heavy vehicle industry directly employs more than 36,000 people and manufactures, services and repairs some of the world’s most efficient, safe, innovative and technologically advanced vehicles, including global brands Volvo, Mack, Kenworth and Iveco. With nominations closing at the end of March, the judges will have a busy time assessing what could potentially be…

LASTING FRIENDSHIPS were formed among drivers who once subcontracted for Complete Auto Transit (CAT) and TNT Car Carrying. “We were very competitive because we were all owner-drivers,” Terry Wood of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales says. “But when push came to shove, we sort of stuck together a fair bit.” Terry and his wife Lila are organising a reunion at the Lawson Motor Inn, Wagga Wagga, on Saturday, September 30. They have already heard from people who are keen to travel from as far as far north Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia for the reunion. “I’m expecting anything from 60 to 80 people. We’re not actually sending invitations because we haven’t got phone numbers and addresses,” says Terry, who is grateful Owner//Driver agreed to help spread the word. He…

ELIO PALERMO and Tony Roussos operate separate businesses, but have almost identical rigs. Their silver 2016 Scania R730s both pull Trout River live-floor trailers. The owner-drivers specialise in asphalt carrying and sub-contract for Downer. When we spoke to them recently, their Scanias were travelling to new estates throughout Melbourne’s suburbs and regularly taking asphalt to the teams widening the Tullamarine Freeway. Elio says there is plenty of road construction underway in Melbourne’s suburbs at the moment, creating optimism in the industry. “It gives people a job and we’re all making money again,” he says, so he thought the time was right to update his equipment. Elio’s friend Tony influenced his decision to buy his first Scania. “He’s been with Scania for a few years now and he told me that…

BILL BARNETT, who drives a 1999 Kenworth T401 for Dandenong-based J. L. Transport Services, has called Australia home for close on 48 years. When Owner//Driver caught up with England-born Bill at the Brisbane suburb of Archerfield, he had arrived from MON Natural Food in Barooga, NSW with a tanker load of vinegar. The Kenworth has a Cat C12 with 430hp and, although the truck is 18 years old, he says it handles the work easily. The T401 has an 18-speed Roadranger and sits on Neway air bag suspension. “JL is buying new Argosies for their B-doubles, but I think I’ll have to be happy with a new trailer,” he smiles. Now aged 73, Bill has driven and seen most of Australia. However, he hasn’t always been behind the wheel of…

Andreá Pedersen is not only a truck driver for Scania Transport Laboratory (STL), she is also assistant traffic manager. On the day Owner//Driver called into STL in Södertälje, Sweden, Andreá was filling in for the traffic manager who had been called away for a meeting. Despite her father being a former truck driver, Andreá initially had little desire to take up the profession. However, her road to getting behind the wheel of a Scania was fast-tracked, an almost unheard of scenario for would-be Australian professional drivers. “My father used to work for Scania,” she says. “Everybody who lives in the area has parents who either work for Scania or AstraZeneca, a medical company. They are the two biggest companies in this city. So it was destined to be.” Andreá was…

THE National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has committed to providing much-needed funding for the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) Safety Truck, with the aim of raising awareness around truck safety with children. NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto announced the sponsorship of the Volvo ATA Safety Truck, powered by BP, protected by NTI program at Queensland’s Browns Plains State School on February 15. “We’re pleased to be able to support this program and bring the Safety Truck message to schools like Browns Plains to educate children on what trucks mean to them and how to safely behave around them,” he says. “At the NHVR we believe it is vital for the community to have a positive relationship with the heavy vehicle industry, because we need them and they need us. “We want the…

Dometic has announced the release of an improved version of the Waeco CFX unit, which now features WiFi technology. Dometic says this enables the user to control and monitor the temperature of the unit remotely via an app. Justine Schuller, head of marketing for Dometic Australia, says the new Waeco CFX unit will greatly enhance the user experience, namely for truck drivers, RV owners, boat owners and outdoor enthusiasts. “Whether you’d like to check the temperature of your fridge during a long 4WD trip, or if you’ve gotten in to bed after a long day of exploring only to realise you’ve forgotten to turn it off, you can simply control the unit from your smart device via the Dometic CFX app,” Schuller says. The CFX range also boasts a robust…

“The Yass blockade was not a union stitch up” “HELLO MEMBERS, this is your CEO of one of your favourite associations. “As you have no doubt had drummed into you by now, we are a peak industry body, here to represent our naive and gullible members with every ounce of contempt and underhanded propaganda that we can get our lips around to let you all remain fixated by our devious and illogical rhetoric. “We are constantly patting each other on the back for being so successful at what we do, which is a lot (but not much at the same time). “It’s pretty obvious to us that it isn’t obvious to you, our single-truck owner-drivers, that we are very good at keeping you guys right where the majors want you…