Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 303 i Owner Driver

ISUZU AUSTRALIA director and COO Phil Taylor has renewed calls for stakeholders to consider employment and the future prosperity of the transport and logistics sector after conducting an in-depth review of the latest Census employment data. For Taylor, the figures within the data addressing transport and logistics employment highlight the industry’s current workforce is ageing and not growing in line with the rising demand for freight. “The release of more detailed Census data in October last year provides even more compelling insights into the transport and logistics sector, and the picture it paints is cause for reflection,” he says. “In the 2001 Census, the average age of ‘transport and storage’ workers was 35 to 44 years. In last year’s Census, the average ‘transport, postal and warehousing’ employee had aged to…

>> Quick Search To find these products online go to OwnerDriver.com.au/Search and enter the TA or DIY code show below in the keyword search panel. 2008 MACK GRANITE 6x4 day cab prime mover, 13 litre Mack mp8 egr engine @ 465hp. 18 spd road ranger eaton rtlo-18918b transmission. Meritor rt46-160gp diffs @ 4.56 ratio. 90 tonne rated, polished bullbar, low 239,089 kms. 08 6166 8005 $95,000 2016 MACK GRANITE Still under new factory warranty. Auto AT2612. 435hp, quick release air operated t/table. Bendix Safety pack,showing 51,000km. Fitted with ADCO chassis tipper, auto waterproof cover. Unit has ABS/EBS front & rear lift-axles. 02 4647 1588 $285,000 2004 MACK METRO-LINER 8.3ltr cummins,9 speed R/ ranger,hendrickson air bag suspenion new tipper & hydralics, hardox 07 3085 2956 $71,500 2014 MACK METRO-LINER Automatic, 7…

“We’ve been coming to the Penrith Working Truck Show for 20 years” BACK FOR its 31st year and more popular than ever, the Penrith Working Truck Show attracted a crowd close to 20,000 from around the country and more than 250 shiny trucks were parked up looking their best. Kids went nuts with unlimited rides on the 22 amusements, while family fun on offer included street performers, food trucks and a stellar country music line-up … that’s if you could take your eyes off the trucks on show! Four-time ARIA-award winning country music icon Troy Cassar-Daley took to the stage at 3pm, drawing a large crowd of devoted fans and amping up patrons before the trophy presentation began. Among the dozens of coveted awards on offer, there was one particularly…

“Ensuring the availability of parts and service to customers is the number one thing we need to do in the parts business” PACCAR Parts has officially opened a second parts distribution centre (PDC) in the Brisbane logistics hub of Berrinba, south-east of Brisbane, in a move to reduce delivery times to dealers and boost parts availability to customers in its retail network. The purpose-built facility features just over 6,000 square metres of warehouse space. The PDC, which shipped its first orders in December, services locations throughout Queensland and northern New South Wales. By year’s end it will supply locations in the Northern Territory and regional NSW. The Brisbane PDC will enable PACCAR Parts to offer next day delivery to 74 per cent of its dealers, which represents an increase of…

“Customers can … calculate the cost of an upcoming service interval” HINO CUSTOMERS will pay less over the life of their vehicle with the announcement in March that Hino Australia is offering a capped-price service program for all of its trucks compliant with Euro 5 emission regulations. “We continue to extend this program because we see the overall cost of ownership, including capped-price service, as an important part of our customers’ decision-making process,” general manager product support Greg Bleasel says. “Hino Australia is proud to be the first and only truck manufacturer in Australia to offer capped price service to its customers. “Extending the program provides new and existing customers with the ability to budget ahead, reduce overall operating costs and peace of mind.” Hino says its capped-price service is…

AS A CARD-CARRYING All Blacks supporter I can tend to be a little one sided when it comes to certain things. I’ll defend our claims of being the ‘pie-eating capital of the world’. I’ll allow the Aussies to claim Russell Crowe but we get Crowded House. But when Australians poke fun of town names like Waipu, Hooker Valley and Shag point, I point out the great Australian towns of Nowhere Else, Humpybong and Mount Buggery. Checkmate! When it comes to the transport industry, though, we are those neighbours you catch yourself peering over the fence at, sometimes in that ‘mate, she’s in the pool again’ way and often in the ‘what the hell is he building now’ raising the eyebrow’s way. The reason for that is, although New Zealand may…

LAST YEAR, Mercedes-Benz and Scania together delivered 1816 units to Australia’s heavy-duty truck market. By comparison, Volvo alone left both in its wake with a commanding 1845 trucks, easily maintaining the Swedish giant’s mantle as Australia’s leading supplier of cab-overs to the heavy-duty market. Nonetheless, both Mercedes-Benz and ‘the other Swede’ are rightly pleased with their respective results in 2017. And fair enough! For Scania, it was a record year, cracking the 1000-unit barrier (1004 to be exact) for the first time in its Australian history, in the process capping the steady growth that, over the past four or five years, has seen the brand emerge from mediocrity into a swathe of new operations. As for Mercedes-Benz, 2017 was the first year with the bulk of its entirely new model…

THE WRAPS ARE off one of the biggest trucking safety initiatives of recent times. The $6.5 million Advanced Safe Truck Concept (ASTC), an Australian Government Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Project, aims to reduce fatal truck crashes by developing new vehicle technologies. This is to be achieved by studying driver behaviour and better understanding the impact of driver fatigue and distraction in particular. The partnership is headed by Canberra company Seeing Machines and includes Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) and Ron Finemore Transport Services. Ron Finemore Transport (RFT), which employs more than 450 people and has more than 200 prime movers, will fit its fleet of trucks with the same driver-monitoring technology as part of the project’s Naturalistic Road Safety Study (NRSS). “By participating in this study, we are helping…

The 2018 Kyabram Mack Muster was held in conjunction with a Kyabram Vintage Engine & Machinery Restoration Group rally, so there was a wide range of exhibits and stalls to enjoy over the weekend. All brands of truck were welcome, and about 70 ‘Brand X’ attended, including Kenworths, Austins, Dodges, Mercedes, Fords, Internationals and Whites. Several members of the American Truck Historical Society staffed their popular merchandise van. Terry and Margaret Whelan of Swan Reach, Victoria, displayed their fully restored 1978 White Road Commander, which is a replica of a truck they owned 40 years ago. White lovers will take their trucks to Kyabram on March 16 and 17, 2019, for the White Truck Muster, which is held in Kyabram every two years. Visit the ‘White Truck Muster’ Facebook Page…

SEND YOUR LETTERS TO: greg.bush@bauertrader.com.au or fax: 07 3101 6619 Level 5, 451 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley, Qld 4006 We prefer letters by e-mail, but handwritten letters will be accorded the same opportunity to be published. Free legal labour? The Federal Circuit Court of Australia has recently released a decision on matters involving the loading and unloading of heavy vehicles. J&C Independent Contractors used the Road Transport (Long Distance) Award 2010 to allow them to escape from paying their drivers covered by this award for loading and unloading tasks. For 18 years the definitions for loading/unloading in the Long Distance Award have not changed, even though the award was revamped in 2010. The cases cited in this recent decision highlights the possibility that lawmakers do not understand how this…

“The trucks in England are all in e-logs; the truck just shuts down” LEE NORMAN drove trucks in England from the age of 21 but when he arrived in Australia he worked for a time in the Western Australian wheat belt. “I was a farm manager and really enjoyed it, but as the kids grew older we moved to Perth for their schooling,” he says. The family moved to the northern Perth suburb of Joondalup, where he jumped back into trucks. Lee drives for Varley Transport, which operates a 14-truck fleet running mainly Mack and Kenworths. Lee, however, is regularly behind the wheel of one of two of the company’s Volvos. “I got the first Volvo brand new and it went so well and they liked it so much that…

WE’VE ALL HAD that one time when we ended up in the car park beeping our keys because we couldn’t remember where the hell we parked the car, right? Well that’s not a problem Tony and Tracey Lake have ever endured as their Kenworth SAR will never blend into the background. On the odd chance it’s out of eyesight, all you need is the man behind the wheel, Tony ‘Thommo’ Thomas, to start her up and what you can’t see you will hear! Believe it or not, this stunning show rig was intended as a working truck when it was put into the Princess Transport stable. It had already more than paid its dues since it first rolled of the factory floor back in 1986. The Kenworth started its life…

OWNER//DRIVER originally caught up with Noel Taylor at the 2016 Alexandra Truck Show. Back then he was driving a Kenworth T609, but nowadays he’s behind the wheel of a Dean Jones Transport K108. The K108 was formerly owned by Holbrook-based Churchill Transport, and it’s one of eight ex-Churchill trucks that Dean Jones has owned at various stages. “Now he is buying new ones,” Noel says. “We got three new T409s 18 months ago and a K200 joined the fleet last June. I believe he has ordered me a new one but I don’t know what it will be.” Noel says Dean is a great bloke to work for and he gets looked after well. “The trailers and truck – they live with me. They come back home with me to…

FOR COUNTRY ROCKER JAYNE DENHAM, the launch of her new album, which incidentally includes trucking tracks such as ‘Highway Rockstar’ and ‘Black Coffee and White Lines’, would not be complete without also launching a new promotional semi-trailer. With three semi-trailers now in the fleet, Jayne launched the Calamity trailer at CMC Rocks Queensland at Willowbank, Queensland on March 16. And the name of the new album? Calamity. Wickham Freight Lines has sponsored Jayne for seven years since she made the ‘Trucker Chicks’ video clip, and has supplied the trailer once again. This is the third trailer Jayne has had on the road promoting her albums. “I have been very lucky over the years to have partnered with a number of great companies to help my projects come about,” Jayne says.…

“We’re targeting Volvo, absolutely … they’re currently number one and that’s where we want to be” ONE MONTH does not make a year and, true, January isn’t a particularly reliable guide to how the rest of the year might pan out. Then again, anything’s possible! Back in early February, over a quick coffee in a Gundagai road house, with January’s heavy-duty sales figures still burning bright, Mercedes-Benz Trucks senior manager Andrew Assimo wasn’t about to let the light fade on what he asserted was a significant moment in the early evolution of the new Benz range. Outside, parked among a bunch of northbound runners on the Hume, a Benz 2653 model hooked to a curtain-sided B-double set barely rated a second glance as drivers walked by, its ‘new model’ status…

A DUBBO trucking company has signed up to spread the word on speaking up against domestic violence. The NSW government has partnered with Transforce to take its ‘No Innocent Bystanders’ campaign to the state’s roads to encourage people to report domestic violence incidents. Transforce founder and MD Steve Fieldus says he was extremely proud to be involved in the ‘No Innocent Bystanders’ campaign as domestic violence impacts many lives including young children. “Our heavy vehicle with this important message on it will be seen up and down highways throughout regional NSW as we go about our day-to-day business,” Fieldus adds. “If one person reports a domestic violence incident to NSW Police after seeing my truck, then it has been well worth my while.” According to state police minister and Member…

ORGANISERS of the 2018 Kyabram Mack Muster believe the event has set a new Australian record. They counted 164 Mack trucks on March 17 and 18, exceeding the record they claimed when 137 Macks attended their 2016 muster. Co-organiser Tim Daws says 11 F Models, 31 R Models, 25 Super-Liners and 19 B Models were among the 164 Macks. The event attracted many models he had never seen before. “We’ve covered a good span of the Bulldog pedigree,” he says. Tim, who organised the muster with Dave Willis and John Laffan, says the muster far exceeded their expectations. “We’d like to thank all the people for bringing their trucks from around the country,” Tim says. “It’s a big effort to get here, not to mention a big expense, and it’s…

PAUL BAKER was just readying his truck to go and load when Owner//Driver caught up with him at the BP Kewdale in Western Australia. Paul drives a 2013 Kenworth Director Series T909 for J & C Meaney Transport of Korunye, a small township just north of Adelaide. The Cummins is set at 600hp and is more than ample for this application. He unloaded in Perth two days earlier and had his 24-hour break before loading and heading to Melbourne, pulling a road train as far as Adelaide. It was Paul’s first trip to Perth in 15 years. The last time he came across, it was dirt to Norseman. “It has improved a lot since then, that’s for sure,” Paul smiles. “The road system around Perth is pretty good and it’s…

“All you had to do was kick the tyres and check the fuel and go to Yass” IN SEMI-RETIREMENT Colin Southwell drives an Isuzu between Sydney and Wyee, New South Wales, carting products for his son’s online medieval costume business, Medieval Fight Club. “A lot of it is medieval clothing and swords and shields and that sort of stuff,” says Colin, 73. He usually drives the Isuzu within a 100km radius of his Wyee home. It’s a far cry from the six years he spent with Kwikasair, an overnight express freight division of TNT. From 1973 to 1979 Colin drove Grey Ghost Kenworth K125s, usually between Sydney and Yass. Produced at Kenworth’s Bayswater factory, the K125s were the first Kenworths designed and constructed in Australia. The trucks and their drivers…

BACK IN 2010, Drake Trailers was looking at innovative ways to market its trailers, and long-time employee Bruce Hay suggested smaller might just be better. “We had a lot of Drake Trailer customers who collected diecast and they’d complain that they couldn’t buy a proper Australian truck; they always had to get the US or European models,” Bruce says. “We thought, ‘let’s build some and see what happens!’” The first run of models was released that same year after Drake decided to go ahead with the idea and break into the diecast scene. “We decided on a trailer and a dolly, but after realising there were no Australian trucks, we worked with Kenworth to produce one.” The combination they went with was a Kenworth T908 prime mover with dolly and…

2008 KENWORTH K108 97,000 kgs GCM, Cummins ISX, 3950 mm wheelbase, RTLO20918B Transmission, Meritor RT46-160 rear axles with a 4.1 ratio, X locks to both rear axles, Greaseless driveline, walking floor hydraulics, Viesa sleeper cooler, Driving lights, Dual exhausts. 02 8279 7046 $89,100 2008 KENWORTH K108 Aerodyne primemover, Cummins engine some history. 18 speed manual 46x160 diffs 03 9998 4809 $95,000 2008 KENWORTH K108 6x4 big cab prime mover, 550 hp Cummins ISX EGR eng-has just had new cam fitted-18 spd trans-rtl020918b-meritor rt46-160 rear axles @ 4.1 on kw airglide air bag susp, alloy wheels & fups bumper, viesa bunk cooler,rad/cd, uhf x 2,diff lock,qrtt,b/double 97 ton road train rated. 03 8373 7040 $95,000 KENWORTH K108 2009 reg, Cummins isx engine, only 250,000 klm’s since Cummins rebuild, 18spd manual, 46160,…

“The driver’s individual requirements can be met in a matter of seconds with a choice of four operating modes” Fitted with new technology and unique features, the latest generation Dometic CoolAir RTX 2000 truck air conditioner has arrived and has exceeded industry standards with better performance and efficiency than ever before. A step up from its predecessor, the CoolAir RTX 2000 generates more than twice the cooling power with the same runtime due to the variable speed compressor. The Dometic CoolAir RTX 2000 is powerful in generating a full 2000 watts in order to cool down larger cabins quickly, especially ideal for daytime pit stops in hot regions. To provide this outstanding level of performance and quality, Dometic’s product development engineers have put the RTX series parking cooler through its…

THE LAST THING anyone at Scania Australia wants is for 2017 to be remembered as a one-hit wonder. A year when the brand rose to bold new heights but then failed to maintain momentum. Logically enough, what they want and what they’re aiming for, in no uncertain terms, is a future where the 1000-plus trucks delivered in 2017 becomes the new norm; a redrawn line in the sand where, rather than reverting to its customary ranking somewhere around the middle of the field, Scania cements its place at the pointy end of the heavy-duty pack. In effect, to become a persistent and powerful player where all competitors, not least market heavyweights Kenworth and Volvo, are constantly challenged and regularly routed in commercial contest by a dynamic and resolute Scania armed…