Innehållsförteckning för Issue 295 från Owner Driver

THE TRANSPORT Workers’ Union (TWU) has criticised a 43 per cent reduction in the amount a truck driver can claim in expenses. The move by the Australian tax office has the potential of heaping more pressure on transport operators and drivers, who are already operating under tight margins, the union says. “The move by the ATO to reduce the amount a driver can claim by 43 per cent without receipts was done without warning or consultation and will have significant consequences,” TWU national assistant secretary Michael Kaine says. “We have asked the ATO for an urgent meeting to discuss why this move was taken and to seek amendments to the changes. A taxation determination issued on July 3 stated the reasonable amount a truck driver can claim for travel expenses…

HVIA CHIEF executive Brett Wright has announced his impending retirement from leading national industry association Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA). “It is with many great memories, fondness and pride that I announce my leaving HVIA,” Wright says. “I have been privileged, firstly to have been given the opportunity to work for the Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Queensland (CVIAQ) all those years ago and then to continue to lead it over the last 20 years, culminating in its transformation into a truly national industry body, HVIA, in 2015.” Wright commenced his career with what was then CVIAQ in 1996 and took over the role of chief executive officer shortly after. During his tenure, the organisation has been instrumental in advocating for the heavy vehicle industry on many major issues and…

DESPITE ITS many years of solid work, Paul Mifsud’s 1964 Kenworth 923 model is still going strong. Funny how things happen. Like, I’d just climbed out of the first of Kenworth’s stunning T900 Legend trucks and was walking back to the main office when this old banger with the homespun paint job came into view, by chance unloading at the Paccar Parts warehouse. Time was short but owner-driver Paul was more than happy to share a few details. For starters, and despite the ‘KW 1965’ number plate, he said it’s a 1964 923 model which has been working faithfully almost every day since he bought it in 1984. Asked about the truck’s early history, Paul walked over to the cab and produced a photostat copy of an original build sheet,…

Managers as well as drivers can increase safety and productivity and lower fuel consumption, for the benefit of themselves, their customers and those sharing the road. Here are Volvo’s top 10 tips: 1. Trip plans: • Seek flat roads or a route that minimises heavy engine or brakes use • Get latest updates on road, traffic and weather conditions • Try to avoid rush hours. 2. Vehicle checks: • Daily routine pre-journey checks covering front to rear, interior and exterior, including mirrors and seat positions, plus check that vehicle runs normally. 3. Avoid overloading: • It is directly linked to the vehicle’s fuel consumption • Be aware of the legal load limit and the maximum safe capacity of truck. 4. Health and body: • Always get enough rest and try to relax before long-distance driving • Stretch before…

IF, SOMEWHERE in a future far, far away, the Caterpillar company decided to rejoin the mainstream truck business in any shape or form, it would surely be an amnesiac or perhaps cerebrally challenged individual who would, with any confidence, give anything more than cursory consideration to forming an association with the yellow brand. Not necessarily because of any fundamental flaw in whatever product the company may decide to produce, but because history has the remarkable and often ugly capacity to repeat itself. And let’s face it, the modern history of Caterpillar’s association with the Australian trucking industry is drenched in dubious assumptions and abandonment of those loyal individuals who, in more cases than not, literally bled yellow. It’s a long, convoluted story and US outfit Navistar certainly plays a major…

ANDREW DICKINS, or ‘Dicko’ as he is known in the industry, arrived at the Oaklands Truck Show in March this year driving a Dawson’s Haulage 2016 Kenworth T950 Legend. When he stepped out of the rig he was sporting his signature fiery red beard. However, by the show’s end the beard was gone. Dicko had sacrificed his facial hair for the charity fundraising Leukaemia Foundation’s Greatest Shave. Dicko is a single bloke with no children but loves his three nieces and kids in general. “I hate seeing little kids sick, especially with things like cancer,” he says. “It’s not like they have even had a bit of a go at life yet.” Bridget Mahony, who works in the Dawson’s Haulage office, came up with the idea, thinking that Dicko’s beard…

A MACK Granite tipper and dog rolls into the yard and behind the wheel is EPH Ambassador, Brett De Niese. De Niese lets the big bulldog-branded tipper idle down before climbing out of his office. It’s clear from the outset that De Niese is enthusiastic about both his job as a ‘mud carter’ and the company he represents. “I just love the work,” he says enthusiastically flipping his shades on top of his head. “Some of the sites we get into can be a challenge, you have to be on the ball, but I love the challenge.” This isn’t De Niese’s first outing as an owner-driver. “I’ve been a driver for about 19 years,” he says, “but a lot of that time was working as an owner-driver. “And I’ve been…

PJ ANNETT is one of the true gentlemen of the Australian trucking industry. A veteran behind the wheel, PJ, who will turn 75 next birthday, is well known and respected in the local community. He now has six B-doubles in his fleet – all Kenworths apart from his favourite, a 2013 International Eagle, which he still drives occasionally. He built his business, based in Heywood, western Victoria, from humble beginnings into a very professional operation. He recalls during his school years that his dad Mervyn would do the ‘milk rounds’, picking up milk cans from local dairies in his 1936 Ford. During the day, Mervyn collected wood for the local cheese factory’s boilers. Back then, everything was driven by steam. PJ’s first job when he left school at age 16…

AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR cities, where 80 per cent of the nation’s economic activity occurs, are becoming increasingly crowded as people flock to the big smoke chasing employment, housing and opportunity. The issue with that, says Isuzu Australia, is transport needs to be able to move through urban centres while minimising the environmental and social impacts of heavy vehicle traffic. The Japanese manufacturer believes the big challenge governments face down under is how to implement freight transport strategies that allow efficient goods movement through urban centres. This is no small task with road congestion predicted to cost the Australian economy $20.4 billion a year by 2020. Legislators know they need to act decisively. Australian states and territories have formulated strategies for how the freight industry’s projected growth will impact the roads in…

FOR THE past 17 years I have been a bus driver. With my MR driver’s licence, I can still remember doing the two-day course and am looking forward to seeing how hard the transition to the next level to get my HR unrestricted licence is. It’s funny – once you are an experienced driver you don’t even think about driving a large vehicle. I often think it is easier to park my bus than it is to park a car. I can reverse the bus anywhere with ease and know exactly where I can and can’t take the bus, so I would consider myself a confident bus driver. I am off to Accredited Heavy Vehicle Training (AHVT) at Moorebank in Sydney to hopefully get my new licence and see how…

“Australia is at the top of Volvo’s list for testing ” TO HIS considerable credit, Volvo Group Australia (VGA) boss Peter Voorhoeve is a man who likes to initiate and innovate. To look outside the square. To do something more than just oversee the production and profitability of a major truck builder. Take, for example, the launch of the VGA Driver Academy, aimed squarely at enhancing the character, skills and image of Australia’s truck driver class – male and female. Announced at a media conference the day before the opening of this year’s Brisbane Truck Show, it’s a highly commendable initiative coming on the back of an ongoing Volvo campaign which champions the fact that ‘without truck drivers Australia stops’. Seriously good stuff. Yet as sure as the sun sets,…

NARVA HAS introduced of a new range of Ultima LED globes to its range. A direct replacement for Halogen globes, Narva says the Ultima globes offer the added benefits of a bright, white light output (2000 Lumens per globe), coupled with long life performance of over 30,000 hours. Narva says this makes the globes unlikely to ever need replacing over the life of a vehicle. Available in 12 and 24V variants and in a range of globe types (H1, H4, H7, HB3, H8/9/11, HB4, HIR2, HB5 and H13), the new Ultima LED globes expand Narva’s performance globe range. According to Narva, the improved visibility and reduced fatigue that the Ultima LED globes provide courtesy of their white light output that closely resembles natural day light, these globes deliver a beam…

THE FOURTH instalment in New South Wales authorities’ Operation Catapult series, in south-west and western Sydney, occurred in July with a series of shortfalls alleged. More than half of the trucks inspected during a Joint Traffic Task Force operation in Sydney’s west on July 20 were found to be defective, police say. The series began in March and in this action NSW Police Traffic & Highway Patrol Command officers, Roads and Maritime (RMS) Inspectors, and NSW Environment Protection Authority inspectors intercepted truck and dog heavy vehicles along the M4 at near Homebush Bay and surrounding areas. The operation resulted in 95 truck and trailers being inspected, where: • 28 electronic speed limiters downloads were conducted, with five found to be non-compliant • 34 infringements were issued • 54 defect notices…

THIS YEAR’S Lights on the Hill Memorial Convoy Weekend will head back to its old stomping grounds of the Gatton Showgrounds in south-east Queensland. The showgrounds was the former home of the long-running event up to and including 2014 before switching to the Gatton Racecourse in 2015. Lights on the Hill organisers say the convoy weekend is going “back to basics”. “We took a lot of feedback from the attendees and the local community to come to this decision,” the committee says. “We are very happy with a whole new layout for the event within the Gatton Showgrounds and we are sure the public will enjoy the weekend. “We always take feedback and we aim to please those that attend our events.” The convoy day will be held on Saturday,…

“This engine feels like you are in a plane taking off – it has a nice note to it” KENWORTH’S NEW T610 models have hit the ground running with a number of fleet operators snapping them up. McPherson’s Interstate Transport, based at Myrtleford in Victoria’s high country, was one of the first to purchase a T610 SAR, with driver Brian Barnik being the lucky recipient. Brian jumped out of a Transtar to drive the 610 and really noticed the difference with the modern Kenworth. “This engine feels like you are in a plane taking off – it has a nice note to it as well,” Brian smiles. “I could really get used to driving this.” The SAR is kept busy doing Carter Holt Harvey work, carrying timber to the mainland…

“As early as the pilot stage for Caltex, we discovered that certain vehicles weren’t being used for the projects they were designed for, which was placing undue stress on components such as turbo chargers – these cost around $5,000 each.” “We just knocked the highway speed back a little” Dust, heat and distance make the Australian environment an unforgiving place to break down. So it’s not surprising that telematics technology has been widely adopted by the trucking industry, improving driver safety, protecting vehicles and enhancing business performance. But not all systems are created equal. Only one offers the ability to predict future mechanical faults and breakdowns before they occur. Fleet management has come a long way in Australia. 20 years ago, owners and drivers had to piece together information from…

Dear Owner//Driver RAZORBACK BOOK The publication Razorback – the Real Story: what a read! Once I started to read the book it was impossible to put it down. Ted is to be congratulated for taking the time to put this warts and all account of the nine days into print so that people not associated with the industry can see what had to be endured by the truck drivers to keep our country moving. It is sad to note, though, that nothing has changed over the last 50 years. It’s still the same old, same old, with drivers being forced to drive for their low rates and the police and other authorities all after their share, although it has nothing to do with raising revenue. As was mentioned in Owner//…

 PACCAR’s MX-13 engine offers Kenworth customers an engine choice in the competitive 13-litre market, in applications where tare weight and fuel economy are critical elements in performance. “Transmission technology delivers performance and efficiency” With the optimised Eaton UltraShift PLUS transmission (AMT), the PACCAR MX-13 delivers even more benefits, providing an integrated solution for those customers wanting an automated manual transmission in their operations. After earning an enviable reputation in DAF products since its release in 2007, the PACCAR MX-13 engine has quickly become one of the most popular in its class in Europe and has taken the US trucking industry by storm, now accounting for almost 50 per cent of the Kenworth build in North America. Available with either 460 or 510hp and1700 and 1850ft-lb torque respectively, the PACCAR MX-13…

“There’d be a shiver down my spine” TRUCKS HAVE changed dramatically during the years Ted Scarfe has spent on the road. “I started driving trucks in 1957, and I stopped driving them earlier this year,” says Ted, 76, who lives in Cooranbong, New South Wales, with his wife Joy. “The first truck that I ever really drove was when I was working in the bush at Club Terrace in East Gippsland. I drove a Leyland Comet with a timber jinker on it.” That was back in 1957, and the Leyland only had 75hp. Compare that to the 500hp cab-over Kenworth he was driving when he retired earlier this year. Ted has plenty of great memories: the camaraderie of the 1960s; his transition from employee to owner-driver in 1963; crossing the…

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. 2005 INTERNATIONAL 9200 EAGLE 2005 International Eagle 9200i. Cummins ISX Gen II 18-speed manual, 46/160s, Hendrickson air bag, Alcoa rims. 72,000 GCM, big bunk with heaps of storage. Ready for work. 02 8315 0076 $48,680 2002 INTERNATIONAL 9200I EAGLE 2002 + TIEMAN TANKER 1996 18-speed, new motor installed two years ago. Series 60 475hp. Hendrickson air bag suspension, 72-tonne rating (suitable for B-Double use) Combined with a 1996 Tieman Tanker 0417 618 510 $115,000 INTERNATIONAL 9200I EAGLE Road train & B-double rated, Road Ranger gearbox. Engine rebuilt, new gearbox, two new diffs front & rear, new radiator, cabin & bunk air-conditioner replaced. 0427 028 910 $55,000 INTERNATIONAL 9900…

FROM THE moment it arrived on Australian soil in the late ’90s, Argosy had the potential to blow Kenworth’s K-series out of the water as the leading US cab-over. Obviously it didn’t, and all indicators suggest it never will. That, however, does not change the fact Argosy was a huge burst of fresh thinking in American cab-over design, sporting so much more than a K-series that, back then, had become outdated in both form and function. In effect, old and awkward! With Argosy came advances in driver comfort, convenience and style, which almost overnight made Kenworth’s long-serving cab-over archaic in comparison. It would, in fact, take Kenworth well over a decade to catch up with the stunningly surprising and, equally, surprisingly stunning K200. From the outset, Argosy was modern, exciting,…

ISUZU AUSTRALIA has announced what it says is an innovative new addition to its Ready to Work range of trucks: the NLR 55/45-150 Tri-Tipper. The Japanese factory-built tipper body is able to to tilt to the left side, right or rear. “It offers much greater flexibility, meaning customers are less dependent on access,” Isuzu Australia’s chief engineer, product strategy, Simon Humphries says. “A council might need to spread mulch along on a nature strip, for example. The Tri-Tipper allows them to do this with an ease well beyond what’s possible if they’re reliant on a traditional tipper that only tilts at the rear.” The truck’s pre-built tipper body is constructed with durable heavy-duty steel and features drop sides and an auto-release two-way tailgate. It also has an auto-release body lockdown…

LANDSCAPE SUPPLY company Garden Grove found itself in the midst of another dangerous driving case that ultimately led to the dismissal of another of its truck drivers in July. It came a month after a similar case that led the company to dismiss a driver for an unsafe driving incident captured on video and circulated on social media. The video showed a Garden Grove truck overtaking a second truck dangerously, forcing an oncoming vehicle off the road to avoid a head-on collision. The most recent incident was highlighted through an image posted on Facebook. While the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) urges South Australian authorities to conduct an investigation of Garden Grove’s safety practices, South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) executive officer Steve Shearer says the union’s call is baseless because…

SKILL, CRAFT, professionalism – not words you often see bandied about in trucking in this day and age. Australia’s economy may ride on whirling rubber but drivers at the rock face rarely get much in the way of acknowledgement. However, our standard of living is wholly dependent on the blood, sweat and tears of everyday truck drivers – whether they’re hauling outback road trains, picking up milk from the farm dairy or delivering groceries to an inner city supermarket. Good news stories involving trucks and the people who drive them are thin on the ground. Volvo Trucks Australia however has been pushing to raise the image of the men and women who keep Australia’s wheels turning. On the face of it, Volvo’s Driver’s Fuel Challenge (DFC) may seem like a…

The Volvo Trucks Drivers’ Fuel Challenge is well under way, with state winners announced following remarkable fuel efficiency scores. The six finalists were chosen through nation-wide analysis of the intuitive Volvo Dynafleet software’s driver scores. The competition was open to all drivers using the Dynafleet package. With an overall aim to take transport into the future, the Dynafleet analysis scored drivers from 0-100 based on four key areas: speed adaptation; engine and gear utilisation; anticipation and braking; and standstill. The finalists are some of the most efficient operators you’ll find down under, all of whom qualified by simply doing their day-to-day driving as they normally would – they weren’t babying their trucks and they were delivering loads on time. The state winners are: NSW – Andrew Woodleigh, Borg Manufacturing Woodleigh…

DRIVING A 2012 Mercedes Benz Actros 2648 B-double for Visa Global Logistics is a dream come true for Brisbane mother of two, Candice Lureman. Candice, 35, who is deaf, began driving for Visa Global Logistics in January 2017. She usually carts containerised import freight for the privately owned company, which specialises in international freight forwarding. Her shifts are between 10 and 12 hours long, starting at 4am or 5am. These busy work days usually include wharf slots, delivering full containers, collecting empty containers, and dehiring empty containers. Candice was born in South Africa and lived in New Zealand before moving to Australia nine years ago. She hadn’t driven a manual car until she arrived in Australia, so she consulted Google to learn about gearboxes. That’s when she stumbled across an…

“It seems to grow every year” DESPITE THE morning chill in the air on June 11, Alexandra Truck, Ute and Rod Show co-founder Andrew Embling was all smiles as he warmed up for what was going to be another successful event. This day, however, was extra special. It was the show’s 21st birthday, and major sponsor Larsen’s Truck Sales had a bonus in store for the event’s organisers. As the clock struck 10am, Andrew was clearly delighted with the number of trucks that had already parked along Grant Street, the town’s main thoroughfare. “It’s only early, the show has just kicked off and we’ve got trucks everywhere,” Andrew smiles. “We’ve got trucks still coming in, we’ve still got trucks coming out of Melbourne.” As it is now, the first show…

 IN BUSINESS terms, growth is always considered good. Growth, however controlled it is, can also present its own challenges in this day and age – especially in trucking! “We use the term Ambassador because that’s what they are, they’re brand ambassadors for our company” However, one company is taking the bull by the horns to be the driving force behind its expansion and evolution, with innovative thinking to address the growth challenge. Eastern Plant Hire (EPH) started out as a modest equipment agency business in 1997, run by brothers Michael and David Willson. Since then it has grown to become a specialist earthmoving transport company involved in projects across three states. With more than 50 trucks in the company fleet and in excess of 3,000 independent contractors on the books,…

 I’VE BEEN conducting some important research recently. The kind of research that I should be paid lots of money to undertake. Sadly, nobody with any actual money shares my enthusiasm for my worthy cause. “The refracted light blazes into your cranium.” The world would be a much, much better place if I was paid lots of money. Over the course of this study, I reckon I’ve isolated a recessive gene in some human beings that causes them to do stupid sh*t. Literally. Why, you may ask? Because I’ve been continually surprised by the amount of people that have confessed that they’ve tried pooing out of a tree. No, I’m not joking. Okay, in some cases alcohol may have been involved. But it can be hard to comprehend the thought processes…

CASTROL RX Super has protected Australian livelihoods for more than 35 years. This year, inspired by a customer’s engine which ran for over 2.5 million kilometres, solely serviced using Castrol RX Super, we’re telling the stories of the people that have made the oil brand the choice of protection for truck drivers, fleet owners and farmers alike. WALTER FARMING Andrew Walter represents the 4th generation of Walter Farming in Violet Town, 50km south east of Shepparton. Andrew, with his mother Gladys, own and operate a broadacre farm which grows annual winter crops and manages a sheep grazing operation. Alan Walter, the patriarch of the family, established the business with Gladys in 1968. It has been a year since Alan passed but his legacy lives on through his family and farm.…

2009 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY 110 Mid roof. 525hp Detroit, 90T B-double rated. Brand new D’Angelo turntable. Excellent condition. 30,000km on current rebuild – 879,063km. 0488 772 317 $94,000 2007 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY 987,000km, diesel registered, air-conditioning, 6x4, 90000 GVM, 600hp Truck for sale as well as 2 trailer B-double combination in perfect mechanical condition. 0412 444 661 $110,000 2010 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY 110 Detroit Series 60 ADR80/02 engine, 525hp, 3-year/800000km, warranty on engine rebuild March ’15, 90,000kg road-train B-double rated. 08 7007 6824 $88,000 2008 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY Brand new Detroit, 525hp, 2 years warranty, 18-speed Autoshift, 46,000 diffs, 101” cab, roof kit and wings, alloy bumper 0412 619 053 $85,000 2014 FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY 110 600 Cummins, 600,000km with 400,000km left on Cummins warranty. New ss steer tyres, Icepack, TV, fridge. Whitlock bar. 10…

TRANSPORT COMPANY KS Easter has celebrated its 200th truck milestone with a customised Western Star 4800FXB powered by a Detroit DD15 engine. The 4800 comes with custom grilles, steps, exhausts and LED lighting, plus decals identifying it as the ‘200th’. KS Easter has purchased 41 Western Star trucks over the last five years. “We have had a long relationship with Penske, the Brisbane Truck Centre and Western Star, and the 4800 and 5800 trucks have long been a winner for us,” Ken Easter Jr, owner of KS Easter, says.…

UK COMPANY the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has won the Low Carbon Award at this year’s Motor Transport Awards, with an entry based on its Waitrose-branded, biogas-powered, Scania truck fleet. JLP has achieved an 83 per cent ‘well to wheel’ reduction in carbon dioxide emissions per vehicle since introducing the vehicles into service. Reportedly it was this, coupled with JLP’s ambition to develop a more sustainable transport solution, that led to the company’s success at the awards. In their citation, the independent Motor Transport Awards judging panel praised JLP’s collaboration with universities to identify the best fuel for the fleet and with the National Grid to ensure biomethane supply would be maintained.…