Innehållsförteckning för Issue 297 från Owner Driver

A NEW spate of rock throwing incidents near Moree along the Newell Highway has again raised the alarm for truck driver safety. Road transport safety advocate and veteran driver Rod Hannifey says he was approached in late August by a driver who informed him of a rock that was thrown through his passenger window. “He had his passenger window smashed at Moree and he had glass all through his bunk,” Hannifey says. “He told me it’s been going on for a long time and that he had informed police.” Hannifey says a similar incident had occurred one week earlier when a northbound truck was hit by two kids standing in the middle of the road. In October last year a truck driver suffered a serious head injury and damage to…

THE LACK of recent level-crossing disasters involving trucks appears more to do with luck than good management, an Austroads report indicates. Austroads, the peak organisation of Australasian road transport and traffic agencies, has released its Improved Railway Road Design for Heavy Vehicles report. The report identifies improvements to better cater for the safe passage of heavy vehicles through railway level crossings at a time when the road freight task continues to grow quickly. Its analysis of heavy vehicle crashes at railway level crossings across Australia and New Zealand found that: • Many locations did not have warning signs installed to the standards at the time of the crash • Sight distances for approaching vehicle drivers were obstructed by development on abutting properties or vegetation • Delineation was poorly maintained. The…

EVERY YEAR individuals who’ve spent a lifetime toiling away in anonymity are recognised for a lifetime of hard work and contribution to the Australian way of life. The sheer volume of stories makes it hard to tell them all in the confines of a magazine snapshot. However, one of the great things about this event is that it doesn’t discriminate between company owner, employee driver or even the partner who was left holding the fort at home. The hundreds of years of collective experience at this event creates a palpable sense of history and pride. It’s a celebration of the lives of the many individuals who have done the hard yards, driven the miles and, in many cases, have succeeded against all odds. The story of Australian trucking is etched…

CRAIG HEFFER and his 1994 Kenworth K100E have shared a few adventures together, like the time it blew a steer tyre and speared the truck and Craig into a tree. The truck stayed upright but the cab was a write-off and the prime mover’s chassis was twisted. “I had a trip to hospital for a few stitches and staples but came out alright,” Craig recalls. “It was heartbreaking. After a year and a half working on the K100E, getting it finished and on the road, it looked fantastic and then ‘bang’, it was back to the beginning again.” The accident came three months after the Kenworth’s first rebuild which had taken 18 months to finish due to Craig’s driving commitments. He took time out for the second rebuild and had…

>> 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. 2010 KENWORTH T908 50" double bunk sleeper. Full gold gauge pack. Parchment trim. ABS brakes. Heavy duty driveline. Spend $36,000 on Cummins engine rebuild (Nil kms). Toyo clean skin tyres, new super singles, on steer. 0402 075 746 $175,000 2010 KENWORTH T908 EGR Cooler at 609,000km New Turbo at 505,000km New Liners at 361,000km New Clutch at 798,000km Super Singles Front Current SA Roadworthy certificate.. 08 7007 6838 $130,000 inc-GST 2009 KENWORTH T908 1,015,494 kms. Cummins ISX EGR. Eaton Fuller RTLO22918B transmission, Dana 46-170 rear axles on Kenworth Airglide 460 suspension. 0418 344 525 $125,000 + GST 2010 KENWORTH T908 2400L square fuel tanks, Icepack…

DAIMLER TRUCKS is celebrating two significant anniversaries in North America this year – 75 years of Freightliner Trucks and 50 years of Western Star Trucks. According to Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), Freightliner and Western Star have put a total of approximately 3,200,000 trucks on the road since their founding days in 1942 and 1967 respectively. In the first half of 2017, Daimler Trucks says that trend has continued with 42,300 units entering the market. In the year of its 75th birthday, Freightliner has started production of its flagship truck, the New Cascadia, which Freightliner says is its most connected truck ever. The Truck Data Center, a hardware box integrated in every truck, provides communications capabilities for telematics systems. Today, more than 275,000 of DTNA’s trucks in North America are…

PENSKE COMMERCIAL Vehicles hosted its first ever Western Star Trucks’ Show n Shine on September 9 at the Mt Cotton Training Centre near Brisbane. The event coincided with celebrations centring around the 50th anniversary of the Western Star Trucks brand. As well as trucks, the Show n Shine also featured a range of fun family activities including appearances by Shell V-Power Racing drivers Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin, a Shell V-Power Racing car and MC Neil Crompton. The trucks on display were judged and over $50,000 worth of prizes was awarded across a range of categories, including KS Easter’s customised 200th truck which took out both the Truck of the Show and the Best Western Star under 5 years awards. In addition, K S Easter took home the trophy for…

 AS THE star attractions of an entirely new generation of trucks, it was inevitable that Mercedes-Benz would kick-off its three-phase launch program with an expansive range of highly appealing prime mover models. And that’s exactly what happened late last year. “This new generation of trucks marks an entirely new bridgehead for the Benz brand” Similarly, though, a fully reconfigured rigid range was the second phase and, as expected, the new rigids took centre stage on the Mercedes-Benz stand at the Brisbane Truck Show earlier this year. The trifecta will be complete later this year when dedicated construction and all-wheel drive rigid models are released. All up, this new generation of trucks marks an entirely new bridgehead for the Benz brand in this country, almost certainly providing the brand with more…

IN A MOVE to ensure fatigue training is administered effectively and adhered to by transport operators, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has worked with the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) to develop a new training package. The new training units will be offered by registered training organisations (RTO) who register with the Regulator, a move NHVR executive director, productivity and safety Geoff Casey says will improve the integrity of fatigue training. “Before the RTO could offer the training without NHVR consent, now they have to register with us,” he says. “They’ll report to us regularly and we have that ability to audit. This is in line with best practice, as part of a continuous improvement program.” Casey says this will ensure that recipients of training will best demonstrate…

 LARGE FLEETS throughout Australia are adopting simpler livery. Plain white prime movers are the new black. But the tradition of lining and scrolling endures throughout Australia, especially among owner-drivers and small fleet operators. “It will suit a 1957 International and it would still look as good on a 2017 Kenworth” Signwriter Rick ‘Chocs’ Hayman believes our popular lining and scrolling style is “timeless” and “unique to Australia”. “It will suit a 1957 International and it would still look as good on a 2017 Kenworth,” he says. Rick drove trucks throughout Victoria and interstate from 1978 until 2014 and has been signwriting trucks since 1985. Many small fleet operators are among the repeat customers of his business, Hayman Signs, which is based in Teesdale, Victoria. In the digital age, Rick is…

“It’s the transport industry coming together as it does” IN 1946 one particular International Model K5, with the famous ‘green diamond’ engine, arrived in kit from the United States and was assembled in Geelong. Nobody could have predicted back then that the little K5 would be brought back to life spectacularly by National Transport Insurance (NTI) to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND) charity MND and Me. The charity restoration was taken on after well-known former NTI CEO Wayne Patterson was sadly diagnosed with MND two years ago. Wayne decided to raise awareness and live his life to the fullest while the disease continued to take hold, something that inspired his former employers to step in with the truck restoration and raise much-needed funds for MND and Me Foundation.…

TONY NESCI lives at Taylors Hill, 25 kilometres northwest of Melbourne’s CBD. And he has spent 25 years trucking on the city’s busy roads. But he prefers country driving, and he’s always managed to supplement his city work with runs to regional Victoria and interstate. That’s why he loves carting freight for Amart. “It’s a bit of a mix of local and country,” Tony says. Trading as Nescorp, Tony is an owner-driver who carts palletised flat-pack furniture from Amart’s Somerton warehouse to suburban stores including Dandenong and Nunawading. He also delivers to regional stores at Ballarat, Geelong and Shepparton. “They’re a very good company to work for,” Tony says of Amart. “You pretty much run your own race, within reason. You need to get your stuff delivered, but you can…

AUTOMOTIVE AND commercial vehicle dealership group Suttons Motors has taken over the operations of Iveco Sydney. The move came into effect September 1 with Suttons assuming ownership of Iveco’s largest New South Wales-based dealership. New Sydney Iveco general manager Daniel Glynn says Suttons Motors had identified some huge opportunities in the Iveco brand. “Suttons Motors saw enormous potential in the Iveco product range,” Glynn says. “With a model range spanning everything from passenger car licence vans and light trucks through to road train prime movers, we can offer a transport solution to anybody who walks through the dealership doors. “We see a very bright future for this dealership and for Iveco as a whole, and we’re looking forward to working closely with Iveco Australia, and more broadly with CNH Industrial,…

CURTAINS DEBATE It’s been heard on the grapevine that certain NSW Roads and Maritime Services inspectors are rumoured not to be recognising load restraint curtains (LRC) as a primary method of load restraint. One reader contacted Owner//Driver and explained that under Section E of the NTC’s current Load Restraint Guide, “Side curtains can be used to contain loads provided that the vehicle and curtain system are certified for the particular application”. The Load Restraint Guide also mentions LRCs are only suitable for loads that are fully packed, meaning if you have a 22-pallet body it needs 22 pallets and no gaps. Owner//Driver spoke with RMS and the NTC, with RMS providing a clear verdict on the long-debated topic. “Load restraint curtains have various ratings. They must be checked against the…

“At odds with its Australian experience, Eurocargo is actually a big player in Europe” LET’S FACE it, when it comes to the lighter ends of the truck business, if you’re not Japanese, you’re just fighting for scraps. It’s a plain, incontestable fact. Ever since the Japanese first started asserting their strength in the mid-to-late ’70s with trucks that were generally well made, well priced and remarkably reliable, anything from anywhere else has had a horrendously hard time. Going way back, brands like Bedford, Dodge and Leyland were probably headed for extinction anyway, but there’s no question the Japanese onslaught fast-tracked the trip to oblivion. The biggest scalp of all, however, was International. Light- and medium-duty Inters were once common as cockies in this country but, under a deluge of dilemmas,…

The new Mack Anthem has been launched for the North American market, however Mack Trucks Australia says it’s committed to bringing the Anthem to Australia and New Zealand for a range of applications. “It’s a really exciting time for Mack Trucks,” vice president of Mack Trucks Australia Dean Bestwick says. “Mack has been going from strength to strength, both locally and globally, and the Mack Anthem is an insight into the future direction for Mack Trucks; and what a great-looking future that is! “What’s particularly exciting is the inclusion of a fully integrated stand-up sleeper on the Mack Anthem and its huge potential in the Australian and New Zealand markets. “While the North American Mack Anthem is primarily a serious on-highway truck, we feel there would certainly be a demand…

AUSTRALIA AND New Zealand showed off their driving talents at the Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch Challenge, where national winners from the Drivers’ Fuel Challenge from around the world went head-to-head. The global Fuelwatch Challenge saw the very best from 13 countries give it all they had in Gothenburg, home of Volvo Trucks, chasing the coveted title of most efficient driver. Johnny Baxter from New Zealand won the global on-road category, and Taehun Kim from Korea took out the most fuel-efficient driver in the off-road category. Australia’s Kerri Connors, the only female finalist, placed third in the on-road category, and Cameron Simpson from Victoria took out second in the off-road competition. “Yet again, drivers from ‘down under’ are dominating on the world stage,” Volvo Trucks Australia vice president Mitch Peden says. “These…

NATROAD HAS awarded members who made significant achievements in the trucking industry during the 2017 NatRoad Annual Conference on Hamilton Island in September. Held during the Gala Dinner, the awards night kicked off with acknowledgements for long-serving NatRoad members as Aussie legend and ‘Lambassador’ Sam Kekovich kept the crowd in hysterics. “Trucking is the nipple that nurtures our nation,” Kekovich joked as he preached about the importance of road transport both in the past, as well as into the future. Zachary Appleton, 23, from Murrell Freight Services, took out the coveted Young Driver of the Year award after working his way from a forklift driver through to a B-double operator in just 18 months. “With an ageing workforce, recognising up-and-coming youth in the trucking industry has never been more important,”…

THE NUMBERS may have been slightly down due to a number of competing events in the immediate central Queensland area, but the fourth running of the CQ Convoy still managed to raise around $13,000 for the RACQ Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service. Now in its fourth year, this year’s event was held on September 2, with trucks gathering at the CQ University before travelling from North Rockhampton to the Yeppen roundabout, around the big bull and back to the showgrounds. Recycling Transport Industries’ Kenworth T908 had lead truck honours, with Fletcher’s Earthmoving’s T909 in second spot. Those two were up front of a strong contingent of Kenworths, including eight from Emerald Carrying Company. The Emerald trucks took out the show award for Best Fleet plus Best Prime Mover 6-10 years. Of…

“It’s taken 20 years to get a job like this” KEV HARLEY is based in Bundaberg, although it was in Adelaide where Owner//Driver caught up him as he was organising a return load to Queensland. Kev drives a 2014 25th Anniversary Freightliner Coronado 114 for Queensland sweet potato grower Gary Shoobridge, who trades as Wide Bay Refrigerated Transport. ”The freight is there every week,” Kev says. “Sweet potatoes down to Adelaide and potatoes back to the Brisbane markets. “All Gary grows is sweet potatoes and the weather in Queensland and the red volcanic soil is just right for them.” Kev previously drove a Kenworth K200, but now he’s more than happy to be in the Coronado. “It’s a nice truck and very comfortable,” he says. “It has all the bells…

“They’re all camped around the back of the local pony club stealing their water and power” WHAT IS it about spending a couple of days on the Bruce Highway that leaves you feeling like you’ve had a prolonged religious relationship with the wrong end of a pineapple? Caravans and motorhomes … that’s right, I said it. Can you think of a more selfish/entitled way to inconvenience every other road user? I bloody well can’t! Roadworks are inconvenient, but you put up with them because they’re fixing the roads. I’m sure plenty of people find trucks on the road inconvenient. But at least they’re doing something useful, like delivering stuff that people need. Cyclists get cranky, but they have some skin in the game. You can’t blame them for not wanting…

“You hop out of it at the end of the shift feeling a lot better” MY FASCINATION with trucks and trucking started in a strangely auspicious way. It started with a shit-tsunami; it was clearly a sign of things to come. The irony of that is not lost on me; in fact, every day on the road or in a warehouse somewhere, some numb-nut attempts to replicate what happened that fateful spring day. I would’ve been about eight years old and I’d just been given a model matchbox truck, a silver single-drive Ford LNT complete with tipping trailer. It was my prized possession. The bonnet flipped open to reveal a shiny engine, the windows were tinted green, and the tipper body raised. That truck and I did plenty of highway…

RENAULT AUSTRALIA is further expanding its light commercial presence with the Kangoo ZE scheduled to hit Australian shores in November. Coming fresh off the back of last week’s announcement of the automated transmission Kangoo diesel, the launch will see the French company begin direct sales of the electric compact van in the country. The version arriving in Australia comes with an updated battery, motor, heat pump and charger to improve the driving range and ease the charging process. With the updates, Renault believes that Kangoo ZE can fully charge in six hours, and in one hour can get enough juice for 35km. The model has a European-measured range of 270km but Renault says 200km in real-world summer-climate driving would be an equivalent. Powering the Kangoo is an R60 electric motor…

DAIMLER HAS begun testing connected trucks in so-called platooning operations on public roads in the US. This was announced during the recent North American Commercial Vehicle Show in Atlanta, Georgia. In truck platooning, connectivity and automated driving is said to improve safety within the vehicle convoys, support drivers and enhance efficiency through closer distances between the connected trucks. Having started with successful trials on Daimler Trucks North America’s (DTNA) proving ground in Madras, Oregon, DTNA has received the appropriate permission from the regional regulatory body Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). In a first step called ‘pairing’, DTNA tests its platooning technology in two connected Freightliner New Cascadia truck trailer combinations. In a joint effort with large fleet customers, DTNA will test digitally connected trucks in every day transport businesses. President…