Truckin’ In The Outback

Logan Ryle

BY DANIELLE GULLACI

FOR Logan Ryle, 26, his love of trucks started when he was just a young boy. “Growing up in the north of Bowen, in Queensland, I’ve always been around trucks and earthmoving gear,” he said.

Currently, Ryle works for Mactrans Heavy Haulage and has been there for just over a year. Based in southern Queensland, Mactrans specialises in over-mass and over-dimensional loads. The business was started in 2000 and operates a diverse fleet that includes floats, flat decks, drop decks and dollies – designed to carry anything from 20 to 250 tonne.

The job takes Ryle to all corners of the country. You’ll find him behind the wheel of a schmick 2007 Mack Titan, called ‘The Royal Mut’.

Pulling anything from singles through to triples, Ryle says he mainly carts oversize machinery and attachments to suit drilling/piling equipment.

When asked what he loves most about the job, he replied, “I enjoy getting out and about. No day is ever the same – it’s always different jobs, different locations and different trailer configurations.”

Travelling through Australia’s vast and varied landscape, Ryle rates two particular stretches of road as being among the toughest to navigate through. “I’d probably say two of the toughest roads I’ve been on are the Tanami Track out at the Newmont Gold Mine; and the Great Central Road, south of Alice springs heading over to Western Australia,” he explained.

On his toughest run out on the Tanami, he says, “It took

27 hours to get across while empty and 36 hours while loaded! The Great Central to West Musgrave Mine was very similar in length and in the time it took.”

As much as he loves the travel and the freedom of the open road that comes with the job, Ryle added that it can also pose one of the biggest challenges for truckies too. “The hardest part of the job would have to be being away from friends and family a lot. And all the rules and regulations of the industry can be a challenge too,” he said.