Owner Driver 330 July 2020 by Prime Creative Media

ownerdriver JULY 2020 #330

DEDICATED TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PERSON BEHIND THE WHEEL

OWNERDRIVER.COM.AU

ACCC threat to truckie Watchdog puts bite into ownerdriver over rates’ comments

See page 14

Lax licensing Coronavirus delays faulty truck driver licensing system fix See page 24

KINFOLK KENWORTH Kenworth Legend 900 becomes astute family investment

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Contents #330

14 TRUCKIE RECEIVES JAIL THREAT FROM ACCC Owner-driver Frank Black has received a warning from the ACCC over comments he wrote on cut priced freight rates

16 TRADING TOOLS FOR TRUCKIN’ Former diesel fitter Brenton Bugeja, better known as ‘Budgie’, has changed his tune over the choice of North American or European trucks

24 LAX LICENSING LOWDOWN

The coronavirus has caused yet another delay in fixing Australia’s broken truck driver licensing system

54 ARGOSY’S LAST HURRAH

Kevin Bakewell sings the praises of the Argosy, with the knowledge that his latest Freightliner cab-over will also be his last

60 SHOGUN SHAPES UP

Fuso’s new Shogun shows that there are limits on how much muscle corporate masters are prepared to give their Japanese comrades

JULY 2020

“This is the one truck that will never leave our family.”

66 EVOLUTIONARY KENWORTH

Paccar Australia has unveiled its latest Kenworth, the T410SAR, describing it as “yet another example of the benefits of local Australian application-engineering”

32 FAMILY FEEDBACK DRIVES LEGEND A limited edition Kenworth 900 has solidified the family unit for the Invernos of Gippsland. What’s more, it’s our July Truck of the Month

40 PROJECT FLINTSTONE

In retirement Ken Carratt has knocked off one of his bucket list items – to restore and customise a one-of-a-kind 1969 Mack Flintstone

4 JULY 2020

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ownerdriver EDITORIAL

Managing Editor: Greg Bush Ph: 07 3101 6602 Fax: 07 3101 6619 E-mail: gbush@bauer-media.com.au Digital Content Manager/Deputy Editor: Cobey Bartels Ph: 0409 044 128 E-mail: cbartels@bauer-media.com.au Technical Editor: Steve Brooks E-mail: sbrooks.trucktalk@bigpond.com Contributors: Warren Aitken, Anjali Behl, Frank Black, Alastair Brook, Warren Clark, Rod Hannifey, Michael Kaine, Sarah Marinovic, Ken Wilkie Cartoonist: John Allison

PRODUCTION Sub-editor: Cat Fitzpatrick Designer: Bea Barthelson Print: APN Print

ADVERTISING Brand Sales Manager (Qld): Sean Owens Ph: 0439 739 933 E-mail: sowens@bauer-media.com.au State Sales Manager (Qld): David Wiltshire Ph: 0466 009 383 E-mail: dwiltshire@bauer-media.com.au Sales Manager (Vic): Matt Alexander Ph: 03 9567 4211 E-mail: malexander@bauer-media.com.au Sales Manager (NSW): Ben Coleman Ph: 0466 545 664 E-mail: bcoleman@bauer-media.com.au Sales Manager (SA): Nick Lenthall Ph: 08 8212 6256 E-mail: nlenthall@bauer-media.com.au Sales Manager (WA): Greg Boase Ph: 0408 516 176 E-mail: gboase@bauer-media.com.au Agency Sales Manager (NSW): Max Kolomiiets Ph: 02 8275 6486 E-mail: mkolomiiets@bauer-media.com.au

MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION Marketing Manager: Andrew Amato Ph: 03 9567 4145 E-mail: aamato@bauer-media.com.au Circulation Manager: Stuart Jones Ph: 03 9567 4207 E-mail: sjones@bauer-media.com.au

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EXECUTIVE GROUP Group GM Trader: Terry King GM – Industry: Graham Gardiner Group Finance Manager: Cain Murphy Senior Producer: Tim Kenington Support Services Manager: Regina Fellner Sales Director: Matt Rice ISSN 1321-6279

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BEHIND THE WHEEL Greg Bush

Beyond the dark clouds

NLESS YOU’RE working in the public service area, there’s a reasonable chance that you have already been given that tap on the shoulder, advising that you’re now on JobKeeper, JobSeeker or you’ve simply been asked to take a pay cut. Transport at least has once again proven to be an indispensable vocation. I mean, how are we going to keep our toilet paper supplies up to scratch without trucks delivering the goods? Talking to some drivers, owner-drivers and operators, the common theme is that some areas of work have slackened off while it’s business as usual in other areas. Nevertheless, there’s an air of uneasiness that’s hanging over the trucking industry. Parts suppliers are having trouble obtaining their products, especially if those bits and pieces are coming from China. Truck manufacturers are also feeling the pinch to some degree. Truck sales have taken a downturn, namely 40 per cent down in May compared to the same month in 2019. Year to date and it’s 20.2 per cent less compared to last year’s sales for the first five months. Most of these downward differences are due to the easing of heavy and medium duty truck sales. Light duty has also been affected, but not as much. Obviously the tradies out there are still doing pretty well. However, the Truck Industry Council points out that sales-wise we’re doing better than the years following the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. Plus, with various government incentives on offer, it’s hopeful that things will pick up, not only in sales, but the transport industry as a whole before the end of the year. Let’s face it, we still need to eat, drink and even hire

a removalist to move house – unless you’re a Victorian wishing to head north for the winter. ONE OF the most bizarre incidents has occurred over the past few weeks, its origin reaching back to April this year. It seems the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken a dislike towards one of Owner//Driver’s regular columnists, namely Frank Black. Frank, an owner-driver, has been around the industry as long as anyone, and most know where his loyalties lie. Now we, including the publishers of this magazine, don’t necessarily agree with some of Frank’s views. It’s the same with all our columnists, but as long as they’re not slandering anyone, we believe they have the right to put their experienced industry point of view across. Catherine Pavey, who is director of the ACCC’s cartel division, believed Frank was somehow attempting to organise a price fix in his April column. Hence, she sent him a pointed letter (see page 14), including a jail threat. The Owner//Driver team is flattered that Catherine reads the magazine and/or our website. Perhaps she has a friend or relative in the industry. Or, more likely, someone with friends in handy places has pointed Catherine in Frank’s direction and, hence, the threatening letter. What is interesting is that Owner//Driver did not receive similar correspondence. Seems a bit like an enforcement officer who reads the riot act to the driver who’s out of hours, while paying no interest to the truck’s owner. Whoever the mischief maker is, we’ll probably never know. What’s certain is this: they don’t like Frank’s point of view. But if they believe they can control the editorial content in Owner//Driver, they’re wasting their time.

OwnerDriver has an expanding national circulation, with emphasis on maximum saturation and readership throughout all Australian states and territories. Our efficient delivery service incorporating specialist delivery companies and Australia Post ensures that current editions of OwnerDriver are delivered to respective outlets within days of its publication. If you are having difficulty obtaining a copy within your area, or alternatively, are receiving requests for more copies than you are receiving, contact Stuart Jones on 03 9567 4207. No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without written consent from the copyright holder.

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The Goods

NEWS FROM THE HIGHWAY AND BEYOND

NHVR’s blueprint for vehicle technology Trucks owners incorporating technology update to benefit from relaxed access and use limits

THE NATIONAL Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has unveiled a program to support manufacturers and operators incorporate safety and environmental technology into new and existing heavy vehicles. The Vehicle Safety and Environmental Technology Update Plan (SETUP) was developed following a survey of manufacturers in 2018, and is designed to meet the targets set out in the federal government’s National Road Safety Action Plan 2018-2020, NHVR notes. The plan comprises five work packages, including better harmonisation of Australian vehicle standards, better access to the latest vehicle technologies, ensuring appropriate in-service requirements, and industry education about new and emerging technology. These include: • Advocate for the increased: harmonisation of Australian vehicle standards to allow for the latest designs from origin markets; and fitment of safety and environmental technology from those major market designs • Relax access and use limits for vehicles fitted with the latest environmental and vehicle safety technology

• Ensure in-service requirements maximise the benefits of mandated technology • Empower industry to make informed purchasing decisions • Educate industry about vehicle safety and environmental technology. “When we surveyed manufacturers, we saw that there was very little consistency when it comes to installing newer types of safety technology,” NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto says. “For example, stability control was included on 78 per cent of new vehicles, but fatigue monitoring systems were used on less than one in five, while lane keep assist featured on one in four new vehicles.” Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz says SETUP will give Australia’s heavy vehicle industry certainty when installing new safety technology. “Heavy vehicle manufacturers are designing technology, both here locally and overseas, to improve safety and get drivers home safely,” Buchholz says. “This technology is available and I want to clear the

Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz gets behind the wheel

way to encourage the use of that technology and make sure there are no regulatory barriers when it comes to manufacturers identifying and installing new systems. “For example, lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking systems and pedestrian and cyclist detection systems are all available, so let’s see them on more new vehicles.” The blueprint has the backing of the Truck Industry Council (TIC), Australia’s peak industry body for truck manufacturers, importers and major component suppliers. “By removing barriers and aligning standards such as width and mass, manufacturers will have access to more trucks, meaning more options and lower costs for operators,” TIC CEO Tony McMullan says.

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Available from your participating Western Star Dealer. Prices include GST and are valid from 1st June - 31st Oct 2020. Prices and specifications are subject to change without notice and do not include freight. Images are for illustration purposes only - actual products may differ from shown. To find your closest dealer, or to purchase online, visit: westernstarshop.com.au Penske Australia reserves the right to correct printing errors.

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THE GOODS NEWS FROM THE HIGHWAY AND BEYOND

Fines reminder amid tunnel launch

Penalties will apply to trucking operators for avoiding NorthConnex ALONG WITH the pomp and ceremony of NorthConnex’s first end-to-end drive through lurks a New South Wales Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) memo to trucking operators on the consequences of avoiding the new toll road. The launch of the $3 billion state-federal initiative saw a photo opportunity for prime minister Scott Morrison, federal infrastructure minister Michael McCormack, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and NSW transport and roads minister Andrew Constance at the nine-kilometre, twin tunnels, which travel between the M1 Pacifc Motorway at Wahroonga and the M2 Hills Motorway at West Pennant Hills. The tunnel is said to be open to the public “within two months”. In a statement, all ministers praised the flagship project, with Berejiklian noting once complete, NorthConnex would save up to 15 minutes’ travel time and allow drivers to avoid 21 sets of traffic lights along Pennant Hills Road. She says the drive-through was another indication of how close the government was in getting to the opening of the key piece of infrastructure which will help alleviate the traffic problems Pennant Hills Road has been experiencing for decades. “NorthConnex will return local streets to local communities by taking up to 5,000 trucks per

day off Pennant Hills Road, easing congestion, improving safety and local air quality, and reducing traffic noise,” Berejiklian says. McCormack adds: “This project is one of many which is moving people safely and more efficiently across Sydney, while creating job opportunities for local workers.” Given the project is being delivered in partnership with toll road operator Transurban, tolls will apply, with April 2020 pricing set at $7.83 for cars and $23.50 for heavy vehicles. More pertinent to industry, however, is RMS’ recently released guideline reminding operators that “we will only be able to deliver the benefits of NorthConnex by removing some of the truck and bus traffic from Pennant Hills Road”. It says operators will need to know their vehicle dimensions and plan trips accordingly. “Trucks and buses (over 12.5 metres long or over 2.8 metres clearance height) travelling between the M1 and M2 must use the tunnels unless they have a genuine delivery or pick up destination only accessible via Pennant Hills Road,” the document states. “Two gantries will monitor trucks and buses on Pennant Hills Road – in the north at Normanhurst and in the south at Beecroft/West Pennant Hills. “Cameras in the gantries will record the height

and length of trucks and buses. “Trucks and buses (over 12.5 metres long or over 2.8 metres clearance height) which pass both gantries with the flow of traffic will receive a fine of $191 with no loss of demerit points.” Exceptions apply to vehicles transporting dangerous goods with a dangerous goods placard or sign, and oversize vehicles operating under a Class 1 permit or notice approved to use Pennant Hills Road. RMS pledges to share further information on NorthConnex to ensure industry can plan for the new regulation.

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THE GOODS NEWS FROM THE HIGHWAY AND BEYOND

Praise for WA driving training course Career pathways and lifting standards seen as benefits of new program

TRUCK DRIVER training is one of the flagship new programs accompanying the first stage of major upgrades to Western Australia’s South Regional TAFE’s Collie campus. Announced on June 29, the opening of the new facilities coincided with the launch of the new Heavy Haulage Driving Operations Skill Set pilot program that will deliver skills to truck drivers with an aim of increasing productivity and industry safety. Endorsed by the Western Roads Federation (WRF), it was “developed following considerable industry consultation and will fill key skills gaps for this essential service”. The five-week course has been developed to support workers and businesses and gives drivers the end-to-end skills needed in their workplace and help jobseekers increase their employability. The course will also give participants eight units of competency from the Certificate III in Driving Operations and a leg up to complete

the full qualification. South Regional TAFE is working in partnership with Keens Truck Driver Training to deliver the new program. The WRF will work with its industry partners to ensure course participants have at least one interview with an industry employer within a month of completing the program. The pilot, commencing this month, will usie the newly upgraded facilities and will move to a dedicated training space to be constructed as part of Collie’s stage two upgrade. “The importance of the transport industry has never been more evident than during the COVID-19 pandemic,” WA education and training minister Sue Ellery says. “Truck drivers have kept Western Australia moving and we are proud to invest in this new training program and facilities that will upskill this essential workforce. “The McGowan government continues to invest in skills relevant to WA’s economy which will also aid

our state’s COVID-19 recovery.” Transport minister Rita Saffioti credits the WRF approaching the state government to create a dedicated training course for drivers. “I am really pleased the Heavy Haulage Driving Operations Skill Set will commence next month. “We have worked collaboratively with industry and the training sector to ensure this program will give drivers the skills they need while also helping jobseekers increase their employability. “There is a looming shortage of truck drivers in WA and the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how vital the freight industry is to our state.” The Western Australian branch of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) also welcomes the announcement.

“We’ve been asking for this for years,” TWU WA state secretary Tim Dawson says. “It is great to see the state Labor government get behind the future of transport and our great industry. “When the average age of a truck driver is between 45 and 65, more work is needed to attract and retain young people to the transport industry to ensure the industry is sustainable, and this is a great step in the right direction. “This avenue will ensure proper education and safe, professionally trained drivers on our roads. “It is great to see the WA state government recognise the essential work of truck drivers and ensure the long-term future of the industry by offering it as a sustainable and feasible pathway for young people.”

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1/7/20 12:10 pm

THE GOODS NEWS FROM THE HIGHWAY AND BEYOND

ACCC issues jail threat to truck driver Owner-driver Frank Black has received a warning from the ACCC over comments he wrote on cut priced freight rates

THE AUSTRALIAN Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has fired a warning shot towards Owner//Driver columnist Frank Black following his concerns over low freight rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter sent to Black dated June 1, Catherine Pavey, director Cartels branch at the ACCC, referred to statements made in his April 2020 column that the ACCC could give rise to allegations that he has attempted to fix prices with other owner-drivers. Black’s opinion piece also ran on Owner//Driver’s website: www.ownerdriver.com.au. In particular, Pavey listed two “potentially problematic paragraphs” in Black’s opinion piece: “What does concern me is the cheap freight being offered by people taking advantage of the situation. This is no time for bottom feeders to seek to profit at the expense of others. We can’t afford for rates to be lowered anywhere in the industry. “In harder times, it’s more important than ever for us to stick together and stand strong. We all feel the calling of our personal financial needs but undercutting each other to win work will only do harm to us all.” Pavey believes the article raises concerns that Black, a one-truck owner-driver, may have attempted to form arrangements or reach understandings with the purpose of fixing, controlling or maintaining prices. Pavey also mentioned in her letter to Black that contravention of the cartel provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 is a criminal offence and carries serious criminal and civil penalties, including up to 10 years in jail for individuals. Black, a staunch Transport Workers Union (TWU) member, was a supporter of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT), which was abolished by the Coalition Government in 2016. The RSRT was originally set up by the Labor Government, coming in effect in 2014 to set pay and conditions for drivers in the road transport industry. The TWU responded to Pavey’s letter, saying it was “utterly astounded that the ACCC is threatening criminal charges carrying jail terms to a truck driver” over an opinion article. The TWU has requested the ACCC on information has how it obtained Black’s personal contact details. It has also asked for a full withdrawal of the letter and accusations levelled at Black, as well as an apology. As well as his TWU membership, Black is the current owner-driver representative on the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) general council. In recent months, Black and the ATA’s relationship has soured. In Owner//Driver’s March edition, Black questioned the association’s right to speak on behalf of the whole trucking industry. He accused the ATA of becoming

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Owner-driver Frank Black

ATA CEO Ben Maguire

“The ATA did not see or approve the column before it was published.” nothing more than an employer group. The then ATA chair Geoff Crouch responded in Owner//Driver’s May edition, accusing Black of making “inaccurate and inflammatory accusations from the sidelines”. It also stated that Black had failed to participate in council policy committee meetings. However, Black tells Owner// Driver he has missed only one general council meeting this year. More recently, the ATA CEO Ben Maguire stated that, “although he is an elected member of the ATA Council, Frank Black was not speaking on the ATA’s behalf when he suggested in his column that owner drivers should fix prices”. “The ATA did not see or approve the column before it was published. We do not endorse it. “The ATA takes compliance with the competition laws very seriously. We operate in accordance with the Competition and Consumer Act and the ACCC guidelines for industry associations. “ATA Chair David Smith will be writing to all ATA councillors and committee members with a refresh of their obligations under the competition

laws and to provide links to guidance material,” Maguire says. “Instead of arguing for price fixing, Frank Black should have dialled in to our council meetings in April and May and put forward constructive ideas on behalf of the owner-drivers he was elected to represent.” Maguire was also adamant that the ATA did not direct the ACCC to Black’s opinion column. “The ATA did not refer Frank Black’s column to the ACCC, who I would imagine are capable of discovering columns in the media all by themselves. “During the pandemic and as always, our focus has been on representing our members and getting results. “With our members, we successfully lobbied to keep all of Australia’s freight moving. We secured the 50 per cent investment allowance, won a six month extension to the instant asset write off and stopped the planned increase in truck fuel and registration charges. We also campaigned to keep rest area and customer site facilities open for drivers,” Maguire says. One of the biggest infringements over cartels came to a head in 1994 when TNT, Ansett Transport and Mayne Nickless received massive fines for years of price fixing and rigging. The then Trade Practices Commission, the ACCC’s predecessor, said the three companies’ actions represented the most sustained and systematic price fixing case ever to come before an Australian court. Despite the millions of dollars in fines, no jail sentences were recorded. The ACCC has had much on its plate lately. It recently lost its appeal over a ruling that Kimberly-Clark had not misled customers when it said its Kleenex Cottonelle Flushable Cleansing Cloths where in fact flushable. Coincidentally, in his April column, Black mentioned Kimberly Clark as one of the companies that has thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic, due mainly to toilet paper hoarding by the general public. Owner//Driver has attempted to contact Catherine Pavey of the ACCC. – Greg Bush

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Industry upbeat despite coronavirus pandemic Survey shows fleet owners refuse to be cowed by COVID-19

many cases strengthened – in June. GROWING OPTIMISM among “The inaugural survey conducted Victorian fleet-owners and in late April suggested the operators bodes well for much of transport, waste and recycling the rest of the country battling the sectors were reasonably upbeat economic effects of COVID-19. about the prospects of recovering Of the states, Victoria’s economy is from the coronavirus pandemic,” seen as perhaps the hardest hit by the VTA says. strong social measures to counter “To gain an updated perspective the pandemic, putting capital on industry sentiments, equipment expenditure at risk. participating members were Yet the Victorian Transport interviewed again, with responses Association (VTA) reports that showing the industry remained its latest COVID Insights survey upbeat about the prospects for shows optimism expressed by VTA recovery.” and Victorian Waste Management One of the key findings of the Association (VWMA) members in latest survey was that 60 per cent of April that the transport industry 1189239_OwnerDriver 2020-06-19T15:37:00+10:00 respondents expect international would recover from the economic trade to increase over the next four downturn has continued – and in

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months, an increase of 15 per cent of respondents from the last survey. In addition, 80 per cent of members said they intended to invest in new capital equipment before the end of the year. VTA and VWMA CEO Peter Anderson says the transport industry should be encouraged by the general improvement in optimism expressed by respondents, particularly the willingness by operators to invest in their people and their businesses despite some of the economic headwinds caused by coronavirus. “It is one thing to say you are optimistic about a recovery, but when operators are prepared to

put their hands in their pockets and purchase new capital equipment – as respondents have overwhelmingly said they are prepared to do – it suggests that there is renewed confidence in and from our sector,” Anderson continues. “The extension of the instant asset write-off until the end of the year by the Commonwealth has no doubt been a factor in operators being prepared to invest in their businesses, and we thank the government for extending the scheme and, along with JobKeeper, giving businesses the tangible economic support they needed to invest with confidence.”

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owner profile

TRADING M TOOLS FOR TRUCKIN’ Former diesel fitter Brenton ‘Budgie’ Bugeja has changed his tune when it comes to the choice of North American or European trucks. Cobey Bartels writes

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ACKAY-BASED diesel fitter Brenton ‘Budgie’ Bugeja felt like a change of scenery, so he traded the tools for the cab of a truck – a decision he couldn’t be happier with! Brenton now operates Budgie’s Hot Shots, a general freight business running equipment and supplies to coal mines around the Bowen Basin in Queensland. “I’m actually a diesel fitter and I just sort of wanted a sea change. I guess you’d call it that!” he tells Owner//Driver. From there, Budgie’s Hot Shots was born, a similar name to Brenton’s diesel fitting business, but a change of scenery it certainly was. “Budgie is of course my nickname and my previous business was called Budgie’s Diesel Solutions, so we did have to change the name a bit! “Hot Shots sees us delivering equipment and materials to the Bowen Basin, but I’ve done Miles, I’ve gone down into New South Wales, we’ll go wherever they want the equipment.” With 800,000 kilometres on the MAN TGL 12.250 4x2 that came with the business, Brenton had a decision to make before pouring any more money into the old steed. “When I bought the business it came with an older MAN and it was a matter

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“It was a matter of whether I keep pushing it to its limits or get rid of it.” of whether I keep pushing it to its limits, or get rid of it and buy a new truck,” he explains.

Comfortable decision Top: Brenton Bugeja opted for a new MAN TGM 15.290 4x2 for this hot shot business Left: The bunk comes in handy for Brenton’s intra and interstate runs Below: Comfort was important when it came to Brenton’s choice of truck

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After seeing the team at Penske in Mackay, Brenton decided to stick with the MAN brand and upgrade to a new TGM 15.290 4x2 with a flat tray. “I didn’t used to think I’d go near European stuff as a diesel fitter, but honestly after owning them the reliability and how much they costs to run – I wouldn’t go near anything else for this kind of work,” he says. “If was going to go on dirt roads of course the American stuff is good for that – but for what I do the comfort and economy of the MAN is great.” Brenton is no stranger to North American trucks either, with a family history in transport and most of those miles done in bonneted bangers. “Look, my brother has all American trucks and my father drove Volvos early on and then drove American. I was around American trucks the whole time,” he tells us. “The difference is they do dirt roads and tougher stuff, whereas I’m on good roads and I can get a better deal on a European truck that does what I want and has a great warranty and fuel economy. “If someone came to me and said, ‘should I buy a European truck?’ I’d ask them what they planned to do with it. If they were pulling B-triples down the road pulling cows, or going to drive down the highway – it depends on what you’re going to do, and for me the MAN was the ideal fit.” From a comfort perspective, Brenton reckons the new MAN is pretty hard to beat. He even went as far as to compare it to an Italian supercar! “I can get out of my truck and my insides are still intact, my back is in one piece, that new one of mine, even with no weight up back, rides like a Ferrari.” Brenton has been clocking up a fair bit of mileage on the

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reightApp finds you a load and gets you paid on the day you complete the delivery! This is arguably the greatest, if not the only, freight app in Australia to find additional loads and get truckies paid as soon as they deliver the load, according to FreightApp developer Rickey Govender. His Australian company TransMissito (www. transmissito.com) has created an app that is both easy to use and does what all truckies want. “When you think of supply chain logistics and finding your next load or filling any un-utilised space in your vehicle, we want there to only be one name you think of in Australia – and that’s TransMissito,” explains Rickey. “If you are an operator struggling to find work, and that want instant payment terms, and you are seeking a constant stream of customers, TransMissito’s FreightApp will tick all these boxes. “Best of all, the app is easy to use and free. “TransMissito has set out to make a difference, and we believe it’s never just about our company; it’s about the role we play and the goals you score and that the choices we make today, shall determine our future.” To make things even more enticing, TransMissito is helping the bottom line of operators by joining forces with Puma Energy and Metro Fuels to give TransMissito’s registered freight operators additional fuel rebates. Rickey says the uptake has been awesome so far and he is encouraging more businesses to take advantage of signing up. FreightApp can be downloaded through both Apple and Android devices. “Our target is to sign up as many transport companies as possible and then target the freight customer base,” Rickey says. “We are well on the way to reaching our milestone set in our network, and once the word gets out we’ll be able

to service every freight customer in Australia.” Transport journalist Chris Smith says FreightApp looks like it was created to make the lives of owner drivers and transport operators much easier. “The beauty about what Rickey and the team from TransMissito have developed is that it is so easy to use,” Chris says. “Writing about transport for all these years, it’s refreshing to see new ideas like this that cuts out haggling for a job and lets the operator choose which jobs are convenient for them. No pressure, just a load they want at a set rate based on a pricing matrix, set in the app.” He adds that drivers are also able to choose which loads they wanted to transport, whether it would be a full load or even a half or several loads, and they will be paid in full on the day of the delivery. Drivers now know immediately their earning potential, and eliminates price gouging, or competing in the race to the bottom. Rickey adds that a lot of research was done to make sure pricing for the freight movements was spot on. “We have created a sustainable and transparent pricing matrix in conjunction with a location and convenience type model that will match operators with businesses needing freight movements,” he says. “Transmissito provides users with upfront pricing so that it eliminates the possibility of haggling in the middle of a contract. This feature also allows our transporters and customers to be more secure with their contracts and reduces time-wastage.” Also, like other gig economy apps, customers will be able to rate and review drivers/transport companies in real time. “With a network of drivers and transporter companies across Australia already signed up, TransMissito is

inviting additional transport companies/truckies to register for its free app whilst simultaneously launching to customers,” Rickey adds. FreightApp is designed to be easy to use but it also powerful. It can service a one-truck owner driver to a massive fleet, offering handy features to help keep your fleet operational. Rickey is hoping the new tech start-up will change the shape of the transport industry. Early adopters of this app who get in at ground level will become an integral part of this huge digital disruptor in the transport market. TransMissito’s potential and benefits for the drivers and freight movement within Australia is almost unlimited. “We want Australian businesses to be at the forefront, be profitable and sustainable and I believe the TransMissito FreightApp will be the perfect companion for small, medium and large transport businesses,” Rickey concludes. For more information, visit www.transmissito.com

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30/6/20 11:44 am

TWU Michael Kaine

Unwarranted attack The ACCC has singled out Owner//Driver columnist Frank Black for voicing an opinion on freight rates

HE ATTACK by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Owner//Driver columnist Frank Black has been a terrifying but clarifying moment for the trucking industry. Let’s be clear from the start: Frank in his opinion article pointed out what the dogs in the streets know about when it comes to pressure on rates and how the pandemic has made things even worse. What he wrote was nothing different from what I and many other columnists on these pages have said for years. And in case the ACCC is keenly reading again this edition of Owner//Driver, I’ll state it again: rates are too low, they need to be raised and our industry must come together to insist on regulation to ensure clients end the squeeze. So the big questions are: • Who alerted the ACCC to Frank’s column and gave them his personal contact details? • Why did the ACCC suddenly take it upon itself to write a threatening letter to Frank, mentioning criminal charges and jail terms, all over an opinion article stating the blinding obvious?

I hope these questions get solved quickly because if it turns out that a government regulator has been influenced by a third party to carry out a vindictive attack on a driver then the consequences for all involved must be serious.

ASTONISHING REACTION But despite the unanswered questions this incident has also given us much clarity on two fronts. Firstly, we can see quite starkly how there

MICHAEL KAINE is the national secretary of the Transport Workers Union of Australia. Contact Michael at: NSW Transport Workers Union, Transport House, 188-390 Sussex Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. twu@twu.com.au

ABOVE: Owner-driver Frank Black

is no organisation, no politician and no regulator which is part of the federal government that understands the problems in our industry and is willing to do something about it. Frank’s column was direct in its message: drivers are being forced to work below cost, drive their trucks into the ground and sacrifice well-being just to clock up work to keep going. That was the point of the article. For the ACCC to use this article as a vehicle to state that Frank was breaking the law and attack him is utterly astonishing and amounts to a gross overreach by the regulator. The Commission had no problem with Frank’s statements that drivers are working below cost and risking fatigue from taking on extra work. Instead, the ACCC went after Frank for daring to suggest that these rates are a problem. This is astounding because we know that rates are low and that the consequences of this are far reaching and deadly. When drivers can’t pay themselves a fair wage for their work, when they can’t get their trucks repaired, when the bills are coming in but the money isn’t, this has an effect on businesses and their

“Regulators are ready and waiting to fire off letters to drivers about made-up claims of cartel rule breaches.”

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ability to operate safely. Drivers are dying on our roads, other road users are dying, trucking businesses are going bankrupt and our government doesn’t give a damn. To emphasise how little it cares, its regulators are ready and waiting to fire off letters to drivers about made-up claims of cartel rule breaches instead of reaching out and asking “how can we help?”. Trucking is Australia’s deadliest industry, yet instead of making it safer, the agencies of the government are going after drivers over opinion articles. It is sickening. The upshot of this is clear: this federal government has done nothing for our drivers, our operators or our industry.

ASSOCIATION ATTACK My second point relates to the Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA) involvement in this incident. Frank is the elected ownerdriver representative of the General Council of the ATA and instead of defending his right to speak out in an opinion article, the ATA attacked him. The association supported the ACCC move, saying it would “be writing to all ATA councillors and committee members with a refresh of their obligations under the competition laws”. On Frank’s column on rates it said: “We do not endorse it.” So there we have it folks, in case you were in any doubt: the ATA sides not with drivers, operators or the transport industry, it sides with the federal government and its shameful hunting of drivers and refusal to address the problems in our industry. The ATA’s intervention certainly also raises questions about the role it played in the ACCC’s letter and we hope this link is made clearer soon. But we can’t be surprised by any of this. The ATA has consistently run an ideological agenda on our industry’s issues, cosying up to politicians who prefer our industry on its knees so their wealthy backers among big retailers, manufacturers and oil companies can make profit at transporters’ expense. The ATA is not an advocate for our industry. It is a barrier and a block to progress and better standards. This incident has been tough on Frank Black and I join all the drivers, transport companies and industry associations in supporting his right to speak out. It has been an unfortunate incident but it has shown quite clearly who we can trust and who we cannot, who is on the side of drivers and who is not.

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Of course that’s not to say all big businesses are doing the wrong thing and forcing small business to break the law. Just like most things, there’s good and bad in both groups. The key though is for the authorities to identify and target those who are doing the wrong thing.

The legal view Sarah Marinovic

Chasing the chain

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?

Punishing owner-drivers won’t solve driver fatigue

RIVER FATIGUE is seen by the authorities as one of the transport industry’s main safety risks. Anyone who drives long haul will no doubt have seen the resources they pour into policing it. But, in focusing only on drivers, the authorities are targeting the wrong people. If they really want to bring about change, enforcement needs to look at the people who hold the power in the industry.

CURRENT STATE OF PLAY At the moment, the standard procedure when a fatigue breach is identified is to charge the driver only. But there’s no reason this has to be the case. The Chain of Responsibility (COR) laws allow the authorities to pursue other people in the supply chain. However, it’s extremely rare for anyone else in the chain to be investigated or charged. In fact it’s so rare that it was big news when in February this year the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) finally charged a director for fatigue breaches under the new COR laws. It was the first time those laws had been used, despite existing for over two years by that stage.

businesses, many of whom are ownerdrivers, don’t hold that power. Yet, this is the group that seems to cop the brunt of the enforcement and fines. A large portion of my work is helping these owner drivers. By far the majority of them are good people who are trying to do the right thing. They have one thing in common – they’re under a lot of pressure. As you all know, the transport industry is competitive. Margins are tight and there’s often 10 other small businesses willing to step into your spot. The result is that those at the top of the chain hold the real bargaining power. If a small business can’t meet big business’ timeframes, they simply won’t get work. Too often this is what leads to people falling foul of the fatigue laws.

SARAH MARINOVIC is a principal solicitor at Ainsley Law – a firm dedicated to traffic and heavy vehicle law. She has focussed on this expertise for over a decade, having started her career prosecuting for the RMS, and then using that experience as a defence lawyer helping professional drivers and truck owners. Email Sarah at sarah@ainsleylaw.com.au

“If a small business can’t meet big business’ timeframes, they simply won’t get work.”

ROOT OF THE PROBLEM The point of punishing people with heavy fines is to deter them from committing offences. But that only works well if you’re punishing the people who have the real power to stop fatigue breaches. The reality is that small transport

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There’s a lot of focus on reforming the fatigue laws to better reflect the realities of a driver’s job. I agree that’s an important step. But it’s only half of the solution. I’m also not suggesting that the authorities should stop charging drivers for fatigue breaches. There does need to be accountability at that level too. What I am advocating for is evening the playing field. The enforcement needs to also target those who have the power to bring about change in the industry. Until the ‘big players’ start feeling the sting of enforcement action, there’s little motivation for them to change. While they are free from the consequences there will be a portion of them who do the wrong thing and keep up the pressure on drivers. If we can ease some of the pressure by making sure everyone in the chain carries their fair share of the enforcement action, then less owner drivers will find themselves in the difficult positions that lead to fatigue offences. We already have the tools under the COR laws to do this. The authorities just need to start using them.

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driver licensing

LAX LICENSING LOWDOWN The coronavirus has caused yet another delay in fixing Australia’s broken truck driver licensing system, as Owner//Driver reports in this special feature

24 JULY 2020

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OST DAYS, Brad Greenrod witnessed what the transport industry sees far too often – truck drivers who can’t drive. Until recently Brad was a driver assessor and on-road compliance manager with one of Australia’s biggest trucking companies. But shockingly, he estimates for every couple of dozen applicants with B-double licenses he interviewed, after the practical test he would hire only one – maybe two. “It’s fairly common for them not to be able to keep the truck in the lane, they couldn’t hook them up, couldn’t reverse – basically couldn’t drive out of sight on a dark night,” Brad laments. “I’ve had blokes slam the truck into the back of trailers and miss the king-pin completely.” Brad – whose own driving specialty is in heavy haulage – doesn’t blame the individual licence holders for their inability and inexperience. He’s had a couple tell him they weren’t taught to reverse or hook up in the first place, let alone practise. Brad doesn’t necessarily blame driving instructors or schools either, for producing licence holders who can’t do the job. “Basically the system sucks,” he says. “It’s just far too easy.” He says that laxness is typified by the time taken to get a licence, in as little as a day; by being able to go straight from Heavy Rigid (HR) to Multi Combination (MC) in two days; by vehicle lengths and weights being much less than in the real world; getting a Heavy Combination (HC) licence only using a trailer with a drawbar, when most trailers have a skidplate/

“They’ve made everything easier and watered everything down.” fifth wheel mechanism; assessors in many cases not having real-world experience; and of course the tests themselves are easy, such as reversing a B-double just in a straight line. Brad is a NSW-accredited driver trainer and assessor who worked at a leading Sydney driving school between 2008 and 2014, and reckons standards have deteriorated since. When heavy vehicle competency-based assessments (HVCBAs) through driving schools started happening in the mid-1990s – as opposed to practicing first and then going to the authorities to be assessed on driving alone – there were more than 40 competencies involved. These have now been bundled into 15 – including vehicle checks, steering, gears, brakes, reversing, coupling, load restraint and hill starts – all supposedly assessed in a day, with a checklist that runs to 25 pages in NSW. “There’s no time for training,” Brad says. And this is all assuming the gearbox is automatic – not a crash box, which of course is impossible to master in a day, and that’s just on its own. By the way, you can go straight from an auto car to an auto rigid truck, but on your licence be stamped miraculously capable of driving a synchromesh manual box up the front of more than 22 tonnes. This is all in stark contrast to what Brad observed during a recent trip to the Canadian province of Alberta, where HC drivers have to do more than 110 hours of training – including nearly 60 hours behind the wheel – costing up to $10,000. The much tougher regime came in after a horrific crash in 2018 in the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan when an inexperienced semi-trailer driver went through a flashing light and hit a bus, killing 16 people from a junior ice hockey team.

Dumbing Down Like Brad, Peter Swinn could have earnt a lot more money as a truck driver than as a truck driving instructor, but his passion for teaching kept him in the game for more than 20 years. Two years ago though, Peter finally had enough of the training and assessment system and has been back on the road. He says Australia’s slack truck licensing schemes create pressure for schools to deliver the lowest possible standards

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CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS Top: “They’ve also brought in a lot of rorting”: Former driver trainer Peter Swinn Above: It’s possible to get a heavy combination licence in Australia without knowing how to safely connect a king pin into a fifth wheel Below: Eagle eye: should rearfacing mirror cameras be used to prove reversing and coupling assessments? Opposite below: “Basically the system sucks”: Driver trainer and assessor Brad Greenrod

Outright lawbreaking in the truck driver licensing system has been exposed in recent years. A former heavy vehicle training manager at Linfox’s Anglesea Complex in Victoria was jailed over the corrupt provision of driver competency certificates. Michael Harrington, 65, was found to have pocketed more than $28,000 for 25 certificates, though his actions between 2006 and 2012 ultimately involved more than 300 certificates. As a result of the certificate fraud allegations, VicRoads was forced to notify and retest nearly 800 people Harrington tested since 2005. Fewer than 250 retained their licenses. Harrington was convicted in 2017. Along with an early guilty plea, lack of prior convictions and accepted expressions of remorse, the judge noted strong character references from Wettenhalls, which had offered Harrington a job following his dismissal. The co-accused in the case received a community corrections order. In NSW in 2014, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found that truck competency assessor Chris Binos had acted corruptly. “During the course of the Commission’s investigation, Mr Binos identified at least 95 applicants for whom he believed he had, in return for payment, made false entries in their learner’s log books to the effect that he had assessed them as competent to drive a heavy vehicle,” the ICAC said at the time. The ICAC referred the matter to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Owner//Driver contacted the DPP who told us that Binos was convicted in the NSW District Court in 2016. He pleaded guilty to three charges of corruptly soliciting benefits. His sentence was two years’ home detention.

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for the lowest possible price, and make it harder for the good guys to compete. He adds that too many trucking companies just want bums on seats: “If the freight gets there, that’s all they care about.” Peter says the original competency-based system was designed to produce ready-made drivers by having schools teach non-driving skills such as coupling and load restraint, and he says it was good. Standards were much higher. For example, there had to be two assessments of each skill, conducted at least eight hours apart; there was compulsory night driving; and defensive driving against bad car drivers was taught. “But they’ve made everything easier and watered everything down,” Peter says of the state road agencies, who he believes have dropped to the lowest common denominators in moving towards a national system. “They’ve also brought in a lot of rorting. It’s probably human nature to get away with whatever you can, but it’s the authorities that are the ones that ultimately have to police it and make sure it’s done right.” Peter says the policing in NSW is lame compared with a couple of decades ago, when the auditors were “really staunch”. “When competency-based assessment started, the auditors would turn up at your door unannounced any time they wanted, and they would spend an hour or two with you or they would spend a whole day with you.” Peter suspects at one stage there were even undercover “trainees”. He says the government auditors would sometimes follow trucks in their cars, hide at intersections, and occasionally take a candidate out in the truck themselves. “They now just turn up on the odd occasion to see the final competency assessment conducted,” Peter laments. Since corruption scandals in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia (see pages 25 and 28), those short on-road final assessments involve both front and inward-facing cameras, audio and GPS tracking. However, except in Victoria, there is no camera verification that reversing or coupling has been assessed at any stage during the day.

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“The standard required of drivers who seek heavy vehicle licensing has dropped to unacceptably low levels” A NSW road agency spokesperson told Owner//Driver: “In the past 12 months Transport for NSW has enhanced the HVCBA program to improve the integrity, quality and internal administration of the HVCBA scheme and uplift skills and knowledge of approved trainers/assessors.” Completed improvements include a customer satisfaction survey for licensees launched in November 2019; professional development training for assessors, delivered by TfNSW; and best practice videos. On the trainee application form it says a TfNSW Officer might turn up on site, and for example, accompany the candidate and assessor in the vehicle during an assessment; or ask the candidate to demonstrate completed training course criteria.

Above: The right way: A Greenfreight driver skilfully reverses a B-double into a narrow finger dock Below: Concrete carter: common driving school HC setup Opposite bottom: There’s a bit of a difference in backing this dinky driving school trailer compared with this quad dog

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VicRoads told Owner//Driver that among its additional controls in recent times: “Providers are required to self-audit and report findings of audit anomalies on a monthly basis.” There are also police checks of personnel every three years.

Strategix Training driving instructor Ian Stanley

Senate Slams System Of course it’s not just Brad and Peter who are blowing the whistle on Australia’s bare bones and inconsistent driver licensing standards. The Australian Trucking Association is just one of many organisations that have been voicing serious concerns for years. In 2017, a hard-hitting Senate inquiry report was scathing of the current situation. “Perhaps flowing from the problem of ill-equipped instructors and assessors, the committee heard that the standard required of drivers who seek heavy vehicle licensing has dropped to unacceptably low levels,” says the report. Not only did Aspects of Road Safety in Australia find that state road agency standards on driver licensing were poor (and that’s not counting the issue of overseas drivers). It also found that policing of the private registered training organisations (RTOs) left a lot to be desired too. This is the job of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). “The committee notes evidence that ASQA has received few complaints about heavy vehicle driver training and assessment, which does not accord with evidence received during the inquiry of underhanded practices in the training industry,” the Senate report says. It concluded that “more can be done by the national body to investigate and protect the integrity of the system”. ASQA did identify truck licensing qualifications as “products of concern” from 2017 to 2019. However, the regulator told Owner//Driver that monitoring did not identify an ongoing risk, and as a result truck licensing has been removed from its products of concern list. The Senate Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport report noted that way back in 2008 Australia’s transport ministers agreed that there should be consistent national rules on truck driver licensing standards. This was supposed to happen under Austroads, the peak organisation of road and traffic agencies. However, the committee concluded that the rules are still inconsistent between – and even within – the states and territories, “which provides scope for loopholes and slipping standards”.

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DRIVE FOR IMPROVEMENT Ian Stanley has been in the truck and bus game for over 30 years – including as a driver, fleet and operations manager – and driving instructor at Strategix Training in Brisbane for the past decade. He does B-double licenses in two days, including 16 hours behind the wheel and a two-hour driving test. He goes beyond the call of duty in taking nearly all candidates up and down the old Toowoomba Range, teaching them how to hold on to a big rig using either a crash box or an automated gearbox in manual mode. “Should the training be longer for all heavy vehicles? Absolutely!” says Ian. “I would love to have people for a week but we would price ourselves out of the game. “For that to happen it would need to come from governing bodies and be implemented across the industry. Competency comes with time and practice on the road.” Ian actually spends most of his time training the far more comprehensive Certificate III in Driving Operations, a nationally-recognised qualification for which government subsidies are available. He says there’s “sometimes too much theory in it”, but he believes something like it should be the minimum requirement for getting behind the wheel. For newbies, the Certificate III taught by Strategix involves two days in the classroom for 10 weeks, covering key topics such as fatigue management, Chain of Responsibility, manual handling, load restraint and vehicle inspection. Then it’s 10 hours behind the wheel to prepare candidates for their Heavy Rigid (HR) licence test. Strategix also offers Cert III in the workplace, “to make sure drivers are at the top of their game”. This might include sitting with an already-experienced B-double driver while they do a long-distance changeover. In addition to basic licensing and Cert III, for about $100 an hour Ian is often asked to visit trucking companies and help out with identified drivers, upgrading their skills. “Three hours and $300 is cheaper than putting a new clutch and gearbox in a truck,” he points out, and he’s not just talking about crash boxes in articulated trucks, but synchros in rigids as well. In Queensland, HR and HC licenses are assessed by Department of Transport and Main Roads’ officers.

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“The current heavy vehicle driver licensing system does not ensure that the individual is competent” Last September, Austroads came out with a report flagging improvements like strengthening the oversight of RTOs; stronger licence standards; and perhaps most significantly, having minimum supervised on-road experience as part of the process. Owner//Driver contacted Austroads to see how its project is going. We were told it’s been put on hold until 2020/21 because of the coronavirus crisis. But of course the schools seem as busy as ever.

Hope on the horizon?

Above: By winding down the legs you can drive out from underneath this driving school HR tray body to reveal the HC fifth wheel, or more commonly use the tow coupling to pull a trailer Right: How many freshly minted truck licensees know that un-tapped spider wheel cleats can kill you if you don’t know how to change a tyre properly?

In what could be a breakthrough development, last year the Victorian Government launched a review of its truck driver licensing system. The review is applauded by NSW Police, among others. It is being headed by Peter Anderson, CEO of the Victorian Transport Association, the peak body for trucking companies in the state. The Association wants to see at least five to eight days’ training before someone can get their truck licence, with many hundreds of hours of actual on-road experience in each class before you can move up to the next one. With $4 million in funding from the Victorian Government over four years the VTA is putting 800 trainees through its own five-day ‘Driver Delivery’ program, run by Armstrong’s Driver Education. It includes both city and rural driving for HR and HC candidates. “There is no doubt that one of the reasons that the industry fails to attract and retain professional people is due to the levels of qualification and experience needed to start within the industry,” says Peter Anderson. “At present, these levels are very low and there is little formal recognition of experience, knowledge and responsibility within a road transport company. “The current heavy vehicle driver licencing system does not ensure that the individual is competent, skilled and emotionally prepared to drive a heavy vehicle before they attain a licence.” The VTA also advocates for mandatory education in high schools about heavy vehicle awareness.

Below right: Can you spot the problem in these photos featured on Australian driving school websites?

SCANDAL IN THE WEST In 2017 the Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission revealed a rort involving Mines West Driving School, owned by Previn Narayanan. The report detailed what it called “corrupt behaviour” including not conducting assessments; not carrying out assessments on designated routes; not having students complete a required theory test; and counselling interstate applicants on how to appear to be a WA resident to obtain a WA licence, before converting it to an interstate licence. The WA Department of Transport (DoT) – which detected the scam and cancelled its contract with Mines West – carried out 370 new driving assessments of Mines West “graduates”. More than half failed.

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FAMILY F L

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Y FEEDBACK DRIVES LEGEND For any operator of a small fleet, buying a brand new truck is a big investment, especially so when it’s a limited edition Kenworth Legend 900. But for Gippsland couple Peppi and Danielle Inverno, it was a venture that has solidified the family unit. Greg Bush writes

EPPI AND DANIELLE INVERNO, husband and wife owners of transport business G&D Inverno, never intended on buying another truck, especially a brand new Kenworth. Besides, they already had four Kenworths in their small fleet and adding another was never part of the equation. That is until Peppi called in at the Hallam Truck Centre in Melbourne on the way home to Gippsland after an interstate run in 2017. As fate would have it, Kenworth was about to release a limited edition Legend 900. To entice interest, the Hallam Truck Centre had a display model, ‘Legend 1’, on show and Peppi got talking to Kenworth sales consultant Danny O’Hara.

Peppi later arrived home, seeming somewhat sheepish. Danielle sensed something was amiss. “I was in the kitchen cooking and he came in and said ‘hello’ and never said anything else. And I thought, ‘well, I think something doesn’t seem right here’,” Danielle recalls. “I said, ‘what’s going on? Is everything all right?’ He never answered me at first, and then he said, ‘I think I’ve bought a truck’. “I said, what do you mean you’ve bought a truck? And he said, ‘well, I think I bought a truck’.” It’s best to say that Danielle’s colourful response to the surprising news cannot be reprinted on these pages. To put it simply, she wasn’t impressed – at first anyway.

Photos by Alastair Brook

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In brief

Name: Peppi Inverno Company: G&D Inverno Truck: 2017 Kenworth Legend 900 Engine: X15 Cummins Gearbox: Roadranger 18 speed Freight carried: General Regular run: MelbourneAdelaide and MelbourneSydney

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So while the 900 Legend number 1 was eventually to end up on display at the Kenworth Dealer Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, number 220 (out of 257 of the limited release) became the newest member of the G&D Inverno fleet. Not only that, but it also became part of the Inverno family, with Danielle now admitting that buying the truck was “the best thing we ever did”. “The reason I say that is, I think it’s a hard life for trucking families. And it’s a hard life especially for the kids when their dad’s away all week. “Their dads don’t get a chance to see them growing up, they miss birthdays, they miss school events, and they missing a lot of special things going on their life.” Danielle explains that the new truck has actually created a special bond between Peppi and the couple’s two sons, Jeremy, 17 and Christopher, 13. In fact, apart from Peppi’s decision to buy the Legend 900 in the first place, any input into anything whatsoever about the truck is put to a family vote. “We’ve all had an equal say in what happened, and not one thing happened to it until all four of us agreed,” Danielle explains. “So when it came to building it, when it came to designing it, our kids, even though they’re as young as they are, they had as much say in how it looked. And through that it created a real closeness.” After Hallam Truck Centre had placed its keen customer orders for the limited edition Legend 900 in one crazy July day in 2017, including the one containing Peppi’s signature, an invitation arrived from Paccar Australia for the Inverno family with the opportunity to tour its Bayswater facility. More importantly, it gave the Inverno family its

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“We’ve always had Kenworths and we’ve built up a relationship with Kenworth.” first look at their new truck as it made its way along the production line. The Legend was then to front up at Hallam for detailing, but not before Peppi, a qualified auto electrician, drove it home to hook up roof lights, central locking as well as wiring up the fridge and TV. It was a move that also made certain of one thing: Peppi was adamant that, apart from himself, no one else was climbing in behind the wheel of his new steed. Even passengers must toe the line – no dirty boots are permitted in the Legend’s cab. Peppi later drove the Legend 900 to Hallam for painting and signwriting. Arrangements were also made for the addition of stainless steel through RC Metalcraft in Albury, while Kentweld Bullbars at Sunshine West supplied the stunning bull bar. With its stainless steel wrapped tanks, wrapped bumper, chrome dipped rims and extra grill bars, the Inverno’s Legend 900 is an eye-catching piece of machinery, thanks to the input from all family members. Danielle added a feminine touch to the truck’s double bunks, such as colour coded satin sheets, plus custom made blankets ordered from the US, each with the Kenworth logo and the words ‘Inverno 220’. It’s a classy home away from home, especially for any family member who wants to tag along and grab the top bunk.

Business beginnings Maintaining the truck’s brand new look is a labour of love for Jeremy and Chris, although you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Legend 900 is the only truck lining up in the G&D Inverno fleet. A T401, 404ST, T408 SAR and a T601 are the other Kenworths making up the numbers. The 23-year-old 601 was actually the first truck to kick off the G&D Inverno business. Both Peppi and Danielle had

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grown up in trucking families and it was Peppi’s father, Phillip Inverno, who was the 601’s previous owner. It was a truck that Peppi was well familiar with. Together with Peppi’s uncles Jack and Quinto Inverno, Phillip had started in the trucking industry in 1967. “I did my auto electrical apprenticeship and then worked on trucks in the family business,” Peppi recalls. “I drove the T601 from new when I was working for him, then after I got married it was the first truck that Danielle and I bought together. “We’ve always had Kenworths and we’ve built up a relationship with Kenworth. It’s just the reliability of the product.” Jeremy, a year 12 student, is keen on following his parents in the trucking industry. Currently undertaking automotive mechanical studies at school, he’s fastidious in keeping the truck spotless and in a gleaming condition. “I’m very fascinated in keeping them very well presented,” Jeremy says enthusiastically. “They never leave here without their tyre shine on. It’s got to be full shine. Chris helps out with the polishing, but has also become a dab hand at tyre changing duties. “It was hard at first, but once you do it a few times it gets

Top: You’ve gotta love the flat dash layout and the leather steering wheel Above: Peppi Inverno, an auto electrician by trade, wired up the TV and fridge, while Danielle ordered the custom-made blankets to give the cab a home-away-from-home vibe Opposite top: The Inverno family with the newest member of the fleet. From left: Jeremy, Danielle, Peppi and Christopher Inverno Opposite middle: The Cummins X15, styled along the lines of the original N14 engine Opposite below: G&D Inverno’s Legend 900 in B-double combination arrives in Adelaide. Photo by Nick Borz

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“This is the one truck that will never leave our family.”

easier,” Chris says. “Dad obviously helps me a fair bit.” With the boys’ attention to detail, it was inevitable that the Legend 900 would become a regular at local truck shows, most notably Tooradin and Alexandra. In February this year it picked up the Truck of the Show award at the Berwick Truck & Wheels Expo. At the show presentation, Danielle said the judges were not only impressed how sparkling the truck was outside and inside, but also underneath. It had the cleanest diffs in town. “Jeremy quite often gets underneath with a scrubbing brush,” she says. “Afterwards a couple of the other competitors came past, laid on the ground and had a look. “We enjoy going along to truck shows, but we do it more for the kids because of the work they do here at home and the way they present them and work on them.” The family had planned to attend the Alexandra Truck, Ute and Rod Show in June, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that. It also had some impact on G&D Inverno’s business. “Some areas it’s busier and some areas it’s quiet,” Peppi explains. “You’ve just got to roll with the punches I guess. No one’s got a crystal ball that they can see the future in.”

Celebrity status

Surprise work of art In late 2019, Jeremy and Chris Inverno had become aware of the work of Brett Sullivan at Sullivan Sketching on the web. Before that, Brett’s truck drawings had featured in Owner//Driver’s September 2018 edition. Unbeknown to their parents, Jeremy and Chris contacted Brett and ordered a framed sketch of the family’s Legend 900. The boys met up with Brett at this year’s Tooradin Truck Show, picking up the drawing and hiding it in the back of the truck. Back home the following night, Jeremy and Chris presented the sketch to Peppi and Danielle during dinner. “To say it came as a complete surprise and shock to us both is an understatement,” Danielle says. “Both of us sat there in tears that our two sons had done this for us.”

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Above: Embroidered leather seats are a reminder that you’re sitting in a Legend

The Inverno fleet mostly runs general freight between Melbourne and Adelaide, with the occasional trip to Sydney. While the older Kenworths haul single trailers, the Legend 900 sits up front of a couple of B-double tautliners. And it’s become somewhat of a celebrity truck, with photos appearing regularly on social media sites. “Wherever I go there’s people with cameras just taking pictures off the side of the road, and a lot of these photos appear on Facebook,” Peppi says. “I look at them and think ‘geez, I didn’t even see this guy’, and I was driving up the Hume Freeway at 100km/h.” “We quite often know where Peppi is because we get pictures of it while he’s away,” Danielle adds. While it has the appearance of a show truck, the Legend 900 is an everyday worker, clocking up more than 210,000 kilometres with its Cummins X15 engine and Roadranger 18-speed ’box. It’s also the centre of conversation around the family table when Peppi delivers it home each Friday afternoon. “The boys say to us this is the one truck that will never leave our family as they helped build this,” Danielle says. “It will be with us forever.”

ownerdriver.com.au

1/7/20 12:39 pm

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PROJECT F I

T’S OFTEN difficult to get across in writing the character of a person without an in-depth, highly-detailed profile being written up. There are always exceptions though; certain people that can be summed up with a little anecdote or by reflection of their deeds. And Ken Carratt is one of those people. It’s one little deed, one little invention, that perfectly captures his character. So if you want to know the type of guy Ken is, next time you are at a truck show, or historic event and see his stunning 1969 Mack, with the big 63-inch Peterbilt sleeper, pop over and have a look. Make sure you are lined up in front of it, to truly appreciate the classic Mack lines, and take the time to stare down the Bulldog that sits proudly on its bonnet. It’s only then that you will get an appreciation for the true Aussie character that is Ken Carratt because chances are if he’s sitting in the truck he’ll be pushing the little button he’s fitted to the dash and you’ll be getting a face full of water, courtesy of the custom Bulldog and the water hose running out its mouth. That little addition to his truck sums him up to a tee. Ken has been around the Australian trucking scene for longer that his current classic Mack has been in circulation. His driving days began back in the early sixties with an ex-Heggie’s Leyland hauling coal from Helensburgh coal mine to Wollongong. The second-hand girl was worked pretty hard in those days. It got traded in and upgraded when Ken started hauling woodchips from Eden up to Canberra. Between all his adventures there wasn’t much of the local area he didn’t look after with something. He did his time on interstate as well,

Above: The old Flintstone got the full tear-down experience when Ken got it back to his home in Kambah

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FLINTSTONE

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In retirement, Ken Carratt has knocked off one of his bucket list items – to restore and customise a oneof-a-kind 1969 Mack Flintstone. Warren Aitken writes

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“Like any good truckie, retiring from work does not mean retiring from trucks”

Top: Not content with the options Mack had for a 1969 sleeper, Ken went off and saw the Lynch Brothers down in Newcastle and got his hands on a 63-inch Peterbilt sleeper Above: The cab was sent to another friend in the NSW town of Young for a repaint Left: Through Gleeman Truck Parts, Ken was able to obtain a fair few original parts for the Mack’s 675 Maxidyne engine as well as some other missing pieces

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using his second truck, a K125, to tow Mayne Nickless trailers around the country. “Around the corner, arse over-head, pick her up, get her fixed, off you go down the road again,” is just one of Ken’s comments when I ask him about the days of trucking back then. It was a whole different set of conditions for drivers then. “Eyes went shut, straight through a bridge at Benalla, out the other side and carry on, very interesting times,” Ken smirkingly admits. Thank god for statute of limitations on some of the stories I heard. Ken was a regular sight working flat out with his K125, doing whatever work would pay the bills. There wasn’t much of the country he didn’t get to see. There was a valid assumption by other drivers that Ken had several K125s in his career but he admitted, “nah, just one truck and about 10 different paint jobs,” he says. Ken had quite an affection for the old girl even though he admits, “motor f#$ked up about 10 times, torsion bar suspension snapped every time you went out the gate. Eaton diffs … Christ every six months there was new diffs.” All this was said very tongue in cheek as the big girl got Ken happily through to his retirement job. The first step towards retirement involved coming off interstate and picking up a classic W-model off some local loggers. Ken turned the logger into a tipper and starting hauling anything that could slide out the tail gate. While not exactly retirement it did manage to slow the old fella down a little. Only just though. Ken ran the W-model for another decade before buying himself ‘a real truck’ as he puts it. An ACCO. There were a few more years working for himself with the ACCO before Ken decided to get himself ready for full retirement by taking a job with the government. That’s his words, not mine folks. I told you the man has a sense of humour.

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1/7/20 12:39 pm

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“When you go away to shows you can sleep in it” Paddock bashed Like any good truckie, retiring from work does not mean retiring from trucks. Ken did try that but then one weekend when he was heading up to the Tamworth Country Music Festival he spotted a poor neglected old Mack gathering weeds out in a paddock on the outskirts of Tamworth. It tugged at Ken’s heart strings straight away. The line-dancing, guitar-plucking and ‘lost me dog, wife and house’ songs were put on hold as Ken went in search of the owner of the old 1969 Mack Flintstone. Ken admits it had been let go a bit: “The back diff, all the bolts were broken off the crown wheel, so the crown wheel was just sitting there going around.” With the diff locks in, it could be moved around though. The rest of the truck wasn’t actually too bad he confesses. Remember that’s on a sliding scale though, ‘not too bad’ was how he summed up a diff that housed two litres of oil as well as at least two litres of water. The old Flintstone got the full tear-down experience when Ken got it back to his home in Kambah, ACT. It was parked up in a mate’s shed at Hume where the diff, gearbox, motor, everything got taken off and worked over. Through Gleeman Truck Parts Ken was able to obtain a fair few original parts for the Mack’s 675 Maxidyne engine as well as some other missing pieces. The cab was sent to another friend down in Young for a repaint. There was still a fair bit of the old girl that needed re-fabricated though. Ken had a local engineering shop make up a new bonnet and mudguards. Due to disrepair Ken also had to get a new bumper bar and trays as well. “I pulled off that many bits and didn’t take any photos of nothing,” was the only real complaint Ken had when it was time to put it all together and he found himself having to fabricate extra bits here and there as holes were found. “A lot of the plumbing was all copper pipes. So, I had to get another mate down to redo all that.” He did opt not to go original copper piping though. Ken was thankful he had friends in many transport fabrication arenas, so there was always someone to help, from the plumbing to the wiring, to the repainting. Which is another full Ken idea, admittedly he was influenced by Holden’s Poison Ivy Green, but the design is all Ken.

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Peterbilt sleeper

Top & right: With retirement in full swing, Ken has knocked off one of his bucket list items to restore and customise an old Mack; “A lot of the plumbing was all copper pipes. So, I had to get another mate down to redo all that.” Above: “It’s got a double bunk in there, toolboxes underneath, little hangers inside to hang your suits.”

With the truck restored to its original cab and chassis, Ken found out he wasn’t allowed to register it without either a tray or a turntable. Ken opted for the tray idea but also decided to throw a sleeper box on as well. Not content with the options Mack had for a 1969 sleeper, Ken went off and saw the Lynch Brothers down in Newcastle and got his hands on a 63-inch Peterbilt sleeper. “When you go away to shows you can sleep in it,” was the main driving factor for Ken. “It’s got a double bunk in there, toolboxes underneath, little hangers inside to hang your suits.” It seems Ken has done a fabulous job of putting together a practical show truck. He can happily amuse all the old Mack fans and at the end of the day climb into the bunk and relax in style. So, with retirement in full swing, he’s knocked one of his bucket list items off (to restore and customise an old Mack). It seems that Ken and his all-Australian larrikin persona is ticking all the boxes and pushing all the right buttons. Just remember though, if you do stand in front of this one-of-a-kind 1969 Flintstone, there is a high probability Ken will push that one particular button, designed to dampen down your day. You’ve been warned.

ownerdriver.com.au

1/7/20 12:39 pm

• More frequent risk-based checking of known offenders • A penalty that is a multiple of the registration costs avoided so that there is a financial disincentive for abusing the concession.

NatRoad Warren Clark

Unfair advantage Primary production truck registration concession abuse must stop

RIMARY PRODUCERS are eligible for reduced heavy vehicle registration fees in all states and territories. In general, vehicles are eligible for the concession if they are primarily used for the purpose of farm production and seldom travel on public roads. NatRoad is not against concessions being provided to the farm sector. Many members provide transport services to primary producers. We support Australia’s farmers. Recently though, NatRoad has received an increase in complaints from members that businesses enjoying concessional registration have beaten them for work. This recent upsurge is of concern, although the general issue of the opportunity for unfair competition has been a longstanding problematic issue that has proved difficult to solve. NatRoad is of the view that individuals would be less inclined to misuse the registration concession if their vehicles were easily identifiable via a “farm plate”. In Queensland primary producer registered vehicles are issued with “farm plates”. Tasmania is the only other jurisdiction which has primary production vehicles with separate farm-plates but only for vehicles with a GVM that exceeds 15.9 tonnes. It would go a long way to levelling the competitive playing field if primary production vehicles were better identified in all jurisdictions and this is an issue that NatRoad is again raising with Transport for New South

Wales in formal discussions to be held in July.

HVNL REVIEW In addition, we have proposed to the New South Wales Government the following measures: • Making information about the terms attached to the registration concession available to authorised officers on the roadside • During roadside intercepts, authorised officers should check if registration conditions apply, and if so, are these being complied with? • A clear legislated, consistent offence for misuse of primary producer registration that is adopted nationally

WARREN CLARK, NatRoad’s chief executive officer, has more than 20 years’ experience leading and developing business for emerging companies. Warren has held the position of CEO at various companies and is a certified chartered accountant.

“Many are not intended for use on public roads.”

NatRoad has also advanced these issues in the current review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). We are awaiting the issue of a regulatory impact statement for HVNL changes and we are hopeful that official attention will be further directed to this issue. The other concern that is raised where farm vehicles compete with commercial operators is that of safety standards. Safe vehicles are those that are well maintained and regularly serviced. Farm vehicles are often used only in short bursts, say during harvest. Many are not intended for use on public roads. They are generally older and less fit for service than vehicles operated by hire and reward entities. So, the issue of competition against those abusing the primary production registration financial concession is relevant to the question of vehicle safety as well as raising the issue of unfair competition. Both problems need to be fixed. If readers have examples of the abuse of the concessional registration please let us know as we want a solution to this problem based on the best and up-to-date information. Send through your feedback to info@natroad.com.au or call 1800 272 144 and speak with our Member Services Team.

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EYES ON THE ROAD Rod Hannifey

Bums-on-seats mindset Companies are latching onto drivers with little or no experience to help fill the gaps in their ranks

HAT CAN we look forward to? We are deemed essential workers, got some recognition for the job we do and have been given some minor holds on fees and offers of government incentives to buy new gear and such. That is all good. But there are two problems I simply can’t find an answer to. Where are we going to get good drivers from? We can’t have our kids with us, so we can’t teach them properly and we know there are gaps you can literally drive a truck through with overseas drivers getting a licence, let alone the slow pace of proper reform to improve the skills taught before any new truck driver is let loose on the road. Now many of us got our licenses with less than what is being proposed. I would hope what is most generally agreed as the basics needed is a much more rounded and skills-based set of knowledge and testing so that someone who has got a licence knows what is required on the road. Some of the older fellows may have got theirs from the local copper after turning up in the truck they had already been driving. Some did do a course or have been well trained by an employer who wants to have good drivers working for them and will invest the time and effort to make sure that is the case.

ROD HANNIFEY, a transport safety advocate, has been involved in raising the profile of the industry, conducting highway truck audits, the Blue Reflector Trial for informal parking bays on the Newell, the ‘Truckies on Road Code’, the national 1800 number for road repairs proposal, and the Better Roadside Rest Areas Group. Contact Rod on 0428 120 560, e-mail rod.hannifey@bigpond. com or visit www.truckright.com.au

without major mishap, and become good operators? But what if they are sent out without proper knowledge and skill and stuff up, kill themselves and/ or others? Then we are all to blame and the recognition we have gained through the pandemic will all be forgotten. We cannot simply stick our head in the sand and expect to be able to tell prospective drivers what a fantastic job this is. If they start and find it is not, they will leave, they will tell others and we will all be worse off. Years ago you worked long hours, perhaps made good money, but had little family or social life. That is unacceptable to many now and they will not do it like we did. The money has not been lifted to reflect the drop in hours. Yes, you can do well, but many are not paid what they should be.

SUBSTANDARD WORKPLACE A bloke tells me he can earn more driving a forklift and be home every night with his family, with less stress,

no car drivers trying to kill him and no authorities trying to take his week’s wages for one mistake, plus no media telling everyone on earth what a bad bunch we are. So we will continue to struggle to get interstate truck drivers for the foreseeable future. How do we fix this and who really cares? The other important thing is this: the road as our workplace. It should be up to a standard, it should supply suitable and sufficient rest areas and those we share it with should be trained to share it with us. That change in definition would change many factors, but would of course open a far bigger can of worms for the road authorities. We are being asked to put in submissions on the new funding arrangements for road funding and I will be doing so. Currently, we are charged too much for the roads we have, we are blamed for the damage and cost of repairs, yet we, as an essential service, are expected to keep on delivering as the roads fall apart underneath us. All while keeping ourselves and others safe, maintaining our vehicles when we have to be roadworthy, but there is no standard or requirement for the roads to be truck worthy. We are not the only users of the road, we are supplying the needs of the population, and now they want us to pay now for the roads into the future when the roads now do not all meet any standard, let alone the repairs. Who is monitoring the costs and work to ensure we are getting good value for the funds taken from us, supposedly for the roads? Who can show us where the money goes that we pay now? And how many of the people involved in the costings, the funding and the building, will ever rely on that road to help keep them alive doing that essential job? Not enough!

“The money has not been lifted to reflect the drop in hours.”

UNSKILLED DRIVERS But there are other companies who have a “bums on seats” mentality and who treat us as a means to make them money, not even as human beings sometimes. We should all agree times have changed, some for good and some for bad, but the traffic, the vehicles and the loads have changed too. If we can’t teach our kids and show them and encourage them to join the industry, then how do new drivers get the skills they need? I am sure you have all heard of someone, mad keen and with either little or no experience who has been trying to get a start. Companies, for a number of reasons – and insurance can be one of them – say: “Yes, when you have two or five years’ experience we will give you a start.” But where can they get that? Do they go and get a start with the bums-on-seats brigade and try to learn as they go, hopefully

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30/6/20 11:54 am

WILKIE’S WATCH Ken Wilkie

Safety over the top? Are Australia’s workplace health and safety regulations too dogmatic?

O THE INDUSTRY is grateful that it has been offered some reprieve on proposed increased government charges. This nation needs to have a good hard look at its financial structure. The bureaucratic explanation for the “gratuity” is that the industry needs a break to overcome the effects of the virus that shares its name with a popular beer. I suggest that the whole nation needs a break from government charges per se. Have any leaders considered that it has been the private sector that has worn the brunt of the financial cost of this nations’ war on the pandemic? Politicians have not taken a step back from their lucrative incomes and neither has the public sector – or laid off staff. Okay, they worked from home, but while possibly being inconvenient that did not cause any financial heartache. The ‘National’ Heavy Vehicle Regulator made the claim that it extended the time allowed to run without a regulation logbook in the interests of taking pressure off drivers needing to renew it. In reality – and I suggest not being too honest – the more pressing ambition was to reduce interface with its staff to reduce the risk to them. I had an operator report to me on his visit to a Queensland Transport and Main Roads office in the early stages of the concern of the pandemic. He inadvertently stepped over the demarcation line placed to show appropriate social distancing. He was astounded at the attendant’s response who threw her arms into the air and demanded the customer take a backward step. That got his attention. The poor thing maybe should have fainted – that would have been even more appropriately dramatic. So going back to the earlier line, it’s not just this industry that needs a break from government cost impost, it’s the whole nation. Remember, road transport is an essential service. That means that any costs that it impacts has to be passed on to the greater economy. For those who haven’t grasped the significance of the term ‘essential’, it’s part of the essence of something; basic or indispensable.

GLOBAL WORKPLACE SAFETY I know I am lucky to have been able to travel a lot of the world – and I appreciate that that is not everyone’s cup of tea. On a street in the town of PetropavlovskKamchatsky, in the north west of Russia, I have a photo of a line marker redoing the centre white line on a pretty busy street. No high visibility clothing, no traffic control personnel, just a reliance on the good sense

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KEN WILKIE has been an ownerdriver since 1974, after first getting behind the wheel at 11. He’s on his eighth truck, and is a long-time Owner// Driver contributor. He covers Rockhampton to Adelaide and any point in between. His current ambition is to see the world, and to see more respect for the nation’s truckies. Contact Ken at ken@rwstransport.com.au

of motorists. It was in a wide street and with a low speed limit. The same town had workers on the roof of a four-storey building without a safety harness. Container workers in the Amazon River port of Manaus were placing container locks to allow the multiple stacking of boxes on a freighter. Four and five containers high – no restraint harness and moving free hand from one container to the next. Or there’s the truckie off-loading in the docks adjacent to central New York wearing non high-visibility short sleeves and short pants and wearing Japanese riding boots on his feet. In this country, I have been refused access to the deck of my trailer (just over a metre above ground) to pack up

load-securing equipment prior to an empty return run unless I wore a hard hat. The heavy vehicle holding site north east of Roma, supplied with a drainage retention pond to collect contamination from heavy vehicles. The site was not intended for stock transport. The sign on the chain wire fence surrounding the 750mm pond advised no single person to enter the pond and personnel doing so were to wear flotation vests. Definitely two extremes but remember our nation is competing with a world economy. I haven’t travelled to China and have no intention of doing so. But I wonder how their workplace health and safety stacks in comparison to ours.

FREE STATE TRADE I wonder what further calamity has to befall this economy before private operators stop sucking up to the public sector and demand the service that the public sector is paid to deliver – specifically one nation, one regulation. What is the constitutional law that demands free trade between states? Is Western Australia part of the Commonwealth or not? It has always intrigued me that essential service providers seem to be less well remunerated than those whose service is not so integral to the wellbeing of the nation. Front line nursing staff, police and transport drivers are three professions that come to mind as being those whose determination to get the job done leaves them falling short in the ability to demand better income. My required reading this month: Stealth Raiders by Lucas Jordon.

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KENWORTH K104B 2007, C15 Engine, RTLO22918A Gearbox, 46-170 4.3 Diffs, Ice Pack A/C System, Fuel Tanks , Twin Exhaust System, Great Condition Bullbar, Alcoa Rims, Good Condition Cab Interior, JOST Turntable. W2447. TA996486. POA

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FREIGHTLINER ARGOSY 2012, DD15 engine, FUPS rated bumper bar, RTLO 20918B gearbox, RT46-160 Airliner diffs, AutoClima 3000 air conditioning, Alcoa rims, good condition cab, good condition grille, fuel tanks, JOST turntable. W2446. TA1000290. POA

KENWORTH T909 2013, Cummins ISX E5 engine, RTLO20918B gearbox, 46-160 4.1 diffs, custom air A/C, ad blue tank, Good condition fuel tanks, JOST fixed turntable, good condition guards, good condition Alcoa rims, good condition tyres. W2457. TA1011806. POA

FREIGHTLINER CST120 2009, CAT C15 Engine, RTLO20918B Gearbox, Meritor RT50-160 4.3 Diffs, Sleeper Air by RTE A/C, FUPS rated Bullbar, Great Condition Cab, Good Condition Bonnet, Fuel Tanks, Alcoa Rims, Tyres. W2458. TA1014337. POA

STERLING LT7500 2006, Cummins ISC engine, Alisson Auto MD356 gearbox, Meritor 41-145 diffs on Tuff track suspension, good condition Bowl in working order and with no concrete inside, fuel tanks, good condition cab, good condition bonnet, tyres, Alcoa rims. W2455. TA1013378. POA

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The publisher accepts no responsibility or liability for any losses incurred by a buyer responding to an advertisement in this magazine. Buyers are solely responsible for their own negotiations and transactions with advertisers. Bauer Trader Media advises buyers beware of negotiating by email only; of paying deposits to private advertisers for goods unseen; of transferring money (for example via Western Union) interstate or overseas. Buyers should contact Bauer Trader Media customer service on 1300 362 272 if they suspect an advertisement may be fraudulent. In the event that a buyer suffers financial loss as a result of responding to a private advertisement in this publication Bauer Media Ltd (The Publisher) shall not be held liable or responsible.

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Your Say

Letters to the Editor need to be typed or clearly handwritten and be no more than 500 words. Letters should include name, title (e.g. owner-driver, manager) and city for publication, unless otherwise requested. Letters may be edited for clarity or space. Please be concise, so we can offer more people an opportunity to express themselves.

SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

gbush@bauer-media.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.

Crisis outcomes

Before contrasting the comments of your contributors John Beer and Michael Kaine in Owner//Driver May 2020, to alleviate any concern of perceived bias on my part, I have been a member of NatRoad with which John’s ALRTA is associated, for in excess of 20 continuous years. I have never been a member of the TWU and currently form part of the executive team of the National Road Freighters Association. Both of these columnists justifiably heaped praise on our industry for the way in which we came together during the coronavirus pandemic to have road transport declared an essential service and to keep open the service centres so desperately needed by an industry determined to play its part during the crisis. John correctly pointed out that the general public’s opinion of truck drivers was high right now and posed the question, “If I had a crystal ball, I wonder if it would tell me what history will show what we need to do to make transport better?” It was Winston Churchill who first said “never let a good crisis go to waste”. However, I fear that once the crisis abates, like so much of the history of the transport industry, it will be another opportunity lost. Surely now, more than any other time in our recent history, was an opportunity to explain to that appreciative general public that a minute added cost to the products they were so desperate to acquire could cascade through our industry to help provide the viable, safe and sustainable industry we all crave. One cent per kilo added to the end product of the livestock so professionally handled by the members of the ALRTA would have no negative effect on consumption, while allowing the extra income stream to invest in equipment, maintenance and personnel, to help make our industry as safe as viably possible. Use the same equation to add one cent to the cost of a roll of toilet paper, multiplied by the number of rolls on a B-double when demand was at its peak and have that income directed to the income stream of the carrier, and we could find some sections of the industry become very viable indeed. John Beer insists that now is “not the time to bring up old war stories about battles fought and lost”. The problem is, John, if not now then when? When can we tell the general public that some prime contractors have used the reduction in fuel prices during the pandemic to reduce rates paid to their sub-contractors by in excess of 13 per cent and the catastrophic effect that has

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on a cohort that was already existing on wafer thin margins? If we are not prepared to illuminate the errors of history then we compel ourselves to making the same mistakes. Michael Kaine’s column in the same edition was equally glowing in his description of how the various industry bodies had worked together to help the nation overcome the crisis. It is in his conclusion that Michael takes a different tangent. He recognises that even before the crisis, much of our industry (and indeed many others) was beset with problems and teetering on the edge of insolvency. Michael insists that we must strive for better and that now “is the time to consider what our industry should look like into the future”. As someone who has reached a stage of life where I have far less kilometres in front of me than behind me, I wonder if it is a forlorn hope that the industry unity on display at the beginning of the pandemic might be harnessed to give us an industry that is viable without the pretence and corner cutting that has been displayed for decades. l guess only history will tell. Chris Roe Yarrawonga, Vic

Letter to Channel 9

I was saddened to see, once again, ACA (A Current Affair) vilifying the transport industry. Was it a slow news day and needed a quick sensation kick? With plenty of social media commentary it certainly did the trick! By continually producing stories portraying the Transport Industry in a negative light, ACA is contributing to the nation’s road toll. It promotes hostility between transport operators and all other road users. If ACA was truly invested in giving the nation, newsworthy and updated educated content, it should start by investigating meaningful and ethical stories. During these challenging times, the transport industry is operating under adverse conditions and should be praised in their achievements. While reporters and journalists are self-isolating and safe in their homes, transport operators are delivering essential items that enable society to function. They have been going about their daily tasks with insufficient resources and feeling extremely vulnerable. At one stage, early on in this pandemic crisis, we could not even access food or rest areas while on the road. I have personally lobbied Dubbo Regional Council to open public toilets

“Truckies are essential service workers and desperately need to be acknowledged as such. ” so drivers can have access to the very basic of human needs – the only public toilets in a 50klm radius of a junction intersecting three major highways. These are the stories that need to be addressed and brought to the viewers’ attention. Truckies are essential service workers and desperately need to be acknowledged and respected as such. Positively highlighting the transport industry will lead to safer, calmer and kinder roads. Please – you have the power to make a change! Sally Tipping Director, Tippings Transport Dubbo, NSW

Big bogie

I was re-reading the edition of October 2019. This included a long piece on Noel Bransden in Victoria and his W Kenworth. The text outlined the specs for this unit, including how it had a “dual range

two speed Eaton bogie”. There was indeed a two-speed bogie offered by Eaton, but it was not dual range. What has me thinking is, if the unit had a “drop box” it was probably a threespeed Fuller, big enough to handle over 450hp. Additionally, it was fitted with a torque converter. This device would have to be the size of a unit fitted to say, a D9 or D10. My query is where did they all fit? The wheelbase doesn’t seem long enough to accommodate the extra gear. Perhaps one of your readers, or editorial staff, familiar with this combination would enlighten me? P.S. In 1982 the Bairnsdale dealership must have had a crystal ball or a very friendly bank manager, for this was a very big truck with a very heavy bogie, probably an Eaton Timken. Floorplan was probably in the region of 3 per cent a month. Enough to generate sleepless nights, eh? Michael Pyper Bunbury, WA

ownerdriver.com.au

30/6/20 11:54 am

As well as being involved in road transport media for the past 20 years, GREG BUSH has strong links to the music industry. A former Golden Guitar judge for the Country Music Awards of Australia, Greg also had a three-year stint as an ARIA Awards judge in the late 1990s and wrote for and edited several music magazines.

ROAD SOUNDS Greg Bush

For the good times Music legends deliver the goods once again

Country Corner HOLDING BACK THE LEVEE Mitch Dean Independent www.mitchdean.com.au

SLOW DAWN Mark Seymour & The Undertow

WORK HARD & BE NICE Michael Franti & Spearhead

ROUGH AND ROWDY WAYS Bob Dylan

Bloodlines www.markseymour.com.au

Thirty Tigers/Cooking Vinyl Australia www.michaelfranti.com

Sony/Columbia www.bobdylan.com

Slow Dawn is Mark Seymour’s 10th studio album and his fourth with The Undertow, surpassing the number of releases he recorded with Hunters & Collectors. It’s a forthright collection of 11 tracks, kicking off with ‘Night Driving’, a fine example of Oz Rock. Seymour opts for a 3/4 beat, Bob Dylan style, on ‘Applewood Road’ as he paints a bleak picture of the American west, then turns to the historic effects of alcohol on Australian society with ‘The Demon Rum’, a sparse track with Seymour in storyteller mode. ‘The Dogs Of Williamstown’ is a rock piece, describing the 1857 convict rebellion in Victoria that claimed the life of magistrate John Price. There’s more history on ‘How The West Was Won’ as Seymour refers to the stolen gold in colonial South Africa. There’s a lot more to enjoy on this excellent rock album.

Michael Franti’s 11th studio album – Work Hard & Be Nice – is intended to be an antidote for these troubling times. Full of cheer and positive vibes, this 17-track release sends the right messages, as on ‘I’m On Your Side’, a song dealing with the divisions in society. Franti finds the good among the bad, accompanied by a funky beat, on ‘Good Shit Happens’, and takes a laid-back approach on ‘Start Small Think Big’. He sings of resilience and life lessons on ‘Breaking Down The Door’, an exhilarating upbeat track, and there’s a big band hip-hop sound to ‘Lay It All Down’ as Franti sings of never giving up despite setbacks. ‘Is It Worth A Penny To You’ asks some pointed questions about society, but for pure optimism it’s hard to go past the danceable ‘I Got You’. This album will put anyone in a good mood.

Rough and Rowdy Ways is the almost-ageless Bob Dylan’s first album of new material in eight years, following on from being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. Dylan sounds typically earthy and creative as he ambles along on the poetic opening track ‘I Contain Multitudes’, referencing Edgar Allan Poe, The Rolling Stones and Anne Frank. He delivers some slow, grungy rock on ‘False Prophet’, and then moves on from loneliness with ‘I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You’, an emotive ballad. Plus, there’s some nice blues rock on ‘Crossing The Rubicon’ as Dylan sings of traversing the Italian River. Although only containing 10 tracks, Rough and Rowdy Ways runs for well over an hour, so for those buying the CD version, a separate disc is needed for the 17-minute long historical lesson, ‘Murder Most Foul’.

Following on from the success of his Suburban Speakeasy EP in 2017, Melbourne singersongwriter Mitch Dean has released his full-length debut solo album, Holding Back The Levee. Embracing the country-rock sounds of artists such as The Jayhawks, Neil Young and Australia’s Kevin Bennett, Dean has come up with 10 strong songs. Bennett himself makes an appearance on the title track, adding vocals. Gun for hire bass player James Gillard (ex Mondo Rock, The Flood) is also on hand, as is guitarist Damian Cafarella and keyboardist Sam See, but it’s Dean’s endearing and honest vocals that’s the trademark behind the album’s professional sound. Other standout tracks include ‘A Face In A Long Line’, ‘His Father’s Gun’ and the lively ‘In The Stream’.

HOMEGROWN Neil Young

MUSIC FROM THE HOME FRONT Various artists

HAPPINESS IS … Leanne Tennant

Warner/Reprise www.neilyoungarchives.com

Bloodlines www.bloodlinesmusic.com.au

Independent www.leannetennant.com

MAYHEM TO MADNESS The McClymonts

Originally recorded in the mid-1970s, Homegrown was earmarked to be released a couple of years after Neil Young’s big seller ‘Harvest’. But with the song material dealing with a failed personal relationship, Young shelved the idea – until now. There are some familiar tunes here, notably the early versions of ‘Love Is A Rose’ and ‘Little Wing’ which have appeared since, plus first recordings of ‘Homegrown’, ‘White Line’ and Star Of Bethlehem’. There are, however, seven previously unreleased tracks, notably the bluesy ‘We Don’t Smoke It’, a mostly instrumental piece with minimal lyrics. It’s simply Young and piano on the short but sweet ‘Mexico’, and then it’s acoustic guitar and vocals on ‘Kansas’. Young chats away as he describes a series of incidents on ‘Florida’; an exercise in self-indulgence perhaps. The rest of Homegrown is along the lines of Young’s west coast country sound.

This double Music From The Home Front album revisits the sounds from the televised Anzac Day concert of the same name where more than 50 artists performed in isolation. The CD version contains 27 tracks, including a ‘Welcome Speech’ by Frontier Touring CEO Michael Gudinski. Considering the logistics of the music being presented from living rooms or home studios, this is a quality collection with brilliant sound. There’s many a collaboration here, notably Jimmy Barnes teaming up with Diesel for a slowed-down version of ‘Working Class Man’, Missy Higgins and Tim Minchin combining on ‘Carry On’, and a superb, acoustic version of ‘Down Under’ featuring Delta Goodrem and Colin Hay. Crowded House get together for a pared-back take of ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’, and there’s further quality tracks from Ben Lee, Tones And I, James Reyne, Paul Kelly, Birds Of Tokyo and lots more.

Australian singersongwriter Leanne Tennant’s music has evolved since her debut album in 2014, Pull Up Your Britches. Where she may have had one foot in the folk-country camp, she is now a serious top-shelf pop artist. However, there’s nothing lightweight about her new album Happiness Is … especially the melodic opening track ‘Cherry Cola’. Tennant bares her soul on ‘Record Stores’, a song about searching for meaning, and music. She sings of taking up surfing on ‘Till The Sun Dies’, a catchy, mid-paced pop-rock track; then smoulders on ‘Bring It All Back’. On the other hand, ‘Blue and Gold, with its forthright guitar backing, is closer to full-blown rock. ‘Overthinker’ starts off as a ballad, before Tennant unleashes her impressive vocal range. At 30 minutes, it’s not a long album, but what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up in quality.

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Island/Universal www.themcclymonts.net.au The title track of The McClymonts’s sixth studio album, Mayhem To Madness, refers to their personal and professional lives, but it could also be linked to the current state of the world. As per their previous work, the sisterly trio deliver a classy and well-produced album. The McClymonts stretch to the edges of the country genre with the rockin’ ‘Free Fall’, and again on the strong ‘I Got This’ with Brooke McClymont taking lead vocals. They’re more subdued on ‘Wish You Hell’, a countrified track that starts as a love-gone-wrong ballad before the girls show their scorned side, not to mention their tight harmonies. ‘Looking For Perfect’ is another cool country track, while ‘Lighthouse Home’ is a powerful mid-paced countryrock song.

JULY 2020 53

1/7/20 12:29 pm

truck technology When it comes to trucks, the adage of ‘saving the best for last’ probably applies more to Freightliner Argosy than any other. Despite the initial hype and high hopes, Argosy’s Australian journey was fraught with frustrations until engineering evolution finally fashioned a truck with the durability to match its world-class design. But as Owner// Driver discovers, Argosy advocate Kevin Bakewell’s only concern now is knowing his latest will also be his last

S THINGS stand at the moment, there’s just a handful of Argosy cab-overs still remaining on Freightliner’s books. When they’re sold, there will be no more. Ever! While competitive interests are no doubt smiling at the imminence of Argosy’s end, proponents are already lamenting the loss of a model which, despite a decidedly chequered history, has been a critical platform for Freightliner operations in Australia since the day it first landed here more than 20 years ago. According to Freightliner’s figures, upwards of 7,500 units have been delivered to Australian operators since Argosy hit our shores in early ’99, making it arguably the most popular and productive truck in the brand’s Australian history.

Smart start The early excitement around Argosy was almost palpable. Sporting a stylish, appealing cab bristling with innovative features, it was the first entirely new US cab-over to be developed in decades and, for many, an overdue alternative to Kenworth’s long-serving K-series. It seemed the only thing matching the hype and fanfare at the model’s launch was the expectation of Australian truck operators and drivers. Even so, Argosy quickly suffered setbacks and there’s no doubt that for at least the first decade of life Down Under, the model was beset by quality and durability issues which caused considerable angst and disappointment for its leagues of early supporters. Equally, however, there’s no doubt engineering

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ARGOSY’S L evolution has made this final generation of Argosy, first launched in 2011, the best of the breed by a massive degree.

Size and space Nonetheless, the end is nigh and the prospect of life without the classy Yank cab-over does not sit well with the likes of Kevin Bakewell, a regional fleet owner who, in May last year, took delivery of the last Argosy to land on Australian soil.

“I knew Argosy’s days were numbered but had no clue my truck would be the last to land here,” Bakewell explains. “I’m happy to have the truck, obviously, but it wasn’t a planned event or anything like that. “It just happened that way but if it was up to me, it most definitely would not be the last. I’d keep buying them if Freightliner kept building them,” he asserts with blunt certainty and more than a hint of disappointment. Yet as he stands quietly for a few moments, eyeing the latest of his five Argosys as driver Chris Lewis puts the

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1/7/20 12:29 pm

S LAST HURRAH final glistening touches to a weekly wash and shine, it’s a thoughtful Bakewell who explains that this particular Argosy has special meaning for reasons other than the fact it was the last to land in Australia. For starters, it’s the premium 110 inch cab, whereas his usual Argosy spec is the 101 inch version. So why the bigger cab? “Well, it was bought as reward for a driver named Errol Mitchell who’d been with me 10 years,” he answers. Collecting his thoughts for a moment, Bakewell adds,

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“Sadly, Errol spent just a few weeks in it before he got terribly sick and passed away from cancer. He was only in his early 50s and a big loss to everyone. “Really, I doubt we’ll ever sell this truck,” he says solemnly. Later in the day, however, it’s an adamant Bakewell who remarks: “The truck’s in good hands with Chris. “He’s a good steerer and a gentleman. The sort of operator you want driving your trucks.” Almost five years with Bakewell Haulage, Lewis admits

he appreciates the bigger cab’s ability to house his own sizeable dimensions. “This is the second Argosy I’ve driven for Kevin and yeah, I definitely like the extra space in this cab,” says the quietly spoken driver with many years’ experience in trucks of almost every type. “The (swing-out) step makes it a lot easier to climb in and out compared to any other cab-over, especially if you’re carrying a bag or whatever.” But then, in reference to Bakewell’s preference for

JULY 2020 55

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“I’d keep buying them if Freightliner kept building them.” automated transmissions these days, an earnest Lewis concedes, “I’m not a big fan of auto boxes. I’d definitely rather have a stick, but that’s just me,” he smiles. “Other than that, there’s nothing not to like.”

Starting from scratch

Above: Kevin Bakewell with the last Argosy to land on Australian shores Below: Committed to Cummins but Kevin Bakewell concedes future cab-over choices will force consideration of other engine options Opposite: Argosy’s innovative swing-out step makes cab-over entry and exit easy and safe. Problematic in earlier models but rarely an issue in this latest and final generation of Argosy

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Based at Wingham, a resilient rural community just a stone’s throw inland from the NSW mid-north coast, Bakewell confirms he has been an Argosy supporter since 2010 when a secondhand unit first joined the regional transport, warehousing and distribution business he runs with wife Wendy and eldest of their three sons, Tom. It has, the 59 year-old says with a wry grin, been an interesting journey from formative days as an aspiring owner-driver who, at just 22 years, bought his first truck and trailer to serve two local customers – a soft drink maker and a timber yard – to a proudly regional business with 36 employees, a fleet of 28 well-presented trucks and more than 600 customers on the books. Born and bred “just down the road” at the village of Nabiac, Bakewell acknowledges the importance of a strong local trucking company to the wellbeing of towns like Wingham, especially in maintaining employment both directly and indirectly. “We work where we live and vice versa, so we buy local whenever we can. Always have, but it’s getting harder in smaller towns,” he concedes, citing the difficulty of ‘buying local’ when many major facilities for fuel and mechanical services have centralised to bigger centres. Like regional towns large and small around the country, Wingham’s social and economic structures have been hit hard by drought, bushfires and most recently the pestilence of COVID-19. “It seemed that no sooner did the rains come to give everyone

some relief from the drought, then we get the worst bushfires in living memory and no sooner were they over, then this bloody virus arrived. “Seriously, you sometimes have to wonder what’s going on.”

Immediate challenges As for the impact of these maladies and specifically COVID-19 on the Bakewell business, he admits that while drought and bushfire affected the company in various ways, the speed and extent of the virus’s impact have been extraordinary. He cites, for example, a 40 per cent drop in the haulage of beer kegs since the virus lockdown but quickly confirms that packaged beer loads have increased by around 17 per cent. “So, what we lost with one, we’ve picked up with another to some extent. Robbed by Peter but paid by Paul,” he quips. “It’s not equal but it’s definitely better than nothing.” Fortunately, the customer base is diverse, ranging from an occasional parcel delivery or pallet for a local business to a healthy number of ‘blue chip’ clients each making a seven-figure contribution to the company’s turnover. With a satisfied grin, he adds that among the clientele is Saxby Soft Drinks, one of his original two customers, which prompts a stern defence of a simple business principle: “I only lose customers on price, never on service. “Every job we have is priced on service and as far as I’m concerned, that’s how it should be.” However, Bakewell is quick to emphasise the business is based more on intrastate work than linehaul, with the bulk of the workload committed to fast turnarounds between Sydney and regions along the mid-north coast of NSW. What’s more, and largely at odds with the great majority of modern trucking operations, Bakewell Haulage operates no B-double combinations. “We’ve built the business on single trailer work,” he emphasises. “That’s not to say we won’t end up with a B-double someday but as the business exists now, singles are what work best for us and our customers. “About 80 per cent of the operation is what you’d call regional

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linehaul and 60 per cent of that is between Taree and Sydney on a daily turnaround, so the extra complexity of a B-double for most of our loads, particularly where the trailers have to be broken up and then hooked up again, would be detrimental to turnaround times.” “We do some interstate work but around half of that is contracted out. Like I said,” he continues, “I’m not saying we won’t ever have a B-double but with the workloads we have now and the way the business operates, singles give us the flexibility we need. “Besides, we get 24 pallets inside the 48 foot Freighter curtain-siders and with a mezz (mezzanine) deck for the lighter loads, we can get 42 pallets. “As things stand at the moment, the case for a B-double in our work doesn’t stack up.”

Argosy and beyond While Freighter T-liners are the established standard in trailers except for a lone fridge van hauling “millions upon millions of eggs every week”, it’s a forthright Kevin Bakewell who says truck choices have seen many makes and models come and go after almost 40 years in business. His first combination was a second-hand UD towing a McGrath trailer but, as he asserts, hardship and experience are tough teachers. Time and toil have etched strong opinions of what works and what doesn’t, and while annual prime mover mileages between 160,000 and 180,000 kilometres aren’t great by interstate linehaul standards, Bakewell resolutely cites high standards of performance, efficiency and service as no less critical to his business as any other. Yet these are not the only priorities.

Drivers, for instance, rate high on the list. As he puts it: “This is largely a one truck, one driver company and I buy trucks that attract good operators. “And I mean operators rather than drivers. “As far as I’m concerned, there is a difference.” Driver turnover is, he emphasises, “Very low.” Indeed, Bakewell asserts that driver comfort and convenience were strong influences on his initial attraction to Argosy which started with the purchase in 2010 of a second-hand unit. “I liked the size and features of the cab,” he remarks, “and most of the blokes who drove that truck were happy to stay in it.” There was more to it, though. The truck was powered by Cummins and it’s a definite Bakewell who isn’t shy about lavishing praise on the engine maker.

Got your back Accordingly, loyalty begets loyalty and in his experience, few companies rival Cummins for performance and product support. One of the few in Bakewell’s estimation is the Mavin Truck Centre dealership, further up the Pacific Highway at Kempsey. Starting with the purchase in 2007 of a new Freightliner Columbia, an enduring relationship has developed between the truck operator and truck supplier. “It’s just an excellent family company to deal with, in every respect,” he says of the Freightliner and Hino dealership, citing dealer principal Dean Mavin and sales manager Steve Pinkstone as “… the sort of blokes you’re always happy to deal with

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because they really know their stuff and they’re always up front with you. “Besides, I’ve been friends with Steve for 30 years, way back to when we were both owner-drivers. It’s easy to work with people you like and trust.” On the strength of the relationship with the Mavin dealership and the favourable impression of that first second-hand Argosy, Bakewell’s first new Freightliner cab-over arrived in 2012. There have been, he concedes, a few issues at different times but overall, backed by the strong support of Cummins and the Mavin dealership, performance and durability have done nothing to change his high opinion of Argosy. “I’ve heard some of the stories about earlier models,” he says with a shrug, “but I can honestly say our trucks haven’t had those problems. “They’re not perfect, no truck is, but Argosy has been a good thing for us, no question.”

“I accept that the US is no longer a cab-over country.”

The options On the inevitable comparison of how Argosy stacks up against Kenworth’s K200, the straight-talking fleet owner says there are good reasons why there’s only one K200 in the fleet and as he bluntly explains, “It has nothing to do with the service we get from Gilbert & Roach in Newcastle. “They look after us pretty well. “It’s all about cost.” With his preferred US powertrain available in both brands – namely a Cummins X15 at 550hp (410kW), Eaton Ultrashift-Plus 18-speed automated transmission, Meritor drive axles and 4.11:1 diffs

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on airbag suspension – it’s a succinct Bakewell who asserts, “When it’s all boiled down, Argosy’s a better price proposition than a K200.” Reporting a price difference of “30 grand or more”, he accepts Kenworth’s argument that the difference is often recouped at resale but quickly adds, “In our work, we often keep trucks for eight or 10 years, so the 30 grand you spend now probably won’t have the same buying power in years to come.” Quiet for a few seconds, “I’d rather invest the money in my own business rather than Kenworth’s,” he remarks with a shrewd grin.

Conventional wisdom Yet while Freightliner outranks Kenworth in the cab-over class, it’s a different story in the choice of conventionals, where Kenworth T610s are quickly establishing ‘flagship’ status and earning high regard in the Bakewell business. As the fleet currently stands, there are 19 prime movers consisting of various Freightliner and Kenworth models, and a lone DAF while among nine rigids are seven Hinos and a pair of DAF eight-wheelers which Bakewell describes as “very impressive trucks.” Right now though, the loss of Argosy availability does not sit well with him. Not at all! “I’m bitterly disappointed about it,” he says abruptly. “It means I can’t buy what I want.”

Stinging loss Below: Driver Chris Lewis. A fan of Argosy’s space and convenience

The reasons for Argosy’s departure are understood, yet the US market’s departure from cab-overs and the subsequent withdrawal of basically all North American cab-over development and production do little to appease him. “I accept that the US is no longer a cab-over country but like I said, if Freightliner kept building Argosy, I’d keep buying Argosy,” Bakewell says sharply. However, it’s clear he is not alone in his disappointment at the demise of Argosy. There is, for instance, little likelihood of the Mavin dealership or any other Freightliner dealership for that matter, being particularly enthused by the loss of Argosy. After all, Argosy’s retirement effectively hands the US cab-over business to Kenworth on a plate. Moreover, just an hour or so north of Wingham at Port Macquarie is Jim Pearson Transport, the biggest Argosy fleet in Australia. Yet whereas the Pearson operation largely appears to be filling the Argosy void with Freightliner’s Mercedes-Benz stablemate, Bakewell isn’t yet sure of his next cab-over choice. For starters, the Cummins connection runs deep and strong but in the cab-over class, that leaves only Kenworth’s K200 which he contends, “… appears to be doing a good job of pricing itself out of the market.” Consequently, and for the first time in a very long time, Bakewell admits a continental brand could be coming into contention. “But like I said, if I had my way, I’d keep buying Argosy,” he insists. “Freightliner has it just right. They definitely saved the best for last.”

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road test

SHOGUN SHAPES UP A While there’s no doubting the domination of Japanese trucks in rigid classes, the prime mover business has been historically a hit and miss affair for Tokyo toilers. There is, however, change in the air as global giants fashion a stronger future based on ‘family’ powertrains and advanced safety systems. But as Fuso’s new Shogun shows, there are limits on how much muscle corporate masters are prepared to give their Japanese comrades. Steve Brooks reports 60 JULY 2020

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S FAR as prime movers go, Japanese trucks generally don’t rate high on the heap. At least, not in this country and certainly not on linehaul routes. Sure, there are exceptions. Some operators swear by their positive experience with a particular brand of Japanese prime mover but with even fewer exceptions, it’s an experience largely limited to metro work or relatively short regional runs. Funny thing though, over the ditch in Kiwi country, Japanese models are a major player in every part of the prime mover market. Horses for courses, I guess, given that distances and conditions in the two countries are as blatantly different as ‘six’ and ‘sux’. Whatever, it’s been many years since a Japanese brand had a notable presence in the ranks of Australian prime movers. Decades in fact, way back to the days when basic workhorses like UD’s singledrive CK40 and later, the tandem-drive CWA45, demonstrated Japan’s ability to offset modest muscle with trucks at least built to endure considerable hardship. Nonetheless, it’s generally a lonely story for Japanese prime movers in our neck of the woods for the simple reason that unlike their American and European counterparts, truck and trailer

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combinations are the exception rather than the rule in both the Japanese domestic market and the majority of Japan’s Asian export markets. Or put another way, Japan’s historic needs for a potently powered and generously appointed prime mover are significantly less than those common to Europe or North America. However, times are changing. Big time! For starters, brands like Fuso and UD are no longer the masters of their own destiny and accordingly, with European giants calling the shots, there’s now a distinct effort to develop models for a wider range of heavy-duty roles. Notably, as prime movers in markets such as ours. UD, of course, is part of Volvo Group but that, too, is about to change following the startling announcement last year of a deal between Isuzu and the Swedish giant which among other things proposes the transfer of UD ownership to its Japanese compatriot. Moreover, if the deal goes ahead as indicated, it will be particularly fascinating to watch how the future of UD’s impressive Quon model unfolds on the Australian market as Isuzu strives to further increase its presence in the heavy-duty sector, especially in prime mover roles. For example, as the owner of UD, will Isuzu Australia use Quon as a platform to bolster its openly stated goal of a higher stake in the prime mover business? Or, will it continue to lay its hopes on the arrival of Japan’s advanced new Giga model punched by a 500-plus 12- or 13-litre Cummins derived from Isuzu’s ‘technical relationship’ with the specialist engine maker? Right now, an answer continues to drift in the corporate clouds. Fuso, on the other hand, is an entirely entrenched part of the vast Daimler Trucks empire with next to no likelihood of ever being anything less than a vital, high volume partner in the Daimler portfolio, alongside Freightliner and Mercedes-Benz. Indeed, it is abundantly clear that Daimler’s long-term aspirations for Fuso have always been far more enterprising and expansive than anything Volvo could have hoped to achieve with UD. Yet, one thing the two giants of the commercial vehicle world currently have in common is the determination to keep their Japanese flagships within strictly controlled performance parameters. For instance, just as Volvo limits UD’s Quon to the 460hp (343kW) peak of the group’s 11-litre engine, steadfastly refusing to allow the installation of the 500-plus 13-litre engine used in Volvo and Mack models, so does Daimler appear entirely determined to limit the new Shogun to the 455hp (339kW) peak of the 10.7-litre ‘family’ engine known as the OM470. In effect, there is no intention of Daimler adding the 12.8-litre OM471 engine – the same engine which powers Mercedes-Benz’s prominent 2651 and 2653 models at around 510 and 530hp (380 and 395kW) respectively – to Shogun’s armoury. The reasons for such performance constraints aren’t difficult to understand. One is that Japan has next to no need for a truck of 500hp (373kW) or more, meaning the economic viability of engineering the 12.8-litre engine into Fuso’s flagship for relatively small volume markets such as Australia

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“It’s generally a lonely story for Japanese prime movers in our neck of the woods” and New Zealand is not especially attractive. The bigger reason, however, is probably found in the closely guarded corporate rationale which strives to restrict brands from the same stable going head-to-head in commercial contest. Put simply, Daimler will keep Fuso’s heavy-duty range hobbled to specific performance peaks where opportunities for a competitive clash with the Benz breed are kept to an absolute minimum. As we’ve stated before, neither Volvo nor Daimler have ever been big on the idea of turning their Japanese offshoots into budgetpriced alternatives to their premier heavy-duty brands. Consequently, with peak power of 455hp (336kW) at 1,600rpm and top torque of 2,200Nm (1,622ft-lb) at 1,100rpm – outputs which, incidentally, are largely identical to the superseded 12-litre engine in Fuso’s previous heavy-duty line-up – Shogun is unequivocally destined to follow in the footsteps of its predecessors as a heavyduty truck aimed at metro and shorthaul regional work rather than as a quasi-linehauler.

Above: Finer Fuso: It’s not a linehaul contender but the new Fuso FV-R is certainly a better prime mover proposition for metro work and shorthaul country runs Below: The rocker cover says ‘Fuso’ but make no mistake, the 10.7-litre OM470 engine is straight from the Daimler family powerhouse

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“The most appreciable advances are on the inside.” Above: As a dedicated prime mover spec, Fuso FV-R cab is available in flat roof and hi-roof forms. Observation glass in passenger side door goes some way to deleting a notorious blind spot Right & below: Inside view. The family resemblance in switchgear and control layouts with MercedesBenz and now Freightliner is obvious, but better mirrors and higher quality driver’s seat wouldn’t go astray

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That said though, a full day behind the wheel of a near-new Shogun six-wheeler hauling a loaded tri-axle trailer revealed a model massively better equipped than its forebear to tackle truck and trailer work due entirely to the installation of the advanced technology, qualities and features of the world’s largest and most successful commercial vehicle producer. Yet, like the superseded range, Shogun covers plenty of operational possibilities. For starters, there are two 6x4 versions – the FV rated to a gross combination mass limit (GCM) of 53 tonnes ostensibly for rigid truck and dog trailer duties and the dedicated FV-R prime mover, rated to 63 tonnes on a 3.91 metre wheelbase. What’s more, the FV-R offers a cab in flat roof and hi-roof form. Also in the Shogun sheath is the FS eight-wheeler with its loadsharing front suspension and like the FVs, limited slip diffs in both drive axles as well as a 53 tonne GCM limit. Rounding off the range is the FP-R 4x2, a specialist single-drive prime mover built on a 3.8

metre wheelbase and carrying a GCM of 40 tonnes. Whereas the two FV-R prime mover models run only the OM470 engine’s 455hp rating, for all other models in the range there’s also a 394hp (290kW) version with 2,000Nm (1,475ft-lb) of torque. In fact, in the single-drive FP-R, the lower rating is the only rating. While the OM470’s outputs in both ratings are almost identical to those of the previous power plant, peak power is now delivered 300rpm lower and importantly, this latest ‘family’ engine is significantly more responsive. It is effectively the same engine used in Mercedes-Benz 2643 and 2646 models (430 and 455hp respectively), with common rail fuel injection, double overhead camshafts, Euro 6 emissions compliance and as our test run would reveal, a drivetrain designed to extract maximum effort from minimum fuel.

Testing times A day-long test drive of barely more than 300km at a gross weight of 40 tonnes from Daimler’s Huntingwood dealership in Sydney’s far west, down the Hume Freeway to Marulan and returning the same way except for a 50km deviation along the ‘old Hume’, may not seem a particularly tough test. In this instance, however, it revealed plenty on a route which not only reflects Shogun’s likely workloads, but also reinforced the findings of a run in a trial unit more than a year ago. That earlier drive from Albury to Melbourne was, in fact, one of the final stages of an extensive Shogun test program preceding the model’s local launch, starting at Fuso’s Kitsuregawa proving ground in Japan before moving to trials on various Australian routes and a high-profile appearance at last year’s Brisbane Truck Show. What’s more, the findings of that earlier report are equally relevant now. Like, “… the move to bring Fuso further into Daimler’s corporate mould with the introduction of the OM470 engine coupled to the DT12 automated overdrive transmission, all tucked under a significantly upgraded cab, will do the Japanese brand’s heavy-duty hopes no harm. No harm at all. “Structurally, the cab shell is largely unchanged but a redesigned grille and front panel at least provide a more modern and less chunky appearance than the current crop of Fuso heavies; an appearance further enhanced by an entirely new group of LED headlamps. “Importantly, especially for shorthaul distribution applications where drivers are constantly climbing in and out, the step entry level is markedly lower than current models.” It’s worth noting, however, that the air suspended cab stands surprisingly tall. “Yet, from a driver’s perspective, the most appreciable advances are on the inside and again, the family resemblance to the latest Mercedes-Benz (and now Freightliner Cascadia) models is apparent in many details. And that, of course, can only be a good thing given the extraordinary acceptance of the new Benz breed. “Similarly, the switchgear, control layout and information systems which we’ve applauded in numerous test drives of various MercedesBenz models over the past few years, particularly for their simpler logic and easier operation compared to European rivals, are entirely evident in the refreshed Fuso. “The steering wheel, for instance, is straight from the ‘Book of Benz’ with easily understood control buttons for features such as

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In times like these, it is important to acknowledge our dependency on the men and women in Australia’s road freight industry, who continue to go above and beyond to get much needed supplies across the country and into our homes. So to all the truckies, long haulers, last milers, loaders, couriers, packers, their families and everyone behind the scenes in the supply chain, we at NatRoad thank you for helping Australian families in our everyday lives and in our moment of need. Share the recognition #thanktruck

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the norm on Mercedes-Benz models. But then, at least the brakes on the new range operate on an EBS (electronic) platform rather than the previous pneumatic control system. What’s more, as we reported last year, “the electronic architecture of the new models allows Fuso to incorporate the same advanced safety systems as those fitted to Mercedes-Benz including an electronic stability program, active emergency braking, lane departure warning system, active cruise control and a hill-hold function”. “Furthermore, Fuso’s version of the 10.7 litre engine uses a combination of SCR and EGR technology along with a diesel particulate filter to meet Japan’s latest emissions requirement which is said to be even more stringent than the Euro 6 standard.” Inside and out, it’s simply a much better truck.

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Above: Comprehensive multimedia package is a significant attribute which can accommodate up to five cameras Opposite, above: Electronic cab tilt provides good engine access while non-slip step and access platform enhance safe trailer hook-ups

the vehicle information system and cruise control mounted on the upper arms of the wheel. “Also, like its Benz brothers, the transmission and engine brake are controlled through a wand on the steering column while on the other side of the column there’s a similar wand for indicators, high beam and the like. Either way, the wands provide fingertip control.” Still on the inside, “… the relatively large expanse between driver and passenger seats is a convoluted collection of cavities and storage bins. “It is, however, a big stretch to call the area behind the seats a sleeper section even if it does comply with the questionable regulatory dimensions that define an ‘approved’ sleeper berth. “Even so, the new interior layout is streets ahead of Fuso’s earlier offering and from the driver’s seat, the only conclusion is that it’s simply a better place to work.” It is also a far safer place to work despite the surprise and disappointment of Fuso’s decision to continue with its existing wedge drum brakes rather than the disc brakes which are, of course,

Just as the Fuso’s engine is from Daimler’s ‘group’ inventory so, too, is the 12-speed overdrive automated transmission and together, the two work in absolute harmony. With less than 3,000km on the dial at the start of the run, hauling a new Vawdrey curtain-sided trailer, first through the congested arteries of western Sydney and then the Hume’s undulating freeway down to Marulan and back, the powertrain’s compatibility and intuitive aptitude for delivering exactly the right shift at exactly the right time were remarkable and at least the equal of the best in the market. Top marks! In performance terms, the best indicators of the Fuso’s lively response and surprisingly strong tenacity came on the southbound stretch up ‘Skyline’ on the Hume Freeway and a little further on, the climb out of the Mittagong dip. On both climbs, the combination settled back to 10th gear with engine revs dropping no lower than 1,500rpm. Meanwhile, on downhill runs, the three-stage retardation system was reasonably effective in most conditions and certainly an asset when operating in concert with cruise control. Actually, it’s a surprisingly effective retarder given the engine’s relatively modest displacement. It was, however, on the open stretches of the Hume that the FV-R prime mover further indicated why its true vocation is as a metro

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and shorthaul regional runner rather than a highway hauler. Riding on an airbag rear suspension, the drive tandem on the FV-R is only available with a 4.625:1 final drive ratio, which, even with the benefit of the automated transmission’s 0.775:1 overdrive top gear, notches 100km/h at a tall 1,800rpm. For linehaul work in this day and age, 100km/h is ordinarily achieved somewhere around 1,400 to 1,500rpm. At 40 tonnes in metro areas though, it’s a powertrain which makes easy work of stuttering traffic flows, showing an equally easy ability to skip shift smoothly through the lower gears. According to the truck’s on-board information, fuel economy after 312km of suburban shuffling, highway running and country backroads was 2.3km/litre, or 43.48 litres/100km, or for us more mature folk, 6.5mpg. Overall, it’s a highly respectable return for a near-new truck operating in a wide range of conditions and traffic densities. However, steering quality also points to a truck more suited to local work than linehaul. At speeds approaching 100km/h, and taking into account the fact that the test truck’s load distribution put little more than five tonnes over the front axle, steering response was generally too reactive on highway stretches. Twitchy even, causing a consistent effort at the steering wheel to keep the truck on a desired line. But then, in relatively slow work through the ‘burbs, steering is effortlessly light and combined with a sharp turning circle, provides excellent manoeuvrability. Still, while the inclusion of so many advanced attributes makes Shogun a vastly better truck than its predecessor, and certainly a prime contender for many forms of prime mover work, there’s ample room for further improvement. Like, rear view mirrors are a significant disappointment. Sure, they’re heated and electrically controlled, but the main glass area is simply not deep enough. Even the single mounting arms appear questionable for long-term durability. On the positive side though, a sizeable glass section in the lower half of the passenger door is a definite advantage in tight traffic, particularly for sighting marauding motorbikes and suicidal cyclists. Back on the inside, the driver’s seat isn’t particularly praiseworthy either, causing a numb bum after just a few hours at the wheel. The truck deserves better. So do its drivers.

“Shogun represents a huge step on Fuso’s evolutionary path.” Specifications

Yet even with these complaints, it’s worth emphasising again that Shogun represents a huge step on Fuso’s evolutionary path. Sure, it’s still a Japanese truck in many areas with an internal layout that maintains its historical links to Asian requirements rather than our own, but the Daimler influence is apparent in almost every operational aspect, from safety to emissions, efficiency, performance and not least, the general standard of build quality. No question, Daimler has indeed delivered a finer Fuso.

Make/Model: Fuso FV-R prime mover Wheelbase: 3,910mm Engine: 10.7 litre OM470 six cylinder. 335kW (455hp) at 1,600rpm, 2,200Nm (1,622ft-lb) at 1,100rpm. Euro 6 emissions Transmission: 12-speed overdrive automated manual with crawler mode, eco-roll mode, torque limited for 1st and reverse Fuel capacity: 400 litres Suspension: Front – taper leaf; rear – air suspension Weights: GVM 24 tonnes. GCM 63 tonnes

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truck technology

EVOLUTIONARY KENWORTH A Paccar Australia has unveiled its latest Kenworth, the T410SAR, describing it as “yet another example of the benefits of local Australian applicationengineering”

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CCORDING to Paccar Australia, the newest member of its product line – the T410SAR – is the result of “continuous innovation and product development process”, not to mention influence from customer and driver feedback. “Combining classic Kenworth styling with modern enhancements, the T410SAR complements the existing Kenworth product range and provides Australian and New Zealand customers with additional solutions for their application needs,” says Paccar Australia sales and marketing director Brad May. Paccar underlines that the new model combines the best attributes of both a cab-over and conventional truck, particularly in terms of manoeuvrability, visibility and a minimal overall length, along with the serviceability, ease of cab access and low-tare weight of a bonneted truck. “Of paramount importance in delivering new product is the need to maintain the exceptional performance, quality, durability and productivity for which Kenworth is renowned,” Paccar Australia chief engineer Noelle Parlier says. “Our extensive testing and validation process supports this, as does our own research and development, further enhancing product as innovations come to hand.

“First released in 2016, the T410SAR is the latest evolution of the T610 platform with 2.1m wide cab. “Further development of the platform has enabled us to refine and enhance many key elements in the T410SAR. “This development has allowed us to bring a product to market with all the Kenworth hallmarks and more.” Paccar has sought better weight distribution through a set-forward front and insists the T410SAR delivers “bigger payloads, a superior driver environment, improved fuel economy and a greater choice of options”. The design aims to maximum payload under Australian regulations for 19m B-double, most 19m quad dog applications and car carrier specifications. This sees, the T410SAR offers a bumper-to-back-of-cab (BBC) length of 2,850mm. It is available in rigid, single and multi-trailer combinations and is currently available in a 6x4 configuration, with car carrier and 8x4 configurations confirmed for release later this year. Rated at up to 70 tonnes GCM, Paccar says it is ideal for local and interstate distribution and suitable for PBS and other heavy-duty applications. “To develop a new product that meets the needs of our customers, consultation is paramount and is the foundation of its development,” May adds. “Sharing many of the same attributes as the T410SAR, feedback from customers on the performance and handling of the T410 has been positive, including feedback received from customers with an integrated Paccar powertrain, incorporating the Paccar MX-13 engine and 12-speed transmission. “The same combination being made available in the T410SAR.” The cab comes with a choice of traditional diamond pleat

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trim in a range of contemporary colours, or the new fleet spec trim. The T410SAR also boasts four sleeper cab options, a 600mm aero, 760mm mid-roof, 860mm aero and for car carrier specifications, a new 600mm flat-roof sleeper due for release early in 2021.

Engine and transmission T410SAR is available in either 460hp or 510hp (343kW or 380kW) variants. “The 12v MX-13 provides exceptional levels of refinement and service simplicity,” Paccar says. “No longer requiring 24v-12v inverters, the electrical architecture is even more simple, durable and cost-effective to service and maintain.” The T410SAR comes with the choice of the Paccar 12-speed or Eaton 18-speed automated transmissions. The Paccar 12-speed, with a torque capacity of 1850ft-lb and rated to 50 tonnes GCM, features an aluminium main case, internal sensors and wiring, and helical cut gearing. Like the Paccar 12-speed transmission, the Eaton 18-speed UltraShift Plus transmission is available with 1,850ft-lb or 2,050ft-lb (2,508Nm or 2,779Nm) of torque and a rating of up to 70 tonnes GCM. Both automated transmissions are operated via a transmission stalk controller mounted on the right of the steering column. “Moving the transmission controller away from the dash has provided more space in front of the dashboard to allow easier movement around the cabin,” Paccar says. The T410SAR also comes optioned with an 18-speed Eaton manual transmission.

Safety and visibility Paccar is enthusiastic about the Kenworth’s ease of use, pointing to

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the T410SAR cab’s ease of entry and broad lines of sight. The latter comes courtesy of broader and better positioning of windscreen, doors and mirrors in the 2.1m cab’s design. “Large, aerodynamic, multi-way power adjustable mirrors with high strength cast break-away brackets reduce mirror vibration and offer an optimal rear view of the vehicle,” Paccar says. “Intelligent mirror placement, sitting low on the cab also allows for an effective forward line of sight, both over the mirrors and between the mirror and A-pillar making for exceptional crosstraffic visibility. “The use of asymmetric mirror arms place the mirror heads in optimal position for rearward vision, while minimising any obstruction.” The T410SAR is available with collision avoidance and mitigation technology. The suite of technologies include active cruise with braking and lane departure warning working in harmony to take safety to the next level. It builds on existing critical active and passive safety design elements and overall ergonomics designed for comfort and control.

“The T410SAR is the latest evolution of the T610 platform.”

Inside the cab The 2.1m cab, introduced with the release of the T610, was designed with driver comfort in mind, Paccar says. “The instrument panel, switches and controls have been positioned intuitively with dashboard instrumentation visible at a glance. “Everything has been situated to allow drivers to maintain concentration and reduce fatigue.” Toggle switches provide full control of systems such as engine brakes, engine fan, driver-controlled differential locks and suspension dump valves. An optional 7-inch (17.8cm) display provides access to satellite navigation systems, radio and media functions and virtual gauges, unique to Kenworth. For enhanced ease of operation, cruise control and audio controls are on the steering wheel. Heating and air-conditioning system come with automatic climate control, specifically designed for the variable extremes of the Australian climate. There is access to the service items in the HVAC system. “LED interior lighting provides either bright or subtle lighting to reduce fatigue, using red lights and soft dash lights to minimise distracting glare when driving at night,” Paccar says. “A door-mounted floodlight allows safer ingress and egress of the cab and a rear cabin wall LED strip light provides a safe well-lit when connecting air lines and light coils in poor light conditions. “To quickly identify non-functioning lights, a light check function is provided and can be activated via either the dash or button on the key fob.”

Above: Premium spec interior Left: The 860mm Aero sleeper cab

Specifications

Make/model: T410SAR Kenworth Engine: Paccar MX-13 – 460hp (1700ft-lb torque) or 510hp (1850ft-lb torque) Transmission: Paccar 12-speed; Eaton UltraShift Plus 18-speed AMT; Eaton 18-speed manual (optional) Suspension: Front – Taper Leaf; Rear – Airbag Cab option: Day cab; 600mm Aero; 760mm mid-roof; 860mm Aero; 600mm flatroof sleeper (due in 2021)

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tech briefs

Asset write-off extension welcomed

TRAILER MANUFACTURER MaxiTrans has commended the federal government’s plan to extend the stimulus package until the end of the year in address to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. MaxiTrans says the extension of the package, announced on June 9, will continue to build confidence, through on-going employment and business continuity for its brands and suppliers alike. “The combination of the government programs, including JobKeeper and the accelerated depreciation incentive, have been a blessing for Australian business and the transport industry,” says Dean Jenkins, MaxiTrans managing director and CEO. “Importantly, what it has meant for MaxiTrans is that we have been able to keep our operations going in support of our customers, so that they can continue to keep food on shelves. Also just as important is that we have been able to keep people employed, which is a really fundamental thing at this point in time.” Jenkins praised the efforts of MaxiTrans’ employees, customers and suppliers for how hard they have worked in support of communities following the effect COVID-19 has had on the industry. “It has been a tough time and will continue to be a tough time. However, we’ve all shown just how important this industry is for our community and Australian manufacturing.” With the federal government announcing an extension to the $150,000 instant asset write-off scheme through to the end of 2020, it allows customers to invest in their business as restrictions around the country begin to ease. “We appreciate the efforts of our industry partners, the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) for their collaborative efforts in lobbying the federal government on behalf of the transport industry,” Jenkins says. “What this extension means for our customers is added confidence to continue and to know that the government is aware of what the instant asset write off is positively doing for proud Australian businesses like MaxiTrans.” Jenkins reminds customers that the instant asset write-off and depreciation rules are available for multiple units across both new and used trailers, not just a one off purchase. “Customers may also wish to invest in capital asset upgrades, including upgrading their suspension or fridge plants on existing trailers via our service network, which too fall within the write-off and depreciation rules.”

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Truckzone in the zone THE SMP GROUP has announced the rebranding of three of its successful truck parts distributing businesses into a new single entity, Truckzone. Gleeman Truck Parts, Coburg Truck Parts and PartsPeek, the Japanese parts specialist, will be consolidated to create a unique and strong business that SMP Group says will allow it to leverage the combined parts volumes across all the stores, increase efficiency in operations and reduce costs for the customers. It will also support further growth of product range that will result in a broader offering and better value for customers. “I am very excited about the potential this unlocks for Truckzone in the years to come,” SMP Group CEO Mick Henderson says. “Our strategy is to offer high-quality products to cater for the extreme and unique conditions of Australian roads. We have been providing truck and trailer parts for years in Australia, we know what is needed and we know how to do it well for our customers’ safety and finance. “Truckzone has a wide range of American and Japanese truck parts with one of the industry’s best reputations for product availability. The in-stock parts inventory approaches some 30,000 products. Truckzone 10 branches nationwide are open six days a week, from 8am,” Henderson adds. “The new name provides a new national identity to the market while internally it brings a single focus with clear direction and purpose. Our relationship with our customers is our priority and we will continue to offer the highest value for money products and services available in the market. “The fact that we are now a single entity with a national footprint allows us to offer our larger national customers a true truck parts onestop shop with national pricing and consistent product range and stock levels.” According to SMP Group, some of the highlights of the move include: • A unique customer account number that will assist customers to buy centrally across any of the Truckzone stores nationally • A national pricing policy that will ensure customers get the products at the same

SMP Group CEO Mick Henderson

price at any location • A generous price discount reward when buying larger quantities from Truckzone • As a direct benefit of Truckzone’s increased buying power with its vendors it will allow the business to offer new and attractive deals to its customers • A reduced transaction time for faster product delivery • Improved branch footprint that will help customers find the exact products they need irrespective of their location • Increase in stock levels across all stores • A single website that includes an online store and product catalogue to help customers make informed decisions on their parts and accessories purchases. The rebranding will occur on all the stores across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia in a staged process throughout 2020. “Our goal today and in the future remains to keep our customers safe on the road, making sure they can easily purchase a broad range of quality parts for their truck or fleet, when and where they need it. This is what drives me daily, and I know my team shares the same passion,” Henderson says.

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Western Star eyes collision avoidance

WESTERN STAR TRUCKS has announced the introduction of the ‘Mobileye 6 Series’ collision avoidance solution for all its truck models from the 4700 to the 6900. The Mobileye 6 Series solution is said to incorporate a forward-facing camera that continually monitors the road, identifying potentially dangerous situations and providing alerts, and the ‘EyeWatch’ dash display, which delivers visual alerts. “We are very excited to be partnering with Mobileye and are confident that this offering will be favourably received by ownerdrivers and fleets alike,” says Dale Christensen, brand manager – Western Star Trucks, Penske Australia. “An active collision avoidance solution, the 6 Series package not only warns drivers with audio and visual alerts of potential hazards, but has also been shown to typically improve driver performance as drivers become accustomed to alerts and begin to anticipate them. “For example, global studies have shown that collision avoidance

systems, like Mobileye, could reduce rear-end collisions by up to 80 per cent. “In addition to reducing collisions and thus costs associated with repairs and downtime, transport operators can also receive Mobileyerelated data for training purposes when integrating Mobileye into third party telematics or fleet management systems. “The Mobileye product is very flexible and is available to be retrofitted on Stars produced from 2011 onwards or installed on new units at the dealership,” Christensen says. “And for keen customers who purchase the Mobileye solution before the end of July, the installation cost will be completely waived.” The Mobileye 6 Series solution is reported to incorporate various alert features including pedestrian and cyclist collision warning, headway monitoring and tailgating warning, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and speed limit indicator.

ISUZU ADDS MORE PAYLOAD ISUZU is upgrading its light-duty NLR 55-150 models with a brand-new NMR 60/45-150 N Series range. Responding to what the Japanese maker says is “an increasing demand for a light-duty, narrow cab, cabchassis truck models with increased payload capacity and ease of driving”, the new model adds an additional 500kg payload and the availability of a two-pedal option to the model it replaces, the NLR 55-150. The NMR model is available in 4,500kg and 6,000kg gross vehicle mass (GVM) ratings. The former is car licence compatible “enabling businesses to utilise a range of driving abilities”, Isuzu says. “Operators will also enjoy additional payload capacity with the 6,000kg GVM NMR variant, adding a 500kg payload up-tick on Isuzu’s popular NLR 55-150 model.” The NMR is powered by the Isuzu 4JJ1-TCS diesel engine rated at 110kW/2,800rpm and 375Nm/1,600– 2,800 rpm. It is available in both short (2,490mm) and medium (3,360mm) wheelbase formats and offered with Isuzu’s torque converter– automated manual transmission (TC-AMT). “Long renowned for its excellent driver visibility and safety, Isuzu’s narrow cabin design delivers again on the NMR format,

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offering exceptional ergonomics, class-leading frontal and sideways driver visibility, as well as the driver comfort features and safety features operators expect from Isuzu,” the company says. “Like all other 4×2 configuration Isuzu N Series models sold in Australia, the new NMR 60/45-150 range features standard driver and passenger side airbags, seatbelt pretensioners, ECE-R29 compliant cab, electric and heated mirrors, front cornering lamps, four-wheel disc brakes with Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Isuzu Electronic Stability Control (IESC) and anti-skid regulator (ASR).” Also included is independent front suspension (IFS) with coil springs. “Driver fatigue, road shock and bodyroll are all proven to be significantly reduced with the addition of IFS, a trait often sought after by ute drivers looking to upgrade.”

Western Star’s ‘Eye Watch’ dash display

COOL RELIEF FOR DRIVERS TRUCK DRIVERS globally could soon have access to state-of-the-art temperature control in their cabins that reduces windscreen condensation and improves comfort. An international research team involving Monash University, Zhejiang University (China) and the University of Pennsylvania (US) have spent the past two years investigating the air inlet mode, temperature, relative humidity and flow speed of ventilation of air conditioners in truck cabins, and how this impacts dewing and driver comfort. The study, published in Applied Thermal Engineering, found highest anti-dewing efficiency was achieved when the air conditioning airflow was set to speed above 0.6 metres per second, a relative humidity of 20 per cent and temperature above 46.85 degrees Celsius within 200 seconds. However, the optimal zone – where the combined requirements of occupant comfort, energy efficiency and safety were met – was when the relative humidity was within the range of 20–60 per cent and the temperature was between 19 and 25 degrees. Researchers have collaborated with automobile manufacturers in Australia and China on thermo-fluid problems, such as vehicle aerodynamics, drag reduction, and thermo-fluid flows in engines. Findings from this study could influence the future design of automotive air conditioning systems. The problem of vehicle

window dewing not only affects the occupants comfort, but also interferes with the driver’s sight and potentially threatens the safety of driving as well as electronic equipment in the vehicle. Vapour condensing is caused by the differences in temperature and relative humidity (moisture) in the air. The problem can be resolved by adjusting the inside temperature to avoid the dewing point and reducing the relative humidity through the ventilation system. But, in order to reach maximum defogging capacity, cabin temperatures could soar to nearly 50 degrees – making drivers extremely uncomfortable and distracted while on the road. Researchers simulated 33 different working conditions of air conditioners – including temperatures, humidity and flow velocities – to improve cabin defogging and maximise driver comfort in a retrofitted truck cabin. Results showed that reducing humidity could not only effectively control condensation, but also optimise the distribution of the internal airflow and increase the heating effect.

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FOR THE OWNER-DRIVER Frank Black

Hush! It’s the ACCC! ‘The power of unity’ doesn’t mean stopping truck drivers from speaking out

HEN RICH multinational retailers sitting in boardrooms overlooking city skylines squeeze transport to line their own pockets, it is the truck drivers and owner-drivers tearing through the streets below just to get the job done that bear the brunt of that decision. When paying drivers for loading and unloading would put a transport operator out of business because their margins are so tight, it is truck drivers that are pushed to make up that unpaid time on the road. Owner-drivers are the ones who have to calculate to the dollar whether a job will give them any profit at all, whether it is worth the wear and tear of their equipment to travel the country for pocket change. There is a human cost to the greed at the top of transport supply chains. It is the high number of truck drivers killed at work – far higher than any other profession in Australia. It is the parents and children and siblings and friends mowed over by an out of control truck with faulty brakes because the owner couldn’t afford their last service, or the driver that’s had a micro sleep because they’ve been working so hard to put food on the table.

drivers shouldn’t be forced to accept even lower rates by companies taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic. I don’t need to be reminded that truck drivers, particularly owner-drivers operating independently, are vulnerable to the unfair system that allows the rich and powerful to dictate what happens in transport. Hundreds of transport businesses go bankrupt every year. It weighed heavy on me that if the ACCC decided to build a case against me, they are far more resourced to win an unbalanced fight, even if the ethics are on my side. Just like the directors in their penthouse offices are ignorant to the dog-eat-dog life of a truck driver, the ACCC also has no idea what it’s like inside the cab of a truck. On their lunch breaks, they can choose from a huge selection of food from the supermarkets and cafes, made available by truck drivers. We take our breaks in crowded truck stops with a small, overpriced selection of unhealthy food. Our working lives are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

ASSOCIATION ACCUSATIONS Coincidentally, my opinion column has also got the backs up of the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), of which I’m

FRANK BLACK has been a long distance owner-driver for more than 30 years. He is the current ownerdriver representative on the ATA Council.

“ACCC also has no idea what it’s like inside the cab of a truck.”

the owner-driver representative on the general council. In March, I wrote an honest piece about my concerns that the ATA serves to represent only businesses and not individual drivers, including owner-drivers. The ATA responded with accusations that I do not take part in council meetings and therefore should not have an opinion, which in the first place is false as I have only missed one meeting this year. I have for years been calling for more representation for drivers at the ATA, at the very least one representative from each state. One individual for the whole country is simply not enough to counter the desires of bigger profit-driven companies and the associations that represent them. The ATA has further proven my concerns by coming out in support of the ACCC’s accusations condemning me for speaking out on behalf of truck drivers being paid properly. If the ATA represents truck drivers, as it claims to do, it should be just as outraged that a regulator would come down on a truck driver like a ton of bricks while ignoring the crisis in our industry driven by cost-cutting at the top of the supply chain. That the ATA suggests I should speak only to them about my concerns that truck drivers are under even more pressure during the pandemic, and not to my fellow truck drivers in an opinion piece, when the ATA has proven time and again that the issues I raise on behalf of owner-drivers fall on deaf ears shows just how little respect they give to our concerns. In their response to my column, the ATA talks about ‘the power of unity’. They use this expression while failing to acknowledge that truck drivers are the hardest hit in our industry and are expected to bear the brunt once again. This is absolutely a time for unity. That does not mean we should be unified in being silenced. The ACCC and the ATA want us to be quiet. Now more than ever, we need to stand together, voice our concerns and fight for a fair go.

EXPERTS IN OUR FIELD I hear associations claiming trucks are not at fault in accidents, but does it really matter who is at fault when there is the loss of a life? Do these associations take into account that perhaps a fresh and alert driver may possibly avoid a crash even if the other vehicle was doing the wrong thing? After all, we are professionals in our industry and should be treated like the experts that we are in our field. You’d think there’d be some sort of regulator to ensure this imbalance doesn’t happen, and there is. It’s called the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). And yet this deadly corporate greed is allowed to happen every single day. But when I, a truck driver of over 30 years, dare to mention in an Owner//Driver opinion column that we shouldn’t be forced to accept rock bottom rates because of some companies seeking to profit from a pandemic, the ACCC threatens me with 10 years in jail. As a one-man trucking business just trying to make a living, I was of course shaken by the letter I received from Catherine Pavey, director of Cartels, accusing me of trying to fix rates and threatening jail – particularly when I said nothing of the sort. What I said, was that

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Owner Driver 330 July 2020

Articles inside

EVOLUTIONARY KENWORTH

LAX LICENSING LOWDOWN

ARGOSY’S LAST HURRAH

SHOGUN SHAPES UP

FAMILY FEEDBACK DRIVES LEGEND