With our care program, we always go the extra mile to help look after our customers and protect their investment by providing the best service, using the best parts. And for a short time, if you buy a selected N Series cab chassis or Ready-to-Work truck† you can add a 6-Year Essentials Service Agreement Package for the price of three years, e ectively halving your servicing costs. This covers all scheduled service work using Isuzu Genuine Parts and includes engine, transmission, brake, suspension, and electrical components. Find out more at isuzu.com.au or see your nearest Isuzu Truck Dealer.
AIN NEED OF SOME INSPIRATION JUST A THOUGHT
s usual, the trucking industry lurches from one crisis to the next and one of the most pressing of these for the industry is getting young people to come and work in trucking. Every year the average age of the truck drivers of Australia goes up. Every operator I talk to will tell me they have great difficulty finding drivers and technicians to work in their business. We need to take on board the message that the industry we work in and love is not attractive to the young people of this country. Times have changed and young people’s expectations of the lifestyle they can lead whilst in the workforce is very different from the one which is often forced upon those working in the trucking industry, by the very nature of that industry.
I myself got into truck driving as a way of escaping. Brought up on a farm in a country area where my family had always lived, I just wanted to get out and see the world. Driving a truck gave me that opportunity
Your average 18-year-old in 2024 is a lot more worldly wise, well travelled and used to the comfort of a nice home than they were back in my day. The attraction of getting out into the big wide world of trucking no longer applies. Often they have already travelled the world. These people are going into the workplace with a completely different set of expectations from their working life and also high expectations of being able to have a good work/home life balance. Unfortunately, the very nature of the trucking industry means that it does
make it difficult to fit in with young peoples expectations. The very nature of the logistics industry means that there is a lot of shift work involved, and when it comes to driving there will be a good chance of spending nights away from home on a weekly basis.
So how can we make the industry more attractive? Don’t ask me, I’m a baby boomer and find it difficult to get into the head of an 18-year-old in 2024. There are young people who do get excited about things and if they’re excited about those things they will engage with them and bring their own special abilities to bear.
I meet young people from all walks of life on a regular basis and have found a wide variety of interests and inspirations. They demonstrate good qualities, the sort of qualities we need within the trucking industry. We just need to get our head around what it is which could inspire these people to take the trucking industry by scruff of its neck and drag it into the 2030s and 40s.
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Looking at the problem of an ageing workforce, just about everybody operating in the trucking industry in Australia is in the same boat. Therefore, it makes sense for the industry to work together and try and come up with a solution which could spread, and be effective in getting young people inspired to join what we know is an exciting industry, one which is very satisfying and, in the main, inclusive.
It’s about time we got out there and asked what they want, and then worked out a way to adapt the industry to bring in new blood.
EDITOR
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Versatility that’s good for business
Versatility is what distinguishes the DAF range from other trucks in its class. So you’re in the business of transporting liquid goods? There’s a DAF for that!
Whether your needs are long-distance haulage, city distribution, construction transportation, bulk or tank transport, the versatility of DAF keeps you moving, and that’s good for business.
WESTERN STAR MODERNISATION
With the arrival of the X Series truck range in considerable number on our shores, Western Star’s modernisation process is well underway.
14 THE ULTIMATE TEST
According to the team at transmission manufacturer, Eaton, the Collins Transport run from Adelaide to Sydney is the ultimate test for their Endurant XD Pro AMT
26 LIVING WITH THE REBOUND EFFECT
The transition across to zero carbon road transport is going to throw up a number of issues along the way, as an industry expert explains.
28 MANUMENTAL GROWTH
Derek Schroff is the man responsible for MAN trucks in Australia, overseeing a key growth area for Penske in 2024, which has taken the manufacturer to new heights.
40 IS CALIFORNIA DREAMING?
Trucking operators in California are a lot further down the road to decarbonisation of their fleets than operators here in Australia, as we found out.
54 ECHOES OF THE FUTURE
With its electroluminescent paintwork, Renault Trucks’ E-Tech T doesn’t need any gimmicks to stand out from the crowd.
62 AN IMPORTANT LOCAL ELEMENT
Regional towns in New South Wales are inevitably road transport hubs, and a busy Wagga Wagga workshop has the task of serving one of the larger ones.
ISRI: DEALERS
DRIVING A CHINESE PRIME MOVER
A new brand of truck is moving into the Australian truck market and PowerTorque got a chance to experience the FAW and get some idea of what it’s like driving a Chinese prime mover, Tim Giles reports on the experience.
Standard Issue
36 LET’S GET SERIOUS ABOUT FATIGUE
It’s about time the industry made managing fatigue a priority, writes Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Assocation Executive Director, Rachel Smith.
38 KEEPING YOUR BUSINESS ON THE RIGHT TRACK
The Clear Employment Relations Advice Team has provided a handy guide to help your trucking business steer clear of risks and ensure a smooth ride.
48 SWIFT REFORM NEEDED FOR PBS SCHEME
The current Heavy Vehicle National Law isn’t allowing for the most productive heavy vehicles on our roads, explains NHVR PBS Project Manager, Scott Britton.
71 EMBRACING HEAVY VEHICLE SAFETY
There’s major changes coming to the Australian Design Rules. Knorr-Bremse has provided everything you need to know about the upcoming mandates.
72 THE CONVERTER DOLLY CONUNDRUM
PowerTorque technical guru, Bob Woodward, looks back on some important changes and the effect of design changes surrounding the converter dolly conundrum.
76 WHAT CAUSES FUEL FILTER CLOGGING
Advancements in filtration science have led to a solution with a seven-time increase in performance to prevent new engines from prematurely clogging.
• Supporting drivers for more than 50 years
Seating
ATA APPOINTS NEW BOARD MEMBER
Co-owner of Sydney-based transport company Lopez Bros Transport Ann Lopez has been appointed to the board of the Australian Trucking Association.
Lopez joined Lopez Bros as an administrator over 30 years ago after initially starting her career as a teacher. The organisation was founded in 1929 and now operates more than 20 trucks and employs more than 30 people.
She is also a director of ATA member association Road Freight NSW and was the inaugural winner of the Road Freight NSW Transport
Woman of the Year award.
Lopez says the industry is more technical than ever, and she aims to advocate for employees of all skills and levels in her new role.
“I want to encourage and promote road transport and the people who make it happen from the boardroom to the steering wheel,” Lopez says.
“Our industry is more technical and skilled than ever before, so we need to develop a workforce to meet these needs while tackling the challenges of a low carbon future.”
A NEW RENTAL OPTION
Southern Cross Electric Vehicles (SCEV), a part of the Southern Cross Truck Rentals group, is offering its customers the chance to try out zero emission goods transport with a new electric truck rental option.
Customers make a long-term rental of a fully-electric Fuso eCanter truck for as low as $3200 per month, in a package that includes full maintenance, charging capability and ongoing support.
SCEV says it is committed to making sustainable trucking more accessible than ever before.
“We’ve seen an increase in our customer base seeking EV vehicles to address EV fleet gaps, EV replacement vehicles and EV rental trial options,” says executive group general manager Owen Sommerville.
“As a business we are proud to build the solutions our customers are asking for, enabling them to be first to market with EV without having to change their business model.”
TOLL REVIEW FINDINGS ‘SETBACK’
NatRoad has expressed deep disappointment with the final report from the 2023 NSW Independent Toll Review, which it says is not heeding the concerns of the transport industry.
NatRoad sees the proposal to increase the heavy vehicle toll multiplier from 3 to 3.5 times higher than light vehicle tolls, troubling and unnecessary.
CEO Warren Clark says the trucking industry has not been listened to and they cannot pass
these costs on to their customers.
“This report is a setback for trucking businesses, which operate on extremely tight margins,” he says.
“The suggested increase in the toll multiplier to 3.5 is unjustified and mocks the essential role of trucking in our economy and our supply chain.”
He says the recommendation to apply a toll to the Sydney Harbour crossings for trucks is a contrasting move to the fairer tolling system the report claims to call for.
IMAGE: ATA
Ann Lopez: Lopez is the newest board member of the ATA
NHVR REVEALS OPERATION RESULTS
The NHVR has released the findings of a recent major operation, reminding heavy vehicle drivers to make fatigue management their top priority.
The five-day operation on the border of Western Australia and South Australia saw an increased presence of authorised officers with the aim of not only enhancing road safety and compliance with vehicle standards, but also to prevent fatigue-related breaches.
Over 480 individual vehicle units were inspected as part of 151 intercepts over the five days.
NHVR Operations Manager Stephen Bryers says while the reduction in mechanical compliance issues is pleasing, the small increase in
KEEPING
fatigue-related offences hammers home the need to take the issue seriously.
“Comparing these results to a similar operation we carried out last year in the same area with consistent intercept rates, there was a 14 per cent reduction in mechanical noncompliance offences and a two per cent increase in fatigue matters,” he says.
“The slight increase we saw in fatigue matters only reiterates how important it is for drivers to be vigilant when it comes to complying with their work and rest requirements.
“16 infringements were handed out, in addition to 37 defect notices. We want to see safe vehicles, and safe drivers, on our roads.”
THE SHEEP
A number of Australia’s trucking associations have voiced their concerns on the federal government’s proposed ban on live sheep exports.
The current bill tabled before parliament, titled the Export Control Amendment (Ending Live Sheep Exports by Sea) Bill 2024, proposes to ban all export of live sheep by sea from May 1, 2028.
Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters’ Association Executive Director Rachel Smith is leading the
NEW MACK TRUCKS VP
opposed to the intended phase out.
“Australia is a world leader in animal welfare and has made significant changes to the way in which animals are exported – changes that have been both regulated and voluntary,” she says.
“Australia is the only country that regulates animal welfare standards in other countries and invests in training and auditing to ensure those standards are met. The decision to ban live sheep exports sets a
Volvo Group Australia has announced the appointment of Tony O’Connell as the new vice president of Mack Truck Sales, starting in October 2024.
Most recently serving as a managing director at Volvo Malaysia, he began his journey at VGA in 2004, from their private dealer Truck Centre WA, in a Mack aftermarket role.
He has since gained two decades of leadership and strategic expertise at Volvo Group, including senior roles such as Vice President of Aftermarket, then Vice President of Volvo Trucks Sales Australia.
Tony says he looks forward to taking the reins of the Mack Trucks brand in Australia.
“For over a century, Mack has forged a well-deserved reputation for reliability, durability, and efficiency and I am excited to join and contribute to that legacy,” he says.
“I am fortunate to lead the Mack Trucks brand during this exciting time, as we navigate and shape the new era of the transport industry.”
IMAGE: MACK
TRUCKS AUSTRALIA
ALLISON APPOINTS COO
Long-time employee Frederick (Fred) Bohey has been appointed chief operating officer of transmission business Allison.
His new role will see him oversee finance, strategy and business and corporate development, information systems and services (IS&S) and operations organisations.
Allison Transmission CEO David Graziosi says Fred is a highly respected member of the team who has demonstrated exceptional leadership throughout his time.
“His extensive experience and successful track record make him the ideal choice to help drive our strategic initiatives and growth,” David says.
“I am confident in Fred’s ability to lead these critical areas of our business.”
Throughout his time at Allison, Bohey has been instrumental in overseeing all aspects of its financial management and has played a key role in setting the company’s strategic direction.
His previous roles vary from general accountant, internal auditor and director of international marketing and business planning.
Bohey, who has been with Allison Transmission since 1991, will continue to hold his current roles as chief financial officer and treasurer while taking on his new
NATIONAL NETWORK MAP MADE AVAILABLE
The NHVR has made its National Network Map available through its Next Generation Route Planner (NGRP).
CEO Sal Petroccitto says this has been a goal of the NHVR’s since the planner first released in April 2022. He says this will help all vehicle networks stay up to date.
“The route planner has always been intended to support the National Network Map, to allow industry to more seamlessly plan and manage journeys across borders,” he says.
“Where previously map updates were delayed, now the NGRP will immediately reflect updates
published by road managers to the National Network Map.
“The maps are displayed as layers for different vehicle networks, with industry operators able to overlay networks across state borders, as well as within borders, to determine the most efficient route for their journey.
“Over the coming months, extra functionality will become available to industry to allow routes to be planned by vehicle combination, with a view of the full access available to an operator’s fleet under vehicle network maps and their access permits.”
PROTECT TRUCKING BUSINESSES
NatRoad has called for protection of trucking businesses and employees following the discussion paper on termination codes from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 introduces new protections for regulated road transport contractors against unfair termination, a move NatRoad strongly supports.
NatRoad’s stance is any industry termination code must protect the interests of truck operators and the broader community, due to the integral presence of the trucking
industry in national supply chains.
NatRoad CEO Warren Clark says the current shortage of skilled truck drivers has necessitated the need to improve the industry’s termination code.
“We are already dealing with a truck driver shortage, and so if our operators are not able to be confident regarding the future of their contracts, this issue will only get worse,” he says.
“That’s why we want to emphasise the importance of a practical and effective Termination Code that balances the rights and obligations of road transport businesses and their contractors and sub-contractors.”
HEIGHT CHECK SENSORS ON TRIAL
The New South Wales government is set to trial new technology that will use height check sensors to scan trucks in real time and warn drivers if they are overheight.
This will then allow drivers to divert from their routes and avoid the possibility of overheight incidents. The NSW government says tunnel closure minutes have
been cut by 80 per cent in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel since it started its greater campaign to reduce overheight incidents.
“This Australian-first scanning technology takes the guesswork out of load heights with real-time accurate calculations that allow drivers to act immediately and head off overheight incidents,”
NEWELL HIGHWAY REST AREA WORKS UNDERWAY
A new heavy vehicle rest area is taking shape along the Newell Highway, with foundation and pavement works now underway as a part of a state and federal jointly funded $261 million project.
This rest area is the largest of its kind in north-western NSW and involves major upgrades to 20 kilometres of road between Narrabri and Moree.
It is located about 12 kilometres north of Narrabri and is a key part of the Newell Highway Heavy Duty Pavement Upgrade project that is currently being delivered.
State member for Barwon Roy Butler says once this project is complete, drivers will be provided with more options which will enhance their safety and reduce maintenance costs.
says NSW minister for roads John Graham.
“The NSW government remains resolute in its commitment to stopping overheight trucks from shutting down our city and inconveniencing motorists. This new technology on trial will help us strengthen the approach even further.”
“Currently, outside of Narrabri, motorists and heavy vehicle drivers face lengthy detours for rest areas with toilets – either having to travel 31 kilometres south to the Bohena Rest Area or 52 kilometres north to the Tookey Creek Rest Area,” he says.
“The Newell Highway provides a major interstate connection
between Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and is vital for freight movements, connecting local communities and supporting tourism.”
The federal government is contributing $205.7 million, with the remaining $55 million being funded by the NSW government.
IMAGE: TRANSPORT FOR NSW
ROAD FREIGHT NEW SOUTH WALES CROWNS WINNERS
Road Freight New South Wales (RFNSW) has crowned its industry champions after holding its 2024 Awards at its annual conference in Sydney.
Winners were chosen across seven categories, with James Cauchi of JATEC Transport earning top prize as the NSW Professional Driver of the Year.
“The team at JATEC Transport is extremely proud to have James be the recipient of this prestigious award, and for him to represent us every day,” JATEC said on social media.
“James’ humility was noted by other conference goers, and is a testament to his work ethic—getting the job done with no expectation of recognition.”
The winners of the other awards presented included: NSW Transport Woman of the Year: Di Caldwell-Smith,
Transport Women Australia Ltd.
NSW Best Safety Culture: Carter Heavy Haulage and Transport.
Best Industry Newcomer: Billie-Jean Poihipi, Eather Group.
Outstanding Contribution to the NSW Trucking Industry: Paul Downey, MEDLOG Transport & Logistics.
Emerging Leader: Noah Hannah, Hannah’s Haulage. CEO Award: CSR Limited Central Transport Hub Team.
ATA CALLS FOR TALLER TRUCK ROAD ACCESS
The Australian Trucking Association has called for changes to the Heavy Vehicle National Law to allow general access to the road network for taller trucks.
It wants to see 4.6-metre-high trucks allowed access without the need for notices or permits, with the current height limit set at 4.3 metres.
ATA CEO Mathew Munro says that increasing heights would increase productivity across the trucking industry and remove the need for operators to apply for more than 1000 permits a year.
“National Transport Commission analysis shows it would save the industry $95,000 per year in permit fees and deliver time savings worth $91,000 per year,” he says.
“It would also deliver a productivity boost for operators that transport bulky products like retail and refrigerated goods.”
The ATA is aware of concerns around increased risk of overheight incidents, but says that can be managed through the use of signage, enforcement and targeted awareness campaigns.
MACK CELEBRATES MANUFACTURING MILESTONE
Mack Trucks Australia has marked a significant milestone in the Australian mining industry with the delivery of the 80,000th Wacol-built truck to West Australian mining logistics giant MLG.
The truck, a 300-ton rated 685hp Mack Titan will be put to work as part of the MLG bulk haulage fleet.
The first Mack delivered to MLG was a 170-ton rated Titan in 2014, which is still active in its 140+ vehicle fleet.
Over half the MLG fleet are Macks, which operate at sites across Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
MLG Managing Director Murray Leahy says Mack-built trucks have proven to be the perfect build for what the harsh mining logistics
“We specialise in a key set of services but a large part of what we do is bulk haulage,” he says.
“Uptime, efficiency and productivity are critical to our operations, and the Mack brand has played a key part in keeping our
“That we can depend on Australian-made products to service our customers 24/7 in the dirt, dust, heat and flies is a testament to the local knowledge, skill and dedication of the engineers at Wacol.”
Volvo Trucks has delivered one of its biggest orders ever, handing over 1500 Volvo FH Aero trucks to Italian transport business Lannutti Group.
The long haul trucks, which will be delivered across 2024 and 2025, will add to Lannutti’s already 2500 truck strong fleet, which it operates in eight European countries.
Every truck will be equipped with Volvo’s new Camera Monitor System — a new feature that replaces regular mirrors, improving aerodynamics and safety.
“The fleet renewal principle for
us at Lannutti Group is to prioritise low emission vehicles while offering a high level of comfort and safety to our drivers, protecting them and all the other road users,” says Lannutti Group CEO Valter Lannutti.
“In addition to the fuel saving
MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM FOR TRUCKIES VOLVO DELIVERS GROUNDBREAKING ORDER
cent adopted in the fleet we are now aiming to grasp the benefits coming from the Camera Monitor System and improved aerodynamic design. This partnership with Volvo will allow us to continue our journey towards zero emissions.”
New South Wales ‘Open Road Open Up’ initiative is getting bigger than ever, as truckie mental health continues to move up the scale of importance for drivers, operators and organisations across Australia. Now, it’s expanding north from New South Wales to Queensland.
Run by GME and Rural Outreach Counselling, it is hoped the program’s expansion will help over 246,000 truckies across Australia.
GME safety expert Tony Crooke says it’s important to continue to drive mental health awareness through an industry that, traditionally, is hit hard by mental health issues.
“Mental health is one of the biggest crises affecting truckies around the nation,” he says.
“In fact, nearly one in two drivers have experienced some level of psychological distress.
“With transport being one of
Queensland’s biggest industries we hope our continued partnership with Rural Outreach Counselling and Jess Edwards will help change the statistics surrounding truckies’ mental health through the power of a UHF radio.”
Social media star, outback personality and truck driver Edwards, otherwise known as Jillaroo Jess, will be playing a key role in the expansion into Queensland by taking her talents to the radio on channel 24.
IMAGES:
THE ULTIMATE TEST
According to the team at transmission manufacturer, Eaton, the Collins Transport run from Adelaide to Sydney is the ultimate test for their Endurant XD Pro AMT.
Anyone travelling the highways of South-East Australia will be familiar with the bright green trucks of South Australian outfit, Collins Transport. The growing fleet handles a growing refrigerated transport task between Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne.
The company’s trucks are instantly recognisable as an almost completely Kenworth fleet, the majority of which are K200s.
The business was founded by John Collins, and now involves the second generation, with Neil and Craig in the business, alongside Ryan and Brodie from the third generation of the Collins clan. Despite growing fast in recent years the operation has strived to maintain. its ‘family business’ culture and keep true to a family tradition of customer service.
As the demand for refrigerated freight has grown, at the same time as a couple of national fridge specialists have moved out of the sector, regional fleets like Collins have been able to grow fast and become a serious player in the
link in the freight task, ensuring customers’ expectations are met.
The operation has developed a model based on maintaining strict scheduling and a complex system of shuttle runs where the freight is constantly moving and many of the prime movers are running 24 hours a day. The process involves a mixture of some shuttle driving, changeovers, straight point to point runs and load consolidation close to the original source of the freight.
This kind of high utilisation of the equipment means the fleet needs a high level of standardisation, so that prime movers can handle a wide variety of the different applications. By sticking to the Kenworth brand and having cabover prime movers predominate the operation achieves the kind of flexibility required in the pressure cooker which is running a time sensitive refrigerated distribution system.
“As well as customer service we believe at our core ‘Our People are our Business’,” says Carl Hamilton, Collins’ National Workshop Manager. “We’ve got over 200 trucks with about 150 or so on line-
the fleet.
“We do most of our own maintenance within our own workshop. We’ve got our workshop split into two, which is a little bit unusual. Most workshops, do trucks and trailers, but we have got a prime mover workshop here, where these guys only work on prime movers. They’re qualified diesel mechanics with Kenworth experience, and they never ever touch a trailer. It’s a 24 hour workshop.”
The second workshop has trailer mechanics, dedicated to servicing, maintaining and repairing trailers, and then separate to that, there are five refrigeration mechanics, who look after the fridges on the trailers. The operation also has two fabrication areas. One for chassis and steel repairs, plus rebuilds of trailers, and the other is a fibreglass workshop, Collins does its own fibreglass repairs.
“It’s only when we get snowed under and have too much to do, that will send our equipment out to suppliers and repairers of choice,” says Carl. “Truck wise we send out for warranty and engine rebuilds.”
OPERATOR PROFILE
the fabrication department. At the moment I’ve got about 15 apprentices on the books, one of my diesel apprentices is a young girl, she’s doing really well, Cheyenne.”
Collins have got a workshop in Sydney and in a workshop in Melbourne, but 85 per cent of the maintenance work is handled in Adelaide.
“It’s still hard to find qualified people for the workshop, particularly with the hours that we do,” says Carl. “Fortunately, we don’t lose many people.”
The growth in the fleet in recent years has meant that new trucks are not replacements for existing trucks, but extra trucks needed to work in the fleet.
“We’ve still got some of the older trucks, we just keep them and keep rebuilding them,” say Carl. “I’ve only been here five years or so and I think we’ve only sold one or two trucks in that time. We’re have been growing very fast. So we can’t afford to let them go just yet.”
Because of the maintenance that we do, a truck that’s 10 years old has got the same drivability as one that’s just been bought yesterday. There’s never an argument with a driver about a truck being an old truck, we just keep replacing what needs to be replaced to keep them up to our high standards.
The drivability and presentation of all the trucks is excellent, it is only the radiator grill shape which gives away the trucks’ age on the road. The first K 200 in the Collins fleet is number 109, and the latest trucks in the fleet, the K220s bring the numbers up to 226.
“Our model is keeping trucks and to keep rebuilding them,” says Carl. “On average, trucks on the Sydney run are doing about 500,000 km per annum.”
SMART RUNNING
The system keeps our drivers rested and, obviously, legal, and it keeps our trucks fully utilised,” says Carl.
The philosophy for drivers revolves around precision changeovers. Collins
has got drivers living in regional towns on the Adelaide to Sydney route. The stages are designed so that each driver is only required to do minimal legal driving hours per day.
A typical day will see some drivers go from Adelaide to Mildura, swapping trailers and then coming back to Adelaide, six hours out and then six hours back. Other drivers will go through to other regional locations where we have accommodation available 365 days a year.
“It’s harder getting drivers than it used to be, no doubt,” says Carl. “There are a lot drivers now that are applying for jobs and coming on board so we have increased our driver training considerably.
“So the demographic of the driver is changing, it used to be kids out of school, that drove the truck with their dad, and they just grew up with the industry. Some of the new guys that come from overseas just need tweaking, and some of them need full-on training.”
BFM and AFM for fatigue management, if needed, to manage the different schedules.
The older trucks in the fleet are K104s, and they predominantly work on the Melbourne runs which are easier and shorter.
Most of them have Caterpillar engines in them. Caterpillar reckon Collins are one of the biggest operations, running yellow engines to power their trucks. It is still possible to get a remanufactured C15, but these older K104 models are likely to be retired in the coming years, as the operation’s growth settles down.
The trucks use the standard sleeper cab. The big cab would get the operation into dimension trouble because of the extra length caused by the trailer fridges.
Less than two years ago the entire fleet was running as B-doubles, but after introducing B-triples and seeing them become a growing percentage of the fleet, productivity is growing fast. Last year, the operation began using A-doubles and has recently grown that part of the business.
A large part of Collins’ transport businesses, involves warehousing,
freezer freight and chiller freight. The main storage facility has been developed to the North-East of Adelaide, in Virginia handle the collection and consolidation of the freight.
OUT ON THE ROAD WITH THE ENDURANT XD PRO
The AMT is smooth, not jerky or jolty or anything like that,” says Rick Vatsinaris, one of three Collins’ driver trainers. “It engages so s much more smoothly.”
The strategy Rick decided to take, coming down from the Adelaide Hills into the city of Adelaide on the South East Freeway, was to select manual on the Endurant and 10th gear, the option he would choose with the previous AMT in a loaded B-double. As the descent progressed, the truck descended at just 20 km/h, but experience suggests the truck would probably handle it OK in 11th gear, and at 1650 rpm the engine brake would hold the truck back to descend safely.
Carl Hamilton, Collins’ National Workshop Manager
BRINGING IN THE NEW TECHNOLOGY
In the last couple of years the latest model, the Kenworth K220 has started to enter the fleet, as they became available. With this introduction came the latest AMT available on the cabover, the Eaton Endurant XD Pro. This latest 18 speed AMT has seen a major step-change in the sophistication and flexibility of the Eaton transmission, bringing its functionality into the same realm as the European AMTs available in other brands on the market.
This new technology arrives alongside new Euro 6 Cummins X15 engines and also the suite of electronic safety systems which have debuted on the K220, in preparation for them being mandated over the next 18 months.
Where the previous transmission could be ponderous, the new Endurant XD Pro is positive in its gear changing and virtually instantaneous in its reaction to changes. The new AMT was designed as as an auto from the ground up and has given Eaton the ability to utilise all of the sophisticated smarts now available on the computer controlled transmission.
The reception from the drivers at Collins has been good, although there is still some scepticism on the part of some drivers about AMTs, especially the longer serving ones, they seem to be allowing the Endurant to do its job. Downloads from the engine and transmission’s CANbus show that the drivers, who are now driving the new K220 with the Endurant, are switching over to manual mode a lot less often than they were when driving with the previous generation UltraShift AMTs.
The other option, when using the Endurant, begins when the truck gets to the top of a grade, the driver retains auto mode but engages low on the engine brake, pulling the stalk down as far as it can go. This is telling the AMT to hold the current gear and not change up. If the truck slows further, the AMT may change down, but will not change back up, unless it has to protect the engine from severe over-revving.
On this occasion, the variation in the gradient saw the truck slow too much at a couple of points, and it seemed more effective to go back to the manual option. An experienced driver will be
able to experiment with the options and work out the best strategy on each downhill grade.
“We don’t do over analyse our fuel usage ” says Carl. “We keep an eye on it, but our main objective is utilisation and reliability. Our choice of suppliers assist us in delivering our service on time. We will choose an engine or gearbox, or truck, by looking at reliability and utilisation, whilst fuel economy is still important.
“That’s not to say that we don’t want to get the best fuel we can, but the way that the industry is going, and the Endurant boxes are a great example
of that, means things of just changing without us asking for it.
“Once upon a time fuel economy, for example, would rely 100 per cent on the driver’s ability. Where, now, it doesn’t, you can stick it in auto and off you go, especially with the Endurant.
“I think it’ll be a lot better for us, the new box is easier on the driveline, is easier on the driver. The drivability of the whole truck is different, it just means everything will have an easier life. We’re talking universal joints, tail shafts and all of those sorts of things. We think we’ll get a little bit more longevity out of them.”
DRIVING A CHINESE PRIME MOVER
A new brand of truck is moving into the Australian truck market and PowerTorque got a chance to experience the FAW and get some idea of what it’s like driving a Chinese prime mover. Tim Giles reports on the experience.
The last 10 years has seen the character of the Australian truck market start to change. There had been a number of strong brands dominating the market and very few new brands were introduced.
The growing truck industry in China and the planned changes over to zero emission trucks has seen the introduction of a number of new brands from China and Korea, but mainly China. One of those brands putting a toe in the water of the Australian truck market is FAW.
FAW is probably the biggest global truck manufacturer you’ve never heard of. The business is Chinese state owned and began under the name First Automotive Works in 1953 in Changchun in China. The company makes everything from cars up to heavy duty trucks and is involved in joint ventures with Toyota and Volkswagen. The company’s trucks are
sold in China under the Jiefang brand but will be sold here in Australia, simply under the FAW monicker.
According to the company’s global website it employs 24,800 people and produces 310,000 commercial vehicles every year. The range includes trucks all the way from small 4.5T delivery vehicles up to the largest heavy duty movers on the Chinese mark market.
The first FAW representative on the ground in Australia was Clinton Zhou, Managing Director of FAW Oceania, based in Deer Park in Melbourne’s west. He arrived with the express purpose of creating a foothold in Australia for the FAW organisation as an importer and distributor of the brand.
“Three years ago, we decided to develop a product range for the Australian market,” says Clinton. “We think the prime mover is the most common product in this market. The JH6 model is the only right hand drive
platform FAW have already, because they are selling them in South Africa and other areas.
“What we have now is the third version of the product development of the JH6 and we currently have another smaller one which is a JK6, which should be ready at the end of the year.”
The JH6 prime mover will be brought in as a Euro 5 and Euro 6. The first models to come in are 6x4 prime movers, but the second stage of truck introduction will see the rigid JH6, with 6x2, 6x4 and 8x4 available. There is also a concrete agitator design in the planning stage, with an 8x4 and 10x4 in the mix.
The engine available at Euro 5 is a 13 litre rated at either 500hp or 550hp with 2300Nm or 2600Nm of torque available. FAW say there is also a newer Euro 6 powered model, the J7, planned to arrive later in the rollout which will use a new engine with a
The first models to come in are 6x4 prime movers.
claimed output well over 600hp.
“I don’t think we will bring in any manual transmissions, the global market has moved,” says Clinton. “It will just be a 12-speed ZF AMT. We are working on driveline matching now, going through different engine options and different gearbox options, and are letting the computer run that program.
“We already have all of the matching settings on the left hand
drives, so now they have to convert everything over to right hand drive. According to the R&D team, there is a need to run at least 200,000km to get enough data to do a reliable test.
“We have the FAW engine and we will also have a Cummins options as well. We can get them up to 15 litres. As well as the ZF transmission, we will also offer Eaton and Allison options.”
There are six trucks on the road in Australia under evaluation and,
according to Clinton, FAW expect to have trucks in Australia, ready for sale before the end of 2024.
HEAVY DUTY FIRST
Unlike any other new truck maker entering the market in Australia from Asia, FAW has chosen not to enter the market at the light duty end and work its way up the weightscale, but instead bring in the top heavy duty prime mover as the first
FAW is probably the biggest global truck manufacturer you’ve never heard of.
market entrant. FAW have an agenda of getting rid of the Chinese truck stereotype that persists in Australia.
“FAW is the biggest vehicle group in China,” explains Clinton.
“FAW in China represents something more than just vehicles. It was the first manufacturer in China, so their social responsibility is actually more than just making the product. They actually have the responsibility to lead in pretty much every aspect of the industry.
“Everyone knows it would be easier to bring in a light duty truck. It has the least regulation and so on, but by coming in at the top end, we think it represents how good we are, as a company, to produce the finished product.”
Clinton points to the logistics companies in Australia as one of the brand’s targets, looking at those with logistical fleets.
“We’ve already been here for two, three years, but we’re still new,” says Clinton. “We’re learning some new stuff every day. We have had six vehicles come through, just to do the testing.”
The first trucks brought to market will be aimed at single trailer and B-double work. In China, the GCM is limited to 49 tonnes on a single semi. However, they are actually designed to handle up to 90 tonnes. Currently, the team are going through the process to get the first trucks rated at 72 tonnes GCM. When the higher powered J7 arrives, the expectation is that this will be rated at 90 tonnes GCM.
“We’re going to find the right sweet spot for the configurations and the chassis design,” says Clinton.
PRACTICAL REALITIES
The three evaluation trucks on the road in Australia now are helping the team sort out customer specification issues. This sees them looking at preferences around mirrors, steps built into fuel tanks, plus bits as specific as what colour yellow the handrails need to be.
The FAW team is investigating getting bull-bars fitted in the factory in China. The plan is for FAW to offer options to buyers all the way from a plain cab chassis to a fully built up truck with options fitted in China.
In terms of distribution, the FAW strategy aims to copy most of the major manufacturers in having fewer truck dealers but with multiple locations. The plan would be to then move out to other locations that are smaller and into more regional ones. The target would be 16 to 20 outlets.
One thing the FAW organisation does know is that its biggest plus for potential clients is that it has a price advantage. If the brand does understand that one of the keys to success in the Australian truck market is service levels, then this, coupled with the right price, can win sales.
THE NEXT WAVE OF FAW
A smaller truck FAW is looking to introduce to the Australian truck market is the JK6, which uses a seven or nine litre engine platform and will be available as a 4x2 or a 6x4. There will not be a 6x2 option.
“We did some market research and found the reason for people to buy 6x2 is the price,” says Clinton. “The 6x4 is a better drive, and the price difference won’t be that huge. So we decided to simplify the potential model range.
“The current ones that we are testing right now are a 6x4 tipper with our tipper body, and a 4x2 will come later. We are going to do everything on the JK6 at the Euro 6 emissions standards.”
OUT ON THE ROAD
Unfortunately, PowerTorque was not able to test drive a fully loaded truck, but only take the prime mover out on the road bobtail. There was also a ride-along opportunity with one of the evaluation trucks pulling a loaded single trailer.
The first thing to report is the fact that all of the systems were working and seem to be effective. The engine response appears to be good and the transmission makes swift and accurate gear changes. This much was clear on both the unloaded and loaded trucks.
One of the issues which lets Chinese manufactured vehicles down is the fact that although modern electronic systems have been fitted, they do not work effectively. This is not the case on the FAW trucks, all of the safety systems seem to work
effectively and are simple to use. This model did not include items like active cruise control and autonomous electronic braking, that arrives with the next generation and the Euro 6. The overall fit and finish inside the truck seems to be good quality, as does the fit and finish of various components around the prime mover.
On the ride-along in the loaded truck, the 13L engine seems to pull pretty well, and systems like the engine braking work to retard the truck when required. The truck’s regular driver reckoned the truck was comfortable and easy to drive and his experience was that it was effective and comfortable, both of which are important in that sort of a role.
It is difficult to properly assess a truck at this point in its development towards a work ready truck being sold and out on the road. However, it is clear that if any truck can function in the way that it seems to be working on our small testing program, it should be an effective tool for some freight tasks
The truck may well be aimed at the distribution sector of the truck market, but this is quite a tall cabin. This is not a low prime mover, and it is quite a climb up. This would suggest that this particular style of prime mover would be better served as a line haul or intrastate prime mover.
As to the rest of the range, which may start to appear in the next couple of years, it will be difficult to assess how well it could do. For now, this prime mover will be the first FAW to be sold onto the highways of Australia and if the FAW team have done the correct development work crossing the Ts and dotting the Is, then there could well be a number of freight tasks into which this particular truck would fit at what would be a very competitive price.
Getting a truck into the Australian truck market does not only depend on the truck itself, but also on the backup that the vehicle receives when it is working out in the wild. Price will sell the first truck to the first customer, but the kind of backup which FAW offer along with the truck is going to be the thing that will sell the second and third truck.
Time will tell.
LIVING WITH THE REBOUND EFFECT
The transition across to zero carbon road transport is going to throw up a number of issues along the way, and one aspect is likely to be around the trucking industry living with the rebound effect.
The effects of decarbonisation of the trucking industry are going to ripple through the entire supply chain and radically change the way the freight industry works. The changes are not going be the simple transfer of the energy used to drive the vehicles changing from diesel to electricity, hydrogen or hydrogenated vegetable oil, the effects will run on.
Hadi Ghaderi, Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Swinburne Business School presented his thinking around these issues at the Victorian Transport Association’s Alternative Fuel Summit. He’s an associate professor of logistics and supply chain management at Swinburne Business School. Hadi works in the field of supply chain optimisation, as well as being part of projects in the field of supply chain digitalisation and decarbonisation for a range of industry and government clients, particularly those related to freight transport.
Hadi describes decarbonisation as the most complex challenge the freight industry is facing. He has been concentrating on some of the lesser known implications of the large uptake of zero emission vehicles.
“The rebound effect is a phenomenon that actually came originally from the energy market, but it has very important implications for freight transport,” said Hadi. “In order to solve the net zero problem, we need joint collaborative work between both the freight and energy industries. In the last five to 10 years we have been seeing great results in the development of zero emission technologies.
“These technologies provide significant benefits to address our sustainability challenge. At the same time, we have seen a significant reduction in the cost of battery electric vehicles and other technologies as well. We’re also seeing an increase in internal combustion energy prices due to supply chain shortages and other challenges.
“It’s quite clear that the total cost of ownership of low and zero emission vehicles is reducing significantly. In some European countries, depending on the cost of energy, we have already seen that electric vans and light duty vehicles are cheaper to operate when compared to internal combustion powered ones.”
This situation brings great opportunities but also challenges and complexities as well. One of those is the rebound effect, in which consumption increases as a result of actions which increase efficiency and reduce consumer costs. The analogy here is the buyer of a new electric car which costs less to run than the petrol car will tend to drive more kilometres each week.
“What does this mean for the freight sector?” asked Hadi. “Over the last 40 to 50 years the Australian freight task has grown by almost four times. And when we look at this in comparison to the growth in freight rates, we have seen the cost of freight has reduced over the last five decades. This is due to a reduction in transport costs, and an increase in freight activities.
“It’s quite clear if the total costs decrease, you can
Hadi Ghaderi, Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Swinburne Business School.
IMAGES: PRIME CREATIVE MEDIA
drive more and you can have an expanded distribution network. We now face 77 per cent projected growth in road freight between 2020 and 2050. Increased efficiency is a contributor to this growth in transport transport activity. This is one of the direct effects, higher efficiency, lower costs moving freight, which is not a bad thing necessarily, but it does bring challenges to infrastructure and other aspects of the network.”
LOWER PRODUCTIVITY
At the same time, there is an indirect congestion effect that could result in lower productivity. Leaving aside the increasing electric truck ownership, there already are a lot of bottlenecks in the transport network. Even with the introduction of light electric vehicles, it will put additional pressure on the country’s road network, which will have an indirect effect on the supply chain productivity. This could potentially result in higher supply chain costs.
emission supply chain and infrastructure.”
The development of zero emission trucking could also change dynamics around competition between different transport modes. Globally, shippers are trying to reduce their environmental footprint and the introduction of low and zero emission heavy vehicles is likely to diminish the environmental advantage currently held by rail in the intermodal market.
“We have a number of opportunities and challenges ahead of us,” said Hadi. “A lot of areas that we simply don’t know where it will go. There are four areas I’ve identified. The first is infrastructure readiness, with the uptake of zero emission vehicles. Do we have charging and refuelling infrastructure in place? It’s a simple symbiosis problem here. We buy a hydrogen truck and need to buy the hydrogen, but we need hydrogen refuelling infrastructure before we commit to buying the truck.
“We also have challenges in terms of infrastructure capability, axle load, especially in regional areas. There is an opportunity to change the way we design and develop our road user charging in the future and we could take this opportunity to move towards more productivity based charging to encourage efficiency and sustainability.
“If we can encourage operators to have higher utilisation and a more optimised network, leading to better truck utilisation and improved collaboration between operators, there is a unique opportunity that could be seized here. We also see programs like the IAP and TMA. They are the first steps to capturing data, understanding origin and destination, understanding how the freight is moving. It’s a great opportunity for us to design more sustainable road user charge pricing.
“The third aspect is the fact that it’s important that we shift our focus from tailpipe emissions to more of a lifecycle perspective. We know that hydrogen vehicles and battery electric have zero tailpipe emissions, but are they cleaner and greener when we look at them from an end to end point of view? One thing that we don’t want is for vehicles to arrive too prematurely without a zero
Given the initial investment costs, these capital costs will impact on the market structure. We need to understand the implications of a large uptake of low and zero emission vehicles in the light to medium truck market. We also need to know what government incentives will be for them and how this will actually contribute to addressing the net zero target.
A MANUMENTAL YEAR OF GROWTH
Derek Schroff is the man responsible for MAN, taking over the role at the start of 2024. Alex Catalano explores how the MAN Truck & Bus brand, distributed by Penske Australia, has found its next level so far this year.
The MAN brand, like many other truck OEMs, had its struggles with supply after the advent of the pandemic, which it has only arrested in recent years.
But since the new TG3 series was unveiled two years ago in a groundbreaking move for the Australian trucking market, it’s all been considerably uphill from then until now.
Head of MAN Derek Schroff has been at the helm of the operation since the start of this year, most recently overseeing the ‘MANumental’ sale, with a number of selected TGX and TGS models being delivered with upfront factory rebates, driveline
warranties, entire vehicle warranties, and discounted contract maintenance packages.
It’s all part of Penske’s desire to get more MAN models on the road as they continue to eye off a growing share of the Australian truck market.
“It was really the start of 2023 when we were first started getting those trucks into customers hands and onto the road,” Derek tells PowerTorque.
“And since we’ve had the trucks on the road, we’re really gaining some momentum. We’re getting great feedback on reliability of the TG3 models and the performance of them.
“We’ve had a ‘rubber hitting the road’ theme internally here at Penske with the MAN brand, now that we have
stock on hand and trucks available to supply to the market.
“We’re starting to get momentum in that 6x4 prime mover market.”
Comparing the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2023, the MAN brand has already experienced 12 per cent growth across that time period, with sales going up from 130 in the first half compared to 153.
Derek says they’re expecting an even larger increase in the second half of the year, following trends from 2023.
“We’re happy from the first half of the year, just considering what we’ve had, to be able to supply to the market, but we’re anticipating a much larger second half of the year.
“It starts in the back end of the
business. While we were waiting for the product to arrive, there’s a lot of work done in regards to the after sales business and investment through new dealer locations, upgrades to our existing facilities, and through our independent dealer network as well.
“We’re going to have what will be our biggest year for MAN, both truck and bus hitting the road.
“There’s lots of opportunity, lots of growth that we’re starting to see through the momentum of this and as we carry into 2025.”
It’s not just Australia that Derek and MAN are targeting, with the entire Asia-Pacific being a key growth area for their sales market.
New Zealand and Fiji are major development areas Derek says they are looking towards.
“The Asia-Pacific region is a very important one for us, in New Zealand in particular, where we’ve got a strong dealer network,” Derek says.
“Over the last number of years we’ve actually invested in two brand new Penske facilities over there. We’ve seen good growth with the MAN brand over there. With the TG3, we’ve got custom built product for that market, including the 8x4s.
“We’ve also seen sales to other regions in Asia Pacific, like Fiji, with customers over there. We’ve got a real good opportunity in that area to grow our business as well.”
and Australians. Even in the trucking market, there’s a lot of similarities too.
THE MAN BEHIND THE MAN
Derek himself is a highly experienced member of the trucking world, having worked with Penske for 18 years now.
Canadian-born, he started as a sales representative for Western Star in his native country before making the move down under in 2007.
It’s a different environment to live and work in, weather included, but he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else now.
“Australia does feel like home, and I’ve been here a while,” Derek says.
“When I do look back and you think about it, it seems like it’s gone by very quickly. The original plan was actually to be here for four years before going back. But two years into it, I knew this would be home. The weather first and foremost is fantastic.
“Australia, with some of the conditions that we operate in here, even on highway trucks could be considered a vocational type application with the higher GCMs and the conditions of some of the roads that they operate on..
“It’s very similar, I think, to what we see back where I come from. I think that’s why MAN with the quality brand and the components that they use, tends to hold up quite well here in Australia.”
Celebrating 20 years in the trucking game this year, Derek has seen trends in the industry come and go in his time.
Advancements in not only manufacturing, but the consumer market, have stood out across that time.
“I had the opportunity to come here with the business back in 2007, and the industry has probably seen not only a growth in the industry, but also
seen in the last 10 years and what we’re going to see over the next 10 to 20 years, I’m not sure there’s been such a significant shift in the industry as far as technology and safety offerings go.
“Even the buyers, they’re very well educated and understand their total cost of ownerships and their businesses very well. The presentation and the detail that we get in the trucks is far more comprehensive than you were used to 15 years ago.
“We’re getting down to those Nth degrees on fuel economy and different facets of the trucks, it’s been one of the changes in the market.”
And while he’s still less than a year into his role as Head of MAN, Derek believes that there aren’t many better positions to be in.
“Coming into the new role at the start of the year, the main reason why I took the opportunity was that with the MAN TG3 we’ve got a fantastic quality product that stands up against any other product on the market.”
Penske Australia’s Head of MAN, Derek Schroff. (Image: Penske)
RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS
animals on his family’s farm.
“Livestock’s just been my thing over the years,” says Paddy. “We lived on the old farm when I was about five or six. I used to go get all the sheep and draft the rams out, just because I could and then put them all back together and put them back out in the paddock. That was just for fun, it’s always been the same for me.”
Throughout his youth, Paddy says he was also fascinated by trucks and couldn’t wait until he was old enough to get behind the wheel of one. He joined Tim Smyth in the cab for the first time on a job when he was 14 and knew that working in livestock transport was going to be his career path.
Paddy got his medium rigid licence as early as he was able to, and started working for T & M Smyth from then on. He recently upgraded his licence, in January, to HC to start driving semis.
Working in Wagga Wagga and working for Tim Smyth, Paddy is driving a semi, carting sheep, cattle and goats. From his Wagga base, Paddy can travel as far south as Melbourne, and then also north, as far as Roma in Queensland.
A LOVE OF WORKING WITH ANIMALS
It was a love of working with animals which got the 2024 Rural Transport Rising Star runner-up into the livestock transport game, and Paddy Carey is not looking back.
Coming in a commendable second in the rankings for the Rural Transport Rising Star Award, presented earlier this year in Toowoomba at the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association annual conference, was 21-year-old Padraig (or ‘Paddy’) Carey.
Paddy works as a HC truck driver
for T & M Smyth Transport, a stock carting business in Wagga Wagga. His love of animals began when growing up on his family’s small farm.
A farm boy at heart, Paddy is at home carting livestock to and from the Wagga sale-yards, with the occasional longer journey, and is the designated drover on sale days. It’s a job that suits him perfectly, having grown up around
“I started working for Tim when I was 14, I was working out in the yards, just helping unloading, loading, droving, just getting everything organised for when the trucks came in,” says Paddy. “I was able to get my license when I was 17, and I was straight into a medium rigid truck and had that for the two and a half years. Then I stepped up to driving the semi.”
Unlike many in the industry, Paddy’s family have no connection with trucks and livestock. His father is a paramedic and his mother is a doctor.
Paddy reckons Smyth’s is a good company to work for, running about six trucks handling sheep, goats and a bit of cattle.
“Obviously you get your bad days where they don’t always do what you need,” says Paddy. “There’s always one mad one, but all that kind of stuff, it’s just part of the job.”
Going forward, the obvious next step is to move up to a B double license with the same boss, and in the future, Paddy says he can see himself taking on road trains in Queensland for a couple of seasons.
Paddy Carey
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WESTERN STAR’S MODERNISATION PROCESS
With the arrival of the X Series truck range in considerable numbers on our shores the process of Western Star’s modernisation process is well underway.
As the truck market normalises and the global supply chains become a little more reliable, the Western Star X Series range is now out, in some numbers, around the country. PowerTorque talks to the team at Penske about the reception the new trucks have received.
“What we’re seeing, from the initial launch of X Series, is a complete change from our legacy product, with the driveline integration of the Detroit DT 12 AMT and the Detroit DD13 and DD16 engines,” says Kurt Dein, Head of Western Star Trucks at Penske Australia. “We’re seeing a
huge percentage growth in customers choosing AMT transmissions.
“For us, we are coming back to a lot of customers that we sold to six or eight years ago, when the safety and driveline changes came into play and we were phased out of those segments. We’re now opening up those markets again, developing those key accounts. We’re breaking into those national fleets.
“When we launched X Series, we spoke about the ambitious market share growth plans that we had. The whole development and cost in the lead-up to the X Series coming to market was to get the runs on the
board and get the product back up the ladder. We’re definitely seeing, 18 months after launch, north of 200 trucks on the road today and over the next 90 days we’ve got a huge volume going onto the road.”
Penske Australia now has a stock of trucks and the supply chain is definitely freeing up, after the ongoing supply issues following COVID. The feedback from the market is positive about the X Series, including the driver fit and feel, the driveline, the DT 12 transmission and the way it integrates with the engine.
There is still an 18 Speed legacy and those customers can still get their
manual transmission of choice. Quite a few customers minds have been changed by experiencing the 12 speed AMT. Fuel economy from the 13L and 16L, also offering more horsepower and torque compared to how much the previous driveline offered at 560hp and 1850 ft lb of torque.
“We’re seeing a net gain in fuel economy and trip times overall,” says Kurt. “Putting more compliance with emission rules into an engine with the horsepower growing and seeing a favourable fuel economy, it adds to the total customer ownership base model. It’s definitely been a very pleasing 12 months of supplying product to market, and we’re definitely getting a great result from customers.”
From an observers point of view, it is surprising how well accepted the introduction of an AMT and lower emission engine, alongside a sophisticated electronic safety suite, the technology has been, in the new Western Star X series models.
In the past, Western Star have consistently offered the most traditional components in their trucks. It would’ve been a difficult decision
TRUCK
for the organisation to make, to step right away from the previous product and step into a brave new world by offering a truck which brings with it all of the latest sophisticated tech and electronics.
The moves that Penske have made in bringing this truck into Australia, had to be made because of the new regulations which are coming along for systems like autonomous emergency braking and the requirement by many customers to run with the latest low emission engines. All of this made the change inevitable.
“Certainly, from my point of view, it’s absolutely logical that the B-double, the fleet trucks, the ones that are the ones where we’re in competition with a wider market, they’ve absolutely gone to automated driveline, full safety system, because that’s what the market expects,” says Bob Gowans, Detroit Business Manager at Penske Australia.
“What surprised me the most with the DT 12 is how it’s been accepted into what would traditionally have been a manual application, in the heavier end, the road train market and how just how well received it’s been by some of the
customers that have taken it.
“For a lot of the mid range, B-double East Coast operators, you can argue it’s because of driver availability and they’re being pushed into it by the workforce. With a lot of the road train customers you start to hear from people that it’s not necessarily because they can’t get a driver who can handle a manual, but people are starting to realise that, yes I’m perfectly capable of driving the manual, but I don’t need to anymore.
“We’ve got to the point where the the transmission is now capable of driving almost as well as the best do, rather than how it was in the past. When you get to particularly extreme weights, you had a choice, you could either drive it properly or you could have an automated box to make your life easy. But we’ve now got to a point where the DT 12 means the truck can drive itself properly in those sorts of applications.”
The design, development and test work has gone into making the Detroit AMT, but one of the features that aided its adoption is the functionality to allow the driver to easily intervene and
manually control the gear selection, without having to switch over into manual. The driver can simply tap the paddle to make a needed change, but it’s still in auto.
A STEP CHANGE IN SENTIMENT
The interest shown by traditional Western Star buyers into the new technology on the X Series is a bit of a surprise, but is probably an indication of a step change in sentiment about automatic and automated systems in general in the Australian truck buying population.
“Our customers today look at costs of business and profitability and where you can really get bang for your buck,” says Kurt. “Really embracing things like getting the best torque curve and how to get the right ratio. Driver shortages are affecting everybody, and they’re definitely coming across and
absolutely buying into the new X Series.”
Penske have had supply restraints as the market has seen, but now the numbers are getting back up to a normal flow enabling them to get demo trucks out into fleets, so the operators can compare and contrast. Experience elsewhere with this driveline tells us that the fuel consumption figures and maintenance cost will be attractive to truck owners.
Many drivers think their fuel economy is a lot better than it actually is. However, once they do the same task with an AMT, and it actually saves a lot of fuel, then there can be an acceptance of the new technology. Those who have only experienced the clunky early AMTs on the market are always surprised by the effectiveness of the latest technology.
“Customers are now starting to click, and can see some serious value
in this subscription to Detroit Connect,” says Kurt. “They can now see the truck, see where it is and what it’s doing. It identifies faults and helps you troubleshoot. That whole piece has given a huge insight to customers, where before they said they don’t need this and that, were not interested. When we show them what it does. They reckon they need it.”
Releasing anything which is new and a major step change like the introduction of the X Series is always going to be a risk. The risk was amplified by the dated nature of the design of the Western Star offered before the brand’s semihiatus. Anything which was going to be brought in would need to hit the spot, and judging from the reaction to the new X Series models around the country, the risk was worth taking and enabled the range to win the Truck of the Year Australasia 2024 award.
RURAL TRUCKING MATTERS
LET’S GET SERIOUS ABOUT FATIGUE MANAGEMENT
It’s about time the industry made managing fatigue a priority, writes ALRTA Executive Director Rachel Smith.
Managing fatigue is a serious business for heavy vehicle drivers and the transport companies that employ them.
Every driver wants to get their load to its destination safely and to get home safe and sound. Obviously, the impact of a heavy vehicle fatigue crash can be devastating. Consequently fatigue management in the trucking industry is heavily regulated and fatigue laws vigorously enforced.
In Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) oversees the regime of very specific maximum work and minimum rest hours that truck drivers must adhere to.
The trucking industry has consistently made the case that the administration of the fatigue provisions of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) lacks flexibility, is overly complicated and that work diary infringements are mostly revenue raising exercises rather than working towards any affective behaviour change in transport operations.
More recently the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) called for law enforcement to focus on fatigue training, instead of imposing tough penalties for minor work diary mistakes. The ATA proposed that the NHVR give drivers an opportunity to undertake an online, nationally recognised work diary unit of competency rather than being fined.
Road safety experts often say the only cure for fatigue is sleep! Getting a good night’s sleep before each trip is a good starting point for managing fatigue – but many drivers also need to nap during a journey, especially on mandated rest breaks.
While drivers necessarily plan for a 15-minute short fatigue break or a power nap, for long breaks while on the road, good quality sleep can be hard to get!
There are many lengthy freight routes on which it is difficult to find a suitable place to pull up for a break at the required time, and heavy vehicle rest areas on busy routes are often full - a situation not made easier by the increasing number of grey nomads using truck parking bays as free camping areas.
While the Federal Government set up a consultative Heavy Vehicle Rest Area Strategy Committee to plan for the upgrade or construction of rest areas, the uptake of available funding by state and local road managers appears to be rather slow. The ongoing cost of maintaining facilities is apparently a contributing factor.
ALRTA Executive Director
Rachel Smith wants to see the HVNL accurately reflect the needs of modern fatigue management.
Road managers do need to step up to the plate and support the transport industry that sustains Australian retail, industry and agriculture, by providing well-designed heavy vehicle rest area facilities at regular intervals on major freight routes – especially in less populated locations.
Service centres can also provide an opportunity for truck drivers to rest, grab a meal and have a shower, however they are not always easily accessible for all truck and trailer combinations, and due to their popularity, may not offer a quiet place to sleep.
Many Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) members are livestock carriers, who (while loaded) are subject to statutory requirements to inspect livestock within the first hour of a journey and every three hours thereafter under the Australian Land Transport Standards.
Finding suitable, accessible rest areas can be a real challenge. And, with an increasing number of women driving heavy vehicle combinations on Australian roads, there is a practical need for more toilet facilities to be provided in existing and new heavy vehicle rest areas.
In addition to our members’ consistent call for the provision of more and better heavy vehicle rest areas to help manage driver fatigue, the ALRTA is also anticipating simpler and fairer fatigue laws will be included in future legislation.
The Association has long maintained that the HVNL needs to appropriately balance safety and productivity and, following a long period of consultation on reforms to the HVNL, our members look forward to seeing the updated draft law that the National Transport Commission (NTC) is proposing to put to Ministers later this year.
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KEEPING YOUR BUSINESS ON THE RIGHT TRACK THROUGH PROBATION
The Clear Employment Relations Advice Team has provided a handy guide to help your trucking business steer clear of risks and ensure a smooth ride.
Managing probationary periods effectively is crucial for any business.
Probation gives employers a window to evaluate new employees’ performance and fit within the company. However, navigating the road of probation terminations can be fraught with potential legal potholes.
UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING PROBATION PERIODS
Probationary periods are typically the first three to six months of employment, allowing both the employer and employee to assess their compatibility. During this time, employers can evaluate the employee’s skills, performance, and cultural fit.
For truck drivers, this includes ensuring they have the necessary licences, comply with safety standards, and exhibit reliability and punctuality.
However, probationary periods are not a free pass for employers to terminate employment without consequence. Even during probation, employees are protected under the Fair Work Act 2009, which means claims can still be lodged in some instances, if proper procedures aren’t followed.
To manage probation effectively, clear communication is key. Employers should provide:
1. Clear Expectations: Outline job responsibilities, performance standards, and behavioural expectations from the outset. For truck drivers, this includes guidance on safe driving practices, adherence to schedules, and maintaining vehicle logs.
2. Regular Feedback: Conduct regular performance reviews to provide feedback and address any issues
early. This keeps employees on the right track and allows them to make necessary improvements. These can be held as informal one to ones.
3. Documentation: Keep detailed records of performance discussions, feedback given, and any concerns. This documentation can be invaluable if the probationary period doesn’t end favourably.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION ON TERMINATION
Terminating an employee during probation requires careful consideration. While it might seem easier to part ways during this period, it’s essential to follow due process to avoid legal complications. Here’s a checklist for terminating probationary employment:
1. Conduct a Risk Assessment: Ensure there is no risk of a claim such as unfair dismissal or general protections.
2. Conduct a Fair Review: Give the employee a fair opportunity to respond to any performance concerns. This shows that the employer acted reasonably and in good faith.
3. P rovide Notice: Even during probation, permanent employees are entitled to notice of termination, as specified in their contract or the National Employment Standards.
4. P rovide a Termination Letter: Provide written notice of the termination, effective date and reason why. This is a legal requirement.
5. Offer Support: Consider offering support such as outplacement services, employee assistance programs or references to assist the employee in their new employment.
To mitigate the risks associated with probationary terminations, businesses should:
1. Develop Clear Procedures: Establish comprehensive probationary guidelines that outline procedures for performance reviews, feedback, and terminations.
2. Train Managers: Equip managers with the skills to conduct effective performance reviews and handle difficult conversations. This ensures consistent and fair treatment of all employees.
3. Seek Advice: Consult with an expert to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations. This can prevent costly legal disputes and provide peace of mind.
In the trucking industry, where the rubber meets the road, managing probation effectively is crucial. By setting clear expectations, providing regular feedback, and following fair procedures, businesses can ensure they have the right drivers in the right seats. And remember, just like navigating a truck through a busy city, managing probation requires skill, patience, and a steady hand on the wheel.
So, keep your employment practices in gear and avoid the legal bumps along the way. After all, a smooth journey during probation can lead to a long and successful employment relationship.
Questions? Reach out to advice@clear-er.com.au
Brian Webb, NFI’s President of Port Services
IS CALIFORNIA DREAMING?
Trucking operators in California are a lot further down the road to decarbonisation than operators here in Australia.
PowerTorque’s European Correspondent, Will Shiers, talks to a US operator moving its fleet across to zero carbon operation.
It is often said that where America leads, Europe follows. And if that’s going to be the case with electric trucks, then we can learn some lessons from recent developments in California. We spoke to a forwardthinking operator, who already has experience running a fleet of batterypowered trucks in the Golden State. But before that, let’s delve into the background.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is an agency in the government of California with the aim of reducing air pollution. While it does concern itself with CO2 emissions and global warming, its main emphasis is on air quality.
Formed in 1967, when California became the only state permitted by the federal government to enact its own automotive emissions regulations, over the decades it has introduced a
plethora of rules and regulations all aimed at improving the quality of the air that its residents breathe. It has recently turned its attention to trucks, introducing some of the most stringent regulations yet.
In 2020, CARB introduced the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule, which requires OEMs to sell an increasing percentage of zero tailpipe emissions trucks as the years progress. Then in 2023, it switched its attention from supply to demand, announcing details of its Advanced Clean Fleets programme.
This was a series of phased regulations culminating in all trucks operating in the state being zero tailpipe emissions by 2045. The first stage, which was set to be implemented on 31 December 2023, would see a ban on new internal combustion-engined heavy trucks
being added to the state’s drayage registry.
In other words, operators purchasing new trucks to transport containers and bulk loads to and from California’s seaports and intermodal rail yards would have to invest in zerotailpipe-emissions trucks. The problem with that plan however, was the limited choice of electric or fuel cell heavyduty trucks on sale.
What’s more, the vehicles are eye-wateringly expensive, as is the provision of charging. While there are healthy grants available in California for purchasing both the vehicles and chargers, the processes of applying are complicated and time-consuming.
Not surprisingly the California Trucking Association wasn’t happy with the situation. It filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the imminent regulations, declaring that CARB had a
NFI has close to 5,000 prime movers
‘make-believe view’ of what could be achieved with the current technology and infrastructure.
The backlash had the desired effect, and in the 11th hour CARB withdrew the ruling, for now. But the reprise is only temporary, and some forwardthinking Californian operators are already future-proofing their fleets.
A DECARBONISATION CASE STUDY: NFI
With close to 5,000 prime movers, 14,000 trailers, and 6.5 million square metres of warehousing, NFI is one of North America’s largest thirdparty logistics providers. And since acquiring California Cartage (Cal Cartage) in 2017, it has become one of the nation’s biggest drayage (container transport) providers too.
“Our purchase of Cal Cartage first
started the discussion around electric trucks,” explains Brian Webb, NFI’s president of port services, when we catch up with him at the company’s Ontario, California office.
“It was one of the biggest drayage providers across North America, and had a humongous presence in California. The state is at the forefront of being a leader in wanting to reduce carbon emissions. Coupled to that, the incentives California provides to reduce your carbon output, and the services Cal Cartage was providing, meant it was clear that we needed to invest in electric truck technology.”
These are sentiments echoed by Jim O’Leary, NFI’s vice president of assets.
“What was happening in that space at that time was almost like the perfect storm,” he adds.
“California was starting to regulate,
and the technology was there. We went to the OEMs and told them we want to be a part of this. We said ‘if you’re going to start developing projects, then we want to be part of them’.”
NFI uses three truck suppliers, Volvo being one of the more prominent, with between 35 per cent and 40 per cent penetration. And by coincidence, in 2019 the truck maker was about to embark on the Volvo LIGHTS project (see page 44), which would see it putting its first batterypowered trucks into real fleets. Under the scheme NFI took delivery of a pair of VNR Electric prime movers.
O’Leary explains that there were initially one or two teething problems, the 110-mile range from the fourbattery trucks being a particular issue.
“We said ‘that won’t work’, so they immediately designed a six-battery
pack truck to meet that need,” he tells us.
The scheme was a resounding success, giving NFI the confidence to invest in more electric trucks.
When we visited earlier this year, it had 40 electric prime movers on its Californian drayage fleet, a mix of Volvo VNRs and Freightliner eCascadias. By the end of 2024 this will have risen to 90, two-thirds being Volvos. This will give it one of the largest zero-tailpipe-emission fleets in the US.
As previously mentioned, there are various pots of funding available for the purchase of electric trucks and chargers in California, and in the case of the Volvos, NFI has gone down three separate routes.
Half of the initial 60 trucks are being deployed with funding support from California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). This project was launched by CARB as part of California Climate Investments to accelerate commercialisation of battery-electric trucks. It is provided on a first-come first-served basis.
A further 20 have been partfunded by the Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative (JETSI), which is
ENVIRONMENTAL SAVINGS
Alexa Branco, NFI director of sustainability, says switching the Californian drayage fleet from diesel to electric ticks a lot of environmental boxes. It anticipates making the following savings with the JETSI project:
• Around 4,400 metric tonnes of GHG reduced annually
• Around 2.45 tonnes of weighted criteria pollutants reduced annually
• 10.45 million litres of diesel to be displaced in the next eight years
• Prior to the JETSI project, NFI’s battery-electric demonstration and pilot fleets have collectively covered more than two million miles. As a result NFI has already eliminated the equivalent of 1.1 million litres of diesel consumption, and 3,415 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
led by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) and jointly financed by CARB and the California Energy Commission (CEC).
The final 10 from this initial order are part of the SWITCH-ON project, a grant to Volvo Trucks to deploy battery-electric trucks in Southern California for regional freight distribution and drayage. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Targeted Air Shed Grant Program is providing the funding.
While the incentives reduce the purchase cost, there is still a significant difference between the price of electric and diesel-powered trucks.
BUYING ELECTRIC TRUCKS
As complicated as all this sounds, according to O’Leary, purchasing the trucks was actually the easy part.
“When we first started, I just cared about the trucks,” he explains.
“Just give me a truck and we’ll plug it in and go. At least that’s what I thought! But what I and my team soon realised is that it’s all about the infrastructure. That’s where the rubber meets the road.”
NFI’s electric truck investment
THE RANGE
Volvo claims that its VNR Electric prime movers have a maximum range of up to 250 miles (400km), and NFI’s trucks are capable of two 80-mile (128km) round trips to the Port of Los Angeles or the Port of Long Beach every day. But, as Jessica Cordero, NFI’s VP of drayage operations explains, this is dependent on weight, temperature, traffic conditions and waiting times. If required, additional charging takes place at a third party’s site in Long Beach.
coincided with a decision to move its drayage team from Chino to Ontario, which is several miles north. It owns a warehouse in the area, which is where the new offices have been built. Meanwhile, a four-acre site next door was purchased, and earmarked for electric truck charging.
“We are installing 38 350kW dispensers with 19 power cabinets, and each one can support two chargers. These are capable of charging two trucks each, so the power will be split,” O’Leary tells us.
Now for the really clever bit. NFI has also installed a pair of batteries,
Each truck will use 400kW to 600kW of power a day.
giving it 7.7MWh of storage. This means it can draw from the grid offpeak, and avoid the expensive peakload 4pm to 9pm period. It has also installed 1MWh of solar panels on the building’s roof next door.
O’Leary explains that the whole process was fraught with obstacles, and while it was initially supposed to have been completed by the end of 2022, in reality it won’t be fully up and running until this August. Instead it currently has 10 dispensers in operation, which are powered by a temporary service.
When all 38 dispensers are in operation, NFI will have the ability to bring in 7MW of power. To put that into perspective, it is about the same amount of electricity that’s needed to power the Empire State Building.
“Each truck will use 400kW to 600kW of power a day. So, two of them will use the same amount of power as a normal house for an entire month,” he reveals.
While this impressive set-up represents a significant six-figure investment, NFI’s cost has largely been limited to buying the trucks, the land, and preparing the facilities. In terms of putting in the chargers, batteries and solar panels, these have been the subject of external funding.
“In California, the infrastructure side is supported by multiple programmes,” says Webb. In this instance the majority of the funding has come courtesy of CARB, CEC, and South Coast AQMD.
Despite financial assistance, electrifying the drayage fleet has not been a cheap process. In fact, the entire project, including the real estate acquisition, has cost in the region of $45m. O’Leary explains that while the financial incentives have certainly helped, and indeed have made the project viable, there is still a significant gap between the actual
cost of operating electric trucks and the incentives provided. He confirms that where possible, NFI will strive to minimise any cost increase to its customers during the switch.
continue down this path,” he says.
customers are demanding that we do these things [run electric trucks], but they aren’t necessarily willing to pay for them. Customers have zero emission targets, but due to the cost, they are looking at other parts of their supply chain to reduce emissions ahead of transportation. If regulators heard this, perhaps they would apply the brake pedal a little.”
drayage operations confirms that up until very recently it has been a struggle to get customers to pay extra to have their products transported in electric trucks. “They have been willing to try it, but without any additional fees,” she says.
change, thanks to South Coast AQMD’s WAIRE (Warehouse Actions and Investments to Reduce Emissions) scheme. This complicated legislation financially penalises companies for the number of diesel truck visits to their warehouses.
if they pay a little over here, they won’t pay as much over there.”
represented a steep learning curve for the entire NFI management team. “You have to hold the hand of the project all the way, whether you’re deploying two trucks or 50 trucks,” says O’Leary. “A lot of resources are being sucked up - lawyers, real estate group, financing, fleet, operations... Everybody needs to be all-in, and the partners too. It’s not for the faint of heart!”
CHINA IS EMBRACING LOW EMISSION TRUCKS
After visiting the China Commercial Vehicle Show in Wuhan, China, Gianenrico Griffini, President of the International Truck of the Year Jury and Editor of Allestimenti & Trasporti, explains how the Chinese truck market is moving fast towards lower emission truck technology.
China is a hi-tech country in which, in all business sectors including road transport, long-term trends go hand in hand with rapid and sudden changes, dictated by the opportunities of the moment and the prospects opened up by future scenarios. This is what we witnessed when visiting the Asian giant’s most important industrial vehicle show, the China Commercial Vehicle Show. There were liquified natural gas-powered trucks and electric vehicles with battery swap systems on display at the show.
Long-term trends, with a time horizon to 2030 and beyond, include the increasing focus of local Chinese transport companies on premium products, electrification, autonomous driving solutions and advanced
connectivity-related services.
In the background to these changes is the ongoing consolidation in the road transport sector. Which should lead, according to a McKinsey study published last year, to a shift in demand for trucks from singlevehicle operators or less structured companies, towards medium-sized (with a fleet of more than 20 trucks) or large fleets. The latter could take almost 50 per cent of truck purchasing volumes by 2030, compared to 30 per cent in 2020 and 10 per cent in 2010.
In this changing environment, some European truck manufacturers, for example, Mercedes-Benz and Scania, have decided to locate the production of their latest generation models in China. This is in order to be able to take advantage, quickly
and effectively, of the needs and opportunities offered by the most important truck market in the world in terms of sales volumes.
In fact, it was a market of around 1 million vehicles over 14 tonnes GVM in 2023. These figures are a far cry from the stratospheric peaks reached a few years ago (1.6 million heavy vehicles in 2020 and 1.4 million in 2021), but still record-breaking when compared to the EU registration of some 267,000 trucks and 17,569 in Australia in 2023.
Emerging trends, highlighted by numerous trucks on display at the Wuhan Show, include unconventional powertrains, which go hand in hand with the latest generation ‘China VI’ diesel engines, an emission regulation similar (but not equal) to Euro 6.
Alternative trucks with LNG
(liquefied natural gas) engines and battery-electric vehicles (BEV), equipped with a battery swap system, played a starring role at the show. Alongside them were a number of fuel cell heavy duty vehicles (FCEVs), for which China aims to develop an extensive infrastructure network for the distribution of hydrogen as the energy carrier of the future.
THE LNG OPTION
The success of LNG for road transport use is quickly explained, as the average price of diesel in China last year was around $1635/tonne, compared to $1225/tonne for LNG, a difference of around 27 per cent. Bearing in mind that in the Asian country trucks travel up to 300,000km per year with two drivers on board, this makes a difference to the total cost of ownership (TCO).
Hence, the offer by many local manufacturers of models equipped with one or two stacked large-capacity LNG tanks placed behind the cab on 6x4 prime movers, suitable for combinations of 49 tonnes total weight GCM (the most popular one in the Chinese market).
The success of LNG has created supply problems for cryogenic tanks, which are the critical component of gas engine drivelines. A similar technical solution, with a battery pack behind the cab, has been developed for BEVs, thanks to the wide space available between the prime mover’s cab and the front bulkhead of the semi-trailer.
When the batteries tend to run out, the battery swap procedure, i.e. the quick replacement of the entire battery pack with a charged one available at the equipped stations, takes no more than five to six minutes. This solution also allows hauliers to separate the costs of the two items, the truck and the batteries, which are equivalent in terms of economic commitment. In practice, a trucking operator can decide to buy only the electric vehicle without batteries and rent them from a service provider.
ALT-POWER IN CHINA
In the field of alternative driveline commercial vehicles, hybrids, battery BEVs and FCEVs, which make up
the so-called NECVs (New Energy Commercial Vehicles), China has long been the country of absolute records. According to figures released by Interact Analysis, in the first nine months of last year, registrations of NECVs (which include commercial vehicles, trucks and buses) reached 199,000 units, compared to 238,000 for the whole of 2022.
Of the total market, the lion’s share was accounted for by battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which totalled 191,000 units. The largest increases were in light (+70 per cent over the same period in 2022), heavy (+31 per cent) and medium segment vehicles (+five per cent). In more detail, in the January-December 2023 period, 66,000 light NECVs were registered, 1,300 medium, 20,000 heavy units (consisting mainly of prime movers and trucks equipped with concrete transport equipment), about 3,100 FCEVs, and 3,200 diesel-electric hybrids.
Last year, Geely confirmed its position as market leader in the field of alternative vehicles with over 30,000
Seres (around 13,000 units), Dongfeng (10,000 trucks), Foton (9,800 units) and SAIC Motor (around 6,200 units).
Overall, ten manufacturers captured more than 67 per cent of the total NCEV market in China. The batteryswap solution took off in the Asian country mainly from 2019 onwards at the initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Which promoted the establishment of batteryswap stations.
In the first half of last year, these facilities exceeded 2,100. This fact has accelerated the development and delivery of commercial vehicles taking advantage of this technology. Another boost came from government incentives for battery modules and to reduce the cost of electricity used for charging. The central government’s economic stimulus for NCEVs also includes hydrogen filling stations for fuel cell trucks. More than 1,200 stations are planned by 2025, concentrated in some pilot municipalities and provinces, which intend to be the first to promote
China aims to develop an extensive infrastructure network for the distribution of hydrogen.
SWIFT REFORM NEEDED FOR PBS SCHEME
The current Heavy Vehicle National Law isn’t allowing for the most productive heavy vehicles on our roads, explains NHVR PBS Project Manager Scott Britton.
Right now, in Australia, the safest, most productive and lower emission heavy vehicles – that is, those built under the Performance Based Standards (PBS) Scheme – face more barriers to getting on the road than standard ‘prescriptive’ heavy vehicles.
As a result, safety, environmental and productivity benefits are being lost. To change this, the NHVR is seeking to work in partnership with industry and government.
In May, we released a paper, ‘Removing Roadblocks to Reform’, calling for fast reform of the PBS Scheme. When launched 17 years ago, it was the most sophisticated heavy vehicle scheme in the world.
And it has been incredibly effective, with more than 100 fatalities prevented, 1.2 billion less litres of fuel used, and 3.2 million fewer tonnes of CO2 emitted. It has allowed innovative designs to enter the road network, safe in the knowledge that they performed as well as, and usually better, than a prescriptive vehicle.
It has also proven extremely popular, with the number of PBS vehicles on Australian roads continuing to grow each year. There are now more than 20,000 PBS combinations on Australia’s roads.
While this demonstrates success in the scheme, it also highlights a flaw in how it was established. There are few reasons why a vehicle design replicated hundreds of times and safely deployed over and over again, must still require specific approval to be used.
However, current legislation – the HVNL - provides no alternative pathway for these vehicles. The cost to industry for design approval can be high, and once built, PBS vehicles are required to apply for a permit (or operate in areas defined by a gazette notice) to access specified areas of the road network.
That is why the NHVR is calling
on industry and government to work alongside the regulator to create positive change for the road transport sector. We need a pathway to allow proven designs, with established and demonstrated safety records, to be approved outside of the PBS scheme.
The Australian economy is heavily reliant on an efficient road freight task, with road freight serving the most remote corners of the country and proving integral to regional communities. This should be as seamless as possible.
We also need the standards themselves to evolve and embrace higher levels of safety and performance. Right now, the NHVR does not control the technical standards, and we believe we should have greater control over the PBS standards. This can only be done through changes to the HVNL.
There is also a clear desire from industry for these changes. The Queensland Transport and Logistics Council has voiced its support of the Roadblocks paper, also advocating for the removal of ‘tried and tested’ vehicles from the PBS scheme and more flexibility in updating the PBS standards.
Similarly, the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia has also publicly stated its full support for the direction being set by the NHVR. Their agreement to transform “PBS as a mechanism for promoting safety and productivity, and transitioning proven PBS vehicles away from PBS, and into the ‘as of right’ fleet” aligns with the NHVR’s objectives.
We are seeking to work with government and industry to reset the scheme’s policy settings and update the PBS standards. The ‘Removing Roadblocks to Reform’ paper outlines how we can work hand-in-hand with our partners to remove barriers to the productivity potential of the heavy vehicle industry.
This will help us accelerate the
transition to a younger and less polluting heavy vehicle fleet, and most importantly, save lives.
PBS is more than just productivity for industry and contribution to the economy. There is an implicit relationship between road freight activity, and safety and environmental externalities impacting people and the community.
It may be counterintuitive to think that bigger and heavier is safer and more environmentally friendly, but that is the reality of PBS.
Through the Roadblocks paper, the NHVR outlines its ambition to amend the HVNL to provide clear pathways for proven designs to exit the PBS scheme, and remove the requirement for all design applications to be referred to the PBS Review Panel for advice. This would instead see provided provisions for the NHVR to consult where it considers additional engineering expertise is required.
The NHVR is also seeking a mechanism, separate to the design approval process, to be established to provide jurisdictions with the opportunity to comment on potential access impacts associated with a new design.
Finally, we also want to amend the PBS Standards and Vehicle Assessment Rules, and other operating documents, with the belief that greater oversight of these changes by the NHVR Board will result in greater efficiencies and more timely decisions. These changes will help us drive a safer and more productive heavy vehicle industry, whose push for these reforms will be vital to our mutual success.
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EURO VI
READY WHEN YOU ARE.
We are embracing our path to zero emissions. The ADR80/04 rating will bring Australia’s emissions standards in line with Euro VI.
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WE CAN GET RESULTS ON FATIGUE LAW CHANGES
The industry must keep pushing for change on fatigue and work diary laws under the HVNL, writes Australian Trucking Association Chair Mark Parry.
The fatigue and work diary rules in the Heavy Vehicle National Law are inflexible and over-complicated, and have stagnated since the 1990s.
Throughout the HVNL review, the ATA has argued that they need to change.
We put forward option after option, but now we are approaching the review’s final deadlines. We expect the final package of legislation to be presented to transport ministers at about the end of the year.
It’s time, in other words, to focus on realistic ways to improve fatigue enforcement and make the rules fairer for Australia’s truck drivers.
The ATA has previously argued for changes to the law so enforcement officers can issue more formal warnings.
At present, an officer can only issue a formal warning if they reasonably believe that a driver has exercised reasonable diligence to prevent a breach and was also unaware of it.
These requirements mean it would be unlikely that an officer could issue a warning for a fatigue breach.
In our view, an enforcement officer should be able to issue a formal warning for minor fatigue risk and administrative offences if they think it appropriate.
This would enable officers to issue warnings for understandable breaches of the law such as:
• a driver cutting a 15-minute break short to enable another truck to park in a congested rest area, or
• a driver avoiding a rest area due to concerns about their safety
• a driver working an extra 10 minutes to get home.
We also propose that truck drivers who commit a minor fatigue or record keeping offence should have a one-time opportunity to do an online training unit instead of being fined.
Under this proposal, a driver issued with an infringement notice for one of these offences could undertake an online work diary unit through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
A driver who completed the free unit would be entitled to get the infringement notice withdrawn. The NHVR would maintain a register of the drivers who had done the course. Drivers would only be able to do the course once.
The driver would be recognised as completing a nationally recognised unit of competency. They would be able to include it in future job applications or even transfer the credit toward a vocational certificate.
Our plan would provide training to drivers instead of fining them for simple work diary errors. It would be cost effective for governments and the NHVR, because there would only need to be one register of drivers who had taken the training option.
One of the NTC’s last projects in the review is to look at the penalties in the law.
The ATA has consistently argued that fatigue and record-keeping penalties are too high.
We reported the real-world experience of truck drivers to the NTC, including one driver, Chris.
Chris told one of our Daimler Truck Future Leaders that he had
been stopped twice on one day and fined for two separate work diary offences, both more than a month old and presenting no current safety risk.
These offences cost Chris a week’s wage. And to think that people wonder why we have a driver shortage.
The ATA told the NTC that it should review 32 fatigue and work diary offences as a priority.
The HVNL review has been a long process. Babies have toddled off to kindergarten; high school students have started and finished apprenticeships and university degrees.
We’re nearly at the end of the process, though, and the ATA is determined to get positive results on fatigue to make these long years worthwhile.
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THE COMMERCIAL NEED FOR A $3 BILLION CLEAN TRANSPORT FUND
The trucking industry is at a pivotal juncture, facing commercial pressures that call for urgent action to ensure its sustainability and profitability, writes NatRoad CEO Warren Clark
At NatRoad, we have identified a critical need for a $3 billion federal Clean Transport Fund (CTF) to support the sector’s transition to lower emissions. This fund is not just about emission reduction, it’s a commercial necessity that will help secure the future of small, medium, and large trucking businesses.
Trucking is the backbone of Australia’s economy, responsible for moving goods efficiently across cities, towns and the country. Despite its vital role, the industry operates on razorthin profit margins, averaging just two per cent. Add the shortage of 26,000 drivers and the burden of regulatory compliance, the sector is under growing pressure to remain viable.
Our responses to the government’s review of the Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Roadmap and Low Carbon Liquid Fuels, and our policy paper: ‘Stronger Economy, Lower Emissions’ have highlighted the need forl support. Existing government plans fall short of providing the comprehensive backing required.
Small trucking businesses ensure essential goods reach even the most remote areas. These businesses operate under tight budgets, making it hard to invest in new technologies or comply with evolving regulations.
Without substantial financial support, many small businesses may be unable to afford the necessary upgrades, risking their survival.
The CTF would provide the critical support needed to help small trucking businesses transition to lower emissions without hampering their operations, such as facilitating the rollout of electric trucks, recharging infrastructure, and hydrogen solutions, where they make sense.
Additionally, better heavy vehicle access and comprehensive information
for making low-emission investment decisions would help these operators to remain competitive in a rapidly changing market.
For medium-sized trucking businesses, the commercial pressures are equally daunting, with larger fleets and often higher operating costs, making the transition to lower emissions complex and expensive.
The CTF would help ease some of these financial pressures by providing funding for advanced technologies and infrastructure, reducing emissions and improving operational efficiency and lower long-term costs.
Large trucking businesses, a linchpin of Australia’s supply chain, are also facing significant commercial pressures. These businesses are under increasing scrutiny from major transport customers and stakeholders to reduce their carbon footprint.
However, the costs associated with transitioning to lower emissions can be prohibitive. The CTF would provide the financial support to invest in cuttingedge technologies and infrastructure, ensuring that large businesses can meet their sustainability goals without compromise.
The CTF would promote a fair and equitable transition for the entire trucking industry. It would help level the playing field by providing small and medium-sized businesses with the resources needed to compete with larger operators.
This is crucial for maintaining a diverse and resilient supply chain, which is essential for Australia’s economic stability.
Major transport customers cannot continue to seek low-cost transport contracts while claiming to be committed to sustainability. They must offer better rates and contract terms to enable road freight companies to invest in low-emission solutions.
to support the trucking industry. Successive governments have invested billions in aiding big energy businesses to decarbonise, yet small trucking businesses have missed out.
The CTF would represent just 2.5 per cent of the cost of the 10-year infrastructure pipeline, a reasonable request considering the significant public benefits, such as lower emissions and health costs.
The trucking industry is at a crossroads. Without serious investment and a transition strategy, the sector risks being pushed into crisis.
A Clean Transport Fund can stop that happening. It is time for the Federal Government and big businesses to step up and support the sector that keeps our economy moving.
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NatRoad CEO Warren Clark.
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ECHOES OF THE FUTURE
With its electroluminescent paintwork, Renault Trucks’ E-Tech T certainly stands out from the crowd, but as PowerTorque’s European Correspondent Will Shiers discovers, it didn’t need a gimmick to make it shine.
It’s getting increasingly difficult to write driving impressions about electric trucks, quite simply because they’re all so similar. I mean there’s only so many ways you can say the word ‘quiet’. My thesaurus suggests ‘peaceful’, ‘reticent’, and ‘muted’ as good alternatives, but I’ve used them all time and time again. In fact, I’m conscious that I’ve used ‘stealthily’ far too frequently too.
However, Renault Trucks has come to the rescue. Seemingly aware of this predicament, and presumably to make its new E-Tech T electric prime mover stand out from the crowd and give journalists like me something different to write about, it came up with a rather bonkers idea. It gave one an electroluminescent paint job, called it ‘Echo Diamond’, and took it on a 10,000km tour of Europe.
being ‘a leader of electric mobility innovation’. This is its first batterypowered prime mover and means the French truck maker now has the widest range of battery-electric commercial vehicles on the market, from the 650kg e-cargo bike through to the E-Tech T 6x2 44-tonner. In fact, the only truck to escape electrification so far is the T High, but that’s likely to change in 2025 when Renault gets an eAxle. This will free up chassis space for additional batteries, creating a long-haul truck with a potential 600km range.
PAINT YOUR WAGON
It’s fair to say the Echo Diamond looks like nothing else on the road, on account of its unique paintwork, which illuminates when subjected to an electric stimulus (see box item overleaf).
importantly allows it to take advantage of the latest European masses and dimensions regulations. While this 4x2 version has a 3,900mm wheelbase, 6x2 variants are longer, and require this frontal extension in order to comply with length regulations.
Looking around the truck’s exterior, another difference are the side skirts and fold-down catwalk access steps, which are a Volvo Group product. While you can cut steps into a diesel tank, this isn’t possible with a battery, hence the set-up. The CCS charging inlet is located on the truck’s off-side, independent of whether it’s a left- or right-hand-drive vehicle.
I catch up with this one-off zerotailpipe-emission E-Tech T at the Renault Trucks Scotland dealership in Bellshill, Glasgow, Scotland, where it has stopped off for 48 hours. The previous day it had been made available for potential customers to check out, and now it’s my turn to get behind the wheel before it continues its whistlestop tour of the UK.
Renault Trucks, which prides itself on
The self-proclaimed ‘world’s coolest truck’, not only celebrates Renault Trucks’ first electric prime mover, but gives a nod to the manufacturer’s 130th anniversary too.
Beneath all that razzmatazz is a regular T cab, albeit with one significant difference. Unlike its dieselpropelled equivalents, the E-Tech T
Hidden behind the skirts are six 90kWh lithium-ion battery packs, providing 540kWh of power. It’s also available with four or five batteries. These are assembled at Volvo Group’s Ghent, Belgium factory, using cells supplied by Samsung. They power a choice of two or three electric motors (three in the case of this truck), developing a combined power of up to 330kW (450hp) and 490kW (666hp) respectively. They are matched to a 12-speed Optidriver transmission. It takes 2.5 hours to fully charge an
PowerTorque’s European Correspondent Will Shiers got to take the Renault for a spin.
GOING GLOBAL
long top-up charge (20 per cent to 80 per cent). This truck, which is running at 32.6 tonnes, has averaged a consumption rate of 1.2kW/km during its European roadshow.
In addition to prime movers, the E-Tech T is available as a 4x2 and 6x2 rigid, with 11 wheelbases ranging from 3,900 to 6,700mm. In the case of the truck I’m about to drive, it’s coupled to a tandem-axle Fruehauf urban trailer, which features a steering rear axle. It is the perfect set-up for a prime mover that’s aimed squarely at regional distribution, and hub-to-hub logistics. It is running on Alcoa Dura-Bright wheels clad with Bridgestone Ecopia 2 tyres.
INSIDE STORY
The interior of the E-Tech T is impressive, and nearly everything you see here is now standard in combustion-engined Ts. First and foremost, a new 30cm digital instrument cluster sits directly in front of the driver. Adjacent to it is a 23cm multifunction touchscreen seamlessly integrated into the dashboard. It boasts brightness and decent clarity, though incorporating a supportive lip at its base for hand stability on rough roads would be a welcomed addition.
Additionally, a new 45cm diameter multifunction leather steering wheel has been introduced. Previously, speed control buttons were tucked behind the wheel, which made them challenging for those unfamiliar with the layout. Now, they are prominently displayed and easily accessible, enhancing overall usability. It features a threeway adjustable column, which Renault claims offers class-leading movement. This is welcomed, seeing as the limited movement on the previous generation was considered a weak point by many drivers.
Like the rest of Renault Trucks’ lineup, the E-Tech T retains its conventional mirrors for now. However, it’s inevitable that Renault will eventually follow in the footsteps of its sister company Volvo and adopt a camera and screen replacement system. Where Renault steals a march over Volvo is with its keyless stop/start feature. In contrast, both the FM and FH Electric necessitate turning a physical key to initiate the truck’s operation.
Exclusive to the E-Tech T are striking accents of blue and red adorning the cab.
ON THE ROAD
My only previous experience with Renault’s medium-range electric prime mover was at its European launch at the Solutrans Show in Lyon, France last November, where I was permitted two minutes behind the wheel in a car park. This time I can take it for a proper run in and around Glasgow.
Upon activating the start button and disengaging the electric handbrake (which only requires manual deactivation after the door has been opened), I effortlessly manoeuvre out of the dealership, navigate through the industrial estate, and merge onto a dual carriageway.
The standout feature I immediately notice about this truck is its innovative indicators. A light touch triggers a three-flash sequence, while a firmer push activates continuous flashing until manually cancelled or the steering wheel is realigned. But now for the really clever part - when I switch lanes on a motorway or dual carriageway, the indicators self-cancel when I arrive in the new lane. This intuitive feature
synchronises with the lane departure system, and while I’m told it’s offered in some new cars, it’s a first for a truck.
From an operator’s perspective, the challenges of running electric trucks are abundant, ranging from the high purchase price to the challenges of charging. However, from a driver’s point of view, they’re an absolute joy. The power delivery is seamless, gear changes are instantaneous and barely noticeable, and cruising in near silence is a highly rated sensation.
Rapidly, I adapt to using the threestage machine brake, effortlessly transitioning into a one-pedal driving rhythm for most of my journey. Its performance on open roads is commendable, with well-weighted steering and a comfortable ride courtesy of the air suspension, which ensures comfort and reassuring stability.
However, it’s when I navigate the bustling streets of Glasgow that this truck really shines. It gracefully makes its way through the city with a certain serenity. Paired with the purposebuilt Fruehauf trailer, I effortlessly execute tight manoeuvres, further underscoring the truck’s prowess in urban environments.
CONCLUSION
I said at the start, that Renault Trucks had gone out of its way to ensure that the E-Tech T stands out from the crowd, and while I’m glad it did, I don’t reckon it needed to. This is a highly competent electric tractor and is certainly one of the best I have experienced so far. It combines a tried and tested driveline with French design flair, and from a driver’s perspective ticks all the boxes.
STANDING OUT FROM THE CROWD
Diamond Echo utilises LumiLor technology, which illuminates when subjected to an electrical stimulus. The livery was applied by Demon Paint, and took two months to complete. The paint, which is powered by a separate battery stored in the external locker, pulses and has several sequences. While the paint is available in eight different colours, Renault opted for Aqua Blue. It is illegal to light it up while on the road, but attracts a lot of attention in truck stops.
It may not look as flashy during the daytime, but the truck handles city driving well.
ISUZU FYJ THE ‘TOW-TAL’ PACKAGE
Wodonga towing and repair business Grealy Motors is run by the ‘oldschool’ Peter Grealy, but he’s finding success with newer truck models.
The assurance that quality genuine OEM parts will be readily available and in stock come service time isn’t something to be underestimated for any truck fleet manager, regardless of the size of the operation.
It’s certainly a key drawcard for Peter Grealy, seasoned mechanic and owner of Grealy Motors & Towing in Wodonga, who is a firm proponent of Isuzu Trucks and its Genuine Parts range — available for purchase from Isuzu’s country-wide dealer network and used by a gamut of independently-owned repair shops, Grealy included.
Peter has an old-school ‘hands-on’ view to his directorship, spending more time behind the wheel as a driver and on the tools in the mechanic’s workshop than at his office desk.
“The bit I appreciate the most about Isuzu Trucks is how parts are kept the same from ‘go to whoa,’” Peter says.
“As a mechanic I love that they’ve found their sweet spot with genuine parts, which they back up with their dealer network.
“I can service my 2000 model Isuzu F Series and put the same oil filter on it as I do the 2022 model.
“When Isuzu build something, I think they build it right, then they leave it alone,” he mused.
Parts consistency and reliability is vital for services such as the towing provided by Grealy Motors—given they’re driving to pick up vehicles that have broken down on the road.
The family-owned company has been providing their local community of Wodonga in Victoria with this professional towing and repair service for over 50 years.
They are an NRMA and RACV contractor, and on any given day, will be conducting emergency roadside servicing, towing breakdowns,
The Grealy FYJ fleet cuts an impressive figure.
assisting in accident recovery, and more.
Their mechanical servicing workshop and towing facility, also located in Wodonga, is supported by a mixed fleet, featuring 10 Isuzu trucks with a number of crew cab F Series and heavy-duty FY Series models specified with tilt-trays.
Grealy Motors’ drivers travel as far afield as Melbourne, Sydney, Wagga Wagga and Canberra, transporting all manner of vehicles from cars and tractors, cranes, and other heavy capital equipment for their clients.
“We offer transportation and delivery which keeps our wheels turning seven days a week,” Peter says, “We’re a one-stop, tow-shop.”
Needing to replace one of their aging tilt tray trucks, Peter recently reached out to his preferred Isuzu dealership, Blacklocks Isuzu in Wodonga, with the instructions to source a truck with more payload, more power, and extra length for larger loads.
The FYJ 300-350 Auto with a customised CTE tilt tray has hit the right combination of features for heavy-duty towing, with an extralong wheelbase measuring just shy of 11 metres making it capable of transporting multiple vehicles or capital equipment for clients.
wheels at the front alleviates some of the overweight issues you can run into by loading boom lifts and cranes.”
More power for Peter comes in the form of Isuzu’s 6UZ1-TCC six-cylinder, 24-valve engine which offers 257 kW @ 2,000 rpm of power and 1,422 Nm @ 1,400 rpm of torque.
A hefty payload and weight rating of 30,000 kg GVM and 45,000 kg GCM meets Grealy Motor’s on-road requirements.
The FYJ’s Meritor drive axles with twin-steer load-sharing front suspension are key features for balancing big loads, assisting with weight distribution across the chassis when transporting oddly weighted equipment such as cranes.
“The FYJ 300-350 is mainly our equipment transport truck, so it’s shifting multiple units like forklifts, knuckle booms, scissor lifts, large tractors and bigger, heavier equipment,” says Peter.
“The beauty of the twin-steer in the FY Series is you don’t run the risk of going overweight on the steer tyres like you do on some of the other brands in that weight range.
“I was so keen to add this model to the fleet because that extra set of
Grealy Motors favours the FYJ’s Allison six-speed automatic transmission for the task, with Peter saying it minimises distractions for the drivers without the need to change gears.
“The Allison automatic transmission is amazing—it opens up the capacity for extra drivers for us as the majority of drivers now go for automatic licences over manual.”
The FYJ’s Isri 6860/875 air suspension driver’s seat is also a crowd pleaser, reducing fatigue on long hauls, along with the up-high view from the cab which offers excellent visibility for tight situations and reversing.
“Our full-time driver who pilots the FYJ says that driving it to Sydney feels like you’ve only been at it for half a day, compared to driving the old prime mover which felt like you’d been driving for four days straight—it’s just that comfortable,” says Peter.
Taking care of the team (and their
customers) with the best in capital equipment has been an integral part of this intergenerational family business. In 1967, Peter’s grandparents, Brian and Mary Grealy, worked in a threeway partnership with other owners, running a single hook lift tow truck.
Brain and Mary signed on as the sole owners in 1985 and refurbished the business name to Grealy Motors.
Peter and his wife Caroline took over from Peter’s parents, Lionel and Carmel Grealy, who had been running the business since the early 2000s.
“What we do for our customers is vital, especially when it comes to responding to emergency roadside assist—so we’re very proud of the fact that we can continue to keep the Grealy name in the industry and support and service our local network,” Peter says.
It’s a family business at Grealy’s.
Look out for the Grealy Towing trucks in Wodonga and surrounds.
FACING ADVANCEMENTS IN TELEMATICS TECH
New AI technology, the rise of alternative power in fleets and the 3G shutdown are all changing truck telematics in Australia. Alex Catalano speaks to Geotab’s David Brown to find out more.
The changing face of telematics in Australia became clearer than ever across 2023 as technological advancements continued to arise.
PowerTorque spoke to David Brown, Associate Vice President of Sales (APAC) from Geotab about how new technology, both internal and external, and evolving truck fleets are necessitating quick responses and more learning from industry than ever before.
Geotab released its ‘2024 State of Commercial Transportation Report’ earlier this year, identifying the data
insights that will help the telematics leader tackle the next 12 months.
“The 3G shutdown has almost pressed the reset button on the telematics industry,” David says.
“Everyone’s come to the table and not only looked at what technology they’re currently using, but also looking at how we currently use it.
“Could we be using the technology better in our in our fleet operations and what are we going move to if we are going move to another provider? Is it another solution, and how’s that going be sustainable and scalable for me for the next three, four or five years?
“People are also starting to ask about what we do when we get a lot of data. How do we use this data to make those easy, actionable decisions in my business for the better?”
For Geotab, this industry-wide move from old technologies to new means looking at how they can advance their own data solutions. This is where AI comes in.
Geotab unveiled Geotab Ace earlier this year, an AI copilot designed specifically for transport fleets.
“What we’ve done at Geotab through Geotab Ace is essentially make using data insights a lot easier
David Brown, Geotab’s Associate Vice President of Sales for the APAC region.
for customers, helping them to make reports on operational data and efficiency in their fleet,” David says.
“You can put a question into the AI tool on the MyGeotab platform and ask it a question. It’s got be a specific question, for instance ‘show me which are the top five vehicles in my fleet which are idling too much’.
“That could take someone looking into it quite a while to navigate what to do. Whereas if you ask Geotab Ace the question, it comes through and will give you the top five, but it will also give you a link to a report you can go through to as well and physically see that.
“If you’re running a fleet of vehicles, it’s incredibly powerful to see how they’re performing. You can see if there’s any fault code information, if there’s any issues with battery health.
“We try and make it as easy as possible for the customers to use and implement and to get that data into making actionable decisions.
“It’s a real benefit to have AI because there’s so much information in there to use. It’s so important that people see the value in telematics.”
Where these improved data insights particularly come into play for fleet owners is those who are beginning, or are already in the middle of, their move to electric.
With electric vehicle importing and production continuing to grow in Australia, the reasons to go to
an alternative fuel source keep on growing too.
Globally, Geotab reports a 300 per cent rise in the percentage of onboarded commercial vehicles in 2023 compared to 2022.
How those electric vehicles are used and what types of jobs they take on will be an important area to observe, David believes.
“I would say one of the most common questions we get asked, or concern or challenge customers have, is around range on an electric vehicle.
“We don’t necessarily have the infrastructure, certainly not for the light truck as much as electric vehicles as in sedan cars. Can this vehicle do the job of what my combustion vehicle can do?
“We like that question because we can help with the transition, we’ll be able to tell you the range on that for the day. You’ll also be able to see on the platform the current state of charge on their vehicle for the day as well. If the vehicle falls below a set amount then you can get notifications to route you through to the nearest charging point, and it’s very customisable to the company’s needs.”
Smaller electric vehicles may be the way forward, David observes.
Doing inner city driving or last mile deliveries come with their own challenges like continually changing routes, but tracking the range on electric vehicles in these jobs will offer insights through data on how to maximise efficiency.
Additionally, the infrastructure to support electric vehicles in urban and industrial areas is much advanced than on long haul routes.
“We still need to ask if electric heavy trucks actually even make sense,” David says.
“A lot of people are talking about hydrogen. If it’s going to be heavy, it will be hydrogen because it’s going to be more cost effective and you’re going to get more longevity out of it.
“Long distance trucking is a foundation of the Australian culture and business. The whole industry’s based around the heavy truck.”
For the next 12 months ahead, David says Geotab will be monitoring and helping to support their customers who are still moving over from 3G, keep tabs on the continued fleet transition in Australia as well as continue to grow locally.
“From our perspective, the goals for the next 12 to 18 months are really to be the leading telematics business in Australia and to certainly increase our brand by focusing a lot on heavy trucks, local government accounts and mining resources areas where we’re strong already,” he says.
“We want to listen to our customers with the continued changes coming. The governments are incentivising a little bit more now in terms of electric and the transition.
“We’re investing heavily in Australia and it is an area where we’re strong, but we want to be the strongest.”
AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN THE LOCAL ECONOMY
Regional
towns in New South Wales are inevitably road transport hubs and Wagga
In a good sized inland city like Wagga Wagga, the trucking industry is an important element in the local economy, not only for those supplying goods or transporting goods in and out of the city, but also the large number of trucks, passing through en route, either on the north/ south route, or on the east/west freight route.
Evidence of the large volume of trucks coming through the town is the lineup of truck workshops and dealerships lining the road as you enter the city from the direction of Sydney. Clearly, there’s plenty of work to keep a truck workshop busy, passing along these routes.
One of the growing facilities servicing the trucking industry is
O’Reilly Trucks, based in a facility off the main highway in a small industrial area on the eastern side of town just off that road into the city from Sydney. What began as a small three man operation, handling the truck and trailer maintenance requirements for one of the transport companies based in the area alongside a few smaller local businesses and farming
families, has now grown into a much larger truck and trailer maintenance operation, operating out of a newly expanded facility on the site it started in 2010.
Brad had done his truck maintenance apprenticeship in Cooma, and after finishing his time there, packed up and moved to Wagga. He went and worked for one of the big truck dealerships in the city, before moving on to a job with Detroit Diesel.
Then in 2010, he started his own business, mainly handling the maintenance task of a large local fleet of 120 trucks.
From there the business has picked up a wide variety of customers. In 2018 O’Reilly Trucks became a Scania Dealership for Parts and Service. Two years later, O’Reilly Trucks took over the sales support, parts, and service functions for Western Star Trucks, MAN Truck and Bus, and Dennis Eagle.
As all of these business opportunities came along the need to recruit new staff became an imperative to cope with the growth in work coming through the workshop.
“When a local truck dealership closed, it left a lot of people unsure of their employment, and having a good relationship with these people, we were able to pick up seven or eight of their staff that filled positions in our parts, service and admin departments,” recalls Brad.
The workshop was turning into a substantial business, putting on other staff to handle the warehouse and other tasks.
“To tell you the truth, beforehand, it was quite nice,” says Tracey. “There are a lot of stresses that comes with a growing business. We had a good business before Penske and Scania came along, and it just keeps is still growing. A lot of the growth is down to word of mouth.”
“I’ve had good relationships and been in industry since I was 15,” says Brad. “My dad had trucks, so I had a rough idea of how to treat operators. Our customer base ranges from owner operator right up to large local fleets and everything in between. They’ve all grown over the years and we’ve
had to grow to keep up with them.
GETTING THE RIGHT PEOPLE
One of the issues which has dogged the operation as it has grown is the ability to source new technicians to handle the increasing volume of work.
Brad O’Reilly and his wife Tracey have struggled to find new people or to recruit experienced technicians with suitable experience.
“We have struggled over the years to get technicians, but recently it probably has actually got easier,” says Brad. “At the moment, a lot more mature age apprenticeship applications are put forward by people applying for
We do expect a high standard from our team and some find that difficult and move on.
“If you go somewhere else to get into your trade, but you don’t have people that know their stuff teaching you, it’s not good. We’ve had people coming in and they tell me they can do all these jobs and you give them the job and they go, ‘I don’t know how to do this’. We have found it more beneficial to put on people who we can build with and train into good technicians and in return, look after them.”
Statements like that are a damning indictment on some training schemes. These problems and the similar
Brad and Tracey O’Reilly
TAFE teachers really well. This lead the O’Reillys to approach the local Wagga Wagga TAFE to get an apprenticeship teaching hub set up in the city.
There is now a central training hub that provides product specific training course available for apprentices in the area to learn about truck maintenance operations. It has gained a good reputation and is getting industry support. This particular course is drawing in young people who want to become truck technicians, not just from Wagga Wagga but also as far as field as Albury, Dubbo, Young and Forbes.
There’s also ‘girls can do’ program running at the local TAFE There’s about 12 or 15 girls from schools that go to TAFE one day a week for a term that take part and learn automotive and different skills. The O’Reilly business is a big supporter of it.
“We check in throughout the term and take some merchandise up,” says Tracey. “They have challenges each week like who can remove the wheel the fastest, and they win the merch, but it’s enticing girls to get into trades as well. We’ve got a really good relationship with them and do whatever we can to help them out.”
The workplace culture the pair have developed has enabled them to keep
technicians who might otherwise be tempted elsewhere.
“Every morning, I’ll go around everyone and say good morning,” says Brad. “In the afternoon I’ll go around and say thanks. Just simple things, and they appreciate it, I know I used to.
“There’s no crankiness here. We uphold high level of privacy and confidentiality for our customers and our team, with policies that outline the use of social media in the workplace. With everyone knowing the expectations of behaviour and actions in the workplace and is held accountable, with respect social media, you don’t take photos in the workplace and send them, reminding the next generation that a Snapchat ends up as a Reel and then it ends up across the world and it’s there forever.
“We have regular team meetings that gives everyone an opportunity to be updated and express ideas for improvement in the workplace. It gives them a bit ownership as well.”
A CHANGING MARKET
Although based in Wagga Wagga, O’Reilly Trucks have customers who get their servicing done which are based as far away as Sydney or Cobar in the West of the State. There are also long term customers in Goulburn, West Wyalong and Forbes.
“We have a customer from Sydney and we’ve done his work for 14 years,” says Brad. “They come in for a service and the driver’s have a sleep in the driver’s room all day.”
In a rural area like Wagga Wagga the North American brands like Western Star etc, have historically been strong, but Brad is seeing a changing perception of other brands, being an Agent for both Scania and MAN.
“The European side of it is definitely definitely growing,” says Brad. “We see a lot of blokes that you thought would never to get out of an American vehicle and all of a sudden they’re in a European truck. They are thinking about the money and what they’re going to be charged every month on maintenance, and their fuel. All Their blokes aren’t 25 anymore, they’re now 55 and their back’s not so good so they’re looking for comfort and for safety as well.”
Brad has also been impressed with the European back up, in terms of call-outs for their team. The process involves welfare checks on the technicians and protocols in place to ensure everyone gets home safely. Working on the side of the road is not as safe as it was many years ago, Brad is inclined to ensure the safety of employees and customers for the best outcome.
Since starting in the business, Brad has seen and increase the the number of operations using contract maintenance schemes. The driver industry knowledge has definitely changed, fewer drivers are bringing their own tools and the level of mechanical knowledge is a lot lower than in the past. There are more operators with a policy whereby the drivers are not allowed to touch the truck mechanically. This makes it hard for the mechanic to know what to take with them on a call-out, if the driver of the truck is not sure what the problem is.
“It’s definitely a different industry now,” says Brad. “We’re probably lucky, we’ve got the advancing technology that’s coming out in the vehicles it picks up where knowledge is lacking.
“Nowadays, customers want to know if the maintenance is $1,500 a month, for example. That’s $1,500 a month, and not a gearbox and a ten grand bill. Instead, just keep paying it over the term of the vehicle. That’s probably the good thing with the Scania maintenance, it does a lot of replacement at set intervals. If the belts are frayed or in good condition, they still get ripped out and replaced at this interval.
“Last year, we did an incredible number of rebuilds, people were bringing their trucks from all over. We did ten rebuilds in six months, they were coming from everywhere. We had an engine in last week, for a bloke from Hillston, which is five hours to the West.”
The team at O’Reilly Trucks, despite the challenges faced, look forward to further growth and continuing to provide their current and future customers with the best service possible.
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YOUR GUIDE TO REPAIRING CRACKED HANGERS
There are a number of factors that can wear down your hangers – this handy guide takes you through how to diagnose and fix issues with cracking. Roll up those sleeves and get your hands dirty.
Over time, a hanger can develop fatigue cracks, especially if it has been operating under severe operating conditions. There is often an underlining cause, such as loose pivot bolt, deteriorated pivot bushes, faulty shock absorbers, or bad driving habits that should be addressed before completing the repair.
A repair kit is available for Hendrickson hangers that includes a reinforced steel plate, along with instructions. This kit is designed for hangers that have minor fatigue cracks on the inboard side. QUIK-ALIGN pivot hardware and wear washers should also be purchased as required.
For hangers with cracks on the outboard side, severe cracking, or excessive wear, replacement is the ideal solution. However, in some circumstances the inboard side repair kit or the gouged hanger repair kit may be used, depending on location and severity of cracks and damage. New hangers may have the reinforcing plate installed at the same time to improve durability in severe conditions.
Follow these steps to replace your hangers and get everything working like new:
1. Support the axle to prevent it dropping and remove the pivot fasteners.
2. L ower suspension trailing arms away from hangers.
3. Discard used fasteners.
4. Clean area around crack(s) and prepare surface for welding the reinforcing plate.
5. Stop drill the crack(s) at start and finish.
6. Grind a V into the crack to prepare for the weld repair.
7. Repair crack with V-groove butt joint weld.
8. Grind the weld until it is level with hanger.
9. Install reinforcing plate into position.
10. Clamp plate in position, ensuring QUIK-ALIGN openings are horizontal within 1 mm.
11. Stitch weld the plate into position. Make 6 mm fillet welds 25 mm long with approximately 30 mm gaps around the outside of the plate.
12. Weld the inside of the plate at the QUIK-ALIGN opening to the hanger with a 6 mm fillet weld.
13. Check the inside of the hanger to ensure the surface will not be detrimental to wear washer durability. Clean, repair and linish as necessary.
14. Assemble the suspension trailing arms with new pivot hardware and wear washers. Ensure the eccentric flanged washer is outboard, with the square adjusting hole at the 12 o’clock position.
15. Tighten pivot bolt to around 100 Nm to hold in place until the alignment is completed.
16. Reassemble trailer and restore to normal operation.
17. Align trailer axle(s) to manufacturer’s specifications.
18. When axle is properly aligned, and at ride height, fully torque the QUIK-ALIGN bolts until the
19. areas to the trailer manufacturer’s specifications.
20. Recheck trailer components and operation of systems and return to service.
Regular trailer inspection is essential in identifying and rectifying any potential issues that may lead to stress cracking, such as loose pivot hardware.
These inspections help minimise repair costs and reduce unplanned downtime by catching problems early before they escalate into more significant issues.
Cracks can become clear as day once you notice them. (Image: Hendrickson/Supplied)
Your guide to a DIY weld. (Image: Hendrickson/Supplied)
BRING BACK SUPER SINGLES
A study has been reviewing and renewing the research around the concept of bringing back super singles to improve efficiency in the trucking industry.
The mass saving mathematics of moving the trucking industry back into using super single tyres instead of dual tyres on trailers are relatively simple. With 20 tonnes on the tri-axle group on a semi trailer and 16.5 tonnes on the prime mover drive axles, if you swap out your tri-axle’s tyres for super singles, there is a tare weight tare reduction of between 300 and 600kg. There are fuel savings to be had from both carrying less weight and the lower rolling resistance of super single tyres, and there is 300 to 600kg extra payload available. It would not be a straightforward transition; operators
will have to rethink loading plans to make sure mass is evenly distributed to ensure the kingpin is carrying the right mass.
Further mass savings would be available if the two drive axles also use super singles, but current regulations limit the tandem axle group to 14 tonnes when super singles are used. If operators could run 16.5 tonnes on a tandem axle group with super singles, there is a possible one to two tonne payload advantage available depending on where the centre of gravity is. These figures would represent a substantial benefit for operations thinking about going
to super singles, depending on the operation.
However, the regulations, as they stand today, make the use of super singles impossible, especially when running at concessional or higher mass limits. The combinations are required to have road friendly suspensions, and these suspensions must be certified under VSB 11. One of the criteria in the wording of that rule is that the axles must have dual tyres. This means singles can’t be certified as a road friendly suspension. This legal anomaly is the key driver as to why single tyres are not being widely adopted.
This is where the roadblock exists, stopping the increased use of super singles in Australia. The asset owners of our roads, the various levels of government, have persisted with the duals requirement. A study which has been carried out by the National Transport Research Organisation, lead by Anthony Germanchev, the NTRO Freight and Future Vehicles lead, may change the situation.
When asked, the asset owners reply that there’s a lack of data on pavement wear to have an adequate discussion about any proposed change in the rules. Their concern is that while there’s been plenty of work done overseas on super singles, none of it is using the sort of pavements used in Australia. As a result, the authorities have been asking for a direct comparison of pavement wear between a dual setup and super singles. This has been a significant barrier to any hope of a regulation change.
The range of tyres available for the trucking industry is constantly changing and improvements around the world have seen the development of wide super singles. Unfortunately, in Australia the regulations have not changed to reflect that. The rules are preventing the wider adoption of these more modern design tyres and prevents their use in the situations where they are can benefit productivity.
The Truck Industry Council (TIC) has been advocating for some time to remove these regulatory barriers, and submitted a proposal for a round of the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative funding and succeeded in receiving funding for a project. TIC then commissioned NTRO to oversee the testing and writing of the project report. The project received significant assistance from Michelin, Good Year and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator along the way.
THE PROJECT
“Super Single wide tyres are an important topic because the next innovation or change coming to our industry is probably going to be in the form of zero emission vehicles, battery electric or hydrogen powered. What’s the barrier to that coming to fruition? It
is the pavement science,” said Anthony Germanchev at the ATA TMC.
“The fact is they need heavier steer axles and the methodology that we used in this project can be applied to that use case as well.
“The motivation for this project was the benefits that are available on the current vehicles, and to right some wrongs, as well. What did we actually test? We had two subject tyres, the Michelin 445 and 385. Then we had reference tyres, a dual set which is the 11R22.5, the most common tyre used. Then we picked the worst case as well, based on what we thought was the narrowest dual tyres you can put on a vehicle today, the 255.
“There is now a published report, and this is where the lobbying and the advocacy work begins. We are now working towards changing the regulations.”
TESTING PHASE
The trailer used on the testing belongs to the NTRO. This is fitted with a rig which can apply a number of forces. It can apply any vertical force, horizontal force, turning angle, tractive force and camber angle needed to generate the kind of force that is going to be applied on our pavements by trucks and trailers.
The system produces a pressure map of the tyre’s footprint. The testing
included tyres at varying pressures. The team were looking for the correct sized footprint, ideally with an even spread of pressure over the footprint. This ideal is the footprint of a tyre which does the least damage to the pavement.
When the team compared the images they took of the tyres’ footprint, over inflated tyres produced a small footprint with the pressure concentrated in the middle of the footprint. For correctly inflated tyres, the pressure was evenly spread over a wider area, reducing road damage.
The rig which runs the tyres over the road surface in the testing sees the tyre running up and down over a 12 metre section of pavement at about 20 km/h. With this system it is possible to replicate the loading on real pavements in a very short period of time.
The test team built the new pavement in their testing facility. On top of the stabilised clay there was 600mm of what is known as an unbound granular pavement.
“Granular means the road has no binder, it’s not glued together with bitumen,” explained Anthony.
“It is just crushed rock compacted and the aggregate size and shape is very important. Then it’s sealed with a thin seal over over the top. That’s what makes up 80 to 90 per cent of
The system produces a pressure map of the tyre’s footprint
TECH KNOW
our roads in Australia. This test road represents the most common road and our weakest roads, the roads in local government, rural areas. Everything apart from major highways are built that way.
“We marked it up to replicate 12 pavement sections that were identical and then we could do reference tests between all of them. The machine itself has a lateral or dithering motion that it performs, replicating the fact that a vehicle is not going to just track down the same path every single time in real life. There’s a pattern that starts in the middle, then moves a little bit to the left and right.”
Before the tests began the team made a falling weight deflectometer which can measure the deflection of the pavement in response to the weight. During the tests there were nine geophones which were measuring seismic activity in the road surface. They also measured the profile of the road’s texture and the size of the rocks with a laser measurement scanner which scans backwards and forwards to create a 3D model. The surface was measured every 10,000 cycles.
10 tests were done with four tyres at different inflation pressures. Each of the different tyres were tested with proper inflation, uneven inflation pressures, then over inflated. The testing took a two year period to complete.
“The real life measurements aren’t as perfect and precise as a calculated
formula,” said Anthony.
“We presented the results to the pavement engineers at Austroads. They had never looked at a profile like this before because they don’t test for tyres, they test for pavement construction methods. They were very interested in this. All of these questions were raised during the testing.”
The results were then used to calculate a complicated formula. The idea behind this formula is to apply an adjustment factor for the deformation rate of the road when different tyres are travelling on it. This rate was calculated from 9000 to 52,000 cycles with road deformation rising steadily for every cycle. For each type of tyre the total deformation, deformation rate and adjusted deformation rate were calculated.
“The first thing to note is the total deformation was only four millimetres, which isn’t much,” said Anthony.
“We’re looking at really small amounts of deformation. If you were to have 100,000 cycles, you’d get one mm of deformation. You don’t want deformation rates higher than that.”
The most damaging, the 255 had a much higher deformation rate, twice as much as the 11R22.5, which had the lowest deformation rate. On the final leaderboard for the results of the testing, the 255 is by far the worst, but the 11R22.5 was not as bad as the researchers expected.
“There’s a decision that needs
to be made if we’re going to push this forward to road managers,” said Anthony. “They’re currently allowing the 255 the same loads as the 11R22.5. If that’s allowed, then why aren’t the other tyre types allowed? If you go to a deformation rate that’s not adjusted, and we look at total deformation just to get a feel for these results, it’s very clear that the 255 comes up the worst in all cases. The other thing to point out from our conclusions is that we’re looking at very small margins.”
The bullet points to take forward to road managers include the fact that the deformation rates for both duals and single tyres were in a similar range. The deformation rate for 255 duals was clearly the highest. When inflated to the recommended inflation pressures, the differences were small, but statistically significant. The deformation rate ranked the tyres, from worst to best, 255, 445, 385 and then 11R22.5. If you look at total deformation, the order worst to best is 255, 11R22.5, 445 then 385.
“The 385 has always been criticised as the most damaging type,” said Anthony. “Another argument we could take forward is that the duals traverse a wider path and the singles have a narrow path, so together they share the wear over a larger area of pavement. It’s expected traffic over the same pavement section of both duals and wide tyres will result in more evenly dispersed wear pattern.”
10 tests were done with four tyres at different inflation pressures
EMBRACING TRUCK SAFETY
There’s major changes coming to the Australian Design Rules (ADR). Knorr-Bremse has provided everything you need to know about the upcoming mandates.
Australia is on the brink of a transformative shift in truck safety standards with several new mandates set to take effect, aimed at significantly improving road safety for heavy goods vehicles.
Several pivotal Australian Design Rules (ADR) will soon come into effect and mandate Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB), Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) on heavy vehicles, marking a substantial leap forward in vehicle safety technology.
As of February 1, 2025, the Australian Design Rule 97/00 will mandate the installation of Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) in new heavy goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM).
This crucial update seeks to minimise the severity of in-lane frontal collisions, particularly in monotonous highway driving conditions. AEB systems are designed to detect likely forward collisions, alert drivers, and automatically apply brakes if the driver does not respond.
In addition to AEBS, another pivotal update under Australian Design Rule 35/07 is also set to come into effect in February 2025. This update expands the requirement of Electronic Stability Program (ESP) to cover goods vehicles above 3.5 tonnes GVM.
Previously, ADR 35/06 did not mandate ESP for certain goods vehicles, but this revision is essential to align with the safety standards set forth
by ADR 97/00. An ESP system detects the risk of rollover and intervenes by automatically applying brakes to decelerate the vehicle and corrects deviations from the driver’s intended course.
Another safety feature that will be added is Lane Departure Warning (LDW) as a result of ADR 99/00. LDW is already actively mandated for vehicles with a width greater than 2.5m, and will be required for all vehicles starting in September 2027. LDW aims at warning a distracted or drowsy driver if the vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane.
With those mandates coming into effect in the coming months, newly built trucks will therefore come with those safety systems by default. For new models of heavy vehicles, some of these systems have already been mandatory for some time.
An exception for those rules is made for vehicles with four or more axles and vehicles ‘designed for offroad use’. It is important for drivers to be aware of the safety systems which are fitted to their vehicles, so they are better prepared for the alerts and brake interventions which can occur if the systems detect critical situations.
Leading the charge in these safety advancements is the Bendix Fusion system, as part of Knorr-Bremse’s offering.
This integrated system combines radar, camera technology, and the Bendix ESP full-stability system to provide comprehensive collision
mitigation and enhanced braking capabilities.
From February 2025, Bendix Fusion will be standard in most newly built North American trucks, ensuring compliance with ADR 97/00, ADR 99/00, and ADR 35/07 while enhancing vehicle control and safety across diverse driving conditions.
Looking even further ahead, Blind Spot Information Systems (BSIS, ADR 105/00) will become effective November 2025 for new models and February 2027 for all goods vehicles with a GVM over eight tonnes and an overall width exceeding 2.5m.
To fulfill those requirements, the Bendix Fusion system can be extended by an integration of the Bendix BlindSpotter for side object detection.
With this, objects in blind spots can be detected, significantly reducing the risk of accidents involving vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians, thereby ensuring enhanced road safety.
For manufacturers and operators in the trucking industry, understanding these technological advancements and preparing for compliance with these mandates are crucial steps toward ensuring safer road experiences for everyone.
Educating drivers about the functionalities of these advanced systems will be essential in maximising their effectiveness and integrating them seamlessly into daily operations.
THE CONVERTER DOLLY CONUNDRUM
PowerTorque Technical Guru, Bob Woodward, looks back to some important changes and the effect of design changes around the converter dolly conundrum.
Rewind to 1994, my first experience with air suspension converter dollies! Tri axles? It wasn’t good with pitching and diving, but after many alterations it performed okay. Then in 1996 a client wanted air suspension on everything that transported their product, hence a new design phase –rigid drawbar air suspension converter dollies. Although this design was an operational success, operators did not embrace the concept; old habits are difficult to change.
Fast forward to 2018, where members of the Industry Technical Council (ITC) were discussing issues with tandem air suspension converter dollies, poor tyre wear and somewhat unpredictable dynamic handling. Sometimes one needs to help oneself, in this example there was a safety and maintenance issue. From those discussions a project was born to develop an industry prototype.
With the support of ITC supplier members, the project progressed and the industry prototype rigid drawbar converter dolly was displayed by MaxiTRANS at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show. This dolly was available to ITC members and the supplier clients for trialing. Its first trip in May 2019 was to Darwin where the first user report was, “this is fantastic”.
The rigid drawbar was a collaborative response to a problem for the betterment of all. Operators and manufacturers have been able to access the project experience outcomes with minimal operational risk.
Following are operator comments:
TONY MCGRATH
– MCGRATH NEWCASTLE:
“The decision to go with a rigid drawbar with the PBS A-double was significantly influenced by the ITC converter dolly on display at
the Brisbane Truck Show in 2019. Discussions with the engineering team at MaxiTRANS convinced me this was the best option for the future A-double container skeletal operation.
“The tyre wear has been fantastic. I’m embarrassed to tell people that the first dolly is still on original tyres at more than 407,000 kilometres.
“When asked if there were any negatives, the only issues are the potential for increased wear in the coupling when operating on steep driveways and across kerbside gutters where one axle may clear the pavement at low speed – a similar situation occurs with all multi-axle groups.
“Our drivers appreciate the dynamic tracking performance, braking and handling is excellent.
“The A-double and rigid drawbar converter dolly has been a great addition to the McGrath Newcastle operations.”
KEL BAXTER
– KELVIN BAXTER TRANSPORT:
“I was ITC chairman when the group embarked on this project and also had the privilege of trialing the prototype dolly. In my operation it was a game changer, to the extent that I have not purchased a hinged drawbar tandem converter dolly since. However, all the new dollies are PBS only to meet the axle spacing requirements of Victoria.
“The rigid drawbar dolly tyre wear is even across both axles, as it should be. PBS mandates airbag suspension and we found the supposed load sharing with a hinged drawbar resulted in issues with pitching under braking, resulting in excessive and uneven tyre wear on the lead axle.
“Perceptions of weight transfer and wear to the pin coupling are unfounded. The elimination of drawbar bushes is a maintenance plus.
“The excellent handling characteristics of the rigid drawbar dolly make for a much safer multi combination configuration. Drivers are rapt, saying that these 30 metre A-doubles handle and manoeuvre at least as well as a B-double. The combination of a fixed drawbar dolly and EBS brakes makes for a safer High Productivity Freight Vehicle to handle the task.
“Often tri axle dollys are used for their better handling characteristics and in many instances not carrying tri axle weights. A fixed drawbar dolly is a great alternative.”
LAURIE BROTHERS
– RON FINEMORE TRANSPORT:
“My first experience with rigid drawbar converter dollies was in car carrying road train operations (doubles and triples) in 1996. The immediate benefits were tyre wear and dynamic handling, especially when braking. These were also then introduced to other operations. In car carrying, where the coupling height needed to be much lower than standard, this proved to be a dynamic benefit as the resulting coupling height was close to the trailer suspension roll height, limiting input into the dolly due to trailer roll. Some 20 plus years later other operators recognised the benefits of the lower coupling height. The drivers appreciated the improved performance, especially on narrow road sections with sharp shoulders.
“Now RFT has rigid drawbar tandem converter dollies on fuel haul operations 30 metre PBS A-doubles. Operating both standard height couplings and low height couplings, drivers report a preference for the lower height coupling.
“Suspension, axles, brakes and fifth wheel maintenance is similar to that of a B-double tandem lead trailer.”
RICHARD (DRIVER)
CHS BROADBENT:
“I’ve been driving B-double for about 20 years and more recently road trains (A-doubles), the A-doubles on bulk
grain. Initial operations with A-doubles were with the conventional hinged drawbar.
“When I was allocated a newer combination with a rigid drawbar, my first impressions were chalk and cheese. I could not believe the difference, no pushing and shoving and no cab slap. The rigid drawbar tracks and feels more like a B-double.
“We haven’t identified any negatives and it’s a positive when splitting to tip at some sites where splitting and reversing onto the hopper is necessary. The other drivers have really embraced the concept. Dollies are being converted and currently there are six rigid drawbars in the fleet.
“The rigid drawbar converter dolly displays considerably less brake and tyre wear.”
Alcoa, Bridgestone, Hendrickson, Jost, MaxiTRANS and Wabco all acknowledge the ITC Dolly Project as partners.
ROBERT SMEDLEY – SMEDLEYS ENGINEERS:
“From a technical perspective, the rigid drawbar design results in a noticeable increase in coupling vertical forces, however these vertical forces are within design limitations of the automatic style pin coupling. The data analysis and the visual observation of the converter dolly correlates well with the visible observations made during testing with the combination being more stable on the road, when cornering and major braking events. The rigid drawbar design undoubtedly offers better safety performance than does a hinged drawbar converter dolly.
Smedleys Engineers completed dynamic behavior comparison of the rigid and hinged drawbar converter dollies in a 35-metre road train, where the conclusions were:
“Testing was conducted to compare the relative dynamic stability of a hinged drawbar dolly with a rigid drawbar dolly through analysis of three axes of accelerations and three axes of gyroscopic movement at the axle groups of the three trailers of an A-double type combination. Additionally, strains were measured at the tow coupling of both dollies
• 30 + years in the market place
• Clean, grease-free fifth wheel
• More cost effective
• Easy to fit
• Consistent steering characteristics
• Environmentally friendly
• Australian designed & manufactured
• Used by some of the most highly
since 1990
STOCK AFTER-MARKET REPLACEMENT KITS TO SUIT MOST GREASELESS OR LOW-LUBE FIFTH WHEELS.
The industry prototype rigid drawbar converter dolly was displayed by
to compare the resolution of forces through the two different configurations.”
• The rigid dolly pitches less. It has less movable links in the system to softly absorb loads fed into the fifth wheel so it sees slightly more small longitudinal vibrations.
• When the rigid drawbar dolly was used, the lead trailer exhibited more side-to-side movement. This appears from the data to have come from driver steering inputs. The
driver stated he made the inputs due to a feeling of the trailers moving the prime mover around when the rigid dolly was fitted.
• Once the side-to-side movement of the lead trailer was mathematically filtered out of the dolly and tag trailers, the rigid dolly appeared more stable and ‘calmed down’ the tag trailer more.
• The rigid drawbar dolly had less very fast (small and too fast to see) snaking movements.
• The hinged drawbar dolly pitches a lot very early on when braking, however as the brakes on the tag trailer axles balance out their contribution, it flattens off.
• The rigid drawbar dolly barely pitches when braking.
• The hinged drawbar dolly pitches a lot when accelerating as the drawbar hinge point is below the fifth wheel hinge point. This is related back to the “cab slap” reported by test drivers.
• The rigid drawbar dolly does not
pitch when accelerating or exhibit “cab slap”.
• The tow coupling is more stressed by the rigid drawbar, but the stresses are not that high.
• Following the test vehicle through long curves over bumps during those curves, the rigid dolly observably did not pitch over bumps while the hinged dolly did. PBS combination assessments that include a converter dolly are often based on the assumption that the dolly has a rigid drawbar. Not all are the same!
So, what’s next? There is an increasing number of tri axle converter dollies in operation. Some goose-neck designs incorporate a rigid drawbar. However, the traditional are all hinged and incorporate multiple ride height valves.
Seems time for another industry project: To develop a general use rigid drawbar triaxle air suspension converter dolly design.
MaxiTRANS at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show
ENHANCING FLEET EFFICIENCY AND EASING DRIVER WORKLOAD
In today’s trucking industry, optimising every aspect of fleet management is crucial.
With equipment costs rising, operating expenses climbing and driver shortage concerns growing, lowering the time spent managing on-board mass (OBM) is more critical than ever in both efficiency and driver well-being.
Air-Weigh, one of the scaling systems offered by E-Max, presents a solution that enhances fleet operations by simplifying one aspect of a driver’s workload.
Wireless OBM systems often rely on Bluetooth pairing with each individual scale in the combination, which can be time-consuming and require constant driver input.
This manual input increases the risk of errors, such as pairing the wrong trailer or in the wrong order, wasting valuable time and delaying deliveries. The constant need for driver involvement in managing these systems adds to their workload, contributing to stress and inefficiency.
By comparison, E-Max offers an alternative with its intelligent AirWeigh system. This system connects to the vehicle’s ignition and utilises the existing seven-pin electrical Suzi coils to transmit data and automatically assign trailers. This eliminates the need for Bluetooth pairing, extra cables, and manual configurations, significantly reducing the time and effort required from drivers.
“Our system is designed and manufactured in the USA and is ISO 9001:2015 certified,” says Ben Harris, E-Max Head of Sales and Operations.
“This ensures that Air-Weigh enables truck operators to accurately measure their load, eliminating any guesswork from loading. This precision helps reduce overweight fines and maximise each trip’s efficiency while also ensuring compliance.”
STREAMLINING OPERATIONS
The plug-and-play feature of AirWeigh demonstrates the system’s simplicity in action, enabling seamless transitions and efficient fleet management.
By requiring no manual input from drivers, Air-Weigh helps streamline processes, resulting in smoother operations.
Extended driver efficiency is achieved by reduced loading times, allowing drivers to focus on driving rather than load management. This shift not only enhances road safety but also decreases vehicle liability, resulting in happier, more productive drivers.
“The simplicity and precision of our system not only saves time but also reduce the cognitive load on drivers,” Ben says.
“This is crucial in an industry where every minute counts. By minimising the time drivers spend on non-driving tasks, we help them focus on what they do best – driving safely and efficiently.”
Supporting customers nationwide, E-Max offers comprehensive aftersales support with a skilled team capable of training and educating fleets to implement the product effectively, whether it’s five combinations or 500.
This ensures that fleets of all sizes can benefit from the efficiency and simplicity of Air-Weigh. Additionally, E-Max provides individual support via phone for those on the road, ensuring that help is always available when needed.
In an industry where every minute counts and the pressure on drivers continues to grow, solutions like AirWeigh are more important than ever.
As equipment becomes more expensive, operating costs rise, and drivers become fewer, the minutes wasted on manually connecting
trailers and ensuring correct loads can significantly cut into the fleet’s bottom line.
Air-Weigh offers a practical and efficient solution that improves operational efficiency and eases the workload on drivers, ultimately enhancing productivity across the board.
By investing in intelligent systems like Air-Weigh, fleet operators can ensure that their drivers are not burdened with unnecessary tasks, allowing them to stay focused and efficient on the road.
This not only benefits the drivers but also improves the overall performance and profitability of the fleet. In a challenging and competitive industry, adopting such innovations is key to staying ahead and ensuring long-term success.
On-board scales like Air-Weigh add increased vehicle profitability by maximising every load, extending driver efficiency by allowing them to focus on driving, and enhancing road safety by ensuring accurate load management.
They eliminate repeated scale events, unproductive time and km’s spent reworking loads, under-loading, load guesswork, and overweight fines.
This results in a more streamlined, productive, and profitable operation, with drivers who are happier and more focused on the road.
Air-Weigh’s LoadMaxx plus solution.
HOW NON-STANDARD BIODIESEL CAN CAUSE FUEL FILTER CLOGGING
Advancements in filtration science have led to a solution with a seven-time increase in performance to prevent new engines from prematurely clogging.
In Australia, the landscape of biodiesel consumption has undergone notable changes over the past half-decade, reflecting a broader global shift towards renewable energy solutions.
As a nation endowed with vast agricultural resources, Australia has seen a growing interest in biodiesel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance energy security. Policy frameworks, such as the Renewable Energy Target and Australia’s bio energy roadmap, have played pivotal roles in encouraging biodiesel production and consumption.
Technological advancements have also been instrumental in expanding Australia’s biodiesel capacity. Innovations in feedstock processing, such as the use of waste oils and fats from the food industry, have made biodiesel production more economically viable and environmentally sustainable.
The changes in biodiesel blends occurred rapidly and came with a consequence no one anticipated: premature plugging of fuel filters. This was the case for a global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that
launched a new engine around the same time these new blends hit the market.
Users of the new diesel engine around the world reported premature clogging of fuel filters that resulted in service intervals 30 to 50 per cent shorter than expected.
The filters were caked with an unusually high amount of soft, gel-like deposits of an ultra-fine (1 to 2 μm) nature. Chemical analysis revealed the deposits were metal salt carboxylates. But where did they come from?
What happened next can only be accomplished through filtration science: the collective blend of analytical expertise and laboratory
capabilities of the Fleetguard team of engineers, chemists, biologists and specialists.
DISCOVERING THE CONTAMINATION SOURCE
Working closely with the engine OEM, Fleetguard collected fuel samples from multiple locations globally to determine if the contaminants came from the fuel itself.
“None of the fuel samples contained a significant presence of carboxylates. That led us to wonder if the contaminants formed in the engine,” says Matthew Gillard, Technical Specialist at Fleetguard.
Users of the new diesel engine reported their fuel filters were clogging much faster than expected.
Chemical analysis by Fleetguard revealed the soft contaminants plugging fuel filters were metal salt carboxylates, known contributors to the formation of insoluble soaps.
TECH KNOW
to add a proprietary glass layer that would hold the high volume of soft contaminants they were encountering and still meet the OEM’s original service intervals.
“Testing validated our approach,” Matthew says.
“The redesigned filters provide seven times greater life and more than double the carboxylate removal efficiency compared to our original filter design.”
Fleetguard also tested its redesigned filters against a competitor filter the OEM had been considering. Initial testing indicated the competitor filter would provide longer filter life than the original filter. Further testing, however, showed the competitor filter was less effective at capturing contaminants, accounting for its longer service life. Those tests demonstrated the original filter design removed more of the soft contaminants than the competitor’s filter would, Matthew says.
After running fuel samples through test cells that recreated engine and fuel conditions, Fleetguard’s specialists confirmed the carboxylates were indeed forming within the engine, under the high temperatures and pressures of the high-pressure common rail (HPCR) fuel injection system. Then, uncombusted fuel — containing the newly formed carboxylates — was recirculated back through the fuel system.
Now that the team understood what was happening, it was time to determine how to modify the filter designs to address the issue.
“Our filters targeted and captured
the particle sizes of contaminants present with a very high efficiency,” Matthew says.
“What we discovered, however, is that the filters lacked the capacity to hold the volume of soft organics created from the new biodiesel blends.”
The fuel filters originally supplied by Fleetguard for the engine incorporated a nanofiber technology called NanoNet to protect engine applications with tighter component tolerances from hard contaminants such as sand and dust. After evaluating many different combinations of media, Fleetguard filtration experts decided
The results of these tests gave the OEM confidence the new filters would meet their specified maintenance interval.
The response by Fleetguard also demonstrated the ability to apply filtration science quickly and effectively to tailor technologies to suit OEM needs. Shortly afterward, the OEM awarded Fleetguard additional business as the sole provider of fuel filtration technologies on a significant part of its engine portfolio.
Diesel engine OEMs and equipment operators encounter new challenges every day. You can be confident that your engines and equipment will go further — no matter the circumstances — with the protection of filtration science. Because you need to safeguard the investments you make in your equipment, Fleetguard invests in research and develops superior filtration products that extend the limits of performance.
Uncombusted fuel containing carboxylates that formed inside the HPCR fuel injection system was recirculated (blue path) back through the fuel system and filters, causing them to clog prematurely.
Tests showed redesigned media would extend filter life by more than seven times over the original design. They also showedthat the new filter media — and even the original filter design — is significantly more efficient at removing the soft carboxylate contaminants than a competitor’s filter.
LATEST PACCAR PARTS
CATALOGUE NOW AVAILABLE
After 18 months of work to compile all available parts, PACCAR Parts has released the third volume of its Trailer Parts Catalogue.
Technicians, workshops managers, and service managers across Australia and New Zealand can look forward to having another comprehensive trailer parts catalogue available at their fingertips following the release of PACCAR Parts Trailer Parts Catalogue Volume 3.
PACCAR Parts Senior Product Manager Daryl Tonkin said the new catalogue focuses on all the products that a trailer uses, from suspension, to airbags, to springs, to fittings and fixtures, and all from the biggest and best name brands in the business.
“The 386-page volume is more comprehensive than you’ll find anywhere else and includes in-depth details of essential trailer parts from quality brands like Meritor, TRP, Hendrickson, SAF-Holland, York, Fuwa K Hitch and Transpec.
a one-stop shop for trailer and other truck-related products and we’re unique in being able to bring together all these different brands and their
components in the one publication.
“With its detailed description and breakdowns of components, complete with part numbers that are in the PACCAR system, the catalogue is an essential resource for fleet managers and owner operators, and is designed to save them time and money by eliminating the need to call around to different suppliers.”
“Trailer Parts Catalogue volume three complements our two earlier volumes to create an even more comprehensive resource for customers who are repairing and maintaining their trailers,” adds PACCAR Parts Product Marketing Manager, Niels Holm.
“Each catalogue comprises
PACCAR says the third volume is acomprehensive listing of trailer parts
“Volume three is focused predominantly on trailers because there’s roughly three times as many trailers as there are trucks on the road.
“So, by bringing all the suppliers into one catalogue it allows customers to look for their part irrespective of which brand of component they have. That’s key because otherwise the customer would have to go to the individual manufacturers’ catalogues to find that part. This brings it all into one convenient location.
“The catalogue also includes a comprehensive listing of dealerships where the parts are available and, if you know your part number you can search by that. An index at the rear of the book will direct you straight to the page where that part is located, including dimensions and technical details.”
Customers can pick up a copy of the catalogue at their nearest PACCAR Parts dealer, scan the QR code to download a digital version, or access a copy online at
THE POWER
ANOTHER HINO
UP TO 20% * IN FUEL AND EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS WITH AUSTRALIA’S ONLY SELF-CHARGING HYBRID ELECTRIC TRUCK.
The Hino 300 Series Hybrid Electric utilises an electric motor and a diesel engine working in parallel, intelligently switching between the two or a combination of both - to boost efficiency. Maximum torque generated at very low rpm minimises fuel use resulting in a reduction in carbon emissions. And as the Toyota Group hydride nickel battery automatically recharges whilst on road during operations, there are no recharging requirements. That’s the power of change, that’s the Hino Hybrid Electric. Visit hino.com.au
