Western Star 6900 tackles QLD’s Wild West. Story and Photography by Howard Shanks The dawn light north west of Townsville at sunrise has a surreal golden softness, and while the tourists who flock to the town were busy watching the first glimmers of the sun slowly climb out of the ocean to the east, Mick…
1973 Scania LB80 Restoration Words and Photography by Howard Shanks The Scania LB80 4×2 introduced a new way of trucking with greater efficiencies, reliability and comfort in the early seventies. Four decades ago, Tasmanian based livestock transport operator Kerry Hingston purchased a 1973 LB80 that formed the back bone of his operation and it toiled…
New Scania Trucks Downunder Words by Howard Shanks. Photography by Howard Shanks & Scania Australia Our Technical Editor Howard Shanks was one of a few technical journalists selected to test-drive Scania’s New Truck Generation (NTG) family when they first arrived downunder. The NTG family comprising P-, G-, R- and S-series cabs, focuses on driver safety…
Kenworth C509 Outback Trucker Review Story and Photography by Howard Shanks The Gulf region at the top of the Australian Continent is arguably one of the last truly rugged and remote trucking frontiers in the country, it is also an environment that tests the true grit of both men and machinery and where we sent…
DAF CF85 510 operator review When you’re regular daily route tackles the steep remote west coast of Tasmania, there are a couple of things you need in a truck; plenty of power, with good reliability along with sound back up service and that’s what Arnold’s Transport from Smithton are getting from their new DAF CF85…
Kenworth Legend 900 – 100 Reasons Why Words and Photography by Howard Shanks In the often volatile road transport industry, where the past is littered with shattered dreams, Errol Cosgrove’s no nonsense philosophy dictating honesty, quality and integrity has placed his company, SRV Road Freight, among the elite of transport business success stories. The arrival…
Highway Heaven – Roadstar Drive & Review Words and photography by Howard Shanks. Western Star’s 4964FXT ‘Roadstar’ is the latest Limited Edition vehicle to roll onto Australian highways and it boasts a long list of five star features to commemorate Western Star’s 50th anniversary of the brand from 1967 to 2017, as Howard Shanks discovered.…
Kenworth C5 on 100,000 litre fuel run Words and Photography Howard Shanks The impending wet season was threatening to break early, yet for freight companies like Carpentaria Fuels getting the essential commodities like food and fuel into remote communities is often a huge challenge at the best of time as Howard Shanks discovered when he…
Detroit DD15 Powered Road train Words and photography by Howard Shanks Fuel economy is one of the more pleasing attributes that many operators report from their DD15 engines and that’s closely followed by reliability. They are the primary reasons why Hawkins Road Transport specified a Detroit DD15 to power their new 4900 Western Star for…
At the coal face to review the heavy haulage custom built Kenworth C510 in action. (First published in October 2006 – Also featured in Kenworth Country – Legends of the Outback video series) Like most coal mines in the north of the country it is hot, damn hot, and dusty. The work is hard and…