The amazing Bombay Truck Show

Isabella was lucky enough to head along to the Bombay Truck Show, where she got up close to some pretty amazing trucks!

My mum and I made our way Saturday morning 21 January to the Bombay Truck Show. With a bit of traffic to get through, we made it onto the Bombay turnoff to be greeted by the impressive sight of trucks lined up the hill. On arrival we could see the number of parked cars outnumbered the trucks, so I knew already there had to be hundreds of people in attendance.

What caught my eye was clearly it was a family event, with children of all ages, some proudly sporting their trucking T-shirts. There was a band playing from the end of a curtain side trailer, bouncy castles, a dedicated area for children with a choice of food options.

Rows of trucks, similar shapes and sizes, some old, some new, some restored so beautifully you wouldn’t know they were made in the 1960s and 1980s. I was impressed with the size, power and ability of some of these trucks. It was amazing to learn what these trucks can do!

The new T659 for Burnetts Transport and Earthmoving with its New Zealand made tipping bins and trailer

I was excited to come across a truck that is manufactured in New Zealand, the rigid eight- wheeler International RH, built in Tauranga by Intertruck Distributors. It’s American style, proudly on display by Stephenson Transport Ltd from Waipawa.

The Kenworth Legend SAR 50th Anniversary Edition was impressive! With its Cummins X15 engine, this green machine has some of the latest technology that promotes safer and cleaner usage.

The mini Kenworth W900 hotrod – don’t be fooled by its size – this one packs a punch and was custom built by EDS truck shop. You can clearly see a lot of time and effort was put into this beauty.

Another Kenworth truck for Burnetts Transport and Earthmoving Ltd was manufactured in Bayswater Melbourne. Although the cab and chassis was built and imported from Australia, you’ll be surprised to know that the trailer was built in New Zealand.

The powerful hotrod mini Kenworth built by EDS Truck Shop of Pukekohe

The brand new Iveco S-Way was sneaking out from under the covers

Also making an appearance at the truck show was Hawke’s Bay R & L Beale Log Transport, with their Kenworth T659. They went home with two prizes, the best logger award and also first place in the people’s choice award.

We came across the 2022 Mack Anthem, with its tilt- assisted hood. What was interesting to learn is that Mack is part of the Volvo Group, so you’ll find that both Mack and Volvo truck parts were used to build this truck.

Another truck that seemed to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue was the impressive new Kenworth K220. Based in Tapanui near Invercargill, Dynes Transport Ltd trucks travel all over the country. It has the ability to haul bigger loads with ease and efficiency, and has more safety equipment now. The new model also has a digital dashboard.

Amongst all the newer model trucks were also some amazingly restored beauties; the 1964 Canadian Kenworth 848 ´Old Yeller´ was the first Kenworth to land in New Zealand; and the 1984 Mack Superliner owned by Kaitaia Timber. Both trucks come with interesting histories.

Allied Bulk’s new Mack Anthem, if you look close you will find that Mack and Volvo Trucks are related and share parts

The brains behind this amazing event, Marieka Morcombe of N & J Wood Ltd, was extremely happy with the successful turnout – admitting at one point she was worried they would need to turn people away as they had nearly reached full capacity! Thankfully it didn’t come to that.

If you’ve never been to a truck show, I strongly recommend you attend the next one in your town. There is so much to learn about the trucking industry and I can’t wait to see you all at the next one.

When you think about the clothes you wear, the food you eat and even the things in your home, you can guarantee that they have spent time on the back of some of these amazing trucks. Remember trucks play a vital role in New Zealand as well as those that work in this field.

See you at the next show, Isabella.


Wheels at Wairarapa

Clareville Showgrounds Carterton held the first-ever Wheels at Wairarapa event over Waitangi Weekend. A three-day show consisting of Day 1: Cars, Day 2: Trucks, and Day 3: Machinery. I attended the Truck Show and Shine – with more than 40 trucks on display, it was a great turn out with loads of people coming to see them and a piping hot day for all to enjoy! Here are some photos I got of the trucks, drivers and/or owners.

AWARDS

The show also included some exciting awards.  Here are the winners of each category.

New to 100,000kms Brausch Contracting
100,000 to 500,000km Martinborough Transport
500,000 to 1 mil K.D Contracting
Over 1 mil kms Temple Haulage
Best Isuzu Brausch Contracting
Best Scania Martinborough Transport
Best Mercedes-Benz CR Grace
Best Hino Kieran Oliver
Best Kenworth Kieran Oliver
Best Volvo Ellison Cartage
Best Western Star Ellison Cartage
Best Mack Kieran Oliver
Best Other Make Robin Wildbore
Best Linehaul Shannon Bulk Haulage
Best Logger Brausch Contracing
Best Bulk truck Kieran Oliver
Best Curtainsider Shannon Bulk Haulage
Best Stock truck Martinborough Transport
Best Tractor Unit Robin Wildbore
Best Paint Job Martinborough Transport
Best Lights Martinborough Transport
Best Oldest working truck Brian Gattsche
Furthest distance travelled Christopher Bell – Edgecombe
Best Vintage Christopher Bell
Best Refurbished Robin Wildbore
Best Fleet Ellison Cartage
Truck of the Show HP Transport
People’s Choice Martinborough Transport


Mack Trucks celebrates 50 years

Manfield Park in Feilding hosted the Mack Trucks 50 Year Anniversary Truck Show on Saturday 22 October as part of events held over Labour Weekend celebrating 50 years since Mack Trucks arrived in New Zealand. We headed along to take a look and join in the celebrations.

Proud owners of Mack Trucks new and old travelled from all over the country to take part in the show. Some of these Macks are working trucks, while others are kept in storage and are only brought out for special occasions like this one!

The show was a huge success with Manfeild reporting that they had the most people through the gates in 20 years!

I went to the show with my parents who were over on holiday from Australia and my children. We packed a picnic, it was gorgeous weather and there was plenty to see and do including some race cars going around the track. It wasn’t only cars that raced around the track though – yes, you guessed – some trucks did too, and boy are they fast! It was an awesome family day out. The day started off with a convoy at 7.30am where all the trucks met up to then travel to the park together.

The day ended with most of the trucks doing a lap around the track tooting their horns before they exited the park after an amazing show day! There was a voting booth and the public got to vote for which Mack Truck they liked the most, and Truck of the Show went to Glen Allingham from JAKS Trucks Auckland.


Trucks on display

Gore in Southland is famous for its brown trout fishing – it’s a fact that Gore is the brown trout fishing capital of the world. But every Queen’s Birthday Weekend, the town’s next most famous thing comes to town – The Gore Truck Show.

This year saw the show swamped with around 130 trucks from as far afield as Christchurch. With 50 years of Mack Trucks being built in New Zealand, there were 38 of them on display and it was fitting that a Mack took out best in show with Nick Young from Southern Transport taking home the trophy with his very sharp Mack Anthem.

Lots of Macks for the crowd to admire

The show has been running since the late 1970s and has a very busy and committed committee with Rhonda Wilson at the helm running it, which ensures us that it will be around for a long time to come.