Truck Show

Dustin’s had a pretty busy couple of months checking out some awesome truck shows – from the bottom of the South Island in New Zealand all the way over to Aussie!

I was lucky enough to go down south to Wanaka, for the Wheels at Wanaka Vintage Car, Truck and Tractor Show. It was so cool – there was so much old and new gear there, a little bit of everything for everyone, like tractors, trucks, cars, motorbikes and earthmoving machinery – if it had tracks or wheels it was there!

The thing I was most looking forward to seeing was the Dynes K220, which is a new model for Kenworth. The thing I liked most about it was the paint and the detail, which made it look really flash.

When the trucks went around the big ring, all the trucks were tooting their horns for the kids. I was also lucky enough to go for a lap in a V8 Mack Super-Liner. There was also a great big Caterpillar dump truck there, it has a payload of 177 tonnes, which is the same as 29 elephants – holy hecka.

The next Wheels at Wanaka is in 2024, you should go check it out!

I also jetted off to Australia for the Brisbane Truck Show, which was so different because they only had new gear there. We went on a Wednesday and we were walking around and got to see a sneak peak of some trucks going into the show. We even got to talk to some drivers, which was cool. When I first walked in there was a brand new Mack sitting there with a nice black bullbar. As we stood there looking at it we thought about what it might spend its life doing – carting stock, grain, food, fuel or even dump trucks for the mines in the outback. There was so much to see, we even saw the Little Trucker stand and had a great talk with the team, it was great to see them. My favorite truck was the Lawrence Transport Kenworth Legend SAR. It definitely left me thinking I want to go drive over there when I am older. How about you Little Truckers? Stay safe and keep having fun out there.

WHEELS AT WANAKA

BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW

Hey, Little Truckers! I was lucky enough to head across the Tasman to Brisbane with the New Zealand Trucking team, to attend the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show. The event was held at the Brisbane Convention Centre and covered two separate floors, where over 40,000 people of all ages attended. Many major truck brands including Kenworth, Volvo, Iveco and Daimler (who represent Freightliner and Mercedes-Benz) had exhibits with their best-looking trucks on show. Not only did they have these trucks on display, but there was the opportunity to get inside trucks and have a good look around at the inside of the cabs. While there were SO many amazing things at the show, here are my top 5 highlights!

1 Family-Friendly
One of the biggest highlights of the show was seeing all the families with young people just like you walking around, looking at the exhibits and spending time together. Little Trucker Down Under had a photo booth – where kids had the option to get dressed up and get a photo taken behind a mock- magazine background that made them look like they were on the cover! How cool. It is always so great to see how many young people have an interest in the transport industry.

2 Favourite Truck
My favourite truck of the show would have to be the Lawrence Transport Kenworth Legend Series SAR. With hand-painted details, it was one of the most stunning trucks I had ever seen. It was parked on South Bank (a popular shopping and eating district in Brisbane), where it attracted plenty of attention as many stopped by to take pictures. I was lucky enough to get a picture beside it in the evening where the city lights made it look even more impressive.

3 Lego Truck
The best feature of the truck show in my opinion would have to be the Lego Truck. To celebrate Mack’s 60th anniversary, they commissioned a brick builder to build an entire life-sized Mack Anthem out of Lego! The truck took eight weeks to complete, and the model is made with more than 800,000 Lego bricks – wow! Mack is hoping to break the Guinness World Record for the largest truck model made out of Lego bricks. The Lego Mack was incredibly detailed – equipped with all of the usual truck parts such as a fuel tank, detailed mud flaps and steering wheel, sleeper cab as well as fully working doors.

4 Different Exhibitions
The exhibits themselves were incredible. It was a very cool experience to walk around the two separate floors and view all of the stands, whether it be the largest exhibitions for popular truck manufacturers, or equipment and products equally important to the trucking industry such as trailers, workshop equipment or even essentials such as oil or workshop supplies. There were also exhibitions specifically catered for little truckers like the BP and Castrol stand that offered a turn at changing a car tyre with virtual reality. There was always something new at every turn, however, most noticeable would be the range of stunning trucks that were showcased all over the show, in all different colours, shapes and sizes.

5 Favourite Event
As well as attending the truck show I also had an opportunity to meet some very cool people within the transport industry. I got to sit down and have dinner with Charlene Clarke, who is the editorial director of Focus Transport Magazine from South Africa, and Martin Dammann, who is the customer success manager for TruckScience, a truck software company. It was a privilege to be able to meet both Charleen and Martin and hear all about their work in the sector. It was eye-opening to meet these people involved with transport, and it reminded me just how many diverse options for work there are within this industry.

Hey Little Truckers, I hope you have all had an awesome holiday. Late last year with the New Zealand Trucking magazine team I was lucky enough to be able to head down to the TMC Trucking Industry Show in Christchurch at the Canterbury Agricultural Park. There were over 400 trucks from many transport companies from all over New Zealand there to see.

On the first day of the show there were trade stands set up by com- panies associated with road transport. At these, you could find anything from a new truck or trailer, to truck seats, tyres and other parts.

This day is also where local schools and trade programmes were invited to come and see the wide variety of jobs the road transport industry has to offer.

Day two of the event was the Show n Shine, where so many amazing trucks were put on display to the public. Arriving nice and early along with the rest of the New Zealand Trucking magazine team, I took the opportunity to scout out the show before it got too busy. I discovered transport companies from all over New Zealand had travelled to Christchurch for the show. I recognised trucks from way up in Nelson where I live; Solly’s Contractors and Waimea Heavy Haulage Limited were among some of the fleets I spotted that had made the long journey down. I also spotted several other trucks that caught my eye including a fleet of NZ Express Container trucks, an Orbit Heavy Haulage Scania with a CAT loader on the back and a fleet of Protranz classic Macks.

As well as the vast range of trucks from transport companies, there were also major truck manufacturers, such as Southpac Trucks with the Kenworth and DAF brands; and Scania and Fuso, who had stalls of their own, displaying new vehicles and selling merchandise.

My duties at the show included manning the New Zealand Trucking stall, promoting Little Trucker Down Under and assisting with the sales of merchandise like T-shirts and caps.

The show was also a chance for me to connect with people involved in road transport as well as catch up with Little Trucker readers, like you!

I also took the opportunity to film some of the action and compile it into a video for you guys to view (this is on the New Zealand Trucking YouTube channel for anyone to watch).

As this fabulous event drew to a close I was able to reflect on the amazing time I had down in Christchurch seeing all that was on show and meeting some pretty amazing people.

The TMC Trucking industry show is held every second year and I am keen to attend it next in 2024 and hope to meet more of you there.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.