Changing Gears
Brayden’s parents own trucking company M&J Collins Haulage. He loves to head out with his dad on trips and wants to be a truck driver when he grows up.
Name: Brayden
Age: 10
Hails from: Wallerawang, New South Wales, Australia
Favourite truck: Kenworth
I have been into trucks all my life. My favourite brand of truck is Kenworth, but I do also like our other trucks like Western Star, Freightliner and CAT.
I really want to be a truck driver when I grow up because I already love to drive them around the farm. Dad let me have my first steer not sitting on his lap when I was 6, and I started changing gears when I was 9.
When I was younger I used to go away with Dad and sleep in the truck on interstate trips, but now I have to go to school! We have been to many farms in Central West NSW carting grain and fertiliser, but our main job is carting sand and gravel into Sydney concrete plants.
I like being in the truck with Dad because we see lots of different places and I learn lots of things from him about driving and tipping and loading. My favourite part of the trips are coming home because I get to help drive the truck up the long driveway and around the shed to park it up.
My dad is also a mechanic and he has been showing me how to maintain the trucks for years. We fix them, grease them, service them, change tyres and wash them. I have a smelly tree air freshener obsession and like to change the smell in the truck every week.
I wish I could spend every day with my dad in the truck, and I can’t wait to get my licence and drive on the road when I’m older.
Overnighter in a K200
His first time in a K200, Dustin went on a neat overnight roadie with his dad, seeing some cool spots along the way.
One drizzly sum- mer morning at 3:15am, there were alarms going off. I sprung out of bed and went out to the kitchen. I went into the pantry and grabbed some Weetbix, and I even made some for Dad.
We got in the Kenworth K200, which has a 600hp Cummins engine, in the Christchurch yard and took a load of empty pallets down to Timaru. It was my first time in a K200, so I was pretty excited.
We unloaded and reloaded, and headed north for Nelson. We stopped in Hinds and saw my Nan. After that we carried on, and we stopped in Amberley and got fuel.
Our next stop was Maruia Falls where we had a half- hour break. Did you know Maruia Falls was created in 1929 in the Murchison earthquake? That’s pretty cool.
After a quick break we carried on and went to Brenics’ yard and parked the truck up. We went to the motel and l had some tea, then we watched some TV before we went to bed.
The next day we woke up and went and dropped off the load at Sollys. After that, we went back to the yard and we got another load of veggies that from Friday afternoon would end up in Invercargill – the whole length of the South Island by Saturday morning!
We pointed south, we stopped in Springs Junction to get some water, and then we carried on to Christchurch. We got unloaded, and that was the end of our fantastic trip.
A special thank you to Brenics Ltd for letting Dad drive, and to everyone else along the way who were all super helpful and very friendly.
Visiting the Truck Hospital
Max and his brother Miller love to visit their grandad who works as a diesel mechanic. They love to climb on the trucks at what they call the truck hospital.
My name is Max Ludman and I’m 5 and 3/4 years old and I love big trucks.
My grandad is a mechanic for Hick Bros Civil in Silverdale, Auckland. I love going to the yard to see all of the different trucks and diggers.
This is their Western Star Transporter. There is a Caterpillar 815 Compactor on the trailer. The cab was very high and I sat on the red leather seat. It had a wooden steering wheel! We looked under the bonnet and saw the engine, which is a Caterpillar C15.
There were lots of different machines in the yard, the biggest were two Caterpillar 627 motor scrapers.
I can’t wait to see what trucks are there next time I visit again with my little brother, Miller.
Safety first, seat belt on
Our author in action Jesse keeps us in the loop with all things safety when he goes out on the truck.
First of all, welcome to my trucking adven- tures. Safety first, so remember to put your seatbelt on.
I’ve been trucking with my dad Mike since I was born. He works for Pyramid Trucking and drives a Kenworth T610 SAR. He used to drive a Kenworth K200, but that’s off the road now.
When I get ready for a day out on the truck, I need to make sure I have my Hi vis gears, work boots and definitely enough lunch for my day.
When I’m at work with Dad I get to do a few things with him, like washing the truck, rolling straps and the fun stuff of going out with one of the office girls to get donuts. My main job at Dad’s work is just to keep safe, and enjoy the time with him.
What I really enjoy about being allowed to go out on the trucks is that I get to see a lot of different places I haven’t been to before, as well as seeing all the awesome rigs on the roads. Also getting waves back from other truck drivers (I think I’ve perfected my trucking wave!).
I have a few different trucks I really like, but I think they are all awesome. The ones I like seeing on the road are Kenworths, Macks and Freightliners.
When I leave school I really want to be a truck driver like Dad and my big brother, who also drives trucks.
Professional Truck Photographer in the making
Our mate Thomas hails from Canterbury in New Zealand, and he loves loves loves taking photos of trucks!
I absolutely love trucks, and I love taking photos of them just as much!
I am 10 years old and I live in Canterbury, which is in the South Island of New Zealand.
I’ve been taking photos of some pretty cool rigs since I was around 5 years old, when my dad gave me my very first camera.
One of my favourite things to do in the school holidays and at the weekends when I’m not playing sport is to go with my dad on callouts in his tyre truck in and around Christchurch.
It’s so exciting when I see a big rig coming in the distance! I can usually tell what company, make and model it is and if I haven’t already got it, Dad will try and pull over if it’s safe to do so, so I can get a photo.
We go to some awesome places and truck yards and capture some cool trucking action!
My favourite truck make is a Kenworth, and I Iike the T909 and C509 models the most.
Here are some of my favourite pictures to share with you, I hope you like them as much as I do.
Keep on trucking! Over and out – Thomas.
Out on the job!
Ruby spends a lot of time out trucking with her stepdad, Reece. She shares some awesome photos out on the job!
Hey guys! I’m Ruby, I’m 10 years old and live in Balclutha, South Otago, New Zealand.
My stepdad Reece owns Cranleigh Haulage, a rural- based transport company. I’m lucky enough to spend a lot of time out trucking.
I love going in any of the trucks, but mostly the stock truck. I love to get in the back and use my stock whistle! When I’m out trucking, I mostly love the views and some of the scenic routes you get in the middle of nowhere, especially when doing stock.
I also love hanging out in the workshop and doing a bit of truck maintenance.
Other than trucking, I’m really into Moto-X, I’ve even got a motorbike that I get to ride often. I also enjoy art, and love rocks, minerals and all the information behind them.
Here’s some pics of me out on the job!
Talley’s pea run with Jack
Nine-year-old Jack recently went on the Talley’s pea run, and got to see how the peas are harvested, how they are transported, and what happens at the factory.
I went with my friend’s grandad, Greg, to do the Talley’s pea run in a 2018 R480 Scania.
We went down to a farm in Rakaia for the pea harvest. We worked with a harvester, a John Deere tractor towing a chaser bin, and some other Scania trucks. It was muddy!
The harvester picks up the whole plant and shreds it through until it’s just the peas – the rest comes out the back and lands in the paddock. The harvester drops the peas into the chaser bin and then the John Deere takes them to one of the trucks. The John Deere gets very close up to the truck and then the hydraulics push the chaser bin up to drop the peas into the back of the truck. Then the load of peas is ready to go to the factory.
Next, we headed down to the Talley’s factory. At the weighbridge, we got weighed, then a computer records which truck we were in, what we were carrying and who was the driver.
Greg backed up and tipped the load of peas into the hopper ready to go into the factory and be bagged up to be sold in shops in New Zealand and around the world.
Finally, we washed the dusty and muddy truck. Today was a great day in the Scania R480. I would love to do it again.
Trip to Golden Bay
Hey Little Truckers, I hope you have all had a great Christmas and New Year! I have been quite busy these holidays but I still managed to fit a really cool trip in.
On Christmas Eve 2021, I jumped in the cab with Dad, and we made our way over to Takaka, Golden Bay to complete a delivery and load up. We headed off at 6am on a journey of just over an hour, made a bit quicker than last time as the roadworks on the Takaka Hill had finally been completed after damage from Cyclone Gita in 2017.
We made it to the Sollys Depot on Commercial Street where we tipped the trailer load of palm kernel off in the bulk store.
We unhooked the trailer and went to a farm at Hamama. When we arrived, we started to unload the truck load of palm kernel. Palm kernel is popularly used as stock food for cattle. I had the pleasure of meeting a very friendly calf there, who came over to say hello, while Dad worked on unloading.
He tipped half the load off before jumping out and borrowing the farmer’s tractor, to push the kernel up into the back of the shed. He was then able to tip off the other half of the load. He did this because the shed was too low to tip straight into and tipping it off altogether would result in a big mess, leaving the kernel out in the weather! This is a practice for many truck drivers, with some customers often leaving their tractors, forklifts, and loaders nearby for them to use. Drivers being able to drive tractors, forklifts and loaders are skills that many drivers learn early in their career.
I farewelled the calf and we made a quick trip back to Sollys depot to hook up the trailer. Shortly after we bounced on up to the Golden Bay Dolomite plant located at Mount Burnet at the northwest corner of the South Island. The views out to the Tasman Sea and along the coastline, from the deck of the site office there, are beautiful. While I was playing photographer and catching some action photos, Dad got on the loader and packed the bins full of dolomite. This load was headed for Canterbury, between Christmas and New Year. Before heading back over the Takaka Hill with its 360° corners, we stopped back at the Sollys depot for a drink, something off the barbeque, and a catch-up with some of the drivers who were enjoying the staff Christmas Eve shout. We made it back home to Motueka for lunch with the family eagerly awaiting Christmas the next day. All in all, this short half- day trip was efficient and accomplished all that was needed, while affording me a meeting with a very cool furry friend.
I look forward to the next trip!
Truckers, Rocks and Diggers!
Our friend Kaitlyn got to spend the day out and about with Christchurch-based Road Metals, a company that works with gravel, sand and other products for lots of roading and construction projects.
My name is Kaitlyn Stewart and I am 10 years old. I got the opportunity to go out to Road Metals in Rolleston to see what goes on out there.
We were met by Aaron McGrath, who told us how Road Metals work with aggregates and are involved in the production of sand as well.
He showed us around the museum of the firm. He has been working for the company for one year.
I got to sit in the trucks and diggers in the museum.
We really enjoyed the museum and learning facts about the company.
Aaron offered to take us out on one of the trucks to see what they do. We went with Marty Grainger, who has worked for the company for 10 years. We got to pick up 14 tonnes of aggregate and go for a drive out by McCleans Island to the branch there.
It was such a nice day and Marty told us all about the buttons and what they did. I got to push the engine button that helped slow the brakes down. They have a system where they are tracked with their speed. They can’t go over 90kph or a red truck comes up on the screen.
I saw how they dumped the aggregate and we picked up a fresh load. Marty told us it costs about $600 a day to fill the truck. We couldn’t get out of the truck due to health and safety.
When we were coming back we got stuck in sheep traffic. I had so much fun learning about trucks.
Thank you Road Metals for the experience and merchandise!
Most epic day of my life!
Saxon, who wants to be a truck driver when he grows up, recently went on a visit to Martin’s Stock Haulage where he was shown around the workshop and went for a drive in one of their trucks.
Hi, I’m Saxon Oldak- er and I’m 10 years old. I live in Kilcoy, Queensland.
When asked what I want to be when I grow up, it was always a police officer. That is until I discovered cattle trucks a couple of years ago.
I don’t just want to drive cattle trucks. One day I really want to own my own truck company. I even have the colours picked out to paint all my trucks.
I was very lucky enough to recently get a tour around one of my favourite company’s depots – Martin’s Stock Haulage at Oakey. I met up with Adam, their manager on site who took me for a drive in one of their trucks before a tour of the workshop and checking out what maintenance they were currently carrying out on their trailers.
I didn’t want to leave – I was having one of the most epic days of my life! The experience really made me more determined to work hard at school so I can sit in that driver’s seat when I grow up. It will be a day I remember and be forever grateful for their kind gesture.
Some interesting facts about Martin’s is that they have 100 trucks in their fleet, spread between their two depots – Oakey in Queensland and Scone in New South Wales – and all are Kenworths. The biggest trip they make is from Perth to Armidale, carting cattle. They also cart sheep and have carted goats and deer as well.
