Australian Road Train

[More Power]

6.2/6.5 enthusiast Dion Camac is currently undertaking a 6.5L Land Cruiser conversion in Perth, Western Australia. He may be sending a few photos as he progresses through the 6.5 conversion. In the meantime, he sent along a few photos showing some examples of his truck driving experience. Thanks Dion!

[Robyn]

Now that's some serious haulin.

I would love to sit in the command chair of one of those beasts.

8 axles at #105,500 at 75 Ft long is all Oregon will allow.

Our friends from Down Under know how to Giterdone for sure.


Robyn

[phantom309]

I,d sure like a chance too,. 7 axles here, tridem with 4th steering lift on the trailer, tandem drive tractor,. the live bottom i haul gross's out at 60,900kgs,.(134,250lbs)
I wonder what the third air intake is for running up the back of the bunk on the flat top truck,.??
I really want a set of aussie large headlights for my w900l,..
i guess it,d be interesting grabbing the stick with your left hand,.(snicker)
i,d like to try a 3 day trek across the outback with a road train,..
definitely no time for bullsh!t out there,.
my aunt lives in victoria,

nick

[Robyn]

Another place that separates the BS from the Buckwheat is the Ice Road Truckers up North .

Definately a place not to screw up, not even.

One thing about trucking across the outback, would be a relative lack of traffic.

Running my transfer in heavy inner urban traffic and even taking it into downtown Portland during rush hour (Old town with narrow streets) and navigating the mess, is a BITCH.

Out on the open desert highways, I dont imagine that the Trains would be all that much of an issue.

Love the heavy guards up front, to keep the roo from getting into the grille

O'l Hoppy would make a mess out of the grille for sure.

A different sort of trucking for sure.

Shifting with the left hand ????????? Not sure about that one yet ????

That rear air inlet up high over the condo is likely HVAC inlet ???????????? Or Maybe air inlet for an APU

Robyn

[phantom309]

Another place that separates the BS from the Buckwheat is the Ice Road Truckers up North .

Definately a place not to screw up, not even.


That rear air inlet up high over the condo is likely HVAC inlet ???????????? Or Maybe air inlet for an APU

Robyn

i did the ice road thing for a few winters,.back when there wasn't the technology to gauge ice thickness so well as now,.
I had a cab over astro with a double breasted oshawa vibrator in it,.and a winter front from windsheild to bumper and 1/2 way back on the front doors,.. so that gives you an idea of how long ago it was,.it was decent paying winter work, thats all,. and back in the days when trucking was an honorable respected profession, nobody thought nothing of it,. Now hollywood makes going to the bathroom a reality drama series,.
at first its freaky when you hear the ice cracking, and you drive with the window down a couple of inches so you can get out quick,.
Sure is a lot of BS on the ice road truckers show tho,..the narrator has that special way of making things real dramatic ,.. when they aren't,...

nick

[Robyn]

Drama sells, and sells well.

A very boring and mundane show would not last two episodes.

Hype is where its at.

If there was no blood guts a gore, folks would not stop to look at a wreck, ya know.

Missy

[d.h.]

I can honestly say that with 20plus years driving that these reality shows leave a little to be desired

[Robyn]

I agree 100%

Most times the job is pretty boring and this does not sell air time.

People want to see exciting things that keep them on the edge of their seats.

My take on most of the reality TV shows is simply disgust.

I do enjoy watching "Survivor". The reason being that its interesting to see the different personalities come out as the game unfolds.

You can be the strongest, smartest individual in the bunch and go away quick.

Its a little payton place of deceit and trechery.

Is it reality, Hell no. These people are in no real danger of not surviving.
Medics just outside of the camera view and people all over the place snooping into every nook and cranny with a video cam.

Its entertainment, plain and simple.

If they had a cam corder watching me in the cab of my rig on normal day to day runs, folks would die of terminal boredom.


The jobs like the road train drivers and the ice road truckers is for sure a place for skilled individuals but by no means anywhere near what these shows try and make it out to be.

Hard working men and women trying to pay the bills.
Without these folks, a lot of tough jobs would not get done.

Are these people "super Human" hell no, just folks is all.

I have 2 million miles in a heavy hauler now and I would not even entertain the idea of running the ice road. This sort of stressful situation does not even interest me.

Running a road train across the outback might be a hoot though.

Missy

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

If you'd like to read about a real ice road trucker, get a copy of Denison's Ice Road (by Edith Iglauer, ISBN 0-525-09006-1). I think he pioneered the concept of using road tractor-trailers to haul where previously they'd used crawler-tractor-pulled trains. These would make a very few mph; once the road was ready (after Christmas), they could haul much faster & cheaper with tractor-trailers. I'll tell 'ya, folks were tough back then.

Blessings!