Owner/Driver #339

“It was hard to find someone that
wanted to drive it and maintain it.”
“That’s dad’s area,” says Rick, laying the blame solely on his
father for the out-of-the-blue purchase in 2006.
“Dad always wanted a Peterbilt. Back then we had a truck
maintenance manager who was keen on one at the same
time.”
With Garry having been over to the US a couple of times and
gone through the Peterbilt factory, it really was just a big kid’s
dream to have a bonneted Pete.
“It really came down to timing,” Rick informs me.
“There was an opportunity, and it was a bit more ‘why not?’
as much as anything.”
The truck came through Kent Collision and Custom in
Sydney, which did all the conversion for Leeson’s, changing
the big girl over to right-hand drive as well as a few other
changes to set the American classic up for Australian
conditions.
As if a US Pete wasn’t special enough on its own, this truck
also came fitted with one of the first Cummins exhaust gas
recirculation (EGR) motors. Back in 2006, this was still very
new technology and wasn’t compulsory until 2008. So, Garry
Top: The big Pete makes fairly light
work of Powers Hill as it hauls up out
of Gormandale
Above left: The company’s inaugural
Kenworth sits comfortably in the
shed now. Love the subtle dig of its
‘Western Invader’ name
Opposite top: It doesn’t take long
for the loader at AKD Timber Mill in
Yarram to empty the Peterbilt and
send it off for another load
Opposite below: A scramble of trucks
in the Leeson’s yard
and his Pete were breaking new ground with its arrival. In
fact, if you have a better memory than me you may recall the
truck featuring in Owner//Driver in early 2007, highlighting
the new engine technology.
When the truck initially arrived it was decided the keys
would be given to a young fella by the name of Stuart
Moloney. Stuart had been with the company for several years
and Rick politely describes him as “truck crazy”. With a new
truck, new technology and – let’s be honest – a cab fit for a
smaller bloke, it needed a suitable driver.
“Whatever he drove, he looked after it really well,” Rick tells
me. So the decision was made to give Stuart the keys.
Stuart kept the wheels turning, the logs moving and the
truck gleaming for around seven or eight years before he
took an opportunity elsewhere and the truck was in need of
a new pilot. At that time it was getting hard to find a suitable
replacement.
“There were a couple of blokes who drove it and looked after
it, and a couple that didn’t,” Rick admits. “It was hard to find
someone that wanted to drive it and maintain it.”
Mix in the fact that that first generation EGR motor was
starting to have a few issues, namely the EGR being on the
same side as the turbo, leading to heat issues, and it was
decided to retire Garry’s toy from the working fleet.
Peterbilt passion
Enter Dan Glover, or ‘Deppo’ as he’s more commonly known.
Deppo is intrinsically tied to the Pete in a weird cosmological
way that I don’t believe in, but it ties my story together, so I’m
46 APRIL 2021 ownerdriver.com.au