When his parents sold the family cattle station at outback Richmond, Queensland, in 2018, Bryce Kuhl had a brainwave and purchased a truck.
With his 1995 model Western Star 6964 Heritage with a Cummins KTA-19L 600hp motor and an 18-speed gearbox, he started Kuhl & Co Earthmoving and Haulage.
Now an enthusiastic owner operator and a partner in the business with his wife Bec, Bryce travels wherever he can to deliver or pick up a load.
“I had been a ringer all my life and always had a passion for stock trucks and now I love being a truck driver. The longest trip I have done was from Richmond to Kingaroy and back, hauling a 25-tonne excavator,” he said.
Richmond is 500km from coastal Townsville along the Flinders Highway, a stretch of which Kuhl rates as one of the worst to travel on other than some good old dirt roads.
“The 100km between Richmond and Hughenden is rough being up and down in places,” he said.
As for rest areas suitable for truckies, Kuhl said it depends on where you are.
“In some places there is enough and not enough along other highways. I do like stopping at the Torrens Creek Hotel for a cold soft drink or water when on the Flinders Highway. If I ever get there in time,” he said.
Kuhl doesn’t stop at many roadhouses for food instead preferring to take along a few cryovac steaks snags and onions meals in his truck fridge. “I can just stop and cook them on the gas burner and don’t have to worry about timeframes,” he said.
Community-minded Kuhl and his wife Bec sponsor an annual event at the end of August, known as the Richmond Bush Sprints.
Kuhl was also part of the recent Townsville Convoy For A Cure with his 13-year-old daughter Grace (pictured) and travelled the longest distance to get there. “It was great to be part of the convoy which was for such a good cause,” he said.