You have to be versatile to be a truckie and such is the case with owner-operator Mark Dunlop.
Based on the Gold Coast, his company is Maxx Haulage. When we saw him deep in the tropics, he was preparing to place a tarp over his load.
It was spread out on the ground next to his 2008 Kenworth T408 and each gust of wind proved difficult.
But Dunlop, 40, got on with the task and had a smile on his face.
“I have been an owner operator for more than three years and it is a good truck,” he said.
Dunlop was transporting panelling between Sydney and Townsville and had an oversized backload to pick up at Mount Isa for Newcastle.
He likes stopping at the Moorland Roadhouse, not far from Taree in NSW. “My favourite meal is steak and vegetables,” he said.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Dunlop had a second truck, a Western Star 4900, but ended up selling it.
“Things were quiet then but have picked up and now I could use another truck,” he said.
Although Dunlop said there was a need for more rest areas, he added that some new ones along the Pacific Highway catered for trucks.
The worst road he nominated was between Dalby and Jandowae in Queensland.
His Kenworth had been through a plague of insects between Clermont and Charters Towers.
Outside work Dunlop is into hot rods on the Gold Coast.