Near Tailem Bend in South Australia, we caught up with Jason Vanderwel from Colac when he stopped over for a quick refreshment break.
He was driving a Shiell’s 2015 K200 with an X15 Cummins up front and towing a B-double on his way from Port Adelaide to Mount Gambier to load up for wherever.
He told us he has been on the road for 20 years now, and has seen many changes over that time, but he said it was still a good job, though there is way too much “Go go!” these days, and though you may still want to catch up with your mates on the road, you rarely have the time to stop.
He added he counted himself lucky though to have a great boss who took care of both his men and his equipment, which makes all the difference.
“I started out doing local for the first couple of years and have been doing interstate with them ever since,” he said. He has been reading, and enjoying Big Rigs since he began driving.