It would be rare to attend a historic truck rally or show somewhere throughout southern Australia and not see the towering Volvo Globetrotter F12 of Jeff Johnston lined up on display amongst the other attendees.
Jeff has been a stalwart of the historic truck community in Victoria for a number of years and the red F12 has been a part of the Johnston family fleet – in a working capacity initially as part of the family business and in later years as Jeff’s ‘retirement’ truck.
With the Swedish marque the feature truck brand at the annual Urana Historic Machinery Rally in late 2024, Jeff and the Volvo had ventured into the southern Riverina from their base at Montrose at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne.
The Johnston name has been closely linked to road transport for over 50 years, with the family establishing Bark King in the mid-1970s which saw the tipper fleet grow from one truck.
“Dad and I started off in 1976 – one vehicle, then two, and the customers kept on ringing, and we ended up with my two brothers joining the business and 26 trucks all up.
“Around the time Covid first hit we sold up the business and went into retirement mode,” Jeff explained.
“Over the years the fleet evolved with a variety of makes and models and the Bark King trucks with their green and white paint scheme stood out on the road, with one of the company’s Kenworths making a fleeting appearance in the film clip for ‘The Black Sorrows’ trucking song ‘Chained to the Wheel’ back in 1989.
The striking red colour of the Volvo is quite a contrast to the Bark King colours, with Jeff having purchased the Globetrotter from another well-known operator in Melbourne.
“We purchased it from Thompson’s Transport in Huntingdale and done a bit to it, it got a bit of a polish up, and a roadworthy and I was off doing my first trip with it,” Jeff explained.
“I towed the tub grinders from site to site, and a float from time to time, it was never used as a tipper.
“Thompsons had a lot of Volvos in their fleet used to do a lot of concrete beams and panels. I have photos of this one towing a dolly and a spread trailer carting bridge beams all over Victoria.
“I can remember travelling around seeing this truck and the fella that drove it – he drove it for around 13 years from new – it was the only Globetrotter they had, all their other Volvo’s were the conventional cabs.”
With the sale of the business, Jeff kept the Globetrotter and a drop-deck trailer which had been fitted out with a set of ramps by the Bark King workshop.
With a 1986 build date, the truck, like its owner, was just about due for retirement – or at the very least a lighter work schedule.
“It’s rated at 385 horsepower so it’s probably not the most powerful vehicle on the road these days, but it gets the job done,” Jeff said.
“Back then with that horsepower and the things such as the twin bunks and the air-conditioning they were over spec’d compared to a lot of vehicles on the road.”
Purchasing the Globetrotter turned the wheel full circle for Jeff who had previously experienced the driver comforts of the Volvo brand.
“In my younger days I rolled a Kenworth over and had an F-series from Avis Rental back in the early days of Volvo.
“In six weeks, I had five different Volvos – they had water pump issues, electrical issues and so on but they had good fuel consumption and you would do a trip and not feel tired.
“After a 12- or 14-hour day they were just so comfortable but being young and stupid all I wanted to do was drive a Kenworth so it came out of Royans and I was back in the Kenworth again!” he said with a smile.
Image: Down the White Lines Truck Photography
These days both Jeff and the Volvo are kept busy hauling hay as part of the ‘Aussie Hay Runners’, which helps farmers with donations of hay and fodder in times of drought or after disasters such as bushfires.
Both truck and driver have chalked up a few longer trips in recent times including runs across to Tailem Bend in South Australia as part of a 24-truck convoy on the November Melbourne Cup weekend.
“Now I am retired I have the time to do these trips, and the hay runs have been really good; it is a great feeling to help the farmers out and keep busy at the same time,” Jeff said.
Jeff also has plenty on the go through his involvement with both the Historic Commercial Vehicle Club (HCVC) and the Australian chapter of the American Truck Historical Society (ATHS) and as such he is a regular contributor to various online forums and Facebook pages where historic vehicles are on the agenda.
“Social media has been a good thing as it keeps you in touch with a lot of people from all around the place and then you can go along to shows and meet up with them.”
Prior to Urana, Jeff had also taken the Volvo on a run through far East Gippsland up the Cann River valley with a number of other historic truck owners.
Keeping the Globetrotter company in Jeff’s shed at home is his other pride and joy – a 1962 ‘Mark 2’ Atkinson which has been lovingly restored and is also wheeled out to attend historical rallies on a regular basis.
“That has been one of my loves as Dad had one of them initially and we travelled around all over the place – it is a similar model to the one he had, and it brings back a lot of memories when I am driving it,” he said.
Jeff’s F12 has been a faithful sidekick for a number of years and examples from that era are somewhat of a rarity on the road these days, however the Globetrotter styling and nameplate carries through today to Volvo’s latest XXL model cabover.
With the big red F12 pointed out on a highway loaded with hay or headed to a show, Jeff is content with his well-travelled and well-regarded truck.
“It’s been around the planet a bit. I can’t think of all the places I have been in it; you name it I have been there.”
“But I am going to hang on to it – my pride and joy, it pushes all my buttons, and I have enjoyed owning and driving it immensely.”