Owner-driver Andrew Thorpe, 36, couldn’t wipe the smile from his face when he was handed the keys to his first truck, a stunning new T909 Kenworth, in Adelaide last month.
Right alongside him sharing in the excitement and posing for pictures on delivery day at CMV Truck Centre – Kenworth DAF Adelaide were wife Zoe Jones and their blended family, Sophie,14, Ava,11, and Reya,11.
The truck had taken longer than expected to arrive due to Covid-related supply chain issues, but after building up to this milestone moment for nearly half his life, Andrew figured a few extra months wasn’t going to hurt.
CMV, meanwhile, bent over backwards to play their part, picking up the tab to fly him and father-in-law Mark Wilkins to Kenworth’s Bayswater plant last year for a factory tour before the pair drove the truck back to Adelaide on cloud nine.
It was another five months or so, however, before the custom work was finished [see sidebar story], but when the covers finally came off Andrew’s T909, he instantly knew it had all been worth the wait.
“I just couldn’t wait to get down there on the day,” Andrew said.
“Getting my Kenworth T909 was a big milestone for me, a day I’ll remember forever. I didn’t just want any truck. I wanted to do it right from the start, making it something special.
“It’s been a huge step, not just in business but personally as well, and convincing my wife to join me in this venture has been an adventure of its own!”
Andrew said one of his biggest inspirations for making the ‘now or never leap’ was to honour the memory of his late father, Craig, who sadly took his own life just days before Andrew’s 17th birthday.
Andrew admits he had a “rocky run” after his father’s death but got himself back on track through his love of truck driving and the desire to one day go out on his own.
“After spending over 15 years on the road, I see firsthand the importance of mental health, particularly in our industry.
“But more than anything, I want my dad to be proud of what I’ve built.”
Andrew grew up tagging along with his truck-driving father, a third-generation owner of an SA drilling company, every chance he got.
“When I was a kid I used to sit on dad’s lap and have a drive and always had the love for it.”
After Craig died, Andrew tried his hand at a variety of roles hoping to find something that would stick – diesel mechanic, forklift mechanic, driller, off-sider – you name it, he gave it a crack.
“I was never really good at much in that side of things, but I thought one day I’d get my truck licence, and I’ve never looked back since.”
Even so, Andrew admits that it’s taken him 15-16 years to acquire the skills and confidence to take the next step as an owner-driver.
“It’s an industry where it’s always going to be a gamble; you’re buying the equivalent of half a house, and you’ve got to keep it working to make money off it so you can pay your other bills off.
“So, it was a challenge. I came close once before, about seven or eight years ago, to buying a secondhand K200 but I got cold feet and I changed my mind.
“Finally I thought, if I’m going to give it a go, I’m going to have to give it a go now.
“If I don’t, I’m never going to do it.”
Andrew is also encouraged by the contacts he’s built up over the years and is hoping that will help get Thorpe Haulage off to the best possible start.
“You really have to start at the bottom when you’re driving your own truck – it doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been driving for.
“People have to get confidence in you that you will do the job, work hard and get the job done with no damages. You have to work hard to get your name out there.”
So far so good. Just a few weeks into having his own name on the side of theT909, Andrew is already chipping away at the truck payments hauling grain and grapes for one of his biggest early supporters, Jet Trucking.
“I’m really appreciative of the help they’ve been giving me and they’ve been giving me good advice – I’m always on board to learn.
“In this industry you never stop learning, it doesn’t matter how many years of experience you’ve had driving, I learn something new every day.”
Andrew enjoys tipper work – “I’m good on tippers” – but he’ll happily turn his hand to towing any combination if the numbers stack up and the invoices are paid on time.
“I can do anything; long hauls, tankers – anything that comes my way I’ve done before.
“But I have a family at home, and I try and get home to see them as much as I can, and that is hard in this industry because you have to obviously make money too.”
At present he’s towing other people’s trailers. He hopes to one day have his own, but level-headed Andrew wants to “put some money in the bank first” before he gets too excited.
“If I get a contract and I need trailers, then that’s what I’ll do. I just have to work out what direction I’m going to go in.”
Ideally, Andrew would like to pick up a full-time contract, so he doesn’t have to keep looking for work and knows ahead of time what he’s doing each week.
But already those initial nerves are calming as he hits his stride as an owner-driver.
He’s taken plenty of mental notes over the years about where others have gone wrong in preparation for this day and is drawing confidence from his mechanical skills and life experience.
Andrew also prides himself on treating everyone with the same respect he hopes they will give back to him in return.
“I think my dad would be really proud of what I’ve accomplished,” he added.
“There is money to be made, but you’re not going to become a millionaire owning one truck. For me, it’s all about the love of the job more than anything.
“As long as I’ve got money to pay off the truck and my mortgage, I’m happy.
“I don’t really care if I eat Fruit Loops or Weet-Bix the whole week, as long as I’ve got my pride and joy.”
Making the dream come true
CMV Truck Centre Sales Consultant Jed Kerin said the moment he met Andrew he struck him as an easy-going but very determined guy.
Jed and the CMV team sat down with Andrew to design his ideal T909 which took some time as Andrew didn’t want to miss any minor detail during the build.
Bruze Custom Trucks took charge of the impressive stainless steel work on the truck, delivering on Andrew’s request for all stainless wraps and a diamond-pattern decking plate on the back.
“I’ve also got a nice big light bar down the bottom, and I’ve put a stainless visor on it and bullet lights on the roof and round horn covers, so I’ve done a fair bit of custom work to it,” Andrew said.
The CMV Truck Centre Pre-Delivery Team and HydraMech Customs added the finishing touches to the hydraulics, Chris Barron Engineering created yet another “strong, purpose-built bulbar”, and CP Detailing provided the winning shine for delivery day.
“Andrew has been great to deal with and wasn’t pushy towards the build once it arrived which our pre-delivery team really appreciated,” Jed added.
“He was more concerned about it being built exactly to what he wanted from the get-go.
“We’re all very happy with the final product and are very proud to put our name to it.”