King of the Road

We were looking for an iced coffee, but no cafes to stop at. Carrying the house around with you simply means - pull into a lay-by. When we found one, most of it was already occupied by a 3 waggon road train. Time to go and ask about them and see if I can have a look around inside.

This engine was 19 litres and delivered more than 3,000 bhp. 16 gears, weighs 40 tonnes empty. Each wagons was approx 20 tonnes, depending on what he was hauling. With gran he was over 100 tonnes full. With 4 wagons he was over 120 tonnes. He couldn’t tell me how far it would take him to stop in an emergency.

He worked 14 day on, 7 days off. For 14 days he lived in the truck. Behind the cabin was a good sized bedroom. He also had kettle and microwave. The view from the driver’s seat was great.

I took it for a quick spin and returned it to him .... I wish.

In my rear view mirror the ordinary trucks are pretty intimidating, I haven’t had a road train come up behind me yet. They are huge and many are just a wall of chrome. Beautiful to look at, but frightening to think of what carnage would happen if 120 tonnes went out of control.Read more