Road Trains in Australia

[happyoztrucky]

While reading thru some of the articles in this section not so long ago that someone had written a bit & stated that road train drivers in Australia had to be qualified motor mechanics to operate these titans of the road. Let me tell you that there is no such requirement. If you are able to pass & get a multi-combination vehicle licence & someone will employ you, then you can drive & operate them. As you can see by my handle "happyoztrucky"that I am from Australia. Yes, I have quite a bit of experience operating them in different configurations. The largest of them allowed on the roads in the outback/ inland routes measure up @ 53 meters. That is if you park 2 of them nose to tail they will be slightly longer than a football field. Fully loaded they can weigh upto 120,000 kilograms or 240,000 US pounds. These trucks generally run on 70 wheels, so if 1 right down the back blows you won't know about it until you pull up for a break. Doing a pre-trip check is great fun as there is 18 axle with 10 wheelnuts to check on each side of each axle making a total of 180 wheelnuts to check prior to departure from depot, &, several times on journey depending on distance. While checking wheelnuts you also have to check all 70 tyres are up. To drive these , you have to have a great love for torture & driving. It is nothing to be away for 2 or 3 weeks @ a time or more on 1 trip. This could extend to upto 5 or 6 weeks or more if you get caught in the wet season.

Wazza "THEHAPPYOZTRUCKY
OR SHOULD I SAY A VERY HAPPY 62 Yr old TRUCKIE FROM AUSTRALIA
CHEERS & BEERS FOR NOW.