Burnt out from years of driving interstate up the east coast, Robbie Caldwell headed for the forests.
Robbie Caldwell has spent more years than he cares to remember driving up and down the east coast.
More to the point, most of the 22 years of his married life were spent out on the highway.
“I would have been home for bugger all during those years,” Robbie says.
He drove for Iannelli Transport for 16 of those years, including a stint behind the wheel of a gold Kenworth T604 hauling a fridge van.
“The trucks were the full works, and I was up and down the coast like a yo-yo,” Robbie recalls.
“They had seven fruit shops, including one in Geelong and one in Brisbane. It was full on.”
Things went slowly downhill for Robbie, and he ended up in hospital. Once out of hospital he decided it was time for a change, so he went for his B-double licence.
He scored a job with Monaro Logging, which harvests and hauls timber for the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales (FCNSW) in Bombala, as well as harvesting for PF Olsen in Tumut.
Robbie has been with Monaro Logging for six years now. His current steed is a new Kenworth T909, one of six in the Monaro Logging fleet.
Robbie says when he first started with Monaro Logging, he wasn’t sure if the job would suit him.
“But I do like a bit of a challenge,” he says.
“Anyone can drive around with a single freezer van. It was good, but some of the places you go in the bush are just spectacular.
“When you are out near Tumut, you can look out and see forever.”
You can read Robbie’s full story in the July edition of Owner//Driver magazine.
Burnt out from years of driving interstate up the east coast, Robbie Caldwell headed for the forests.”Some of the…
Posted by Owner Driver on Wednesday, 22 July 2015
Photography: Peter Schlenk