Truck Reviews

Truck of the month: Freightliner Coronado

Stuey Myers’ Freightliner Coronado was destined for scrap metal haulage, but it has proved to be a versatile prime mover.

 

It’s a Sunday afternoon at Wildcat Earthmoving, based on the outskirts of Toowoomba in Queensland.

Run by Stuey Myers and his wife Cheryl, the focal point of the operation is a two-year-old Freightliner Coronado.

Stuey is in the process of getting behind the wheel of the truck to take a load out to a site.

Under the Coronado’s bonnet is a Detroit DD 5 set at 560hp (417.6kW) coupled to an 18-speed box and a Neway rear end, rated at 130 tonne.

“It’s a big truck, very versatile and is set up to haul triple side tippers or a single water tanker or float,” Stuey explains.

“It had to be as it’s my only prime mover, with the exception of a tip truck.”

Stuey was operating road trains in the desert when the Freightliner arrived at his yard, although he says at the time there weren’t many Coronados in that part of the country.

“Everyone reckoned it would fall apart. They thought the cupboards would fall out, but they didn’t,” he says.

He ordered the Coronado for a contract carting scrap metal, but the work finished up just before the truck arrived. So it was off to the Outback.

“The bunk is like a motel room. The sleeper has a microwave, fridge/freezer and TV.”

Stuey usually carries a frying pan and a gas bottle. He has it set up so that when he’s away for a length of time he doesn’t need truckstop food. It saves him money and he says he eats better as a result.

A heater has also been added for the times Stuey is out during winter. Temperatures can get down to freezing in the Outback.

“This is definitely the best truck I’ve operated,” Stuey says.

You can read the full story in the April edition of Owner//Driver. Secure your copy now.

Photography: Peter Schlenk

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