Jon Kelly, star of hit TV show MegaTruckers and Managing Director of Heavy Haulage Australia Jon Kelly, has raised the stakes with his new 685hp Mack 'Big Dog 5' Titan
Trucking identity and Managing Director of Heavy Haulage Australia (HHA), Jon Kelly, who stars in the hit Australian television show MegaTruckers, has hit the road in his new Mack Titan.
MegaTruckers is filmed in Australia and has a cult following around the world, with viewers tuning in from the United Kingdom, India and his home town of Brisbane.
Kelly says despite being at the helm of one of Australia’s largest transport companies, he still loves to get behind the wheel and back to where it all started.
“I was just a young bloke with a gift of being a very good truck driver and grew this childhood dream into a multi-million dollar reality,” Kelly says.
“I started HHA with one Mack truck in 1999 and have watched it grow over the years. We now have more than 70 trucks in our fleet and employ 140 people.
“I buy a new truck for myself every five years and like to give them all their own identity. Titans are tough trucks and my new truck, which I’ve named Big Dog 5, is no exception.”
Kelly, 33, says he recently ordered a record-breaking 40 new Mack trucks, cementing the business as one of the most successful in Australia.
“It’s the largest number of trucks to be purchased in a single order by any heavy haulage company in the country.
Vice President Sales — Mack Trucks, Dean Bestwick says Big Dog 5 has a 685hp MP10 engine, which is the most powerful conventional truck on the Australian market.
“It’s also been fitted with the biggest axle and engine available to Australian Mack customers,” Bestwick says.
The HHA Big Dog 5 also comes with Mack’s mDRIVE AMT.
Kelly, a third generation heavy haulage business owner, says driving trucks was in his blood from a very young age.
“You can’t lose sight of where it all began and that’s why my wife and I will drive the truck to Darwin over four days before heading to Karratha, where I’ll be moving heavy project cargo at a Rio Tinto mine,” he says.
“The trucks have definitely improved since I first got behind the wheel. My new Titan has a queen bed, TV and DVD player, microwave and a big stereo system, so it is quite plush.”
Series two of MegaTruckers will commence filming shortly.
Photography: Jonathan Wood