Hopper Transport driver dreams of importing a Volvo bonneted 770 model from North America.
Henry Moreland is quite fond of the 2014 Volvo Globetrotter he drives for Sydney-based general freight transporter Hopper Transport.
When Owner//Driver chatted to Henry, he had just taken the Volvo on its maiden trip two nights before, driving from Sydney up to his home base of Brisbane, before taking it back down the coast on the road to Melbourne.
His verdict? It’s comfortable to drive, there are plenty of cupboards and the visibility is good.
Henry just has one quibble: the size of the bunk.
“The only let down is the size of the bed. If they added another foot in the actual cab bed, it would probably be the perfect truck,” he says.
It’s no surprise then that the ‘perfect truck’, according to Henry, is an American Volvo conventional 770 — the long-nose model.
Henry’s dream is to import it from North America.
He believes its 77-inch (196cm) bunk and a 700hp (522kW) engine up front makes it the ideal truck.
Although he admits importing a truck is a slow and expensive operation.
“I’ve checked the measurements and it isn’t too wide and you could still legally put a 45-foot [13.7m] trailer behind it,” Henry says.
“But it would have to be shipped out and converted to right-hand drive.
“It would still be an awesome thing to see, a big Volvo conventional pulling a triple through central Australia.”
For the moment, however, Henry is more than happy driving the Globetrotter, especially now his boss is fitting a TV and microwave to give him some of the comforts of home.
It’s consolation for the times when he needs to have his 24-hour breaks on the road.
Henry’s other ambition is for a working holiday in North America.
He’s already had a taste for it; in 2003 he spent eight weeks in the US and four weeks in Canada.
“I tripped around with a couple of blokes and had a decent time over there. Hopefully, my finances will allow me to go back again,” Henry says.
“I would love to take my mum to Canada to visit the relatives while she still can.”
You can read the full interview with Henry Moreland in the May issue of Owner//Driver.
Photography: Peter Schlenk