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Preferring the single life over B-doubles

Hennessy Transport driver Dion Pederson says hauling a single trailer interstate has a distinct advantage over B-doubles.

 

Dion Pederson drives a 2016 Freightliner Argosy for Dandenong-based Hennessy Transport and according to his mates it’s a “one in a million job”.

Dion has been driving interstate with the company for around two and half years.

The Generation 2 Argosy hauls a Vawdrey 48ft drop deck trailer with a mezzanine floor, capable of carrying 48 pallets.

“Towing a single trailer with generally pretty light loads is pretty easy, it’s a great job and I have a great rig.”

Dion enjoys a set run each week – Melbourne to Sydney then to Brisbane and back to Sydney and Melbourne, unloading and reloading in the same customer’s depot in each city. His run starts each Sunday after an early lunch and finishes on Thursday around the same time.

Before his interstate work, Dion tried his hand at container work around Melbourne. That lasted a mere two weeks. He much prefers to be out on the highway.

“I couldn’t handle being in the city all day, every day,” he explains.

Hennessy Transport’s 2016 Freightliner Argosy hauls a Vawdrey 48ft trailer

Moving to long-haul brings its own set of issues, namely work diaries and, of course, what and where to eat. Hence, Dion takes his own meals and fruit from home for his run north, which lasts him through until the Tuesday.

“Wednesday and Thursday I buy my meals,” he says. “It’s hard to find good spots but, with a single, it opens up a few more roads and places to go. You can even get into a town and have a decent meal.”

Dion believes the imposition of rules and regulations upon drivers is only leading to non-productivity.

“The ones making the rules and regulations have no idea of what it’s like to steer a truck, meet timeslots and deadlines and have never been told when to sleep.”

For more on Dion Pederson and his views on the trucking industry, see the full feature in the July 2017 edition of Owner//Driver, on sale July 10.

Photography: Peter Schlenk

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