Living the Dream

Rotorua Forest Haulage Company is setting new productivity standards in New Zealand’s Kaingaroa Forest with a C509 Kenworth hauling three trailers in a road train configuration.

There is a big smile on Jake Roger’s dial! He is doing the job he has dreamed of since accompanying his great-grandfather and father – driving ‘Off-highway’ trucks in the forests of New Zealand.

“My Dad, Gossett, has been out here doing ‘Off-highway’ logging for over 30 years, the last 22 with Rotorua Forest Haulage”, Jake smiled. “During my school years, I would always go for rides with Dad, dreaming that one day I’d drive a log truck too.

Jake is now living his dream and setting new standards for productivity, hauling large volumes of timber. Impressive numbers by anyone’s standards; he is hauling an average payload of 180-tonne of logs each trip.

The rig is the company’s first triple combination, consisting of a Kenworth C509 prime mover and three in-house custom-made trailers. A striking unit that is right at home with the Rotorua Forest Haulage Company’s (RFH) fleet.

Operating from Rotoura, on New Zealand’s North Island, RFH encompasses four companies; Trevor Masters from Thames, Watchorn Transport from Awakeri, Lincolns from Tokoroa and RFH.

Now one of New Zealand’s premier timber transport companies, RFH started humbly in 1974. RFH is now owned and managed by the sons of founder Colin Sargison, Tony and Brett.

“Dad started with a 220hp Atkinson, it was a tough gig, and there was only one way forward,” Brett said. “That was with hard work”.

Tough Taskmaster

“Dad was a tough taskmaster, yet he always led by example. Back then, you did the hard yards, the long hours and then some more,” Tony declared. “I joined Dad when he had eight or nine trucks, mostly Internationals. Brett joined in ’94 when we had grown to 34 trucks. We certainly didn’t have the fanciest gear back then, but it did the job and put us in the position where we could look at better gear.”

RFH has looked at other trucks over the years but nowadays consistently purchases Kenworths. As a result, today, RFH’s fleet is predominantly Paccar-based products, over 90 per cent being a mix of Kenworth and DAF, and only a few other brands making up the balance of the road-going trucks.

New Zealand trucking regulations were the main push into the Kenworth product with the need for a cabover. Vehicles were only allowed 20 meters in length and consisted of a four-axle truck and a four-axle trailer.

“We couldn’t get away with a conventional prime mover then. We needed a cabover to achieve maximum tray lengths and maximum weights over the front axles to make the job viable. Unfortunately, twin-steer conventional trucks were not around back then. So, in the late nineties, Kenworth K100s joined the fleet.”

Reliable Truck

“It’s straightforward. Kenworth is a good durable, reliable truck. They are a little bit more expensive up front, but over the whole cost-of-life, it balances out,” Brett thoughtfully explained. “Quite simply, they’re better!”

RFH constructed a specialist fabrication facility to fit out their trucks and manufacture their logging jinkers. “We are very self-sufficient. We purchase the cab chassis and take care of the rest. We have our own panel beater, six-bay drive-through workshop and eight bays in our fabrication shop,” explained Tony.

Cabovers make up the majority of the fleet. Not surprisingly, due to their reliability, there are still quite a few K108s still running today, although K200s now dominate the cabover mix.

“Kenworth is continually improving,” Tony continued. “The K200s were a huge leap forward, and we find them ideal for our job, whether it be a jinker, flat top and log bolster or tautliner. They are very versatile, and there is always a market for second-hand cabovers.”

“The old K108s were a good solid truck, and the fact they are still working in the fleet after more than a decade’s use is a testament to that. The K200s are just as strong but with a far better ride, roomier cab and better dash layout. Overall, they are a vastly superior truck, and our operators love them,” Brett added.

Recently, RFH purchased six T610s, one for float work and the rest for log jinkers. “They may only be new now, but so far are going well. We put them straight to work on logs, and they are performing well with a great tare weight advantage. Access to the cab is excellent, and all the operators love the ride. One operator came out of an 8×4 T659, and he is delighted with the T610 ride,” Tony explained.

Besides the cabovers, and the T610s, there are quite a few T659 8x4s and C509s out in the forest. RFH finds the T659s a good, solid, honest truck and runs them in harsher environments.

“I find them a very strong truck and they have quite a few things going for them; good vision, great ride and good cab access. I think most drivers like bonneted trucks, and our drivers love them,” Tony said.

While many forestry roads are now like a highway, plenty leave a lot to be desired, and RFH specify C509s this heavy duty task.

“We went for the bigger chassis rail with the C509s. “We’ve been running them since the early 2000s. The C509s are used predominantly on our stem trucks out in the bush and with road trains,” Tony explained.

RFH has a significant presence in the Kaingaroa forest, the second largest plantation forest in the southern hemisphere. It consists of 2900 square kilometres. In this forest, there is an extensive network of roads, with the majority of the trees hauled to the mill on stem trucks. First, the trees are cut down, their top is taken off, and the stems are then transported in 37-meter lengths.

Grab your copy of Kenworth Down Under Collector’s Issue #21 here to read the rest of this article.

Article supplied by Peter & Di Schlenk.