Do you ever picture a different life? Perhaps one where you travel around Australia full time? One where you’re living on the road? In a truck?
Robert Rawlins sure had that dream.
He stumbled across a $10,000 rust ridden remnant of a 1979 Atkinson 3800 on Facebook Marketplace and knew it was going to become his new home on wheels.
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The Atkinson was “fairly sad” when Robert found it, he says.
“It had been rotting away in a shed north of Adelaide for five years.”
“It started out as a fluid truck pulling tankers years ago, then it moved on, and it has seen a couple of farms since.”
Robert’s mate found him the trailer – and boy does it have a story…
“The trailer was built for the 1988 Bicentennial Tour of Australia that the government organised. It was a travelling museum for 12 months!” he says.
“There were a few trailers used, but Kenworth supplied them, stopping at various towns and letting people have a look at them.
“Then, Ford used it to sell merchandise at the V8 races, and after that Richmond Football Club parked it at their oval and sold their merchandise out of it. The trailer has got as much of a story as the truck does.”
Robert’s home is now a repurposed piece of mobile national history that once showcased Australia. But it didn’t start that way for the trailer or the truck pulling it.
The Atkinson he pulled into his yard was initially a shell. So, he got to work…
“I pulled it all apart,” he says. “Cab was off, along with the turntables, motor, gearbox and radio. Went right back to the chassis rails and sand blasted and painted it.
“Rebuilt the motor and gearbox, didn’t touch the diff, just changed the oil in them because they seemed pretty good.
“Did new brakes, brake lines, brake drums and brake boosters, as well as new shockers and new wiring.”
He then completed the paint job on the cab and fitted the new interior inside.
And while most stop at a shiny truck, Robert went even further, turning the trailer into his full-time home.
Inside is nothing short of astonishing. A glass door opens to a space complete with a bedroom and wardrobe and behind that is a shower and toilet.
There’s a kitchen area, fridge, microwave, sink and cupboards. Out the back he has a kitchen and laundry cupboard.
“Behind that is an amazing floor that lifts up and down,” he says.
“When I lift it up, I’ve got a little two door Jeep painted up the same colour as the truck that goes underneath it.
“When I unload the jeep and let the floor down – that becomes my lounge room.”
It took Robert, with a bit of help from others, 18 months to get it to where it is now.
And while the whole concept is appealing, the design and colour scheme of the truck, is nothing short of immaculate.
The colours are homage to his other two restoration projects, a red and white Sportsman Charger and a 1951 Bedford.
Rawlins moved into the Atkinson and trailer over two years ago.
“That’s what I do now, travel around the countryside full time,” he says.
He’s already cruised through bits of Victoria, much of New South Wales, South Australia and Brisbane, occasionally attending a few shows here and there.
But of course, it wasn’t all smooth highways. The biggest challenge? Water.
“I couldn’t buy big enough water tanks. I carry about 1,000 litres of water and the biggest caravan water tank you can get is about 150 litres,” he says.
“I’m self-contained, so I run off solar panels and batteries for my electricity.
“For six weeks I can go without needing to top up water, it would last me longer if I was little more conservative with it though.”
All of this restoration, hard work and life on the road traces back to a life on the land.
“I was a farm kid growing up and started driving trucks with my brother when I was 15, and I’ve been driving trucks ever since,” he says.
“I don’t drive them for a living anymore, just this one now. But I’ve had over 56 years’ experience of driving trucks around the countryside.”
Robert’s truck is more than a home. It’s a mobile museum, a memoir and an Aussie icon with a story.
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