Bruce Evans first fell in love with Internationals at age eight, at the controls of his father’s IH bulldozer, and 60 years on he's still as passionate as ever about the brand
Owner of Booyal Quarries based in Queensland, Bruce and his family operate a quarry that supplies aggregates and road base material.
Bruce first learnt to drive trucks in a AA 164 Series Inter and has since owned and operated countless Transtars, Eagles, S-Lines and A and C Series ACCOs over the years.
The latest additions to the Booyal Quarries fleet are two ProStar day cab prime movers which haul B-double ‘stag’ trailers (19 and 25 metres) occasionally they also tow side tippers.
“I’ve had International in my blood since I was a young lad so with the company coming back to Australia, there was not much chance of us getting anything else,” Bruce says.
“All the International trucks I’ve owned over the years have done a great job.”
The trucks feature the X15 Cummins powerplants rated at 550HP/2508Nm they’re matched to the tried and tested Eaton Roadranger.
“We’re getting around 2.2 kilometres per litre combined which I’m happy with – the 19-metre B-double is normally operating around the 56-tonne mark while the 25-metre trailers have us at around 65 tonnes,” Bruce says.
According to Bruce, the Cummins and Eaton Roadranger components provide a well proven combination for heavy duty earthworks, but prior to finalising this specification, he consulted with his drivers to get their thoughts.
“Both of the ProStars have regular drivers, I like to keep drivers with the one truck because I think the equipment gets looked after better,” he says.
“They’re both very experienced having spent a long time driving road trains, the two of them told me that they’d prefer the manual so that’s the way we went.
“I can understand the attraction of an AMT for city driving where you’re starting and stopping all the time but for us the manual works well, once you’re rolling and on the open road there aren’t many gear changes needed.”
The ProStars are on the road five days per week and often have to put in big days, Bruce says, so the drivers are stoked with the new gear.
“The drivers comment on the comfort, the ample power and the excellent visibility, particularly when they’re driving through built-up areas,” he says.
“The trucks are giving us the payload we need, the power we want and the right fuel efficiency – we often get asked by others about what the ProStars are like, and have no hesitation in telling them that they go well and that we really like them. I can’t think of a bad thing to say about them.”
Bruce still uses International dozers too, including a 45-tonne unit!