Who knew a smash repair truck could look so good?
Adding to its pile of victories, The Truck Factory snatched up yet another win at this year’s Adelaide Camp Quality Convoy for Kids.
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The People’s Choice award for Best Presented Truck was chosen by three Camp Quality kids, who couldn’t resist the Truck Factory’s bright orange Western Star 4900.
The man behind the wheel of the winner, Robbie Adams, was surprised to take home the trophy as he thought Craig Arthur Transport had it in the bag.
“It was a bit of a shock,” he says. “I really thought we would place runner up to Craig Arthur’s Optimus Prime truck, but obviously ours stood out just that little bit more!”
Over 150 trucks paraded down the streets of Adelaide for the first time at the inaugural Camp Quality Convoy, in support of children battling cancer.
With the Truck Factory raising money for the convoy, Adams’ boss sent him out to enjoy the event.
The company usually sends three or four trucks from their fleet to shows, but Adams was the sole representative at this convoy, standing out in his striking rig.
“The convoy was bigger than I had expected, especially as it was Adelaide’s first time to host it,” he says.
“It was great for us to get our name out there and participate in something like that.”
Before finding his place and winning a stack of awards, Adams struggled to stick to a job he enjoyed.
“When I was 18/19 I used to drive interstate for my dad,” he says. “I’d get sick of that, and I’d go and drive a tow truck for a friend of mine. Then I’d get sick of that, so I’d drive interstate again.
“Then I met a bloke in an accident one night who owned heavy salvage tow trucks, and he said, ‘Why don’t you do both?’
“That was 34 years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
To this day, Jon works for truck smash repair specialist, heavy vehicle recovery and heavy-duty tow truck business The Truck Factory in South Australia.
Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, their fleet includes a Freightliner, an IVECO tilt tray and a Peterbilt, which is the only other orange truck they own.
The bright orange Western Star 4900 sure is the rig of the fleet though, with stainless steel stacks and a gleaming bull bar that pulls focus to the front of the vehicle.
A bright cartoon design along the sides displays a brown monster pulling a miniature blue truck by a chain that extends the whole length of the rig.
Between the fun pictures and the vibrant colours, it’s not hard to see why this truck was a favourite with the kids at the convoy.
Camp Quality’s general manager of revenue, Sandie Hall says: “The Truck Factory’s rig was just gorgeous. As soon as the kids saw it, they were in love.
“It’s just so colourful and bright — the kids were always going to pick it!”
Adams says these cool designs are nothing new to the company.
“The company’s been around for 20 odd years now,” he says. “That’s been the logo from day dot.”
Adams says he put in some work polishing and cleaning to get the truck ready for the convoy, but he was surprised and delighted by the overwhelmingly positive reception it received.
“I’ve driven this truck for nine years and to have it stand out amongst 150 odd trucks is unreal,” he says.
Adams says he’s looking forward to making a return to the convoy next year — where The Truck Factory is hoping to have its entire fleet on display.
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