Truck & Driver August 2019^77
the elegance with light bars,
headboards and spotlamps. All
that extra illumination is not
needed nowadays, especially in
the era of xenon headlamps.
Down in Italy, the home of Iveco,
I’ve often admired stunning
Stralis trucks, so it’s about time a
few appeared in Ireland.
The Iveco 570 XP is a rare
truck, especially in Ireland where
Kenneth knows of just one more
example. “Con Dennehy in Cork
has one I’m sure, but apart from
that I don’t know of any more.”
(Please let us know if you’re aware
of any more in the Republic.)
The truck was manufactured
in 2016 and spent the first year
of its life in England. When it was
registered in Ireland in late 2017,
it had clocked up just 41,000km,
having sat idle for most of its first
year. Although not laden with
bling, Kenneth reckons to have
spent more than 400 hours
preparing the truck.
“It was actually fairly plain
when I got it. The first job was
color coding all the plastics from
the door down and fitting Alcoa
Dura-Bright alloys. Custom
side-skirts were fabricated with
help from Jennings Truck Centre
in Tullamore, designed around
the mudguards. For some
reason, genuine Iveco three-
piece mudguards are expensive.
“She’s the only one around
with three-piece mudguards on
the mid-lift, but I decided it was
worthwhile spending the money.”Chequer plate
The fitting of tipping gear was
followed by a full chassis infill of
painted chequer plate, all
complemented by a
custom-made rearW
hether it was the
demise of their V8
engines, or simply
just the introduction
of newer, softer-
looking trucks, manufacturers
such as Iveco and Mercedes-
Benz struggle to ignite the
passion of diesel junkies in the
way that certain other brands
can. That’s not a criticism of the
trucks, just an observation.
How many jackets from these
manufacturers will you see sported
at truck shows? Sure, a lot of it is
bluster, but driver appeal is
becoming increasingly important
as the number of new drivers to
the industry has diminished.It’s different
Back in the day, saying you drive
a Turbostar or 1748 would have
held a bit more sway than
claiming you drive an Actros or
Stralis today – and for Kenneth
Ledwith, therein lies the appeal
of driving an Iveco.
“I like to have something
different. Look around you here
today, practically every man and
his dog has a Scania. Fair play to
them, but that’s not for me.”
We’re sitting in the cab of
Kenneth’s 2017-plate Iveco
Stralis 570 XP Hi-Way at a truck
show in Ireland. Depending on
your taste, Kenneth’s truck is
either plain or stunning. I
definitely adhere to the latter
view, abiding by the philosophy
of less is more. Sometimes all
you need is a good choice of
colour, alloys, subtle
modifications and just let the cab
shape do the talking.
A steadily growing number of
truckers are opting for this
approach, instead of obscuring“She’s the only one
around with three-
piece mudguards
on the mid-lift, but
I decided it was
worthwhile spending
the money”
IVECO STRALIS 570 XP HI-WAY
Owner-driver Kenneth is just one of the
numerous trucking Ledwiths in Ireland