52 AUGUST 2019 ownerdriver.com.au
“You look after your drivers like your family and
they’ll stay with you.”
bins on. Todd has been a proud advocate of the Tefco bins,
and it seems his addiction to shine is contagious. When Todd
turned up with the new truck he was surprised with a setup
of highly polished tippers. Seriously, it’s a truck that should
come with complimentary sunglasses.
As much as these trucks look like they are full time show
trucks, they aren’t. Mainly doing local deliveries from
quarries to supply yards, the trucks are clocking up around
3,000km a week. They are in and out of gravel roads normally
five times a day. They certainly work and definitely earn
their keep.Todd is very quick to praise his team of drivers. “You look
after your drivers like your family and they’ll stay with you.
If I don’t have them, I don’t have a business.”
The value Todd places on his drivers is another driving
force behind the setup of the trucks. “You give them decent
gear and you’ll get decent drivers,” he says.
So far the old adage is proving correct. The pilot behind
the K200, Darren Bradley, would even give Todd a run for
his money when it comes to time spent in the wash bay.
That’s when Darren can get driver Mick Hale and the 909
out of there.
Todd now spends less time behind the wheel and more
time running his small but growing f leet. This means he
does get to play the role of relief driver whenever any of
his boys needs a day off. His team of drivers are a lot like
him though; they love their job and rarely allow the boss
the keys to his toys anymore. He is allowed to help wash
them though.
With expansion plans on the horizon and ideas for new
breathtaking trucks to join the f leet I can’t see Todd out of
the saddle for long. Like the majority of us, once trucking is
in the blood you can’t escape it. “You either like them or you
don’t,” Todd states.
While driving them fed that trucking passion, becoming
an owner has been the overall goal.
“I love owning them as you can see by the trucks. I love
blinging them, I like the look of them, I just enjoy it.
“It’s a passion to make them look like they do and to have
them the way they are ... the shinier the better.”
With that quote in mind it is very hard to see how much
shinier the McKittrick’s trucks could get. But standby
folks, by the time you read this there will be a new T610
shining brightly on the roads around Canberra. And if the
rental outfit will give me another car, I might just go find it
for you.Above: The f lexibility of the cab-over
K200 is invaluable when loading
and unloading at some less than
hospitable places
Below: The showroom stainless is
pure RC Metal Craft