Restored trailer highlights mental health message

This stunning trailer, complete with curtains paying tribute to the late great car-racing legend, Peter Brock, recently drew plenty of admiration at a car show in Campbelltown, Tasmania. However, the story behind the trailer’s history it is just as interesting as the trailer itself is spectacular…

The first example of Freighter’s Drop Deck EziLiner trailer was purchased by Mick and Chris Linger of Highland Haulage some 15 years ago, as the company sought to expand its operations. After being founded as a one-truck enterprise in the early 1990s, an ongoing commitment to efficiency, productivity and customer service had seen the fledgling firm go from strength to strength.

Success story

Nestled in the island state’s Central Highlands, its head office in the picturesque township of Deloraine, Highway Haulage runs a fleet of Kenworth and Western Star prime movers and Freighter trailers. These days the business is a road transport powerhouse, hauling all manner of general and refrigerated freight to and from the Apple Isle to all the major mainland centres.

Mick says the firm has always sought to capitalise on new technologies and products that could benefit the business and maintain its upward trajectory.

In the company’s infancy, Mick had become particularly interested in the Freighter Drop Deck design as it optimised deck lengths to suit standard pallet sizes and maximise load volume. Then later, after its introduction in 2008, he was impressed with the EziLiner’s convenience and ease of use.

Freighter EziLiner

The Freighter EziLiner design replaces the use of multiple buckles and straps with a single high-tensile synthetic cable running through a series of arcs along both decks of the trailer. This generates the vertical tension on the trailer curtains, providing significant efficiency gains in respect of time savings per load/unload cycle.

Mick got thinking, and then approached MaxiTRANS with a request: “I want my drop-deck trailer to have the EziLiner technology built into it,” he said.

On the job

Fortunately for Mick, Freighter’s engineers were already all over it, and in the final stages of developing a drop-deck version of the EziLiner. Whereas a straight deck EziLiner allows for standard parallel mounting points for the EziLiner’s arc cable and tensioning hooks, a drop-deck trailer has two horizontal planes that elevate engineering challenge to achieve the consistent tension levels required for the curtain.

To solve this issue, Freighter engineers incorporated two cable guide rollers at the drop point of the trailer that simultaneously ensures the continuity of the cable from the top to the lower deck whilst maintaining the required tension levels. The Freighter Drop Deck EziLiner was born, and Highland Haulage was its first happy customer.

However, after 15 years of loyal service the trailer was in need of a refresh. “It is too good a trailer to get rid of,” Mick said – and then the story took another turn.

Mental health message

“Around the time I was thinking about refurbishing the trailer, a close friend of mine, Steve Donovan, told me about a car show he was organising to raise awareness for mental health,” he said. “Sadly, Steve’s son took his own life, and the car show ‘A Day out for Don’ was named in his honour.

“Steve is a massive Holden and Peter Brock fan, so an idea evolved that I refurbish my old EziLiner Drop Deck as a memento to Steve’s efforts in raising awareness of mental health.”

With this firm plan in mind, Mick then approached MaxiTRANS, owner of Freighter, for recommendations on who would be best placed to carry out the job.

“The team at MaxiTRANS in Victoria was terrific,” Mick said. “They took the time to explain that they offered an in-house refurbishing service. I explained to them I intended to use the trailer as a display piece with the Peter Brock mural on the curtains and the deadline for its first public showing at the car show. I also added that I wanted a few extra touches, such as the polished rear door handles.”

Total backup

MaxiTRANS Service Centres handle all kinds of trailer servicing, repairs and restoration work – it’s just one part the company’s commitment to customers that extends from before purchase to throughout the trailer’s life.

“Mick was fantastic and easy to deal with,” said Jason Keddie, MaxiTRANS General Manager, Victoria. “He knew exactly what he wanted to achieve. He was involved throughout the whole process and got to know our team quite well.

“We completely overhauled the trailer, giving it a new lease on life. The trailer was stripped back and sandblasted before we gave it a new paint job. New curtains were fitted, air brushing completed and then it was finished off with new LED lighting.

“Along with all kinds of trailer servicing, our team is experienced in full refurbishment including everything from replacing walls, rear frames and floors, that may have been the result of damaged caused from a rollover or burn out.

“Customers are amazed with what may seem like a write-off, that we have the capability to bring it back to life. Our direct links to manufacturing makes the process much more seamless for our customers.

“It was great working with Mick on refurbishing his Freighter trailer in time for the ‘Day out for Don’ show; seeing how happy he is with the end result is what it’s all about.”