Truck Licence SA sticks with Hino

Adelaide-based Peter Piscioneri has spent the past 15 years putting would-be truckies behind the wheel and teaching them the ins and outs of driving a heavy vehicle. He also drives home to his pupils the massive responsibility that comes with being in charge of multiple tons of rolling steel.

Unlike many, if not most truck driving instructors, Peter’s background is not plying the highways that traverse this great land – coming instead from an agricultural background.

“I was brought up around tractors, trucks, heavy machinery and that sort of thing, but agriculture can be a risky business and if you’re in a sector that is struggling you need to look at alternatives,” said Peter.

“Driving instruction was probably something I thought I’d never be able to do, but sometimes necessity can be the Mother of Invention,” he added.

One thing a farming background teaches is a good work ethic, and Peter applied it to his new profession.

“My motto has always been leave no stone unturned. Explore every avenue and go as hard as possible. Put in 100 per cent and the returns will come.”

So in 2009, around the age of 40, Peter began truck driving instruction. He must be a very cool customer or have nerves of steel, because a decade and a half later he doesn’t look any older. “I’ll put it down to genetics,” he responds. “But thanks for the compliment.”

Peter spent ten years contracting to other driving schools before striking out on his own five years ago, setting up a smart looking facility in the Northern suburb of Wingfield.

“I wanted to be the master of my own destiny. I also didn’t want to work out of a gravel yard. Like any business, appearance is important.”

Truck Licence SA was the name Peter chose and the company logo harks back to the farm, featuring as it does his father’s 1957 International Harvester.

“We still have that truck on the farm, and it still goes,” he said. “It’s got that connection of heavy vehicles as well as reminding me of my childhood. I remember as a kid the wheels being that high that I couldn’t see over the tread.

“On the farm you were hands-on, fabricating stuff, rebuilding engines or putting clutches in. I got to know machinery intimately from the point of view that If I heard a strange noise, I’d know what it was; that if you did one thing to the machine, it would wear out another part – a sort of cascading effect which is going to cost you money.

“I believe that has stood me in good stead in driving instruction where I probably look at it more from an owner-operator attitude and try and impart that to the students. After all, if they’re driving for someone else they’re in charge of hundreds of thousands of dollars of machinery, plus the freight, and I’m sure the owner is going to appreciate having a driver who cares and has the right attitude towards their hard-earned equipment.”

“I’ve always treated someone else’s truck as if it were mine and I like to think that whoever turns up here does likewise. It’s a formula we all work on here,” said Peter, referring to his two other driving instructors, Tony Franzese and Steve Trenorden, as well as son, Lucas who currently runs the administration and point of sale.

When Peter struck out on his own, the first truck he purchased was a Hino – an FC 500 Tipper to be precise.

“Some of the training schools I’d worked for had a Hino or two in the mix, along with other brands, and the Hino just seemed to be the one that was the most user friendly and simple to drive,” Peter said.

“You don't want something that's got a million dials or the indicator on the wrong side of the steering column. User friendly, reliable, fuel efficient – that’s what you want. You don't want something that’s hard to learn in and you certainly don’t want to be chasing your tail with repair bills. The Hino ticked a lot of boxes.

“Nervousness is a common theme among the students. There's two things that will put them at ease. Obviously, and most importantly is the person that's instructing, but also the truck they’re driving. The Hino fit the bill in terms of size, all round vision and ease of use.”

In fact the Hino fitted the bill so well that Peter has stuck with the brand, adding three more since those early days. The next to join the fleet was a Hino 500 FM Heavy Rigid.

“Once you get to heavy rigid, you’re talking about different gearboxes. So with an automatic you'd be restricted. With a synchromesh, single clutch gearbox you’ll also be restricted. But with a double clutch ‘box – you’re unrestricted.

“And that next truck was the one that had the unrestricted or ‘crash’ gearbox that requires double clutching. It's an older truck because I wasn't able to buy one new and that’s a crying shame because it’s just a ripper!

“People may think one crash box is the same as any other but that’s not true. I went to Melbourne to look at this truck, along with a couple of others that I drove first. I thought at the time that if the Hino drove like that I was turning around and heading straight back to Adelaide.

“I took it out for a spin and it was the sweetest crash box truck that I’d ever driven. It's just smooth, honest, and easy to learn.

“I’ve been in all sorts of trucks with that type of gearbox and they drive OK, but that Hino just drives sweet. Its engine matches well to the transmission, the configurations match well to shift. I suppose manuals are getting phased out but there's still a lot of people that want an unrestricted licence.”

Needing more trucks, Peter again looked to Hino, purchasing a 500 with an auto box, followed up by an 80th Anniversary syncro-boxed 500.

Seemingly he has the market covered, except the 500s are all heavy rigids, aren’t they? If you want a prime mover and every truck driving school does, and you want to stick to the Hino brand that you love so much, then you’re going to need a 700 Series, right?

“Ha, ha,” says Peter. “You’d think so, but these three trucks have all been built in a manner where the tray comes off with the help of a forklift and underneath the tray is a turntable. Stand up the pogo stick with the Susie coils, and then go hook up a trailer to take heavy combination licences. It takes all of 15 minutes to effect the change.

“So we're covering all bases: Automatic, single-clutch manual and double-clutch manual, in both heavy rigid and heavy combination. It covers all the classes, except for MC, which is still in the pipeline. The three FM500’s effectively give us six trucks.”

The conversion of the Hino FM500s was carried out by Adelaide based Combo Industries and according to Peter their work is first class. Aside from three trucks doing the work of six, he sees other advantages of using the 500s for HC training.

“Firstly, being cab-overs, the wheelbase is shorter and therefore it makes the trucks more manoeuvrable. Secondly, with a rear window the learner has the advantage of being able to use the rear-view mirror as well as the wings – it makes for added confidence for a beginner.

“Then there is the power – or rather less of it when compared to say the Hino 700 Series. We see that as an advantage in that it teaches the student a lot more about gear changing when hill climbing for instance. Experience is all important.”

It is apparent that Peter and his team are passionate about training their students to the highest standards and those standards are upheld by the South Australian Licensing system which is said to be the toughest in the country.

As mentioned, the next project on Peter’s agenda will be to move into multi combination licencing. With the Hino 700 Series rated MC to 72 tonnes, and Peter’s excellent experience with the Hino, it would be a fair bet as to which brand Peter will spend his money on.