A shiny new Coronado 122 will move thousands of tonnes of hay into drought-affected south-west Queensland.
Burrumbuttock Hay Runner director and owner-driver Brendan Farrell has already begun using the Cummins-powered Freightliner to haul precious feed to farmers in Quilpie, some 11 hours west of Brisbane.
The Burrumbuttock Hay Run 2019 begins on Australia day, January 26, and organiser Brendan ‘Bumpa’ Farrell has already started loading the Freightliner.
“I can’t thank Freightliner enough for their support, three of my trucks are off the road and they came forward to help – I’m glad they did,” Farrell tells TransportTalk.
“It depends where truckies are coming from, but the trip this year is from Darlington Point in New South Wales to Quilpie, about 12-13 hours and it’s a much more comfortable trip in the new Freightliner compared to my old trucks,” he explains.
“It can be a 4000km round trip for some, and having tested the Coronado on the road from Burke to Milparinka with washouts, corrugations, the biggest potholes you’ve ever seen, and it handled it very well, much better than I thought it would,” he says.
“It’s the kind of road I only take old trucks on because the road is so bad, you wouldn’t want to take any truck you love.”
This year’s hay run sets off on January 23.
