Devil Dog: Ross Transport’s 40th-anniversary Mack

Ross Transport celebrated 40 years with its first Mack in more than 30 years, a custom Super-Liner named Devil Dog.

Words by Chris Smith. Photography by Nardia Guillaumier of NEG Photography.

Celebrating 40 is sometimes a daunting prospect, I know, I just did it. However, it can also provide a great excuse to do something out of the ordinary. I would say something crazy but that is all relative.

For a trucking company what could be more amazing than buying a brand new flagship for the fleet.

For third generation transport company Ross Transport they cottoned on to the idea and are literally celebrating in style by buying their first Mack in over 30 years and customising it up in pure style.

Reg Ross, who has since passed on, started Ross Transport in 1975, however his wife along with his son Alan and granddaughter True are still heavily involved in the running of the family business.

The fleet has close to 60 prime movers and over 110 trailers with a range of transport options such as tippers, truck and dogs, taught-liners, flat-tops, extendable and drop deck trailers, rough terrain forklift that can do brick deliveries and used on construction sites. They also have a concrete tanker in the mix as well.

The Company is one setting a benchmark for quality and service by ticking all the compliance boxes, which envelopes the industry. However, it is also very much a community spirited entity as well.

What I mean by this is that it has been one of the big fundraisers for its local Camp Quality Convoy for Kids. The event itself is supported by local radio station i98 and in 2015 raised over $1.7 million to help kids in the Illawarra and Woolongong region.

Above that, the driver of the new Mack CLX64T Super-Liner, dubbed Devil Dog, is supported by the company to attend as many convoys around the country as possible.

Driver Ron Duncan and his wife Julie work hard to build up awareness of the Convoys wherever they go so they can help raise even more money for Camp Quality in different parts of the country.

“Unfortunately a lot of places that these events are going on the guys don’t realise they are on until it is too late, like at the Brisbane one we went to recently, there were guys that didn’t even know it was on. And that Convoy has been going for a fair while,” Ron tells ACT.

“Our side of it is we try and talk to people, promote them, get people going. A lot of our drivers if we are working in the area will attend and it is just about raising awareness,” he says

“The more awareness means the more people attend and more money is raised for charity, and that is what it is all about.

“It shines a good light on the transport industry and show guys do want to do the right thing.”

Thin the last year they have been to Canberra, Albury, Wagga, Townsville, Woolongong, Brisbane, Geelong and got to end the year at Castlemaine Truck Show where they also got a prize for the best Mack.

Ron gave his Devil dog driving duties to True Ross for his local event however, in a sign of respect to the next generation.

At only 19 years of age True Ross has worked in the family business for the last two years and took it as an honour to lead the company’s fleet in the Convoy.

“It was our first 40th Anniversary truck and it meant a lot to dad me driving it down the mountain leading our fleet,” she said proudly.

“I was so excited and so happy Ron offered it to me.

“I didn’t do too much of the design of the Mack, but I did order it, my dad Alan did some of the design for it but most of it was designed by Ronny, he is an awesome driver, it’s got ‘Becoming a “True” Family business on the back of it,” Ronny included me on the back of it, and he didn’t have to,” she says thankfully.

As well as speaking highly of Ron, True Ross is thankful for everything truck salesman Aaron Lewis has done.

She says he has been there every step of the way and the service was exceptional leading to a few more Mack orders for the fleet.

“We were fortunate enough to be chosen by Alan Ross to custom build his 40th anniversary truck,” says Aaron.

“It was a surprise to us as Alan hadn’t purchased a Mack in over 30 years.

“The truck was also the very first ordered and specified by Alans daughter True Ross.

“The driver Ron Duncan was heavily involved in the build and chrome work. Ron was the brainchild behind the custom grille and much of the chrome accessories fitted.”

Aaron says it has been a true working truck with more than 100,000 kilometers travelled in the first six months.

“It has also become a star with 8 trophies from 8 shows.

“I am extremely proud of the end result and think it is a great tribute to Alan, True and the 40-year journey for the business so far,” Aaron adds.

Ron enlisted the services of Highway Lights and Accessories, all the way in Burleigh Heads in Queensland, for the customisation work.

He says with the Superliner took at least six months to plan all the bling he would put on it. He says his boss Alan has been very generous in letting him spec it up. However, he admits that the extras do come out of his own pocket and this is to keep it fair amongst all the other company drivers

The custom work included D shaped tank LEDs custom fabricated, a cat cover, bug deflector, pre-cleaner LEDs, mirror LEDs, Ross Transport wings with red LEDs, a rear taillight bar, stainless Vortex air cleaners, stainless drive guards with MACK cut out and the very unique punched out grille which we will talk more about soon.

Ron also put on a heap of stainless around the door trims and everything else including locker box trims, which have all been custom made.

The big 10-inch exhaust stacks Ron made himself originally for the Western Star before he managed to put it on the Superliner. He did some nifty engineering getting it on, which still wows some Mack people.

If you are wondering where the name Devil Dog comes from well it is a short tail. It is based on the hood ornament which is a winking devil. Ron had it custom made by a guy from the states and it was his logo.

“When the Mack came I said the dog will be coming off and the devil will be coming on,” he says.

There are only three of devils in existence, one was made for his boss Alan as a present and the other was stolen off another truck, so if you see it, give him a call.

The grille has a story all of its own. Ron had a similar one with the Western Star emblem punched out so he got a design made with the bulldog.

There were understandably some concerns from Mack on whether it would be sufficient to allow adequate cooling of the engine or if the airflow would be too restrictive and cause the engine to underperform.

“We just needed to make sure we did everything right so we didn’t affect the warranty on it,” Ron explains.

“We dealt with Mack and addressed those concerns and found out that the grille was fine.” Ron explains.

He says a normal standard grille allows 85% air flow through however they worked very closely with Bar Up designing the bumper with extra air vents to allow greater airflow through the bottom of the engine.

The good news is the modifications haven’t affected the engine performance negatively at all. On average, when the data has been downloaded, they actually came back that the engine is actually running five degrees cooler than a stock standard engine at the moment.

He stresses however there are so many factors involved in modifying a vehicle and to make sure you work with the manufacturer so you don’t jeopardise your warranty.

Specifications

Mack CLX64T Super-Liner

MP10 685 Hp @ 2300ft-lb torque

Mack mDRIVE automated manual box

Meritor 46-160 Diffs

40” High-rise Sleeper

Ice pack Air con

Waeco fridge drawer

Chrome work done by Jason @ Highway lights

Artwork and scrolls done by Jones Signshop

Rear Vision: where are they now?

Do you know where this truck is today, or have an update on its story? Tell ACT what happened next. We will verify current updates before adding them to the archive.