Swede Ride: Aaron Pendlebury’s custom Volvo FH16
Originally published in Australian Custom Trucks, Issue 2 (2013) · Anthony John-Pier
Rear Vision | First published in Australian Custom Trucks, Issue 2, Summer 2013.
Aaron Pendlebury wanted a truck that would turn heads while moving customers’ heavy equipment. At the time of ACT’s 2013 visit, the Echuca owner-operator had a Volvo FH16-700 painted in the orange, white and blue of his previous Kenworth K104B. The flatter surfaces of the Volvo gave painter Darryl Maud of Transart in Bendigo more room to emphasise the blue lines.
Aaron saw presentation as part of his business: a clean, memorable truck worked as a mobile advertisement. He researched the build carefully, selected a K-Craft bullbar from Perth and had Thorpe Custom Trucks fit light bars, steps and twin six-inch exhausts. Brown’s Engineering in Moama made a hydraulic oil tank and toolbox behind the cab, powder-coated to match.
Built for the load and the driver
The FH16’s 700 hp engine and Volvo I-Shift gearbox made the oversize work easier to manage, Aaron told ACT. The truck pulled a Drake full-widening float and dolly for loads around 47 tonnes, and the business also operated two Tuff drop-deck trailers. Its work could take it across remote and regional Australia.
A custom air conditioner was installed behind the cab, with an automatic battery-charging function. Aaron and his wife Evonne ran the business together, with Evonne handling much of the office work. Aaron said the truck had won Best European Truck at the Alexandra Truck Show. For him, the award reflected a machine that looked distinctive and performed the heavy haulage job.
Words: Anthony John-Pier. Photographs: C5 Photography. Images recovered from the original ACT Issue 2 print file.
Featured image: Aaron’s FH16 and heavy haulage combination. Photo: C5 Photography / ACT Issue 2.
Rear Vision: where is it now?
This is a 2013 archive account, not a statement of current ownership or operations. Have you seen Aaron’s FH16 since the original feature, or know what happened to it? Tell ACT what happened next and share a current photograph.