Hotel California: Adam Galloway’s Kenworth K200 Big Cab

Original photography from the ACT archive

Adam Galloway has his eyes set on big things in the transport industry and his attitude to everything is two feet in or nothing. His latest purchases are definitely a representation of his all or nothing attitude with a brand new Kenworth K200 Big Cab and a Drake float.

Adam works for the Peachey Group but all his life he has taken opportunities when they are presented and he is definitely not afraid to give it a go.

He is part of the new generation taking the plunge into becoming owner operators and at 32 he has already spent 12 years learning the skills of the industry. Adam has been driving professionally since he was 20. However he got to steer his first truck under his dad’s tutelage when he was just 15.

“My first truck was a Hino cabover when I was about 15, the old man let me behind the wheel, I couldn’t change the gears, but I could keep it on the road and steer it in the right direction, which was the main thing,” he tells Australian Custom Trucks. He comes from New Zealand originally from a town called Greymouth on the South Island’s West Coast.

He says transport is a major part of life there and he grew up around trucks and machinery.

“As long as I can remember the old man’s been dealing with trucks and machinery in the transport and earthmoving industry and where I come from in New Zealand it’s quite a big thing,” he says.

He first came to Australia in 2008 and started in earthmoving driving excavators. However it was the need to pay back bills back home that steered him in the direction of roadtrain work in Western Australia. His first stint in the truck lasted six months.

He got his bills paid and went back to the excavator for 12 months before having the chance to steer the Peachey Group’s Western Star.

“When the Western Star that we’ve got became available, I had the opportunity to have a go of that and never looked back,” he says.

The opportunity to become an owner came about because he is building up the heavy haulage side of the Peachey Group business.

“I am building up this side of the business because we couldn’t keep up with all the machinery movements that we had, it was a double edged sword, we were paying all this money to sub-contractors, but we didn’t have enough work to keep two trucks going, so we had to take that leap of faith and try and push this side of the business further,” he says.

He says that the Peachey Group invested in a large order of excavators midway through last year and his thinking was how to keep the heavy haulage side of the business growing without the company investing any more into it.

“I just brought the idea up, because I’ve always wanted my own truck, and I’m very particular about the way I want my truck, and I put the option out there as to whether I buy a prime mover,” he explains.

He says originally the trailer was just going to be towed by his truck but owned by the company. However closer to the time he suggested he buy the whole rig, truck and trailer.

“It’s a tough road, sold my soul pretty much, yeah, she’s all in,” he says.

“Well the truck wasn’t so much of an issue but the trailer was a different story altogether but we got there in the end.

“I had some helpful advice from particular people and just tried to make the best of what opportunities I’ve been given and that is it I suppose.”

Adam says he has been inspired by a lot of other guys around his age doing great things which is making truck ownership a realistic proposition.

“You see a lot of other people my age doing it, there’s a lot of young sort of company owners nowadays and it seems a bit more realistic,” he says.

He says the Kenworth K200 Big Cab definitely offers the roominess he wanted. The roomy rig is aptly named Hotel California.

“Oh man, just the space difference, the best Kenworth ever,” he says.

“It’s taken them many years to come up with it but they’ve finally figured it out, it’s what I say they’ve got the 104s and the 104Bs you’ve got another step and then the 108s go a tad bit higher, then the 200s they’ve finally gone hang on here we better lift this thing up and its made a huge amount of difference.

He says he regrets not taking up the swing out step option that the K200s come with. However he says they can be a hassle as well.

“I had that in my Argosy in WA. It’s a mongrel, when you’re in and out of the truck all the time you had to press the override button to stop the bloody thing opening, and it drives you nuts,” he recalls.

He bought the K200 from Brown & Hurley in Yatala with a base colour yellow and with the Elphinstone onboard scales put on in Melbourne. It went straight to PJs at Rocklea and he says they did pretty much everything from top to bottom and back to front of the truck. “PJs have done the tanks, all the stainless, the steps, lights the whole lot,” explains Adam.

“Greg from Brush Effects, who has done all of our trailers and our Western Star in the past, he does a bit of work for PJs and did our scroll work, he did the same with the trailer, he did all of that.” However everything else, including the airbrushing was all through PJs.

Two 8” exhaust stacks look impressive.

One is a dummy housing a water tank with a tap under the step. The reason for two stacks is just aesthetics. “It just looks stupid with one, they just look out of place,” he says.

The bullbar was made by King Bars. Adam says he left it for PJs to sort out however he was inspired by the bar on a Big Lift truck. PJs also tweaked the drop visor which Adam wanted a little thicker.

“PJs had to start from scratch, they had a template that they used but obviously its got a bit more of a break in it, bit more of a V and obviously they usually go right up to the corner there and I said no because the sun gets through there, I said I want it pretty well covered all the way through, so its good, its not too over the top, you wouldn’t want to go much more,” he says.

The cab was also stripped right back and redone black with scroll work. It contains a TV which is wired to the stereo to provide a surround sound experience. He says he had to replace the 390L tanks it came with because the tanks left too much of a gap. “The tanks left a big gap and I was not impressed so I bought two new tanks to fit to try and close that gap up,” he says.

“Which makes it look a lot better….it looks ridiculous having a big gap there.

But I’m happy with the way it come up, they’ve done a good job,” he says. Adam admits he “may have got a bit carried away with the truck but the way I look at it if your just driving around in a white fridge van and there’s nothing separating you from Joe Blogg’s down the road.”

“At least if you’ve got something that stands out, people look at it like well least he looks after his gear, there’s a high possibility he’s going to take pride and have good standards for the equipment that he’s carting, and not cut corners,” he says.

He says having great looking equipment in the heavy haulage industry is a worthwhile investment.

“A lot of the boys that are successful in the heavy haulage industry, a lot of them have high standards and good gear,” explains Adam.

The K200 has a Cummins E5 Signature under the hood rated at 615hp with 2050 lb ft of torque hooked up to an Eaton Fuller Roadranger RTLO22918B. It has Meritor RT50-160GP diffs with 4561 diff ratios and has steel sprung six rod suspension in the rear.

The future is bright for Adam.

“I just started a company ASG earthmoving, because I’ve got an excavator in the fleet as well, it’s actually my first name, my father’s first name and then our surname,” he explains.

His long term goal is to remain with the company, build up its heavy haulage division and hopefully buy out the division while still remaining closely linked to the group.

Regardless of the outcome you have to admire Adam’s fighting spirit.

“I’m all in, and if you succeed, you succeed and if you don’t, you don’t,” he says.

“I go into everything with everything I’ve got!”

Customisation details

• Propeller plate mudguards
• Boxed and recessed tail light bar
• Front and rear walk plate
• Stainless air electrical box
• 8” Exhaust and dummy stack
• Exhaust reduction transition covers
• Stainless air rams
• Dovetail to sleeper roof
• Tank kickers
• Scuff plates
• Stainless steps
• Stainless wing trims and wing extensions
• Custom stainless drop visor
• Battery box lid
• Bullet lights
• Grille bars
• Wheel arch flares
• Fuel Tanks
• Wheel nuts, hub caps
• Painted dash roof console black, line scroll
• Modify gear selector
• Chrome covers, gauges and switches for dash
• Fit 19” TV plus stereo system

Rear Vision: where are they now?

Do you know where this truck is today, or have an update on its story? We would love to hear from its owners, drivers or anyone who helped build it.