A Ride to Remember — Steve and Linda Game’s Exodas T909

Steve and Linda Game share the road in an Exodas Transport Kenworth T909 with a memorable custom identity.

Words by Chris Smith. Photography by Chris Smith and Jack Duff.

The transport industry is one of the toughest and Aussie truckies are a rare breed.

It’s often a lonely life on the road especially when you drive from one side of the country to the other every week.

For some however, you are never alone, like husband and wife team Steve and Linda Game.

They have been two-up driving together to Perth from the Gold Coast for the last 10 years.

Steve and Linda both work for Exodas Transport based in Yatala Queensland. You may recall the K200 in the last issue of Australian Custom Trucks owned by Exodas, albeit it has been a while ago and we did let spell check correct the company name…to our dismay.

The couple have been together for 13 years, first meeting in the workplace, they married in 2011.

They have seen the industry change in the last two decades and share a common opinion with many drivers, it is just not the same.

However, both are extremely thankful for the job they share and the truck they use to do it.

They drive a Kenworth T909 that has been customised by Rocklea Truck Eletrical in Queensland.

It has a motif that has a lot of meaning to both the company owner Brett Tynan and Steve and Linda.

For Brett, his niece Indiana died in 2014. She used to love frogs and the family used to call her Indy frog. Linda lost her son Aaron in 2016 and his guitar was very special to him. Both now adorn the T909.

Linda recalls the day her and Indy’s mum Cheryl first saw the T909.

“I was fine initially, because I was saying poor Cheryl, she was walking out and she was really upset so I got the tissues out and I started hugging her and said these are the special times and she kept looking at me and I couldn’t work out why she kept looking at me, and as we got closer I noticed it had a frog on it, then we got closer as we took another couple of steps and I looked up and I said it’s got a guitar. I thought that looks like Aaron’s guitar and then another couple of steps I saw Aaron’s name and I started crying and she turned to me and said these are the special times,” she relays the experience.

“That’s when I first found out about the truck.”

Steve had been in on it the whole way and he had supplied the picture of Aaron’s guitar for the artist without Linda knowing. It was an emotional surprise.

When a company truck driver gets a new vehicle sometimes they get a say in what will be on it and the better the driver the better the truck.

Brett has rewarded Steve and Linda for being long term drivers and helping him grow his business and they in turn appreciate the gesture.

“I am grateful for the truck that we drive and for including Aaron, a big thank you to Brett,” Linda says.

Steve and Linda both say that they requested a few things to be added to make life on the road more habitable.

Not only did Brett provide what they asked for, he specced the truck up with lots more, going above and beyond and worked on extensively by Rocklea Truck Electrical. This is a 50th Anniversary T909 and the gold lettering promoting this is stitched into the doors trims.

Steve keeps the truck in immaculate condition, that’s his job and he does it remarkably well. Linda has the house duties for two days she does the cloths and cooks all their meals for the trip.

As you can imagine living in a small confined space with your partner can be stressful at times but they have a rule they live by, the person that has their hands on the wheel is the boss.

They had the choice of twin bunks but the decision was to rather have a single bunk and more cupboard storage space.

The unique “Crystal Turquois” Ford colour looks exceptionally good in the sunlight and offsets the chrome and the frog graphics.

The Exodas Transport name isn’t featured prominently over the truck though, and this makes it even more special. You will find the Exodas name hiding on the back of the cab on a stainless steel mounting for the airline connectors. This panel can be lit up at night, green.

The light can be turned off to avoid unwanted attention from the authorities explains Steve.

Green LED lights also feature as a backing on the Kenworth bugs situated on the stainless between the front wheel guards and the fuel tank. Steve says the trailer has matching green lights, to complete the theme. With 23 lights facing back that are red and 35 facing the front, which are white, the unit is definitely visible at night.

One thing Steve did request was painted fuel tanks. These tanks match the truck and are held in place by polished tank straps.

The box housing the Rocklea Truck Eletrical Sleeper Air unit is made from flat stainless rather than checker plate and it hides the unit well.

From the front the four post bullbar has four additional lights mounted on it to ensure the roads they travel on are well and truly illuminated.

The hood of this bonneted beast is adorned by a swan hood ornament. Under the hood is a Cummins 600 E5 Adblue engine.

“We have done 9000kms every week and we haven’t had an issue,” says Steve.

Every week go to Brisbane to Perth together. Two up driving can be a challenge but they say they have been able to separate the home life with the work life and seemingly they can’t get enough of each other.

“It does get trying sometimes but we have a rule that whoever has their hands on the steering wheel is the boss and the other one gets in the back and closes the curtain,” says Linda.

“It is very hard when we are in this tiny box every week, but when it’s like this well it’s just so much better!”

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.