Chasing the Dream: Slaven Djukic’s custom Volvo FH16

Slaven Djukic enlisted the help of Steve Lawler to see his dream truck come to fruition. John-Pier has the story.

Words by John Pier. Photography by C5 Photography.

The opportunity to become a truck driver presented itself when Slaven Djukic made the bold move to immigrate to Australia from Serbia.

“I have always loved trucks, but the situation back home and the economy wasn’t that good, so I didn’t really have a good chance to work in the transport industry,” he tells Australian Custom Trucks.

“However as soon as the opportunity presented itself in Australia, I jumped at it,” he says.

Starting with a heavy rigid licence, Slaven moved up into semis and B-doubles, collecting all the licences and tickets along the way including, forklift, ML cards and learning as much as he could about the industry he loved.

His first employment was with Concord Park in Melbourne but he has been with Northline for the past five years.

Concord Park gave Slaven the opportunity to drive all makes of trucks. It was a Volvo that Slaven drove that particularly impressed him with both its ride and comfort.

He ventured into becoming an owner-driver when while at Concord Park, a salesman, Andrew Cox, brought in a second hand Volvo.

Andrew thought the company would find it to be a useful local truck.

“I was there and the salesman was telling me about the truck, a 2008 FH16 with a 610hp motor. I had been contemplating becoming an owner-driver, and to cut a long story short, I bought that Volvo,” he says.

After the sale Slaven told Andrew that he would come and buy a brand new Volvo from him one day and seven years later, he did.

The truck you see is Slaven’s dream come true.

The new Volvo is a 2014 FH16 with a 700hp Euro 5 engine and I-Shift automated gearbox. It is at the high end of specification for local work because Slaven knows that you have to be prepared for everything in this industry.

“That’s why I built the truck. You never know what’s around the corner. This truck is good to do any type of work. In saying that, I am very proud to work for Northline. The people here, all the staff and the bosses look after me and everyone works well together. It is a great team effort,” says Slaven.

Like every good man, there is a good woman. In this case it is Slaven’s wife Vessna.

“My wife Vessna is my partner and she looks after all the bookwork and bills,” he says proudly.

There was a lot of preparation and research that went into the build of the new Volvo.

The last International Truck Trailers and Equipment Show (ITTES) in Melbourne was the perfect opportunity to find the right suppliers to provide the necessary accessories to complete his custom Volvo.

Slaven met a guy from the UK at the ITTES who organised the Kelsa bars and lights.

“All the main lights come from the UK as I couldn’t find lights I wanted in Australia. With the parking lights inside, each large main light has a LED park light so when the lights are off, there is still a parker illuminated,” he explains.

While planning the FH16, Slaven had seen a couple of Heavy Haulage Australia trucks that were customised by SLS in the Hunter Valley.

“I saw the photos and the jobs he had done. I was impressed with his website and everything was very professional, so I rang and spoke to Steve and arranged for him to do the customisation of my truck. It worked in perfectly as the truck came out of Brisbane and was driven down to SLS, which is on the route to Melbourne,” he says.

Slaven didn’t want a standard bar. A custom designed bar was built by Advanced Bullbars. He wanted the Volvo at the front to match the grille and had extra brackets for lights.

SLS fitted the swing plate and mud flaps under the bar and the extra light bar in the bar.

Slaven purchased the custom number plate as soon as he knew he was going to purchase the FH700.

On the roof is a Kelsa roof bar and lights. The mirrors have got extra stainless and lights done by SLS.

Slaven fitted the four air horns himself.

SLS powder-coated the fuel tanks and then wrapped them in stainless steel.

The twin seven-inch stacks are from SLS and feature five-inch pipes inside with cooling vents to allow air in between and cool them.

Behind the bar, SLS built the full length chassis cover to Slaven’s design and incorporated a Volvo logo in the rear. SLS manufactured the Volvo S/S mud flaps and the rear light bars.

Slaven wanted a fire extinguisher and SLS made the bracket between the bogie mud guards. Slaven did not like the look of the AdBlue filler pipe so SLS altered and shortened it.

“Steve has done an incredible job! It is exactly what I wanted only better! My wife said that seeing that I don’t drink or smoke, I should invest in the truck and enjoy it as well. I am proud and very thankful to all the guys who helped me out, in particular Andrew Cox and Steve from SLS who helped make this truck a reality. It is what I want. When people say that you get what you pay for, in this case I really did. I am really happy!”

Rear Vision: where are they now?

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