The Brightest Star: Geoff Richards Transport’s custom Western Star

In Geoff Richards Transport’s fleet of exceptional custom trucks one “Star” shines the brightest, writes Warren Aitken.

Words by Warren Aitken. Photography by Warren Aitken.

There are only certain things in life that we know we can pull off in yellow. Smiley faces, The Simpsons and Big Bird were about the limit. That all changed six months ago when a new star rolled into Geoff Richards Transport’s yard.

Predominantly based out of a small yard in Bethania Brisbane, Geoff Richards Transport is one of Australia's leading family owned refrigerated transport companies. The Geoff Richards fleet can be spotted up and down the entire east coast of Australia hauling all manner of frozen and refrigerated goods. Its core business however is hauling direct from the farm to markets as far south as Sydney and Melbourne.

Though the market for refrigerated trailers may be limited, with most of the 85 trailer in the fleet made up of Maxi Cube with a few Vawdry and Southern Cross brands, the same uniformity cannot be said for the sharp tractor units that make up the Geoff Richards fleet.

In fact, the variety and diversity within the fleet means often you may be completely unaware which trucks belong to the Geoff Richards camp. That stems not just from the lolly scramble of makes and models, but also from the fact that within the 50 plus prime movers, no two trucks are alike. More accurately, it should be noted, no model and colour scheme is the same.

In a world where uniformity is second to none, it has been a massive feat to keep a bit of uniqueness throughout the large fleet.

The 50 plus fleet itself is as diverse as their paint schemes and colour choices. Although Geoff himself may have started his company almost half a century ago driving a dodge, the fleet is almost a testing facility for some of Australia’s most iconic brands.

Western Star is an obvious favourite of management and drivers, however there is also a huge Kenworth influence. Kenworth T908s, Kenworth T909s, Kenworth K200 Fatcabs and 2.3 cabs along with an assortment of other Kenworth models.

You’ll find several “New Breed” Macks in various sizes. Freightliner also pops up with several of the very first Coronados off the line put to the test at Geoff Richards transport as well as the iconic Argosy getting some game time. There is also three limited edition work horses within the fleet. Those being one of the 50th Anniversary Kenworth T909 director series trucks and two of the Western Star 30th anniversary prime movers.

With such variety of manufacturers gracing the fleet, variety within the colour choices and even variety within the goods transported, it is almost no surprise that it was a complete surprise to see the finished unit that is now the pride and joy to its new pilot, Rueban Harrap.

Having had his new Star for six months and almost one hundred and fifty thousand kilometres under its belt, it was a great time to sit down with Rueban and learn a little more about not just this one of a kind looking Star, but also about the man with a huge passion and love for an industry that’s been in his family for generations.

Rueban started with Geoff Richards a little over four years ago, though he and his family live in the rum scented capital of Queensland, Bundaberg, Rueban leaves home for anywhere from three to five weeks at a time in order to quench his passion for the road. Originally placed in a K104B Fatboy he politely mentioned to his boss that he’d happily accept a ‘larger man friendly’ bonneted truck if one came up. Six weeks later the chance to pilot one of the new Coronados gave Rueban his first none Kenworth truck in a very long time. He pointed his Freightliner all over the country for 18 months before he got his first hit of Western Star addiction with one of the new 30th anniversary Western Stars. It may of had one 150,000 kilometres under it but Ruebans first impression was still, “wow, so much room!,” he said, also adding “I see why they have electric windows, in the Kenworths you can just lean across and wind them down”. Fifteen months were spent breaking in the anniversary edition Western Star before Rueban jumped into his very first brand new truck.

Ordering through Errol Webber at Brisbane Truck Centre, Geoff specced the setup himself, a 50 inch bunk sits behind the cab with a well preforming DD15 rumbling underneath.

The colour choice was all Geoff, though rumour has it one of his grandchildren had an influence, their love of the yellow Bumblebee character from the Transformers movies led to the ‘Camaro Yellow’ paint scheme applied before the truck was shipped across to Australia. Once it arrived in Brisbane it was sent off for complete customisation under the guidance of Brock Macdonald at Rocklea Truck Electrical.

The first thing needed was an independent sleeper air conditioning unit. With a lot of Geoff Richards Transports work originating in the far north tropics, driver comfort is of utmost importance. Drivers can have many hours waiting on loads so a cool sleeping compartment is vital for fatigue management. Over the year Rocklea Truck Electrical has refined and perfected its own “Sleeper Air “ to rival the market leading Icepack systems.

Brock installed the top of the line Sleeper Air NXT system with includes fully integrated touchpad controls, as well as a very handy battery backup system which can automatically register when one of the trucks operating batteries is beginning to fail and starts the Sleeper Air to recharge the other batteries. Rueban also managed to squeeze in a 32 inch flat screen TV, making those down times a bit easier.

The exterior work definitely kept the Rocklea Truck Electrical boys busy. From the front a FUPs bar from Kings Bars was added as well as 10 LEDs to the bottom of the bar, lights added behind the Western Star symbol and hood ornament ensure it stands out when coming down the road. Factory mounted lights on the doors, mirrors and air cleaners were finished with chrome eyebrows and aftermarket lights added to the fuel tanks and indicators. Seven-inch touch cool pipes were added not just for looks but to ensure ease of cleaning as well. The masterstroke of a painted visor is still debatable point but painted yellow it definitely stands out. The rig looks just as impressive from the rear thanks to custom wings at the rear of the cab including seven LED markers as well as directional LEDs for the indicators. Brock’s custom-made full cover rear guards have since become quite popular in the Geoff Richards yard. Although Rueban’s truck may be the pioneer, full cover rear guards’ impressive look ensures they will be seen on future trucks in the fleet. A custom-made rear light bar finished off Brock’s extensive work, the simple clean look complementing the truck.

The truck stopped in to see Danny Payne at Sign Groove Ipswich before delivery, along with adding Western Star signage and company details the black and green was added to the cab to really make this Star a Star.

It’s been six months since Rueban has been handed the keys and although he has been told “If you keep washing it you’ll wash the paint right off” he shows no sign of risking that. It is however very hard to have a standout truck in a fleet of standout trucks, but Rueban and Geoff Richards Transport are doing a great job on ensuring this is their Brightest Star.

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