Lifting the Standard: GRS Towing’s custom Kenworth K200
Rear Vision
Words and photography by Enver Djemal.
For GRS Towing founder Barry Hunt, buying a tow truck straight off the shelf rarely made sense. His fleet was built around the work it had to do, and ACT’s 2013 visit found equipment chosen for low loading angles, flexibility and the ability to recover unusual loads. The custom Kenworth K200 was a good example.
A towing business built around capability
Barry had bought the Greystanes Service Business in 2003 and developed a round-the-clock towing operation based at Smithfield in Sydney. At the time of ACT’s interview he described a fleet of 10 trucks, eight full-time drivers and additional casual staff.
The fleet included tilt trays, underlift trucks and winch-equipped trailers. The goal was to arrive at a job with equipment capable of completing it rather than having to improvise once on site.
More ways to load
The K200 worked with a super-tilt extendable recovery trailer. ACT reported a 3.5-metre top deck and an 11-metre lower deck that could meet to provide a long continuous loading surface or be used for cross-loading.
The combination could carry a 14.5-metre bus or coach, while its low deck and shallow loading angles increased the range of machinery and damaged vehicles the business could handle.
Barry also saw commercial value in a combination flexible enough to pick up a different load on the return journey.
Presentation was part of the business
The truck’s blue, yellow and white paintwork gave the combination an unmistakable presence. Rod Diggel travelled from the Sunshine Coast to remodel the heavy vehicles.
Barry told ACT that people photographed the trucks when they parked. That mattered because the K200 was more than recovery equipment — it was also a moving advertisement for the company.
The interesting part of the build was the way appearance and capability supported each other. The truck stood out, but the investment was justified by the work it could perform.
ACT archive note: Fleet numbers, staff, equipment and business arrangements are historical details from ACT’s 2013 reporting.
From the ACT archive
Originally published in Australian Custom Trucks, Issue 2, Summer 2013. This online edition has been edited for grammar, clarity and digital reading while preserving the interviews, technical detail and character of the original feature.
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Rear Vision — where is the GRS K200 now?
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