Swede Ride: Aaron Pendlebury’s custom Volvo FH16

Words by Anthony John-Pier. Photography by C5 Photography.

Aaron Pendlebury’s Volvo FH16 showed that custom truck culture was not confined to conventionals and cab-over Kenworths. The heavy-haulage Volvo combined Scandinavian engineering with a deliberately Australian custom treatment.

ACT’s Issue 2 feature focused on a working truck that had to move serious machinery while still carrying the kind of detail normally associated with a show build.

A Volvo chosen for heavy work

The FH16 gave Aaron the power, cab space and heavy-haulage platform he needed. Its role meant presentation could never come at the expense of durability or access around the truck.

The orange, white and blue colour scheme became the visual foundation. From there, the front end, lighting, stainless details and bodywork were coordinated so the truck looked like one complete build rather than a standard prime mover with accessories added later.

Built to be seen at work

Heavy-haulage trucks spend much of their life in highly visible situations: escort vehicles, oversize signage, machinery on the deck and slow movements through towns and work sites. That made presentation part of the identity of the operation.

Aaron’s FH16 did not need to stop working to make an impression. The truck’s appearance was most effective when the whole combination was on the road with a load behind it.

A different kind of custom truck

That was the point of Swede Ride. It broadened the definition of an Australian custom truck. The character came not from copying an American-style conventional but from working with the Volvo’s original shape and giving it a stronger individual identity.

ACT archive note: This feature records Aaron Pendlebury’s FH16 as photographed and described in Issue 2. Current ownership, specification and operating details may have changed.