Samuel Thomas, 35, started his truck driving career in his hometown of Essex in England – before a new life in Australia came calling.
As he told Big Rigs, it was a previous role that led to a career in truck driving. “I was working as a mobile tyre fitter and used to go out to fit tyres for truck breakdowns. I got talking to all these truck drivers and they were telling me how much they enjoyed the work,” he said.
“That really piqued my interest, because I was working like a dog – so I got my truck licence at 26, and the rest is history.”
He started with Lindsay Brothers Transport in January 2026. Image: Samual Thomas
Back home, most of the work involved travelling through busy city streets across London – a far cry from the more laid-back lifestyle he’s been enjoying since moving to Manjimup, about 300 kilometres south-east of Perth, with his wife and twin girls (now 5 years old).
“Originally we’d been thinking of moving to Canada but I got talking with a friend who moved to Western Australia about a year before us. He was telling me how much more chilled it is, and the better standard of living here in terms of wages and work/life balance.”
With that, the decision was made and the family moved to their newfound home in September 2024.
Back in England, Samuel mainly drove DAFs and MANs. Image: Samuel Thomas
Samuel began documenting his adventures on the road in 2020 when he launched his YouTube channel called Truck It Prayle, which has amassed more than 25,000 followers. “It started about trucking in the UK, then when I moved here and spent some time away from the truck, there was content about the move to Australia, and now my videos are about trucking in Australia,” Samuel said.
Samuel added that he has always enjoyed taking on new challenges. “Back in England, I did flat beds, curtain siders, powder tankers, refrigerated, containers. I like change so I moved around a bit and that’s what ultimately brought me here.
“I was ready to see what my next challenge was – and then of course, there’s the road trains, but looking from afar in England, we don’t have anything like that over there.”
After a brief hiatus from truck driving to juggle fatherhood with work commitments, Samuel upgraded to his MC licence in September 2025 and started a new role with Lindsay Brothers Transport in January this year.
“It’s great being able to drive full time again. And it’s nice to be paid what you’re worth for the work you do. In the UK, I remember doing all the hours under the sun and barely getting by. Here I work full time and feel like I can still have a life – I go to the gym, have that time with the family and I’m able to focus on myself a bit more.”
Samuel is now behind the wheel of a 2017 Kenworth T409, doing B-double work, carrying fresh produce between the Lindsay Brothers’ Manjimup depot and into the Perth markets.
Samuel says driving in WA is much more relaxed than driving in London’s busy city streets. Image: Samuel Thomas
As Samuel admitted, the truck itself was unlike anything he was used to in England, where he drove predominantly MANs and DAFs. “The only Kenworths we get in the UK are the tow trucks. We don’t have bonneted trucks for this sort of work – the roads just aren’t big enough for the bigger cabs.
“This is the first bonneted truck I’ve driven. I won’t lie, at first, I thought what the hell is this! The view from the cab is so different but you quickly get used to it.”
While the bigger truck and extra trailer have been pretty easy to get used to, it’s taking Samuel a little longer to get acclimatised to WA’s summer heat.
“Trying to sleep in a tin box when it’s 30 degrees at night is definitely not the most enjoyable thing about the job. I have an Icepack but it’s loud like a generator. I have the choice of sweltering in the cab or trying to sleep through the loud noise all night – so it’s not a great choice,” he laughed.
Samuel says that there haven’t been quite as many kangaroos as what he’d expected either. “When I first arrived and we were driving from the airport, I expected to find kangaroos all over the place, but it wasn’t until a couple of hours in that I saw the first one.
“I expected to have a few more kangaroo encounters in the truck but, touch wood, there haven’t been any. The main roads along my run aren’t too impacted by wildlife.”
He also added his unexpected struggles on the UHF. “Obviously there are a lot of different Australian accents – and coming from an English-speaking country I didn’t expect to struggle. But sometimes the accents are quite thick and I can’t understand a word. I know I can talk really fast too.”
WA’s summer heat has taken a bit of getting used to. Image: Samuel Thomas
Since getting back in the truck, Samuel has been really enjoying his new role and the new scenery. He says it’s also brought a real change of pace.
“One of the biggest differences I’ve noticed here is that drivers are very courteous and look out for each other. There seems to be a bit of a code out here, where even car drivers are more aware of trucks. I’m not sure if that’s the same in the bigger cities over east, but that’s what I’ve found here,” explained Samuel.
For Samuel, the move to Australia has been the right one for his young family. Image: Samuel Thomas
“When you’re driving through London, you need to have eyes and ears at the back of your head – because if you’re not careful, you’ll end up with a scooter beneath the bonnet. It’s not such a rat race here where everyone is in a big rush all the time.
“The scenery here is all countryside and it’s stunning. I didn’t expect it to be so green. I prefer being out of the city. You put the radio on and just go. I’m loving it here. It’s so much more relaxed than how it was in the UK.”
Asked about his future career ambitions, Samuel explained, “What I want and what I’ll do might be two different things because I do have a young family.
“I’d love to be able to do the long hauls from west to east and into the Northern Territory one day, but that also means long periods away from my girls. I moved here for my family so I don’t want to sacrifice family time for my own selfish enjoyment.
“Eventually, one day, the plan is to get my own truck and be able to do some of those longer trips away when I can.”
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