Kelly Transport Toowoomba has invested in a magnificently specified Kenworth T909 which pulls a resplendently adorned Vawdrey B-triple set that’s helping raise public awareness about the rare genetic disorder known as Rett syndrome.
Kelly Transport Managing Director, Mitch Kelly, was taking his wife Jess for her first ride in the new truck, which was delivered by Brown and Hurley Toowoomba, on what he described as “a short lap up to Rocky” the day Prime Mover called.
“This truck has been done up to raise awareness for a disability that is pretty close to home for us – our younger daughter Georgia suffers from it,” said Kelly.
The classy T909 has the typical bulletproof powertrain and driveline comprising a Cummins X15 mated with an Eaton 18-speed manual ‘box feeding into Meritor 46-160 diffs with a ratio of 4.11:1 and riding on Kenworth Airglide eight-bag suspension.
External features include smooth stainless-steel guards with concealed brackets and the truck’s stunning colour scheme – a blend of white, charcoal and a Chrysler/ Mopar colour called Plum Crazy.
Icepack did the the sleeper fitout and installed the Icepack 2000 IC air-conditioning unit between the chassis rails at the rear. They also installed about 160 lights to the truck’s exterior.
“Typically I don’t go for the light show, but they did such a good job of it and it certainly adds to the unique character of the truck,” said Kelly.
The sleeper interior is a veritable home away from home with Icepack having done a sensational job of fitting it out with the blower unit, TV, microwave, upright fridge/ freezer and pull-out table.
“There’s also a slide-out fridge under the passenger seat for quick access to drinks and food while travelling,” explained Kelly.
Other interior creature comforts include a top-shelf aftermarket Pioneer sound system with six-inch speakers with tweeters in the front and 6×9” four-way speakers in the rear along with a five-inch sub-woofer under the bunk – all working through a five-channel amplifier.
“The sleeper is trimmed in genuine leather and it all looks like it has been done in the factory – they did a really schmick job,” said Kelly.
The exceptional freehand scrollwork and signwriting was done by Signs ‘n’ Lines at Toowoomba while the outstanding trailer graphics were a collaborative effort between trailer builder Vawdrey and Attards truck curtains.
“We have a phenomenal relationship with Paul Vawdrey and when I told him what we were planning to do with the trailers he was straightaway on board and insisted on working in with Attards to get all the graphics on the curtains done for free,” said Kelly – adding that the end result was incredible and so much better than he could have imagined.
“It’s been so well received – it’s been viewed by over 200,000 people on social media sites and shared many times, everyone’s been really supportive of what we’ve done,” said Kelly.
“Some people said in their comments that they hadn’t heard about Rett syndrome before, which means the truck is doing its job.”
