When Tasmanian furniture removalist Nigel Kemp returned to his loaded trailers on Friday, he was shocked to find they were gone.
An owner operator for the past 30 years, Nigel travels across Tassie and the east coast.
During a recent trip to the mainland however, things didn’t quite go to plan.
The A-trailer. Image: Nigel KempAfter completing several deliveries around Victoria, Nigel had an issue with his prime mover, so he parked his trailers at a truck stop in Derrimut, Victoria, while he made a quick dash home for repairs.
“I had to leave my trailers so I could get my prime mover fixed – I certainly wasn’t using the truck stop as a depot. I couldn’t take the trailers with me because it would have cost about $10,000 to go to Tassie and back again, so that’s why I had to leave them,” Nigel explained.
He said the trailers were loaded with goods for 15 different jobs.
“I got my prime mover sorted and came back ready to get back to work and when I got there, I saw that they were gone. I only had one more load to go in Victoria, then the rest were for New South Wales and Queensland.”
Though he’s based in Hobart, Nigel does mostly interstate work. “I come and go from Tasmania, going all the way to Queensland and back. I’ve been doing this for 30 years and have never had a problem,” he said.
“I reported it to police the day I got back after I did initial checks with truck stop staff. They advised that I check with VicRoads to make sure the trailers weren’t towed, which they weren’t. They do have cameras at the truck stop, but none facing where the trucks are parked.”
The B-trailer. Image: Nigel KempWith his B-double set now missing in action, Nigel is having to rely on his rigid so he can keep working.
“It’s just the rigid now. The B-double is insured but it’s also the stuff on them too. Even though it’s insured, police need to do their investigations before anything can happen.
“When I put the report in they said the case would be allocated to a police officer who would investigate, but being a long weekend, I haven’t heard from them yet,” Nigel added when he spoke with Big Rigs this afternoon.
The trailers are both white pantech trailers. The A-trailer is a 2017 Price Custom trailer with a custom fold-down ramp that goes over the turntable (registration Y64CP) and the B-trailer is a 2000 model tri axle Vawdrey trailer with white belly boxes (registration YT23AA).
“On the B-trailer you can still see where it used to say Startrack Express. The sticker has been taken off, but the gum is still there,” Nigel explained.
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