Steve and Tracey Armstrong, with their daughter Charli and the new Kenworth T909.
Images: STA Trucking
Since being delivered in March, this pink and black Kenworth T909 has been to two truck shows, where it’s already picked up three awards.
At the Casino Truck Show on August 3, it took the gong for Best Custom Paint; and then two weeks later at Lowood Truck Show on August 17, it received the Charity’s Choice Award and Best Truck in the one- to five-year-old category.
The truck is owned by husband-and-wife team Steve and Tracey Armstrong, who run STA Trucking out of Jimboomba, Queensland.
They’ve named the truck after one of P!nk’s songs – F**kin’ Perfect, which has been written onto the truck’s paintwork and etched into the cabin’s interior.
Their fleet consists of 10 trucks, 25 trailers and five dollies. All but one of the trucks are named after songs – and that’s only because it already had a name when they purchased it.
“With the new T909, I figured it’s a pink truck, it has to be a P!nk song, and those lyrics represent my journey and our business’ journey. It’s us all over,” said Tracey.
The idea for the truck came about when Tracey said she wanted a pink truck.
Steve wasn’t entirely on board at first.
As Tracey explained, “Purple was our original company colour, but now we’ve only got two trucks in the purple – the K200 Big Cab and our purple SAR. One day I told Steve I wanted a pink truck. He said, ‘No way!’. But once I told him about the pink and black colour scheme, he was sold on that. He loves how it’s turned out now.
“He actually tripled our bling budget for that truck without me knowing about it. But it was worth it,” she said.
The pink and black truck has been gaining plenty of attention since it hit the road.The pink and black T909 is paired with a matching set of MaxiCUBE trailers, purchased from Trailer Sales in Rocklea. While the truck was purchased from Brown and Hurley at Yatala.
No strangers to truck shows, Steve and Tracey head to Lowood and Casino every year with a selection of trucks from their colourful Kenworth fleet. The next event on their calendar is the Brisbane Convoy For Kids on November 2.
However Tracey was excited to reveal that she’s also in the process of organising a truck show for the local community, which will be held at Jimboomba State Primary School on May 31, 2025.
“It will be called the Scenic Rim Truck Show,” she said. “We’ll have the trucks parked up, plenty of trophies, vendor stalls, plenty of entertainment and will raise money for a charity called KIDS Foundation. They support and help kids who have been through traumatic situations. We’re hoping to run the show annually if this one is successful.”
Steve, who is a third generation truckie, has been around trucks his whole life; while Tracey has been around trucks since she met Steve!
“Pop drove a garbage truck and dad was an interstate truck driver,” said Steve. “It’s just in my blood I guess. I’ve been working with trucks since I left high school. And even before that, I washed them while I was still at school.”
But before Steve got behind the wheel, he worked under the hood. “I got my truck licence at 21 and did my diesel mechanic apprenticeship before that,” he said.
“All I ever wanted to do was drive trucks from when I was a kid. I just wanted to know how to fix them before I drove them.
“The first trip I did to Perth was with dad. That was when I was in my 20s.”
Steve bought his first truck – a second-hand K100G – in 2002 and worked alongside his father for a decade, before he and Tracey started STA Trucking.
“We had the work and thought it was a good time to go out on our own while the iron was hot,” revealed Steve.
Tracey added, “We were living in Lowood at the time and then moved about an hour away to Jimboomba, which is where I grew up.”
STA Trucking is involved in refrigerated transport, running road trains and B-doubles out to Adelaide and Perth.
While Steve has a preference for the bonneted Kenworths, there are two exceptions in the company fleet – one is the Freightliner Coronado and the other is the purple K200 Big Cab.
“We have that cabover so we can tow a 34-pallet B-double, so it’s purely just for the length,” said Steve.
Commenting on his preference for Kenworths, he added, “They’ve got a good name for themselves. They’re built well and most truckies love to drive them.”
But it’s the pink and black T909 that’s become the pride of the fleet. “It gets so much attention. I think it’s the colour, it’s bright and it really pops,” said Tracey.
“The driver gets pulled up all the time by people wanting to take photos of the truck; and at the shows there are people photographing it and videoing it. I was at the post office the other day and someone came over to talk to me about that truck.”
Charli, 11, chose the theme of this T909, painted in her favourite colour teal and named after the song ‘Bad Habits’ by Ed Sheeran.While that T909 is undoubtedly a stand-out, the other trucks in the fleet get their fair share of attention too.
Steve and Tracey’s 11-year-old daughter Charli has also had input, with one of the T909s painted in her favourite colour – teal. She also chose the song to name it after, landing on ‘Bad Habits’ by Ed Sheeran.
When Steve and Tracey first started their business, they had a truck called ‘Same Ol’ Situation’, named after the Mötley Crüe hit. “Because he was buying yet another truck,” laughed Tracey.
Then there was a truck they purchased off a friend called ‘Friends in Low Places’ after a Garth Brooks’ song.
Another called ‘Welcome to My Nightmare’ was named after the song by Alice Cooper, as the couple were actually at his concert when Steve decided to make the purchase via online auction.
An SAR that was rebuilt following a crash was renamed ‘Livin’ On The Edge’ after the tune by Aerosmith. “That’s because the decisions he made on that truck were without my approval!” added Tracey.
The only truck not named after a song is a blue T909 called ‘Daddy of Em All. Steve and Tracey are planning on having the words, “Let’s go make some money boys” from the movie 8 Seconds, added to the truck.
“Those words and the lyrics of the songs we’ve chosen all go with the story of our journey,” added Tracey.
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