Rhani Meriton from Wagga Wagga has loved trucks ever since she was a kid.
With her dad running an earthmoving business, Meriton Earthworks, she developed a fascination with the biggest vehicles on the road – and decided that one day she wanted to become a truckie.
At 18 years old, she’s already achieving her dream, delivering frozen produce for Farey Transport on her HR licence.
“Farey have started me off with a little Fuso, and I do local deliveries to supermarkets, restaurants, delis, butchers and the hospital,” she told Big Rigs.
“Then occasionally on the weekends I’ll go out of town, to Young and Gundagai.”
Rhani enjoys the longer trips, as she gets to see more of the country, and one day she would like to become a linehaul driver.
“With Fareys, I’d love to be a linehauler for a couple of years, but my absolute end goal is to do oversize haulage,” she said.
“Everyone always talks about a big K200, and I’d love to drive one of those!”
Although she’ll have to wait to drive the big stuff, in the meantime she takes great pride in her Fuso.
“I definitely take pride in keeping my truck clean,” she said.
“I like driving around in something that’s clean and smells nice.
“Maybe it’s the girl in me, but it’s a nice feeling!”
Rhani is the only female truckie in her workplace, but said all the blokes on the team have made her feel at home.
“When I was younger, my dad would let me go in the truck with him but he never thought I would become a truck driver,” she said.
“I was a bit nervous starting with Fareys, but they are like my big brothers in there.
“They all look after me and I’m mates with them all.”
She said the team at Fareys have also been great at teaching her everything she needs to know about trucking, from pre-trip checks to ways of doing things faster and easier.
“They’ve shown me tools I can use when something is too heavy for me to lift,” she said.
“They’ve even got me reversing a truck and trailer in the yard.
“I definitely need more practise but I’m getting better, so I’m excited about that.”
Despite getting so much support from the men at work, she would love to see more female truckies around too.
“I’m seeing more female truckies on the road now than when I was younger, but I’m still the only woman in my workplace,” she said.
“That inspires me to encourage more women to join me!”
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