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BRITCOM III
  • 2 days ago

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00:01This time on Outback Truckers.
00:03This hill now is very steep.
00:05It's just absolutely wrecking the truck and the trailer and everything around it.
00:10A narrow free cross is just barely the width of the trailer.
00:14Shit.
00:15Products.
00:18Enter the desert.
00:20Got a fire up here.
00:21Nowhere to turn around.
00:23Consequences are deadly.
00:25What the f*** happened is it?
00:27The hill guys decided to shittin' soon.
00:31When you're oversized, you've got to hope everyone else has switched on as well.
00:38He doesn't give a f***.
00:39He's coming in hot.
00:51Once you go, Woods.
00:55Yeah, I'll just pull up here.
00:57Yeah, we'll just do it like that.
00:59We'll get these knocked out quick.
01:01We're grabbing a crusher, a screen and a 36-tonne digger.
01:06Fair bit of money in all the gear.
01:08A little over $2 million, so we've just got to make sure we do the right thing and look
01:11after the customer's equipment.
01:1226-year-old Mason Parkai and his team have a heavy haulage convoy of three trucks to load
01:20and prepare for the brutal roads of Cape York.
01:23Hey, Mason, that machine's 2-7.
01:26Yeah.
01:27Yeah, so we'll be three metres, so I should gun up out there.
01:29As team leader, Mason carries the weight of responsibility, including supervising team member and father, Colin.
01:39Hey, Dad.
01:39Second and third from the rear.
01:43Both down, yeah.
01:43I'm travelling with Mason, my second oldest son, and Woody.
01:48Mason's definitely in charge on this job.
01:50He's running the show for sure.
01:53Want to go back a little?
01:55Just back just a tiny bit.
01:56I'm not going to call myself an expert, but I've got pretty good knowledge of the roads up here
02:01and the correct way to drive them, so that's sort of why I've been given the job of leading the pack.
02:06Although Mason is in charge of this operation...
02:10It's about as good as it's going to get.
02:13Colin owns the company.
02:16We kicked off the business 20 years ago.
02:18Started off in towing, and then we just progressed from there.
02:22And the heavy haulage come into play just because of my sons,
02:26so we've just grown the business.
02:29Mason does anything on the dirt, and he does anything heavy haulage.
02:33Horrible today.
02:35It's muggy.
02:36It's hot.
02:37I'm sweating.
02:38It's only 7 a.m.
02:41We've only really got a small window to get in and out of Weeper,
02:44mainly because of the weather.
02:46If it gets wet up here, they close roads.
02:49We've got about a three-day window max, I'm thinking.
02:53After loading the mining machinery,
02:55the team must race the oncoming wet season,
02:58crossing the rutted and corrugated dirt roads of Cape York
03:02before monsoon rain makes them impassable,
03:05delivering the multi-million dollar load to a business in Mosmoot.
03:09We're in quarrying, mainly quarrying and small-scale mining.
03:14Wet season, you know, it can last up to six months,
03:16so we don't want that year stuck up there.
03:19It's definitely better to be home,
03:21be able to do the maintenance on it over the wet season
03:23so it's ready to go for next draw.
03:24Let's go back out.
03:28You want to go two or just one?
03:33Nah, just one beer up.
03:34Woody's been with us for going on seven years now.
03:37Just a bit low at the back,
03:39so built a bit of a ramp for it, easy to get up.
03:41It started just after me,
03:43and he sort of worked his way up.
03:46Both of them are capable.
03:48They know what they're doing.
03:50Just got to try and help out as much as I can.
03:56That's as far forward as I can go.
03:59Mason's overheating at the moment,
04:00so we've got to try and be quick.
04:06All right, let's see if I f*** this or not.
04:08To cart the 100 tonnes of equipment,
04:13they're using three company trucks.
04:16Woody in a Kenworth K200 cabover,
04:20Colin in a Volvo cabover,
04:23and Mason in the bonneted pride of the fleet.
04:29This is my new C509.
04:31Just ticked over 20,000 k's.
04:33Love it.
04:34I don't even know where to start.
04:35She's a dream truck.
04:38Heavy spec, six-rod suspension,
04:40slip the front end, planetary disc.
04:43Yeah, it's a big girl.
04:45It's a little bit too pretty to come up here,
04:46but it's spec the right way for it.
04:50As owner of the company,
04:52Colin had to sign the cheque
04:53for the $700,000 truck.
04:56Pretty surprising, actually.
04:58I never thought he'd say yes
04:59to letting us order one of these trucks.
05:01When pigs fly, there you go.
05:02That's why I've got the pig in the bonnet.
05:03I bought Mason this 509.
05:09Huge investment.
05:11We're mindful of that.
05:12We've got to look after our own equipment,
05:14but the customer's stuff's on the back as well,
05:16and definitely don't want to be damaging
05:18the customer's equipment.
05:20Reputation is probably my major focus these days.
05:27We've got customers that we've had for 20 years.
05:29Southbound Mile Creek bypass by three.
05:36Just up ahead, I've got a bridge there,
05:38but it's only a 25-ton load limit.
05:40We're obviously a bit heavy in that,
05:42so we're going to have to take the bypass.
05:44It's a bypass, Cape York style.
05:48To avoid a rickety wooden bridge,
05:50Mason needs to lead the team
05:52down an alternative track,
05:54through the riverbed.
05:56I'll let you know when I've cleared it.
05:57I'll just get you to stay up sort of at this top corner.
06:00Yeah, cool.
06:02It's pretty rough, so I'll throw down in the second.
06:08Try and pick the right line.
06:11It's nice and narrow down in here.
06:13Don't want to be cleaning the machine up
06:16on any of these branches.
06:17Just pull up there,
06:27and we'll get the dump truck in behind you.
06:29Keith's just gone setting up the truck
06:31and, yeah, getting ready for loading.
06:33Contracting company owner Liam O'Connor
06:36is under pressure
06:37to complete a heavy, high-stakes trucking job.
06:41A lot of the equipment that we deliver
06:42is expensive equipment.
06:44There's a lot of money involved
06:45in the delivery process alone,
06:47so, yeah, you have to be on your game.
06:49Trucking is, uh, it's never easy.
06:51The trucks have to be rolling
06:53five to six days a week,
06:54at least, to make any money.
06:57The job is taking two 60-tonne
07:00articulated dump trucks.
07:02Brand-new trucks work over 1.2 million apiece,
07:05from dirt all the way to Telfer gold mine.
07:07It's a brutal journey
07:10of 1,715 kilometres to Marble Bar,
07:14Australia's hottest town,
07:16and then another 400 kilometres of rough dirt
07:19to deliver $2.4 million worth of dump trucks,
07:24desperately needed at a mine in Telfer.
07:27We've got 400 kilometres of corrugated dirt road.
07:31We've got to make sure that we, uh,
07:32yeah, stay on the road and get there.
07:34The client is waiting for these trucks
07:35for the past couple of weeks.
07:36It's important we can get on the road
07:38and get them delivered.
07:41Liam, where's the keys?
07:42Huh? Where's the keys?
07:43Oh, sorry, yeah.
07:44Here under the bunk.
07:46With millions of dollars on the line,
07:49Liam's gambling on an all-island team,
07:52putting newly-arrived Irish compatriot
07:54Keith Flynn behind the wheel of the second truck.
07:58We've got one of our newest truck drivers,
08:00um, is Keith.
08:03This is going to be his first big load.
08:05Definitely a bit of a challenge for him.
08:06I didn't start off with, uh, a load as big as this,
08:09that's all I can say.
08:10A little bit nervous, yeah,
08:12something that's a lot bigger than what I'm used to.
08:15You really have to be awake
08:16when they're doing this kind of stuff.
08:18Shit can go about very fast.
08:23We just, uh, checked the weights on the drive,
08:25so we're 22 tonne,
08:26we're about, uh, yeah, 4 tonne overweight.
08:28Legally, you're only allowed 18 tonne
08:30on your drive axles,
08:31so we've got to try and transfer some weight backwards.
08:34Whoa!
08:36We're still two tonne over.
08:38We've got to come up with another plan,
08:40see what we can do just to get two tonne off the drives.
08:42What about if we pull the turntable forward?
08:44Adjusting the gooseneck hitch position
08:50on the $1 million trailer
08:52can vary the proportion of load weight
08:54on the truck's drive axles.
08:56And we're getting places.
09:00We've taken the turntable on the way forward,
09:01we've just gotten, uh, yeah,
09:02down to our 18 tonne, so, yeah.
09:04Get her packed up now, get her chained down,
09:06and we should be right.
09:07We need to be on the road by nine, yeah,
09:09so we're cutting it tight now.
09:11Our pilot has just arrived, so, yeah.
09:14We don't want to delay him.
09:18Cutting it a bit tight now,
09:19it's going to be after nine with delays and stuff.
09:22Thank you, man.
09:23Pilot's very important.
09:24Everyone needs to know what's happening.
09:26It's just catching the rain now.
09:32Uninvitable, unfortunately.
09:34It's Ireland every day, yeah.
09:35340 days of the year.
09:39Rain in the city is never good,
09:41because all you see is brake lights everywhere,
09:43so stuff starts to happen.
09:45You can brake as fast as you want,
09:47but it doesn't stop very fast with a lot of waste, yeah.
09:52Shit!
09:53Fucking piece of metal in the road.
09:55Hit the bottom of the truck.
09:56The damaged aerolines, tyres, everything.
10:04Yeah, that's really nice to go, yeah.
10:11Let's give the chains a bit of a bang,
10:12just make sure everything's seated in,
10:14because if you don't,
10:15it'll all come loose going down the road.
10:17We've picked up some tippers we've ordered a while back.
10:21Cartage business owner and trucker Rex Riles has just laid down hundreds of thousands of dollars on new equipment.
10:29They're a roll press side tipper, very well designed, and we've taken them down to Laverton, and we're going to work out in the desert.
10:39The brand new trailers allow cargo to be dumped by tilting the trailer body to one side, perfect for unloading gravel and sand.
10:49They're another big investment for Rex and his business.
10:53Oh, look, they're $120,000, $145,000, $150,000.
10:57Rex has always got his custom stuff, which is great.
10:59I get off on nice gear.
11:02It's not just the shiny custom-built trailers that turn Rex on.
11:10He's brought one of his favourite trucks to haul them home.
11:14The Marmon, it was built in Galen, Texas, in 1995, and then they picked it up in 1997.
11:23The ultra-rare Marmon truck is one of only 22 brought to Australia, and just 20 are still actively working.
11:31It's on its third motor, a 550-horsepower, 15-litre, six-cylinder diesel.
11:38Been in the desert, doing a lot of work.
11:40It's been a good old honest old truck, and, yeah, I'm quite fond of it, actually.
11:47Thanks very much.
11:48No problem.
11:49See you, mate.
11:53It's going to be a lot of challenges, rough roads, problems with tyres and bearings.
11:59From the trailer manufacturers in Darwin, Rex has almost 2,000 kilometres ahead of him,
12:07via Alice Springs and Uluru, before hitting the rough dirt of the Great Central Road for
12:13over 1,000 kilometres, to reach his hometown, the tiny community of Laverton, on the edge
12:20of the Great Victoria Desert.
12:21Rex's business, Desert Sands, is based there.
12:27Started Desert Sands in 1989.
12:30Then I've just been doing whatever we need to do to keep the whole business going, so at
12:35the moment, cutting water, food and concrete.
12:39Mixed a couple of jobs have been sprung on me, so I'm going to try and work in for that.
12:42While Rex is under pressure to get back to Laverton and keep the dollars coming in for
12:47his business, he also has another equally important deadline.
12:53Trying to get back for the races that are on the Sunday, and we're going to make sure
12:58that the track's all right for it before the horses turn up.
13:01We're ready for the Shire of Laverton Springs.
13:06Held only once a year, the Laverton Horse Races is an event of massive importance to the
13:12local community.
13:13Rex has committed to preparing the track to make it safe for racing.
13:18Don't know as much as we can.
13:21We're going to try and make sure that the community's getting the support they need.
13:26Yeah, I've got a few people who might know where I am and when I'm getting back.
13:29I'm prepared if I get back there on time.
13:46We're trying for three ways.
13:48That's where we want to be tonight.
13:51So we want to try and get in there with a reasonable hour.
13:53Still over 600 kilometres away, the three-ways roadhouse is Rex's first planned stop before
14:00continuing towards Alice Springs tomorrow.
14:03We'll make sure we've got plenty of fuel when we venture out.
14:07From Alice Springs we'll fill everything up and then head for the desert.
14:11We'll see how we go out there.
14:13What the f*** happened to you?
14:15The fuel guy's inside the s*** itself.
14:23Hopefully we've got enough fuel to get us through the three-ways.
14:32Try and pick the right line.
14:35It's nice and narrow down in here.
14:38Don't want to be cleaning the machine up on any of these branches.
14:42Let's start feeding her there.
14:52You right to bring her up there?
14:54Is she pulling out of there or just normal?
14:57It's a little bit of a pull out.
14:59You'll need a bit of momentum.
15:0126-year-old Mason Parkeye is responsible for guiding a convoy hauling over $2 million worth
15:08of mining equipment through remote Cape York.
15:12You won't need a quick new locks and a running lock.
15:15I'm better safe than so.
15:17It's a massive contract for Mason's company, Coalpack, owned by his father, Colin.
15:23We offer a service and our reputation is massive.
15:27I will pretty much do whatever it takes.
15:30If it means I've got to jump in a truck, that's what I'll do, 100%.
15:34Oh, Woody's taking a while.
15:38Is he okay?
15:40All clear, Russ.
15:42Well done, mate.
15:47Righto, so that's done.
15:50Get back out on the road.
15:53I just hope this dirt isn't as bad as I've been told it is.
15:55F***ing sucks, doesn't it?
16:06I think the cows are even quicker than me.
16:11Now, we shouldn't be doing this, but we're going to do it anyway.
16:14We're going to sit on the table drain.
16:17It's too rough up on the road there, so we decide to drop down into the table drain
16:23because it's very smooth down there, but the issue we've got is maybe trying to get back out.
16:30Sitting on the table drains is a bit of a risky one.
16:32It's a bit softer, a bit more s*** sitting down in here.
16:35We've got about 36 tonnes sitting behind us now
16:38and more likely to catch some of the stuff that you don't want to drive on.
16:43Potential of rolling it or the load shifting.
16:46But it can save you a s***load of time.
16:49Sorry to do this to you guys.
16:53End of the road.
16:56For just a moment, it's not worth sitting down in there.
16:59Do our time sitting on the rough stuff.
17:02Well, you've got to take that little wind, boys.
17:05It's a great point.
17:06All right, we're on the bench, man.
17:15I'm still looking at Cava Hanya.
17:16All right, me and Dad will see you later on sometime.
17:19All right, I'll just head down there.
17:21Yeah, you're going to jump out.
17:31Oh, it's open, is it?
17:33Don't know.
17:34It looks like it, though.
17:36Just rolling the Archer River now.
17:38Going to pull up, have a shower and a feed.
17:41I've just got the thumbs up from Mason that the shower's open.
17:44Still running on time, maybe half an hour behind, but it's not too bad.
17:47Just sort of getting ready to start our day.
17:57We're on the...
17:58You'd call it the final leg, wouldn't you?
18:00Yeah, last stretch.
18:02I mean, a little day tomorrow morning, unload.
18:07Just out into the bitumen now.
18:09I'll be out in front, so I'll just sort of give Woody a heads up.
18:11If there's anything coming.
18:14I just don't really want any surprises.
18:17Oh, it's f***ing pissing down.
18:25Well, I thought it was better down south.
18:28It's f***ing...
18:29It's got that little one swinging right now.
18:34Ah.
18:36Fair enough to slow down.
18:37This car's on the fix.
18:38Yeah, no, I'm just sitting on 70.
18:40I can't see.
18:40Hard to roll.
18:41The car probably should have had a geese unless it falls in front of it.
18:46Of course, you went for an overtake.
18:49I'm going to be worried about them jamming on the brakes at any second now.
18:59Shit.
19:00A piece of metal in the road.
19:01Hit the bottom of the truck.
19:02That thing gets wound up in something.
19:05You pull off air lines, cables, yacht tyre.
19:08You can just do unnatural amount of damage real quick.
19:12I'm going to put up and check the load.
19:16Less than two hours into a three-day journey,
19:19delivering over $2 million worth of dump trucks into the Pilbara,
19:23Liam O'Connor faces the possibility of serious damage
19:27to his seriously expensive trailer.
19:30You're looking at, yeah, hundreds and thousands very quickly
19:33on any kind of a breakdown with these trucks and trailers.
19:38Everything looks in order, yeah?
19:40All is good.
19:44Taking Keith with us, one of our newest truckies,
19:48first big load for him.
19:50I've only had the licence a couple of months,
19:52so this is the first time out in the road
19:53with a big truck like this and a big load.
19:58We have two or four metres here, mate.
20:00This is coming past that roll-over.
20:02Sounds like there's some kind of an accident up ahead.
20:06That's a serious shit.
20:17Doesn't sound like anybody's hurt, sir.
20:19That's the good news.
20:22I know we're aiming to get to Magnet before sundown.
20:34We're cutting it tight.
20:35It's very important that we keep our schedule.
20:38It's still almost 500 kilometres
20:41to their first overnight stop at Mount Magnet.
20:44We have to be off the road by sundown in a reasonable parking area.
20:48We can only travel in the daylight hours with these oversized loads.
20:51It's still a good two to three hours from our destination,
21:01but one small misjudgment,
21:04and, yeah, things get real messy real quick.
21:09Action all the road.
21:12We've got some cats up ahead.
21:13They can't do anything.
21:14What the f*** happened here?
21:31The fuel guys decided to shut us out.
21:36We've got a fuel guys playing up here.
21:38What's going on?
21:39We'll find a truck bay down here.
21:42Just have a bit of a walk around, check everything.
21:44Now we've hopefully got enough fuel to get us through the three ways.
21:47That's where we want to be tonight.
21:54That's hot.
21:57Check the fuel of the tank.
21:59Do it the old-fashioned way.
22:00Well, you can see there's no shortage of fuel.
22:05There's quite a release.
22:08Do the marking so we can keep it on it.
22:12Go around the other side, do the same.
22:16Some reason, wires come off.
22:18Might help putting the wire back.
22:21So one problem solved.
22:23Got plenty of fuel.
22:24And it was just the wires that come off the top of the gauge indicator.
22:31So we're right.
22:34We're going to have to keep moving.
22:38On a mission to pull a triple trailer load
22:41through the harsh, arid centre of Australia,
22:44Rex's 30-year-old hand-built Marmon Prime Mover
22:47is testing his trucking skills.
22:51It was down below zero before.
22:52Now it's up to just under half the tank.
22:55So we're back in business there.
22:57Rex's reputation in his hometown, Laverton, is on the line.
23:02He must complete over 3,000 kilometres
23:04through the brutally hot desert in just four days
23:08to get back in time for an important commitment.
23:12As we've got racehorses running around down there,
23:15so we just want to make sure that they're running on good ground.
23:19Relationship for the community I regard very seriously.
23:22And, I believe, investing in the town
23:25to help build your town and get everybody on board.
23:32Oh, yeah, we've been at 40 out there, I suppose.
23:35This time for the year is always challenging
23:37because the wheel bearings run hotter,
23:39the truck runs hotter, the diffs run hotter.
23:42It's a risk of breakdowns.
23:47It's run a little bit warm.
23:50So, yeah, sort of factored off a bit.
23:52Well, that jumped up.
24:00Yeah, we've got a bit of heat in the diffs.
24:02The diff, or differential,
24:05redirects the truck's power from the engine to the wheels.
24:09Replacing a diff can take days and cost thousands of dollars.
24:13Yeah, it's supposed to be about 80, 85, but it's a bit hot.
24:20And what happens is, if the diff heats up,
24:22it's too hot, they could fail.
24:24That was a stray cow doing a runner across the road in front of us.
24:44Close enough one, yeah?
24:45You'll have to be watching him.
24:48Irishman Liam O'Connor is feeling the outback heat.
24:52He has less than an hour to get to his first overnight stop at Mount Magnet
24:57or risk missing his critical delivery deadline.
25:01These trucks are north of one million each.
25:05Expensive bit of kit.
25:07Operators are on site waiting, costing the client money,
25:10and, yeah, we're losing money when they're sitting on a trailer as well.
25:12So, yeah, there's a bit of pressure to get these trucks delivered.
25:17Just here on time was a late start,
25:20so it's not a bad finish to a day.
25:23Have a bit to ease and maybe a few Guinness.
25:31We're going to start getting hotter as we move up along,
25:33so, yeah, we'll be heading on for Marble Bar.
25:37More than 900 kilometres further north,
25:40Marble Bar is Australia's hottest town
25:43where temperatures have been known to exceed 50 degrees.
25:48It's a long way from the green, green grass of Liam's home.
25:53Left Ireland in February 2012
25:55and came here and set up my own company.
25:58Knocked on a lot of doors.
26:01Yeah, it's just been a constant battle, I guess.
26:04I drive the truck because I enjoy it.
26:07It's something new to me, something I wouldn't have done back home.
26:10We'll be travelling through the edge of Karajini National Park.
26:26It's a pretty impressive sight.
26:28As we come to the top of the steep declines,
26:31we would have to get our gear selected and take it all the way down.
26:35It's going to be definitely a bit of a challenge for a teat.
26:46A little bit nervous.
26:47These trucks are about 45 tonnes empty,
26:49so it'll be a lot of weight.
26:51It's going to push us down the hill.
26:52The main thing is watching tyres blow out.
26:55Halfway down, so, yeah, we're over the worst of it.
27:15Just got through to Karajini National Park.
27:17It's a lovely place to drive through.
27:22Getting close now to the dirt road to Marlborough Bar.
27:25We'll be slowing her right down.
27:29Then we'd better start pulling her back now, Keith.
27:31It's about to get fun.
27:32Yeah, I'll be there.
27:45Just absolutely wrecking the truck and the trailer
27:48and everything around it.
27:50It's pretty different to what flies at home would be dealing with.
28:01You wouldn't see how many roads like this.
28:04This kind of road just knocks me years out of the truck and the trailer
28:07and myself.
28:11Try and find any smooth path ways we can
28:13to minimise the corrugation and the bouncing and the banging.
28:17Otherwise, things are just going to fall apart.
28:24Worst than I expected.
28:29We're just coming into a narrow pre-crossing here now
28:33and it's just barely the width of the trailer.
28:36No room for slipping off here.
28:37If the trailer was any wider, we wouldn't have gone through.
28:50We've got a tight one here now, Keith.
28:52Yeah, I got it.
28:54I'm even nervous.
28:54That's it. I'm done.
29:05Got a bit of a hill here, all right.
29:08Shit can go wrong here with me
29:09because this hill now is very steep.
29:11So, yeah, loose ground can turn messy very quick.
29:15Shit, man, bollocks are spinning on the hill.
29:27Struggling to get traction.
29:35I know this car would have taken nothing that quick.
29:39You've just got to always be prepared for a car driver
29:42or a probably a truck driver
29:43to just do the dumbest thing ever.
29:47I'm just glad that they've all got their lights on for once.
29:56That was bloody short-lived.
29:58That was a bit of a funny one.
30:00A solid rain for about five minutes.
30:02It's a story.
30:03Now absolutely nothing.
30:04Mason Parkai and his team are on their second day
30:08hauling over $2 million worth of oversized mining equipment
30:12out of the remote Cape York outback.
30:15We've just got a few hours up the road
30:17and we sort of back to civilisation.
30:21It's got a cow like just over our left fog line, Dad.
30:25Stay there, stay.
30:27What are you going to do, bud?
30:28I just couldn't figure out what it wanted to do there for a second.
30:39That's a shiny truck, it's thinking.
30:42Might have been checking out the pig on the bonnet.
30:43Trusted with leading the convoy,
30:47Mason is also responsible
30:49for a sparkling new $700,000 company truck.
30:54This is my dream truck.
30:56Nice clean floor mats,
30:57just a towel on the floor.
30:59That's an operator.
31:00We don't have dirty floors.
31:03It's your pride and joy, you've got to look after it.
31:05It's a bit embarrassing.
31:06Every now and then I get caught out
31:07for just staring at it.
31:09I mean, you can't blame me.
31:10Look at the thing.
31:11Pretty beautiful.
31:11We're parked that night.
31:19Going to have a couple of beers.
31:21Going to kick the barbie in the guts.
31:23Some jobs are better than others, aren't they?
31:25You want to chuck these steak on, Woody?
31:27Oh, look at that.
31:29This is living.
31:31Tough gig.
31:41Just got going from our car line.
31:45We've got a bloke meeting us down there at the range.
31:47He's going to give us an escort down.
31:49Ahead, a narrow mountain pass,
31:52winding its way down along the edge
31:54of Australia's largest rainforest,
31:57the Dane Tree.
31:58Fog like this, this time of day,
31:59is not ideal, especially when you're oversize.
32:02You're just at Robbie now, Dad.
32:05Yep.
32:05Just caught up with Robbie at the top of the hill here.
32:08He's going to get out and about in front of us.
32:11He's going to want us down the range.
32:13He's got three oversize coming down, mate.
32:16When you're doing oversize like this,
32:18it's not really something that I'll tackle without a pilot.
32:21You should always be careful on hills like this.
32:27There's no safety ramps up here.
32:29If you pick the wrong gear on this hill,
32:31you're going straight down the side of that cliff.
32:34When you're oversize,
32:35just got to give everybody else as much room as possible
32:38and then hope everyone else has switched on as well.
32:43Jump coming up, mate.
32:49He doesn't give a f***.
32:50He's coming in hot.
32:56Well, that jumped up.
32:58Yeah, we've got a bit of heat in the diffs.
33:01Yeah, it's supposed to be about 80, 85,
33:02but it's hotter than what they should be.
33:06What happens is the diffs,
33:08he heats up and he gets too hot.
33:10They could fail.
33:11If that happens, we're in a spot of bother.
33:13Just back that off to about 1,500 revs
33:21and we've got a bit of a downhill coast.
33:27Temperature's dropped back.
33:29So it's back where it should be, so happy days.
33:33Rex Riles is pushing his rare 30-year-old Marmon truck to its limit,
33:41hauling his brand-new $150,000 bespoke trailers
33:45in a desperate race to get back home
33:48in time to fulfil a commitment to his hometown community.
33:52I've got to get back for the racetrack
33:54and make sure that's up to optimum conditions.
33:57We've got horses coming from everywhere.
34:00A little bit behind, but we'll just keep lotting along
34:03and hopefully we don't have any other issues down the road here.
34:08All they've got going here, what's the story?
34:11It's going to turn green shortly, I'm hoping.
34:21Might be here for a while.
34:27Not doing our schedule any favours, that's for sure.
34:32Bully, a MacBook.
34:34Oh, come on.
34:36It's a breaking.
34:38Unbelievable.
34:41Hey, are you copying the water tank?
34:46Is it a right to follow you through?
34:49Oh, ****, I'll be sitting here with that.
34:58Oh, thank goodness for that.
35:11Oh, ****, for ****'s sake.
35:18We've got a mob of cattle standing on the door's way,
35:21the approach to the bridge.
35:24We've got to watch them.
35:25If they get spooked,
35:27they'll just bolt across the road.
35:30Next minute, you're dealing with a lot of targets
35:33and that's the last thing you want to be looking at.
35:35And so, if, well, it's best, really,
35:37they turn up that to set them.
35:41****, you cheap **** dead.
35:49We're spinning on the hill.
35:51Struggling to get traction.
35:52Yeah, that was tidy going.
36:13Had to approach the hill slow because of the weight.
36:16If it was any steeper,
36:18we'd be probably having to go back and start again.
36:21Just back in the bitumen.
36:22It's excellent.
36:23Here we are, Mavrid Bar,
36:24one of the hottest places in Australia.
36:26Mission accomplished for today.
36:27Let's go back and start again.
36:30Come on, let's go back and start again.
36:41Just back in the bitumen.
36:42It's excellent.
36:47Here we are.
36:48I'm out of the bar.
36:50One of the hottest places in Australia.
36:51Mission accomplished for today.
36:53The flies. The flies.
37:02The flies are like men.
37:08We've turned off the main road, now onto the mine road.
37:11200k of dirt from here to the mine.
37:13It's not over yet. Anything can happen.
37:16It's just getting as rough as guts now.
37:23Just as I expected. It wasn't going to be sweet all the way.
37:26115k to go, yeah, we're down to 5k an hour.
37:30Bit of pressure to get these trucks delivered.
37:34Operators are on-site waiting.
37:36This rail will probably reach mine around midnight, maybe.
37:46The maintenance crew doing a bit of grading, so, yeah.
37:50Just got to get into his track now and we'll be going a bit better.
37:55Getting speed back up again.
38:09Just arrived now at the gatehouse.
38:11About an hour ahead of schedule.
38:13Get unloaded and turn around and get out of here.
38:22No major breakdowns or mishaps, so, yeah.
38:25It's a successful trip.
38:27Loads in one piece.
38:28Trucks in one piece.
38:30Pretty happy with how it is.
38:32Top job keys, yeah.
38:33We'll go and get these yorks unloaded and get out of here.
38:36A few different jobs up in the air.
38:38We'll get back and see what's most urgent and get back into it.
38:43Shit.
38:44Itchy dare.
38:45It's had a cow on the side of the road.
38:46He had his head down grazing, so, you just got to watch him.
38:48It's like, right, you bull bar off.
38:49They'll smash your grill.
38:50They'll take out your radiator.
38:51That's if you get off light.
38:52That's if you get off light.
38:53Been on the road for 12 hours.
38:55And, yeah, I'll be looking forward to the thought up down here.
38:56It's three ways.
38:57It's three ways.
38:58First light.
38:59And first light.
39:00I've been on the road for 12 hours.
39:01And, yeah, I've been looking forward to the thought up down here.
39:03It's three ways.
39:04First light.
39:05Attack it again.
39:06The sun sets.
39:07It's just one of the components that make it worthwhile.
39:09Living out here.
39:10I've been on the road for 12 hours.
39:11And, yeah, I've been looking forward to the thought up down here.
39:13It's three ways.
39:14And first light.
39:15Attack it again.
39:16The sun sets.
39:17It's just one of the components that make it worthwhile.
39:19Living out here.
39:20Vast spaces to the outback.
39:21Drive for miles.
39:22Some days you don't even see anyone.
39:23It's a pretty special environment, which I've spent most of my life enjoying.
39:26And I've been on the road for 12 hours.
39:27I've been on the road for 12 hours.
39:28And, yeah, I've been looking forward to the thought up down here.
39:29It's three ways.
39:30And first light.
39:31Attack it again.
39:32The sun sets.
39:33It's just one of the components that make it worthwhile.
39:35Living out here.
39:36Vast spaces to the outback.
39:39Drive for miles.
39:41Some days you don't even see anyone.
39:44It's a pretty special environment, which I've spent most of my life enjoying.
39:48Just head into Alice Springs and grab a bit of fuel.
39:53From there we get a bit of tucker and then water out the curtain of the springs.
40:12We still watch the heat, but I hope it thinks it's done.
40:17Cooling down a bit.
40:18Ah, shit.
40:19We've got a fire up here.
40:20There's got a bit of ferocity to it.
40:21It's not that far off the road, really.
40:22You don't want to end up on a fire and then you've got nowhere to turn around.
40:36You're stuck there.
40:37The consequences are deadly.
40:41He doesn't give a f***.
40:42He's coming in locked.
40:43Truck coming, Woody.
40:44Driving his new $700,000 company truck.
40:4526-year-old Mason Parkai is leading a convoy loaded with over $2 million worth of oversized
40:50mining equipment down a dangerously steep mountain road.
40:51What are you speed?
40:52What are you doing, Woody?
40:53What are you doing?
40:54What are you doing?
40:55What are you doing, Woody?
40:56Driving his new $700,000 company truck, 26-year-old Mason Parkai is leading a convoy, loaded with
41:13over $2 million worth of oversized mining equipment, down a dangerously steep mountain road.
41:20What are you, speed are you doing, Woody?
41:23I just bumped it back to about 17.
41:26I felt like 27.
41:29We haven't been down here before, mate.
41:32Lucky we got Robbie, eh?
41:35Yeah, I'm taking up both lanes.
41:40It's just one of those roads, like, ideally you want to use it all, but you can't always.
41:45We're not the only ones out here.
41:49Just got to watch out for cars.
41:56This guy, I hate condensation.
41:59Everything just gets flippery.
42:01She's pretty steep here, eh?
42:04You hit that little white line and she just locks up.
42:12Didn't know about that one.
42:13All right, I'm at the bottom now.
42:18Wow, that was good for the bloody heart.
42:21Our load's just on the right here.
42:23It's good for it to be home's sakes.
42:30We'll get in, do some maintenance on it and get it back out somewhere.
42:35The most important thing in business, I think, is having a good relationship if they're good lads.
42:40That last stretch was a...
42:42I've never been down this range before, but I'm happy we all made it.
42:45No damage.
42:47Stoked, eh?
42:47Like, I was a little bit anxious about going up in there because of the weather,
42:51but I think that was just inexperienced on my part.
42:54Mason is a great operator.
42:56Like, this business is in good hands.
43:00Everything's going really well.
43:01Just getting the last machine off.
43:03Customer's happy.
43:04It's been bloody awesome.
43:05We'll finish parking up here and then sort of just move on to the next one.
43:10No rest, that's all right.
43:12Truck's got to pay itself off.
43:18When you come out here, basically throw the clock out the window.
43:22Yeah, right, I'll come around there.
43:24Drive through dust and that's where accidents end.
43:28Ah, shit.
43:29There is a truck coming.
43:31The boat is expensive.
43:33About 3.5 mil.
43:35Yeah, steady.
43:36Dickie, it's put in the trailers.
43:38Really shit small.
43:42The places for us to pass are really limited.
43:45All right, mate, I'm into it.
43:49Shit, there's a hole there.
43:52All right.
43:53All right.
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