Copy Southbound Podcast

We finally got to catch up with Rod Pilon of Dubbo to record the story of this well known Great Western Plains operator. He's old school and a genuine country bloke who wears his heart on his sleeve, helps out the industry, gives back to the community and does his best to promote safety culture. He also owns the fact that he's from an era of pushing the boundaries but acknowledges that those days are gone. A great chat with a terrific person.

When it comes to iconic and uniquely Australian, nothing comes remotely close to our own RFW. These locally designed and built masterpieces were the brainchild of Robert 'Bob' Whitehead and for around 30 years were manufactured in his Sydney workshop with a team of dedicated and at times, thick skinned employees. Bob had a reputation of being blunt and opinionated but his engineering and design skills far outweighed his tough persona. Copy Southbound are indebted to Australia's most renown truck historian Tony Petch for organising this recording at his home in Wilton NSW and especially for allowing us to copy his unique photograph collection. We also thank Ray Rodman, Allan Whiting and Rod Parker for giving up their time and joining us for this interview.

A special one for our 150 th episode with the story of the amazing Joe Cassar. We always say how lucky we are to meet some of the nicest people doing Copy Southbound and Joe ticked that box. Extremely humble, respected and admired by so many of his peers, he's also known for his generosity and kindness, something that was evident from the first introduction. Many thanks to long time listener Michael Clarke for arranging this podcast with his mentor and friend.

Something different today as we spoke with Ian Smith, a long retired but well known man with a history in truck sales. He was selling in the golden era through the 70's with some well known clients, delivering some legendary vehicles. And of course, he's an absolute gentleman. Many thanks to truck historian Tony Petch for organising this at his house and for the information he provided to make this as special as it is.

The 5th installment of The Missing Link Podcast series with Shane Pendergast.

The 4th installment of The Missing Link Podcast Series with Shane Pendergast.

We were recommended to catch up with Steve Cox in Corowa and had a great afternoon chatting about his career in trucks. From being a company driver working for a few iconic companies, Steve ended up running his own truck for many years before a health scare brought it to a grinding halt. Nothing better than chatting with someone who has pride in his history and a love of his past. Thanks for the yarn Steve.

The 3rd installment of The Missing Link Podcast Series with Shane Pendergast.

Part 2 of the series with Shane Pendergast.

This man, or more his vehicles, need no introduction to the Australian Trucking community. Mick Gardiner and his uniquely built working trucks were synonymous with class and function as they worked their way up and down the Eastern Seaboard hauling freight on regular runs for many years. But the story of the building of each truck is what we are going to focus on as both of his trucks – the R190 Inter and the amazing Seattle Star – are unique and completed with amazing attention to detail. And on top of that, a most genuine and humble human being.

In this episode of The Missing Link Bruce sits down with Shane Pendergast. Shane is doing amazing work with Air Brake Systems and has some phenomenal insights into the data and technology in truck and trailer braking systems. This one is a must listen.

How much do you know about Pre-Trip Inspections?

"The Call of the Wild" was all it took for Lizard Williams to make the trek to the middle of the country and try his hand at road trains. The script was on the side of one of Noel Buntine's legendary Macks in a newspaper article Lizard was reading so he packed the family up in the late 70's, turned his back on the Hume and headed inland to begin a 30 year love affair with some of the country's biggest machines. This is a non-filtered talk about what it took to survive in the bush in one of our funniest and raw interviews to date. Brace yourselves...................

In this episode of The Missing Link, Bruce and Brendon dive into the Fatigue Management discussion among several other topics such as the NHVR Master Code 2026. To access the Master Code, click the link below. Master Code of Practice

In this episode, Bruce and Steve reveal an open letter sent to Copy Southbound from Darryl Foyle, former Sergeant within the Heavy Vehicle Enforcement Group (HVEG), SAPOL.

Something different today as Bruce interviewed his mate Ian Watson from Bolinda in Victoria. Ian is an American truck enthusiast and hot rodder from way back and has been the Australian representative for the American Truck Historical Society for many years. But his ventures in business opened a door to America and it's something unique. We thank Ian for giving his time to us to share his amazing history.

In this episode of The Missing Link, Brendon joins Bruce to have a chat about Fatigue, the upcoming changes to the NHVR's Accreditation Scheme and a range of other topics.

Part 2 of our conversation with Gillian Bristow from Bristow Legal. A big part of this episode focuses on Subcontractor Management, a critical issue in our industry right now.

Sometimes we come across some absolute gems and Vinnie was one of them. While Bruce was still down in the Victorian Gippsland area, he received a call from Paul Groves of Colac, asking if he had time to catch up with his Uncle Vinnie so a detour was made and we were able to capture the story. Bruce told me about this amazing, gracious and gentle man and said how fortunate he feels to be able to do these podcasts and meet the country's finest. Unfortunately, Vinnie was laid to rest yesterday after passing away just over a week ago but thankfully, his family asked for us to go ahead with the interview. Rest in Peace ol mate.

In this episode Bruce is joined by Gillian Bristow from Bristow Legal. Gillian has been involved with the Australian heavy vehicle industry for 30 years and she specialises in contract negotiations, contractual and insurance disputes and chain of responsibility issues. Bristow Legal | Solutions for the Road Transport Industry