ER F DOWN UNDER HAULING WITH A COMMANDER
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Commercial Motor recently spent some time with Wayjem Transport, Commander operator of Winchelsea, Victoria, close to Melbourne. Owner Mery Hogan reckons the ride on
the Commander is well ahead of the Kenworth, "That kicks you in the back all the time—these things don't." In a country where 5oohp is "the absolute minimum" for BDouble work, Hogan highlights the problems of cooling big capacity engines down under. "You can leave here and it'll be ro°C—but by the time you get up North into Queensland it can be 30°C."
Fuel is one of the biggest expenses for an operator like Wayjem which runs across such vast distances and it's common for operators to get shippers to agree to pay for their fuel in advance. They draw diesel at an agreed truckstop which then bills the customer direct. It's a good way of defraying costs—and of determining a customer's worth, reckons Hogan. "If they can't afford the fuel in the truck they can't afford to pay me!"
Late payment
K operators would certainly recognise problems of late payment. "Because of the system there's always a lot of money owed and it's normally 6o days before you get any," says Hogan. At any time I'm owed ASzoc.000 and everybody is living off somebody else's money. Sometimes you've got to thump the desk just to get it!"