As you might imagine, we love getting into the cab of a truck, and the man behind the wheel says: “I’ve been collecting New Zealand Trucking since I was about 12 years old.” It was no surprise then that 35-year-old John Langlands always had a desire to get behind the wheel and go truckin’.

“I had an obsession with trucks since I was little – anything with an engine, actually. I did other things, but as the years went by, I wanted to drive trucks more and more,” he begins.

Born in Hawera and raised in Bell Block, John started his working life at 17-and-a-half on a dairy farm near Okaiawa. “Maybe that’s where the diesel influence came in, I was on the little Fergie 35 around the age of 12. Lucky for me, that was still the tail end of the era before things turned soft. Kids could get out and make stuff and climb trees and do things without the government coming out with its measuring stick,” he quips.

On the farm, John did everything down to artificially inseminating the cows, which is probably enough to nudge anyone with diesel in their veins to get into the driver’s seat more permanently. So off he went contracting and driving tractors for a while before finding an ‘in’ with Taranaki’s Jackson Transport.

“A good friend suggested I apply for a yarding position at Jacksons and start there, washing and loading the trucks, that sort of thing. I gave it a go and I did almost three years with them. They put me through my classes to full truck and trailer. To be honest, I dragged my heels with the trailer licence, but once I got it I thought, ‘Shit, I should’ve gone for it sooner.’

“So I went from a yarding contract to a driving contract, and I thank Jacksons for giving me a start and a chance. I probably started by being thrown into the deep- end for someone with little driving experience.”

With three young boys at home – Tyson (8), Brax (6) and Felix (18 months) – there was a clear need for a better work/life balance and the opportunity to join MC Fale Transport provided just that. “I actually missed out the first time Mike advertised for a driver. I put my CV in too late. The second time, my wife gave me a boot up the arse and sent in my CV for me,” John says with a laugh.

“When I went for the interview, Mike didn’t try to paint a pretty picture. We go hard Monday to Friday, sure. But he tries to set up Fridays so we’re back in the yard reasonably early to give the trucks a wash. And that’s it. Weekends are really only needed if it’s a necessity to keep everything rolling for the next week. In the year I’ve worked with Mike, I think I’ve worked just four weekends.

“So, with a young family, the balance works mint,” he says.

Adding to that balance is that John is one of the few truck-driving fathers fortunate enough to be able to take his kids out in the truck with him.

“Tyson is on the low end of the autism spectrum. He’s really intelligent and onto shit. He’s truck-mad and has been with me a few times. Brax came for his first ride about six months ago, and he absolutely loved it. Any chance they get to go for a ride, they love it. They’ve got the wave going on. They know other truckies are saying ‘hello’ when they flash their lights. Felix, haha, he was up at 4.30 this morning, at my knee with the biggest grin on, ready to go to work with me,” John says with a laugh.

“They’re full throttle, real boys, three of them… Oh, mate, they love anything with wheels. They’ll sit on the roadside and watch the trucks.

“Tyson goes to bed with my New Zealand Trucking magazines and has a read. He’s real into it.”

Like father like son(s)… We love it!