We just had to have a Bulldog in the Bridgestone New Zealand Trucking Media Million Mile Club this month. After all, that’s exactly why the brand has the reputation it has… dogged service. This is a cool truck to have also, a tip-of-hat to Australia where the Bulldogs are born and where it first plied the highways, and it’s home today, under the long white cloud in the keep of a true devotee of the great marque.

Matt Sherlock’s CAT4T is a big, burly Super-Liner running under his Helenbak Haulage banner in Palmerston North. Originally owned by Eades Transport out of Adelaide, the Super-dog, resplendent with high-rise sleeper and many other accoutrements, was a commemorative truck for that company, spending the bulk of its life on the Aussie east coast between Sydney and Brisbane.

A 2015 model packing the big bore 511kW (685hp) motor and mDRIVE trans, Matt bought the Super-Liner late last year and puts it to use on an as-needed basis… which pretty much means weekly.

Living testimony the old ‘run ’em hard and hot’ adage holds true, the big Bulldog had clocked up the 1.7 million kilometres when Matt brought it home, having averaged 95kph, with the fuel use zeroed out at 1,000,000 litres.

“All I’ve done is replace the turbo,” he says.