Like Oruanui Linehaul in the north, Eden Haulage in the far south proves the point that well-maintained trucks owned by passionate truck people never grow old – just cooler.

Eden’s owner Phil Collinson says he has a soft spot for this hard-working beauty. The Freightliner Argosy is one of only 47 trucks of its kind in New Zealand, with Cat’s big banger of the era providing the propulsion.

Still running hard, the truck was purchased in 2013 from SCS Transport primarily as a back-up, but in a rapidly growing business… Well, you know how that goes.

“With a 101” cab, twin ISRI seats, the C16 under the floor and a Meritor rear end, she was well spec’d for the day back in ’04,” says Phil. “In her 2,750,000km, she’s had a wee issue with dropped liners – there’ve been four. She’s also not not the easiest on fuel, I’d have to say. But when you’re driving it, it’s certainly all there!”

In the safe hands of regular driver Craig ‘Woozel’ Porter, the big Freighty occupies her time carting inter-island sea product, produce and packaging.

As far as full-on deployment goes, ‘D-day’ is approaching with a replacement in the wings. Phil’s plan for the truck is “take two” on his original intention, being the back-up unit. Hmmmm, ya reckon? We think that’s just a Tui ad waiting to happen.