We love it when something a little different rolls in – and this month, we’ve hit the jackpot: a one-of-a-kind truck, standing apart from others on similar work, teamed with a business run exactly how its sibling owners want it. Think serious machines, hard work and a big dose of humour, all while making time to be present in the moment and enjoy the ride.

Let’s be honest, the days of truly speccing a truck for a given task are disappearing each year. The choice of engine, transmission and rear end has been whittled down to a fraction of the options once available – and while there’s no shortage of OEM brand names, the level of ownership in the industry has changed to such an extent that they’re all owned by a handful of multinational groups.

Hey, at least New Zealand is fortunate to have representation from an unprecedented number of global OEMs. If one can’t supply what you’re after, the competition down the street might be able to. Brand loyalty in such a competitive environment counts for a lot, that’s for sure.

Furthermore, one can only get so creative within the restraints of VDAM and proforma HPMV combinations. For us, all this usually means we encounter similar trucks in similar spec set up as similar combinations on similar work.

Happily, every so often, something shows up that deviates from the norm a little …

The Dark Knight … rises

The risk of ripping off several titles from Christopher Nolan’s epic Dark Knight trilogy of Batman movies aside, Dion and Hayden Kerley’s 2024 MAN TGX 26.640 tipping flat-deck combination is aptly named The Dark Knight – and is unique among other combinations typically doing the same work.

Located in Ātiamuri right alongside SH1’s famed roadhouse, The Bull Ring, Kerley Brothers Transport is the twin brothers’ boutique rural transport operation. The fleet is currently made up of five heavy MAN trucks and one Isuzu F Series flea truck. The Dark Knight expands on the formula set by the brothers’ existing tipping flat-deck unit, a 2016 TGS 26.540 – but we’ll get to that soon. First, we have a pressing question that needs answering … What’s up with the superhero theme?

“It’s actually not about the superheroes,” says Dion as we admire the depiction of Batman from The Dark Knight movie on the side of the cab. “The naming plays off the MAN name, or the lion in the brand’s logo.” Ah! We get it … Bat-MAN … Not exactly an inspiring name for a truck, so the jump to The Dark Knight makes sense …

Yeah, we love a good pun. That 2016 TGS – Iron Man. Hayden’s 2021 TGX 35.640 stock truck – The Kings Man. The 2019 TGX 35.640 stock unit – The Lion King (long-time readers might recognise it as our July 2020 Top Truck). And, finally, the 2014 TGS 35.540 stock truck – which has a depiction of Clint Eastwood’s The Man with No Name on the cab but has retrospectively been named The Old Man for somewhat obvious reasons.

Oh, and the Isuzu – not having a ‘lion’ or ‘man’ theme to play on, is affectionately known as Ibubu. It’s all a bit of light-hearted fun, typical Kerley Brothers.

That, too, is the complete line-up of MAN trucks to go to work for the brothers, though, later this year, The Old Man will enter retirement when it’s replaced by a new TGX 35.640 Individual Lion S.

Cliff Mannington at Truck Signs in Mt Maunganui has been responsible for giving each truck an image to match its unique identity, as well as applying the Kerley colour scheme of yellow, orange and maroon, first introduced by dad Ray’s R.J. Kerley – General Carrier in the early 1990s (see Lifestyle transport at its finest). The brothers have carried it forward but given it their own unique touch over the years, with The Dark Knight introducing the latest modernisation of the theme. With a sharper, meaner, more detailed style, there’s no mistaking this unit on the road.

A man’s word

While the brothers impart an air of good-natured fun and of not taking themselves too seriously, another non-negotiable in their business pops up continuously throughout our time with them – the value of good relationships. As you’ll read in Lifestyle transport at its finest, this really is what Kerley Brothers Transport is all about and it is the core of Dion and Hayden’s approach to business. Whether it’s a customer or supplier in question, the approach is the same: form close bonds, treat each other with respect and always be ready to offer top-class service with a smile.

With three generations of MAN in the fleet now, their relationship with the brand and Penske New Zealand would appear to be in very good health, too.

“Wayne Taia at TCV Trucks, as it was back then, called into the yard and first introduced us to MAN. He gave us the sales pitch, and we thought we’d give it a go, so he sold us our first. We’ve stuck with them since and dealt with Garth Paton, Mark Ellerington and now Michael Rolley, who’s taken Mark’s position at Penske. We’ve always had good service and back- up from them; we’ve always been happy. Really, Penske’s been awesome. It goes back to building those relationships; everybody knows how to talk to each other,” says Dion.

Likewise, Chris Greenwood at Dudley Mechanical & Parts, the Penske agent in Taupō. “He came to see us years ago, and he still services our MANs. Also Heavy Diesel in Tokoroa takes care of our COFs and Ibubu etc. They’re all great to deal with.”

Sure, there have been issues over the years, but as Dion says, “With the number of units we have and the kilometres we’ve done, it’s bugger-all really. Iron Man recently had a new clutch and gearbox repair; that’s the only major repair work we’ve had to do. They’ve gotten their stuff sorted, ironed out the problems, and the New Generation MANs are nice-looking trucks, too!”

Much like Iveco, MAN today seems to carry a sort of if-you-know-you-know mystique … Dogged by old preconceptions, they are loved and appreciated by their operators. Excellent trucks, tragically underrated.

“I must admit, back in the day, Hayden would say, ‘Don’t ever make me buy an MAN!’ Now we have a fleet of them,” Dion says, laughing. “But we do struggle to find good operators who want to drive MANs. There aren’t many MAN stock or ag trucks out there.”

We ponder why exactly that is. Surely, it can’t be horsepower? The MAN’s D38 doesn’t punch in the plus-700hp territory, but even at 640hp, it’s way ahead of an X-15 at 615hp, for example.

“Our old FY Hinos were 380s, and we’d go from Ātiamuri to Hāwera every day!” Dion retorts. “But I tell you what, if MAN came out with a 700hp truck, I’d be all over that,” he continues. “Yeah, maybe they need to keep up with the big boys – but seriously, 640hp is ample!”

Turning off Broadlands Road to PermaPine.

The 9.65m tipping trailer is another tidy job by Roadmaster.

What’s unique here?

As mentioned, The Dark Knight is the latest tipping flat deck to enter the fleet and follows in the footsteps of Iron Man – a 6×4 construction-spec model on agricultural work. It was, in fact, going to replace that truck, but the decision’s been made to put it on silage work and make use of The Dark Knight’s higher cube trailer and bins on bulk work like animal bedding and maize.

Dion summarises the truck as: “Horsepower, ground clearance, gross weight, six-wheeler truck, five-axle trailer.

“Yeah, we like the straight front axles on our tippers to tackle paddock work. Sometimes we have to be careful with dips and hollows and the like, getting pulled by tractors, all that,” he comments, adding these models come into their own with traction, ground clearance and the shallower three-piece steel front bumper.

“Maize stubble is high and hard on the gear, for example. A six-wheeler is better in the paddocks, and we’ve also specced big wheels (385/65 R22.5 front, 11R 22.5 rear) to help with all that.”

The cab is positioned at 880mm (the distance from frame lower edge to cab floor). It might be a usual four-step entry, but it is a noticeably biiiiig climb up…

The truck was bought as a special order, as a 640hp construction-spec model is only available ex-factory. “The truck has been a couple of years in the making. Penske doesn’t bring these into New Zealand – and we wanted more than 510hp.”

Roadmaster was commissioned to do the build and fitted the truck with a 6.9m deck and FOB hoist. It has 1100mm alloy dropsides, but an existing set of 2.2m aluminium bin sides is the permanent fixture. Behind the truck is a 9.65m five-axle Roadmaster trailer with twin under-body Edbro hoists. It’s fitted with 2.3m-high pressed alloy sides to create an 8.4m bin. In all, the unit can transport 80m 3 of silage. Topping off the bins are a set of PowerTarps retractable tarps. “So easy!” says Dion.

“We wanted a five-axle trailer and to cart more weight. Yes, it’s a little heavier, but you get your permits and away you go,” he says, adding Roadmaster is another example of a valued relationship. “Roadmaster did a bloody good job on the build. It’s very tidy. John Blackburn does all our builds, and we’ve got a good relationship with Colin Patchell as well. We’ve been doing business with them for years.”

A tidy build it is, with handy features like rope rails all round, drop-down steps to aid climbing the bins and inset steps in the trailer’s bin door, Roadrunner accessories, and custom stainless touches, such as covers for the exhaust assembly and AdBlue tank. Hendrickson Tiremaax, Wabco SmartBoard EBS and OptiLevel ECAS, and Peterson Lighting finish off the trailer build.

The combination runs on 48-tonne and 53-tonne permits, meaning it just manages a 32-tonne payload.

Dion loads up the animal bedding at PermaPine.

Life’s little comforts

It’s a typical early summer’s morning when we meet the brothers at their Ātiamuri yard to capture The Dark Knight in action. Fog sits over the hills before the sun burns its way through. Coffee is brewing, the brothers are underway with their prep work for the day. Hayden has some local stock work to do, and before long, he’s away in The Kings Man. Dion’s at the wheel of The Dark Knight and has our jobs lined up for the day.

First up, a load of sawdust, wood chip, post peelings and shavings from PermaPine Reporoa to the Kerley Brothers shed in Tokoroa. “The animal bedding is going great guns, expanding each year. It’s all a waste product for the mills in the area,” he explains.

Providing animal bedding makes perfect sense for a business like Kerley Brothers – a value-add to offer the farmers the business has those close working relationships with, to make life for their nurtured beasts a little more comfortable in those colder, wetter months. “A one-stop shop for the farmer, we can solve all their problems,” Hayden says with a laugh.

By the time we’re at PermaPine, the sun is out, and The Dark Knight is gleaming as Dion winds open the PowerTarps covers, jumps into the loader and gets to work. It’s the perfect opportunity to take in the detail on the MAN as well as check out its ‘construction spec’ mid-height roof GM cab. Other than the fabric seats and open overhead lockers, everything one might normally ask for is there. Among the notable features are acoustic cab insulation, under-bunk fridge, engine tunnel carpeting, electric windscreen roller blind, Climatronic air-conditioning, 12.3in Professional digital instrumentation, and MAN’s top-tier 12.3in Professional Navigation media system with the MAN SmartSelect wheel.

“Yeah, the New Generation interiors are good,” Dion says, climbing back into the cab. “I like that SmartSelect wheel. It’s so good, so easy. Everything’s just there, aye; it works fantastically. It is a little far away to touch the screen, and the wheel means you don’t take your eyes off the road. It surprises me MAN’s the only brand that’s gone that way. It is a very good idea,” he says, sharing sentiments we’ve held since the first time we encountered the system.

“And the digital instruments, too; very clever, easy to use,” he continues. “Yeah, they’ve come a long way. Even something like the [MAN EasyControl] panel on the driver’s door – that’s brilliant! It’s a high climb into this cab, and that makes the driver’s job so much easier [when needing to activate certain functions from outside the cab].”

While the interior may be no less comfortable – or functional – the ride naturally loses out over its cushier, airbag equipped stablemates. With parabolic three-leaf steel suspension all round, there’s a notable toughness to the way The Dark Knight tackles the central North Island’s less-than-ideal state-highway road surfacing. It’s not an armchair like the old models, as Dion puts it, but with the heated and air-suspended seats, it’s not uncomfortable by any means. And there’s still adaptive cruise to assist on those longer journeys, and emergency brake assist at your back. (Being a construction-spec model, the dreaded lane departure warning is not fitted.)

Offloading at the 70,000m 3 shed is a simple task. Trailer first, push the product back with the trusty Merlo, uncouple and repeat with the truck. The shed is 9.5m high and Dion keeps a keen eye on the trailer’s rise as he controls the tip by remote control.

Returning home.

Performance aplenty

Job two is a load of palm kernel from the port at Mt Maunganui for some farms in the general Wiltsdown area. With approximately 10 tonnes on the truck and 20 on the trailer, the weighbridge indicates a 52.1- tonne gross weight, which will put the 15.25L D38 to the test. With Tauranga’s traffic seemingly worsening every year, there’s not much to judge until we exit the roundabout at Tauriko in the direction of the Kaimais.

Not yet clear of traffic, we come to a stop on the short but steep climb to the Cambridge Road intersection. The hill-assist function holds the truck and releases the park brake automatically when Dion applies the accelerator. The truck begins to move off smoothly in second gear and with the 12-speed MAN TipMatic in Performance mode, the D38 revs out well into the 1600–1800rpm power peak before the next gear is selected.

“We had to have the techs plug in and give us access to that mode,” says Dion. “It had only efficiency and off-road modes before, and even at 52 tonne, it was too eager to hit top gear and would lug up the hills with your foot hard into it. I suppose that’s not too bad when you’re on an autobahn, but New Zealand is different. The old one was ‘D for drive, and we’re into it!’”

While today’s trucks are designed with fuel economy in mind, Dion may have a point there – given the stop-start, uphill-downhill nature of driving in New Zealand.

Anyway, into it we were, with the D38 emitting the characteristic ‘growl’ we’ve come to love as it reaches into its 3000Nm (2213lb/ft) torque reserves. “There’s a massive difference to the way it performs now,” Dion says, grinning, adding his characteristic “Yeeah, shit yeah!” statement of approval.

As we climb each of the eastern Kaimai’s steepest sections, the engine pushes past its 930–1350rpm torque peak to access the full 471kW (640hp) power on offer. Unfortunately, we continuously come up against a slower bulk unit and have no opportunity to pass, so the truck’s climbing performance can’t be fully explored. However, at the third eastern climb, before the summit, we’re doing 44km/h at 1650rpm in eighth – with the D38 clearly being held back. “Yeah, eighth is a good gear for pulling in an MAN,” Dion reckons.

Heading down into the Waikato, he calls on MAN’s five-stage EVB engine brake. The green band on the digital tacho jumps to 1800–2500rpm, indicating the optimum range for its operation. We progress down at a steady 42km/h, with Dion varying the stages as necessary. “We didn’t spec a retarder, but the VEB holds the truck nicely. I’m impressed with this braking. And it still has that fantastic feature that holds the truck at the speed you’re going with a tap on the brake pedal,” he comments.

Built for the job

It’s always fun checking out a truck that’s a little different, built to meet its owners’ requirements and do a specific job. Sadly, we didn’t have the opportunity to see The Dark Knight tackle some of those challenging paddocks, but there’s no doubt the ability exists.

“We’re odd – we want a construction model that can cross fields and do linehaul,” Dion says with a laugh. “But, truly, this spec is a bit of a game-changer in our business. I reckon this is the kind of combination that many people would like.”

We tend to agree, and the TGX 26.640 makes a pretty good base for it, too. The TG3 MAN is a fantastic generation of trucks – value for money, good quality and build, smart looks, decent power, and high levels of comfort and tech … It’s all present and correct. And, important to a small business like Kerley Brothers Transport, no complaints about back-up or service.

To a business that embodies all the hallmarks of an old-fashioned rural carrier, having the same quality of relationship with your suppliers as you do with your clients counts for a lot. Kerley Brothers Transport operates a bit more personally; Hayden and Dion do things the way they like to, and that recipe has clearly worked for them over two decades and counting. They’ve created an operation their local farmers can rely on, which has steadily given them a loyal client base – and allowed them to put real neat, specialised units like The Dark Knight on the road.

What more could anyone ask for? As Dion would say, “Yeeeah, shit yeah!”