Moving Home - Literally!

In-depth

30 Jan

Back in 2020 I posted the story of Rick and Delice Sauerwald and their classic 1984 Peterbilt 359. If you missed it, you can read it from the link below.

https://www.truckinwithkermie.com/blog/1984-peterbilt-359

In that article Rick mentions a trailer he is doing up with the intention of it being a home away from home. Well, five long years after purchasing it, the 1994 Peki – which started life as a bread van – is finished, and Rick and Delice are looking forward to the next stage of their lives.

But I’m jumping ahead of the story.

Rick is no longer driving for Collins apart from the occasional run here and there. Booths is his company of choice since April of last year.

“It’s a win for me in that – in the present climate anyway – I can pretty well pick and choose when I want to work. I’ll contact the company and let them know I’ll be available for X number of days from such and such a date. So far there’s been work available every time.

“I’ve just returned from Perth with a road train, hauling milk across and wine back. And before you ask, no, I didn’t decant any of it. Next Wednesday I’ve been told that I may be going to Darwin – the long way, via Broken Hill, Cobar, Longreach and Mt Isa due to the floods. So that’ll be a bit of an adventure. The next one may be local, to Mildura or who knows where. There’s a lot of variety.”

The obvious advantage for Rick is that he’s been able to pour his time and hard-earned $ into creating one of the best trailer homes going. “Delice’s hard-earned as well,” Rick corrects me.

Delice’s job as a nurse has allowed her to follow Rick’s lead and transition to part-time work and actively work on the trailer with him. “The flexibility is fabulous and because both industries are that busy, we are very lucky.”

A death from cancer in the family brought home to Rick and Delice just how fragile life can be and made them think of their own mortality. “That was a real incentive to get stuck right in and not only finish the job, but to do the job to as high a standard as we could afford (Ed: and then some I’m guessing).

“Life is short and I’m about to turn 60 (on the day of publication, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICK). The realisation came eventually that working should be a means to an end, not the be-all and end-all. We’ve dreamed about travelling since before we bought the Peterbilt and that was the reason we purchased it. Time to put dreams into action.”

Initially the couple’s thought was to just hook up and drive off into the never-never forever-ever, but they have modified their plans since then. “We have some land and a modest home at Port Julia on the York Peninsula here in South Australia where there’s plenty of room to park up. The thought of saying goodbye to family and friends for who knows how long didn’t quite sit with us, so we’re following other people’s lead and going to follow the seasons.”

All being well and open borders notwithstanding, the Sauerwald’s intend on heading into Western Australia after Easter and following the coast way up north for the Winter. “If that’s not possible we’ll do the East Coast instead. I mean it’s such a difficult decision,” says Rick with a laugh.

The steel floored Peki trailer was a shell when Rick bought it. “It always hauled dry (and light) loads being a Tip Top Bread van all its life so was in pretty good condition. It had no insulation but did have a tailgate loader which was a bonus for storage of our RAV 4 at the back.”

The couple looked at converted trailers owned by Ronnie Graham, Bernie Learson and others, and picked up ideas for their own.

“Ronnie and Bernie had storage for their cars at the back but we thought we could make more effective use of the space where the car is stored.”

**The Hydraulic mezzanine floor takes shape**

The result is a hydraulically operated mezzanine floor with the lounge area sitting atop it. With the mezzanine raised (in under a minute), there is room for the RAV4 to park underneath it. Lowered down it instantly becomes the lounge room.

**Car out, mezzanine down and this is what you get**

“With the car aboard we still have 28 foot of living area (extended to 43.5 foot with the car removed) so pulling up overnight on the road is no hardship, but that extra living space is a godsend when on extended stays.”

The guys have gone the full nine yards with design both inside and out. The lightweight entrance steps for example slide out and open up from a belly box. It is a job Delice can do in just a minute.

Overall length of truck and trailer is 19 metres, around the same length as a short B double. With the Peterbilt receiving a fresh coat of paint it was decided to add some striping on the trailer to match, creating a cohesive look between the two. And boy does it draw a crowd!

“We are in a large caravan park near the river now and I couldn’t back in there without getting attacked by everyone. It’s the same everywhere we go. Obviously if you, Kermie and Rita were here we’d invite you or any of our friends in – as well as people we meet on the road and are drawn to. But it can get a bit much at times. After all this is our home.”

“To that end we started an Instagram page called truckin_awesome_in_oz. We want to do a blog on our travels. Everyone who’s seen the setup has said, ‘That’s F***ing Awesome’. So I looked up Truckin Awesome on Instagram and there were about 20 accounts worldwide. I added Oz on the end and it was ours! We’re having stickers made up to stick on the front and the rear with the name and Instagram logo. That way I can direct nosey strangers to that and they can see everything we’ve done without invading our privacy and possibly drinking us out of booze.

“What we are going to do though, is make up a sandwich board up with a few photos on it. Then, if people really want to have a look inside we will ask for a gold coin donation which we’ll pass on to The Royal Flying Doctor Service.”

Rick was loath to give a total cost for all the work done. “We actually didn’t know exactly what we’d spent until near the end. We didn’t want to shock ourselves and maybe cut back on a few things. I’ll tell you it wasn’t cheap. Obviously we had the mezzanine and steps built and decided early on that the cabinetry should be professionally done and installed. We did the insulation and basics but used professional plumbers, electricians and so on. I know I’m repeating myself, but this is our home. So there were a couple of $17,000 and $20,000 bills and those tradies don’t come cheap, but they were all bloody good at their jobs so it was all worth it.

“Look, if you went out and bought a top of the line caravan and put a Land Cruiser in front of it, you’re looking at up to $260,000. On that basis we reckon we’ve done well.”

“We spend a bit on fuel obviously, but it’s probably not a lot more than a Cruiser hauling a big van and we are moving our house. We might go 3, 4 or 500 km then sit for a week, a month or more, so it’s not a huge consideration. I’ve got club plates on so that’s a saving.

“One hassle was insurance. Caravan insurers said it was a truck and truck insurers said it was a van. In the end I spoke to Booths (who have 200 prime movers and 600 odd trailers) and they put me on to their broker who in turn connected us with a guy high up at NTI and we got it done. Mind you it’s at a price - $6,000 a year or $110 a week but you gotta have it.”

The Sauerwald’s are about to enter the next phase of their lives – well deserved after years of 80-100 hour weeks for Rick and countless night shifts for Delice. That first thought of buying a Bedford ‘for history’s sake’ has evolved into a new and exciting lifestyle. And if money ever became a problem, what better trades to have on the road than trucking and nursing?

“Dunno about that,” said Rick. “We’re both dab hands at pulling a beer!”