6 Foot Behind the Bullbar - Real Trucks. Real Roads. Real Stories.

Some stories don’t age. They just keep rolling.
In this episode of Six Foot Behind the Bullbar, we head back more than twenty years to Northwest Queensland, riding alongside legendary livestock operator Owen Schmidt as he takes a Kenworth T650 and triple Haulmark road train into Kilclooney Station to load cattle.
This is not a story about polished trucks or perfect roads. It is about the reality of livestock transport in one of Australia’s most unforgiving regions. Dust that hangs in the air. Tracks that barely qualify as roads. Equipment built not to impress, but to survive.
You’ll hear how Owen and his wife Liz built Schmidt Transport from a single truck into one of Queensland’s respected livestock operations, why durability mattered more than appearance, and how trailers designed decades ago are still working today across the north.
This episode captures a moment in time when road trains were simply tools of the trade, and the men and women who operated them did so without fuss, recognition, or margin for error.
Because out here, reliability was not a feature. It was survival.

Forkin’ Good
When the truck carries its own forklift, delays disappear — and a business is born.
In this episode of 6 Foot Behind the Bullbar, host Jason Jordan sits down with Fork2U founder Peter McCormack to uncover how a former Melbourne firefighter built one of Australia’s most versatile pallet delivery fleets using Scania P420 rigid trucks and rear-mounted Manitou telehandlers.
Operating from Melbourne’s outer suburbs, Fork2U moves more than 3,000 pallets per week across construction sites, airports, infrastructure projects, and urban delivery locations where conventional trucks simply can’t operate. Peter shares how a simple idea — putting a forklift on the truck — transformed pallet logistics by eliminating delays, improving efficiency, and creating a fully independent delivery solution.
This episode explores the real-world performance of Scania P-series trucks in demanding urban freight applications, including fuel economy, Opticruise transmission efficiency, twin-steer payload advantages, and the importance of reliability in high-pressure delivery environments. Peter also reflects on lessons learned from his 31-year firefighting career and how those principles shaped his approach to business, fleet management, and customer service.
If you’re interested in trucks, transport logistics, Scania performance, Australian trucking stories, or the people behind modern freight operations, this is a rare inside look at a fleet built on solving problems and delivering reliability.
Subscribe to 6 Foot Behind the Bullbar for authentic Australian trucking stories, road transport history, heavy haulage features, and behind-the-scenes interviews from the people who keep Australia moving.
For the full story and photos visit www.roadtrains.com.au

On this very special archival episode of 6 Foot Behind the Bullbar, we rewind the clock more than twenty years to an original Outback Road Train video, filmed deep in the Gulf Country of Northwest Queensland, where Deason’s heavy haul driver Craig Oldham prepares to move one of the largest wheel loaders ever transported on Australian roads.
Filmed by Howard and Tommy Shanks as part of the original Outback Road Train DVD series, this episode follows Craig and his 200-tonne-rated Kenworth T904 as it hauls a massive 102-tonne Komatsu WA900 loader across 1,200 kilometres of remote outback highway. From sunrise at a Royal Flying Doctor emergency airstrip near Gregory Downs, through the historic towns of Cloncurry, Julia Creek, Richmond and Charters Towers, this is Australian heavy haulage in its purest form.
You’ll hear the original soundtrack recorded in the cab and along the roadside, capturing the authentic sounds of a Caterpillar-powered Kenworth at work. Hydraulic module trailers, bush repairs, fuel stops, tyre fixes, and the constant challenge of moving oversized loads across one of the harshest environments on earth.
This is not a recreation. This is the real journey, as it happened.
For the full story, photos, and technical insights, visit
roadtrains.com.au
If you enjoy real Australian trucking stories, be sure to follow 6 Foot Behind the Bullbar on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

In 2002 — the Year of the Outback — a story called North of the Dingo Fence was filmed and written on the red dirt of outback Queensland. First released as a magazine feature and on VHS video tape (and later on DVD), it captured a raw snapshot of life, livestock trucking, and long runs far beyond the bitumen.
But what audiences never saw were the stories behind the story.
In this episode of Six Foot Behind the Bullbar, Roadtrains.com.au technical editor and filmmaker Howard Shanks opens the archive to reveal the behind-the-scenes moments from the making of North of the Dingo Fence — the prototype trucks that couldn’t be shown, the weather that changed everything, the nights that ran too late, and the decisions made well north of the Dingo Fence.
This is a rare look at how outback trucking documentaries were made before smartphones, drones, and GoPros — when cameras were heavy, trust mattered, 
Settle in for the story behind the story — Six Foot Behind the Bullbar.
For all the photos visit www.roadtrains.com.au.

Two triple road trains. One brutal outback run.
Wind the clock back 20 years and climb into the passenger seat with Roadtrains.com.au editor Howard Shanks as we tackle a classic north Queensland cattle haul — loading at Kinrara Cattle Station in the Gulf Savannah and pounding south to Hughenden on relentless corrugated dirt roads.
Filmed for the legendary Kenworth Country documentary series, this episode of 6 Foot Behind the Bullbar drops you deep into the reality of northern cattle cartage: crushing corrugations, heat, dust, fatigue management, animal welfare, mechanical sympathy and the constant pressure to get live freight across vast distances safely and on time. This isn’t romanticised trucking — it’s the real deal, where experience matters and the road always has the final say.
We explore the challenges faced by cattle carters in the north, the skill required to run triple road trains in harsh conditions, and why these operators are among the toughest in the industry.
📘 This story also features in Great Australian Road Trains – Volume Two, available on Amazon.
📸 For the full story and photos, head to roadtrains.com.au.
Strap in, turn it up, and follow the dust north — this is Australian road transport at its rawest.