08/05/2026
The Move to Kenworths, as told by Graeme Dyer.
When Atkinsons sold out to International, they told me: you’ll get the same discount on an International as you’ve been getting on the Atkinsons. So I thought, fair enough I’ll give one a go.
I bought one International as a trial, and I’ve got to say, it turned out to be a pretty good truck. It wasn’t in the same class as an Atkinson, but it was solid and reliable. The only real weakness was the starter motor. It ran on a 12 volt system and it just didn’t have enough power. It kept burning out. In the end we fixed that by adding extra batteries, and once we did that the problem was solved.
The following year, I went back to International and said, “Right, I want to buy another two.”
But they quoted me full price, so I wasn’t happy and didn’t take them. Instead, I decided I’d buy a Kenworth.
I went down to Kenworth in Melbourne with the finance already approved. They had a couple of trucks sitting out the front, both the same, and they were exactly what I wanted and perfect for the Sydney run. I said to them, “If you give me a good price, I’ll take both of them today. Don’t worry about finance I’ve got that all sorted.” They asked, “What’s your name?” I said, “Don’t worry about my name. Just give me your best price, and I’ll tell you whether I’m going to buy those 2 trucks.” So they gave me a price and it was a good price. So I bought both trucks on the spot.
We painted them ourselves in Dyers colours, and off to Sydney they went one behind the other. As they headed up the highway, they passed the Big Garage in Bairnsdale, which was the local dealer. I’d already tried to get a decent deal out of them earlier and hadn’t got anywhere. The boss of the Big Garage happened to be out the front when our two brand new Kenworths rolled past. He looked at them and said, “How did they get those?” He went inside, did a bit of digging, and found out we’d bought them directly from Kenworth in Melbourne.
The next year, when I went back to Kenworth again, there were another couple of trucks sitting out the front. But this time, they knew who I was. They said, “You’ll still get the same discount, but we’ve got to put the sale through the Big Garage. He’s been complaining.”
And that’s how it went from then on. Every Kenworth we bought after that came with the same discount, always honoured. Over the years, we’ve dealt with Keith White at what became the Gippsland Truck Centre (formerly the Big Garage) and we’ve bought more than 150 Kenworths through him, creating loyalty that lasted decades.
But make no mistake Kenworths were terrific, and they still are today. They were miles better than the Atkinsons. Even now, we’ve got three active Kenworths. A T610 SAR and two T410 SARs, and we hardly ever see parts invoices for them. They don’t break down on the side of the road. They just keep going. Kenworths do cost more upfront, but you get every dollar back in the long run.
Even today, we’re still regularly asked when we’re going to buy more Kenworths and that says a lot about the reputation they’ve earned. But at the end of the day, every decision we make comes down to efficiency. It’s not just about how good a truck is; it’s about payload, legal length, fuel burn, running costs, and how well the truck fits the specific task we need it to perform. As the business evolved, those efficiency requirements started to change, and that’s what ultimately drives our decisions. That may have to be a story for another time.
Honour your word, reward loyalty, and make decisions that stand up commercially over the long term. When those principals align, everyone wins.
