Hair’s Cattle Transport a tale of two Titans

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Owner/Driver / June 15, 2015

It’s Mack all the way for father and son team Jim and Barney Hair.

Carting hay is busy work at the moment for Hair’s Cattle Transport and Hay Supplies, but a reliance on hard-working Mack trucks is helping the family-run operation get the job done.

The father and son team of Jim and Barney Hair are diehard Mack fans. When the duo spoke to Owner//Driver recently, Jim was admiring his 1990 Titan and the 2013 Titan New Breed.

Both trucks were loaded with hay in Emerald, bound for Longreach in outback Queensland.

"We are Mack people…everything is Mack," Jim says.

Jim, his wife Jan and their son Barney run Hair’s Cattle Transport and Hay Supplies out of the small town of Springsure, just south of Emerald.

The 1990 Titan has a 575hp (410kW) Mack E9 V-8 engine under the bonnet with Camelback suspension, while the newer Titan has a 685hp (510kW) MP10 engine, a 12-speed mDrive box and overleaf suspension.

Jim also has an old Super-Liner in the shed at his home that he plans to rebuild and then hire another driver to get behind the wheel of the Titan.

After all, the company could do with another truck on the road. The drought in Queensland has bumped up demand for hay.

"For a long time we’ve been killing ourselves. It’s tough going but it will quieten off. You need to make hay while the sun shines, as the saying goes," Barney says.

"Right now, there is such a demand with the drought.

"The drought’s getting worse and it’s just gone on and on."

While Jim and Barney are out in the trucks, Jan takes care of the office work and oversees the operation.

The time away from home for each triple ranges from a day to a week, depending on where they collect the hay and deliver it to. The operation goes right up to the Northern Territory border so it’s not uncommon for the trucks to hit the dirt.

"The Titan loves the dirt," Barney says.

"With its long wheelbase it rides well, and the cab rides on air so it’s very comfortable."

Related photographs - http://www.ownerdriver.com.au/industry-news/1506/hairs-cattle-transport-a-tale-of-two-titans/