An owner driver based in Sunbury on Melbourne’s northern outskirts has created a head turning Scania R620 V8 prime mover which draws on a European tradition among Scania drivers to deeply personalise their trucks.
Chris Bonnitcha’s new Scania R 620 V8 turns heads each time he turns a wheel, thanks to a stunning Mountain Grey paint job, scroll work and lashings of stainless steel because he wanted to build a stand-out V8 that would match the best seen overseas.
The Victoria-based owner-driver’s business is called CRB Roadtrans, and runs a refrigerated B-double set, usually filled with fresh or frozen produce for Southern Refrigerated, regularly running from Melbourne to Brisbane.
Bonnitcha has been running interstate off and on since 1998, along with a couple of stints as a diesel mechanic.
He decided to go out on the road under his own name as recently as 2021 and hasn’t looked back, enjoying the freedom of the highway as he clocks up the kilometres.
“Compared with working as a mechanic, as a driver you’re sitting down all day, you don’t get dirty, it’s not hard, and no one is looking over your shoulder asking if the job’s done yet,” Bonnitcha said .
Chris recently switched from his initial purchase of an American truck to the 16.4-litre V8 Scania after a long-standing admiration for the Swedish brand.
“My previous truck did 1.7 million km, and it was good to me, but I was sick of changing gears manually as well as the rough ride, and I always had my heart set on a Scania, and the difference is very noticeable,” Bonnitcha said.
“I reckon I have about five years left behind the wheel so I thought now was the time to make the change,” the 61-year-old said.
“The fuel consumption is much better, and with the price of fuel, that’s critical,” he added.
“Running between 55-65-tonnes I am seeing an average of around 2.3-2.4 km per litre which is about half a km more than I was getting from the old truck and that’s a significant saving for the kilometres I cover, year-on-year,” he said.
“The lowest fuel consumption I have seen was 1.9 kilometre per litre coming from Brisbane to Melbourne at 65-tonnes gross, and the best I have had was 2.8 km/l at 31-tonnes,” he reckons.
“I guarantee anyone who buys a Scania, you’ll get two kilometres to a litre without even trying,” he said.
“The motor has so much torque, it’s a huge difference, it just digs in and pulls. As the motor has clocked up more km it has improved, and now after around 140,000 kilometres, it just powers up the hills as if there’s no weight on the back.
‘It’s almost as if the engine reaches milestones and something opens up. It’s like you just twist the fuel pump and it’s got a bit more power. I’m going up hills now in one gear higher as the kilometres increase.
“I’ve also experimented driving at 95 km/h instead of at 100 and I can see there’s a considerable fuel saving possible, and despite the slower speed There’s a negligible difference in journey time, so I’m still well within the hours,” Bonnitcha said.
Obviously keen to keep his fuel burn as low as possible. Bonnitcha said he bought the Scania for fuel economy, and says it’s money in his pocket now.”
Bonnitcha says he is a fan of the Scania Eco Roll function that on a downhill allows the truck to roll out of gear, but then seamlessly reengages when the throttle is reapplied. This also helps to save fuel.
“The gearbox is beautiful, it’s very, very smooth, you don’t even know you’re changing gears and the extra torque coupled with the gearbox give you marginally better journey times because you’re quicker up the hills, but critically when you get to the end of the day you’re not stuffed,” he said.
“It’s a much more relaxed drive. And entry and exit from the cab is much easier too. And I don’t bump my head on the doorway like I did in the other truck,” Bonnitcha said.
“Behind the wheel you really notice the stability even at speed and the steering is fantastic, it’s like a train on rails. I can go into bends without backing off like I would have done in the old truck.
There’s no body roll, nothing. It’s very controlled. The steering is light and direct, and it is also much easier to reverse a double onto a dock. Plus, the mirrors are really good for reversing and they are moved away from the body, so you get good vision at intersections.
“The cab is really comfortable to live in, day-in, day-out, and I am away in the truck for extended period.
“I have a TV in the back, plus a fridge and freezer under the bunk and an additional 15-litre Brass Monkey freezer mounted under the cab, and a 24-volt oven. I didn’t want a microwave, but with the extra freezer and the oven I can cook for myself. Sometimes I can be away for a month at a time, but when I pull into Melbourne my wife will come by to restock the freezer if I don’t have time to come home.
“True, it’s not the biggest bunk out in the market but unless you’re King Kong, mate, there’s plenty of room in there and like I was always said, the bunk is there for sleeping, you spend most of your time driving, that is where you want the comfort, driving is where you want the ability to enjoy yourself, sit back and enjoy the ride,” he said.
“The bunk is comfortable, and warm enough at night in the winter and, I don’t need the diesel heater like I did in the old truck. That was an ice block, because in the Scania you don’t feel the cold because they’re insulated. I’ve had the linings out of the roof, doing my wiring, and there’s insulation everywhere,” Bonnitcha said.
“Quite often a truck’s pulled up next to me at the truck stop with an ice pack running right outside my bunk, and I didn’t even know it was there until I opened the door the next morning, you simply couldn’t hear his cooler running, that’s how good they are. So, full credit to Scania for their sound and heat insulation.
“You don’t buy a Scania for the bunk, you buy one because it’s comfortable, it’s reliable and it’s fuel economical, and it pulls like a train, the torque will get you up over that hill quicker than anyone,” he said.
Bonnitcha is impressed by the free servicing package that came with his truck for the first 500,000 km (or five years, whichever comes first).
“Scania sends me a message that it’s due for service. I contact them, book it in, and drop it off at Scania Campbellfield so that’s one less thing for me to worry about as an owner-driver.
“I used to service the old truck myself, buy the oils and that, but this Scania oil, is a long-life oil, and I used to be against that, but I dipped the oil after 40,000 km, and it’s not discoloured.
“I held it up to the sunlight, it’s still golden, not the putrid black you’d expect after that distance, so I’m pretty happy about that and now I have saved a half a day of downtime and there’s no mess or fuss like when I am servicing the truck myself,” he said.
From the outside, Bonnitcha’s grey dream machine looks fully customised, but as ever with these passion projects, there’s always a little more to do to get the truck looking spot on.
“I have a little bit more to go,” Bonnitcha concedes.
“I’ve done the stainless wings on the back with the lights, the tank skirts and the (very expensive) rear hubcaps, and wheel covers for the fronts and I’ve got stainless mirror covers, load lights, and bullets and shiny horns on top of the roof and the big sun visor which came from a Dutch company that has opened up in New Zealand.
“I fitted most of this stuff myself, but if you come back in six months you’ll see a lot more done to it. I’ve got a vision for the truck, but it has to be tasteful, TFI did the paint for me, and they did a great job, the stripe is my design but I looked at some European trucks, and I liked that, it’s different,” he said.
“Everywhere you go, 99 per cent of the Scanias that you see are white and I have seen one that is very similar to mine, and sometimes we park next to each other in Canberra.
Scania account manager for Western Victoria, Dave Whyte said that Bonnitcha was his first customer when he joined Scania, and he was excited to be able to help create such an eye-catching truck straight off the bat.
“We worked with Chris to make sure the specification matched his requirements to bring his dream truck to life, and even after delivery we were able to tweak some of the electronics to get the truck set up to drive just how Chris wanted. He’s been getting excellent fuel results and is constantly texting me images of his results off the dashboard.
“In these days of volatile and high fuel prices, to be able to achieve 2.8 km/l from a V8 B-double set even on a back run with no load is impressive, and his adoption of Eco Roll to save fuel on downhill runs, has also made a difference.
“Most of all though, Chris’ enthusiasm for the driving and ownership experience is very rewarding for me, as is how the truck looks after its customisation. With great results and great looks, Chris is definitely having his cake and eating it,” Whyte said.
