Owner/Driver #328

“My sister and
I used to do the
arm pump thing out
the windows to all
the trucks.”
her inexperience, and despite family objections,
the young Eva had followed her dream and was
doing exactly what she wanted to do – driving the
highways in an 18-wheeler.
It has been a huge learning curve for her; Eva
has experienced more varied conditions than a
lot of truck drivers around the world. Her jobs
have mostly been in Canada, although she prefers
running down into California, but there aren’t
many places she hasn’t been. This means she has
had to cope with crossing the Rockies, ploughing
through snow, skating on ice and floating
through rain.
“I actually learnt how to chain up by watching
YouTube, while doing it,” Eva admits with a laugh.
“It took me four hours the first time.”
Thankfully, during her second attempt, she had
a fellow truckie turn up. He made it look easy, but
it did help her learn.
From there her experience and professionalism
ensured Eva never had issues with employment.
She eventually landed a job at West Coast
Transportation and was given the keys to a
579 Peterbilt.
“It wasn’t anything flash on the outside,
very plain,” Eva tells me. “But I looked after
it and had everything pink on the inside –
steering wheel cover, floor mats, bed, all pink.”
I’m not sure if it was for this reason but it
seemed no one else in the company wanted to
drive Eva’s truck when she wasn’t there. In fact,
they’d often ring her up to get it taken down for a
service as the yardies wouldn’t do it.
Pink power
Every truck Eva was given was looked after as
if it was her own. It was that kind of dedication
was what earned her the new W900L. Even after
Don had sworn he would never buy a pink truck,
Eva’s work ethic, mixed in with the opportunity
to acknowledge Don’s partner’s mum who had
passed away with breast cancer, meant Don
backtracked. So in 2018 he ordered the
Kenworth W900L.
The truck is fitted with a 72-inch bunk, or as Eva
says, “It’s only a 72-inch bunk.” Only?
The ISX15 puts out 480hp (358kW), which
apparently still pulls well, even when Eva’s sitting
at 80,000lbs (just over 37 tonne or half a load).
While Eva didn’t get a say in the truck itself, Don
was silly enough to ask what she wanted in the
truck. “You mean I can have what I want?” Eva
had queried.
For the record, one of the yard boys has
apparently used the phrase, “It looks like
Pink Panther took a dump in there” as a
way of surmising the amount of pink
influence. I would tend to disagree, though
there is more than enough proof the Pink
Panther was on the decorating committee.
It didn’t stop there though. You can’t have
a pink truck without pink lights, and there’s
more than enough of them as well. It seems
Don opened a can of worms when he asked for
Eva’s input.
Once it was all kitted up, the truck was sent off
to a lovely lady in the city of London, Ontario to
get all the artwork added. Annette from Xtreme
Graphix was able to fit the truck in her shed with
about two inches to spare (obviously the trailer
had no hope).
When it was completed, Eva checked with
Don and his partner Julie about putting Julie’s
mother’s name on it. They both agreed, though
the truck was dedicated to not only her but all
the women who have been and continued to be
affected by breast cancer. The ‘Save the Boobies’
slogan was out there for everyone.
It’s now been 13 years since Eva got her shot at
trucking, which makes it about 23 years since she
recalls ogling the 18-wheelers on family holidays.
She set her goals and went after them. She has
driven some of the toughest roads in Canada
and the US in some of the harshest conditions.
She now has one of North America’s most eyecatching
Kenworths under her and there is no
drop in her enthusiasm and love of the job.
So along with her trusty little dog Dixie, Eva
is going to keep plying the trade that she has
mastered for years to come. I can’t wait to catch
up again.
ownerdriver.com.au
MAY 2020 45