The Trucks of Steve Jenkins

Steve Jenkins spent most of his working life in transport, and for fifteen of those years – from 1971 to 1986 – he ran his own truck as an owner-driver. Much of that work was European, and while he was never a regular on Middle East runs, he did make a few trips out that way.

The Volvo F88

The earliest truck in his ownership was a Volvo F88, registration YBE 540K – an early example with a split screen and wipers mounted at the top of the cab. Steve had it painted with red, black and white chevrons on the bumper and fitted four spotlights beneath it.

Those spotlights were not a styling exercise. They were mounted low, under the bumper, to cut through the fog on Italian mountain passes such as Mont Cenis. The standard Volvo lights simply were not up to the job when the fog closed in, and positioning the spots as close to the road surface as possible gave a better view of the road ahead.

The truck’s colour scheme also helped him win work. When Steve approached Ian McKellar about a job, Ian agreed to take him on because the red truck matched his own fleet colours – on one condition. Ian wanted a white stripe painted on the cab. Steve was happy to agree, provided it cost him nothing, so Ian paid for the stripe himself.

The full list

These are the trucks Steve owned during his years as an owner-driver:

• YBE 540K – Volvo F88 240
• SLL 62L – Volvo F88 240
• OGS 49M – Volvo F88 240
• NHL 618X – Volvo F89
• KPU 13V – Mercedes-Benz

The Mercedes 1632

The Mercedes was a 1632 bought second-hand. By the time Steve parted with it, the odometer showed around 1.6 million kilometres, much of that accumulated on regular runs to Italy.

It was powered by a 320hp V10 paired with an eight-speed ZF gearbox, and despite its size Steve could still return a respectable 7mpg from it.