Kenworth BBQ Truck

Prize for the vehicle that gets the most looks when out on the road, has to go to a Kenworth truck owned by Colin and Debbie James of Tokoroa.

That’s because the truck isn’t really a truck, but a barbecue trailer. And because it is a trailer it has to be towed – backwards.

“We get comments about it all the time,” says Colin of the trailer, which sports a full-sized Kenworth grille. “We are in the trucking business, so we get to hear other truckies talking to each other, and they are always commenting about spotting a scaled-down Kenworth truck going backwards!”

The story of the BBQ trailer goes back a few years now, when Colin was chatting to an engineer mate of his in Putaruru. He mentioned he always seemed to be hiring barbecues to feed forestry crews in the central North Island.

“We decided it would be good idea if my mate built us a trailer-mounted barbecue. What he came up with was a downsized truck cabin that still weighed 2.5 tonnes, and had a full-sized Western Star grille on its front.”

A little later Colin’s company Central Equipment Movers changed to Kenworth trucks, which prompted a Rotorua friend to change the BBQ’s grille from Western Star to Kenworth. So now the trailer has its full-sized Kenworth grille that dominates its rear when it is being towed.

These days the trailer is also fitted with a flash Bluetooth stereo system and Narva lights. That’s the result of the BBQ being borrowed by a mate to take on a fishing trip to Mokau, where one of the participants was a marketing manager with a company that sells the audio and lighting equipment.

“So now it has four to six deep cycle batteries on board that power the big stereo system and a whole lot of Narva lights. As a result I’ve got the trailer insured for $25,000!”

When the special BBQ trailer is towed to Taranaki for Americarna, it is going to be parked at New Plymouth racecourse and used to cook up a storm for charity. Each side of the truck cabin’s bonnet folds down to reveal a pair of barbecues.

“I’ll probably bring the trailer down to Taranaki the week before Americarna,” says Colin, who also intends entering two other vehicles – his 1978 Plymouth Fury state trooper sedan, and his wife Debbie’s bright yellow1982 Checker taxi.