Double Coin Imaging Awards

It was riding in the passenger seat alongside his father in Blackwell’s Transport 3070s that sparked James Craw’s love for International Trucks.

When Blackwell’s called on James’ dad to do the odd bit of relief driving, James was always keen to ride along and enjoy a break from the family dairy farm at Barrys Bay, near Akaroa.

Today James owns Christchurch’s Blue Diamond Haulage and it’s a 2021 International Prostar T6 model which is the first new truck for the company.

In 2004 James started JCL Asphalt in Canterbury with an Isuzu 5-tonne tipper. That company has grown to a fleet of Volvo and Isuzu branded trucks and is well known for their exceptional work.

The Prostar is christened The Gambler, and its sharp white paintwork is the canvas for some eye-catching detail work.

“I decided to get in touch with Shaun Jury from Intertruck and planned the build of this beast from new. Being our first new big rig, it sure was an exciting time,” says James.

The urge to do something different led James to investigate the Trout River Live Bottom units for carting asphalt: “It didn’t take me long to grasp the idea and see the benefits of these units for carting asphalt into pavers,” he says.

Blue Diamond Haulage started operating with a second-hand International 9800 8x4 which had a brand-new Trout River body attached. At the same time a second-hand 5-axle logging chassis was purchased which had a new Trout River body added to it to create a fully matching 9-axle unit.

As it turned out, the full unit wasn’t used enough as the truck was busier doing truck only work.

“We went back to the drawing board with Corey from Reid Engineering in Dunedin to work out how we could better utilise this unit,” says James.

The result is what you see in this month’s Double Coin Tyres Transport Imaging poster. 

“We removed the body from the 5-axle trailer and turned it into a 2-axle semi, which was the best decision we could have ever made,” says James.

Initially a 9400 International was purchased to tow the trailer, followed by a 9870 International which was leased for 12 months from Truck Rentals before the decision was made to purchase it.

Cliff Mannington at Truck Signs in Mount Maunganui was flown to Christchurch and given a free licence to design and apply the signage to the 9870, a theme that has continued onto the new Prostar T6.

Painted in Artic white, Cliff has once again worked his magic with lines that accentuate the shape of the Prostar bonnet along with subtle colours and graphics that add to the overall look of the truck.

Adding to that “look” is a 12mm alloy Ali Arc highway spec bumper, a custom Lonestar style deep visor with 10 marker lights, a four-piece fender flare kit and twin cab mounted 7-inch exhaust stacks (both functional) with stainless customer branded shrouds (Blue Diamond Haulage) that are boxed and lit.

Owner James Craw and driver Pieter White are extremely happy with the truck: “The power is there when you need it, and you don’t feel tired at the end of the day after driving it,” says Pieter. 

The power Pieter speaks of comes from the Cummins X-15 615hp engine which produces 2050 lb-ft of torque. 

Together with the Eaton Roadranger MXP Ultra Shift (automated manual) transmission fitted with a cobra shifter, the International Prostar T6 also has a 7.25 tonne Meritor front axle, and Meritor 46-160 rear axles making it well equipped for the work Blue Diamond Haulage require it for.

While the transporter and newly acquired TES quad axle bottom dumper are sometimes hooked up behind the Prostar, driver Pieter White is usually seen towing the Trout River Live Bottom semi.

“It allows us to cart large asphalt volumes into pavers with the ability to unload without needing to tip a long deck,” says James. 

“With deck lengths not needing to be restricted we have been able to stretch the body out to get into the 36-tonne category which allows us to get a 21.5- tonne payload behind the Prostar. Also, by not having to tip the body we totally remove the risk of rollovers and overhead service strikes making this unit extremely safe on site.”

With the design of the body, fully insulated walls have been incorporated to maintain ideal temperature levels of asphalt while carting to site.

It’s innovative thinking like this that makes Blue Diamond Haulage and the International brand a great partnership.