- October 14, 2026
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Muddy paddocks and wombat holes all in a day’s work for IVECO T-Way 4×4 fleet
Presented by IVECO
As a kid, SRC Rural Spreaders owner, Shane Carter, watched his grandfather spread fertiliser onto paddocks around Walcha in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, behind the wheel of a converted 6×6 military ACCO,36 years on, he’s working many of the same fields with his fleet of three T-Way 4x4s.
While the old ACCO might be considered archaic today, back then it was a notable improvement from using tractors to spread fertiliser, especially when travelling between properties at road speeds. The latest generation of spreader bodies combined with modern truck cab chassis such as IVECO’s off-road focused T-Way range, are light years ahead of both, taking productivity to new levels.
Although the equipment has changed, the premise of the work remains: in the case of Walcha and surrounds it’s to improve pastures at meat producing properties and dairy farms, by periodically spreading materials such as compost and fertilisers onto the soil.
Having purchased his first IVECO T-Way 4×4 last year, Shane ordered his second within six months and recently took delivery of a third; all three are equipped with Southern Spreaders bodies.
“We thought that the T-Way platform was a better fit than the other European trucks we’d been using,” Shane explained.
“The T-Way offered higher ground clearance and a cooling package that was set up high, minimising the risk of damage out in the paddocks. It can be rough going – we’re often dealing with stump and wombat holes and fallen tree limbs, which can flick-up and cause damage when driving, and of course, it can get very muddy.”
With its standard front, centre and rear differential locks, low range transfer case and front and rear parabolic suspension, the T-Way 4×4 is well placed to negotiate the demanding conditions, and all three vehicles’ off-road capabilities have been further boosted with fitment of high traction agricultural tyres.
GCM for the trucks is 44,000kg, meaning Shane and his drivers enjoy a generous payload on the cab chassis and the ability to haul tipping trailers, allowing them to refill the spreader hopper on job sites for added efficiency. Sometimes if the landowners have their own compost and fertiliser, the trucks will tow beavertail trailers with wheel loaders on board, which are then used to load the spreaders.
Whatever the combination, the T-Ways have the power to handle the task. Output from the 8.7l Euro6 (Step E) engines is 360hp with torque of 1,650Nm – these are matched to 12-speed Automated Manual Transmission, for stress-free driving both on and off road.
Shane said he’s impressed with the T-Way’s driveability and fuel efficiency.
“I’d say they’re good on fuel – very economical; on a big day we’d usually use around 95 litres per truck. It can be tough going and steep. In Walcha we’re around 1,070m above sea level so it’s undulating terrain,” he explained.
“Normally the speed in the paddock is around 11km/h but this reduces to a crawl when negotiating obstacles. It can get rough in the cabin and you get tossed around but the T-Way handles the conditions well, the air suspended seat is really nice, and the cabin is well sprung. On road we get up to around 85km/h.”
The spreader bodies are also impressive and feature variable rate spreading technology, meaning there’s an adjustment to the spreader’s output depending on the speed of the truck. GPS-based auto-steer guidance also directs the trucks along precise lines, eliminating the risk of overlap or missed patches.
According to Shane, another reason for choosing the T-Way was for the service benefits.
“The trucks come with a good maintenance package, they have good warranties and a lot of the components are greaseless so there’s less downtime,” he said.
“With the previous trucks the radiators used to clog up but this hasn’t been a problem with the T-Ways – we’ve had no damage and the trucks have been an excellent fit for the work we do.”
IVECO
IVECO is a brand of Iveco Group designing, manufacturing and marketing a full range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles for a wide variety of applications.
Guided by its “Spirito in Movimento”, IVECO is evolving from a vehicle manufacturer into a true mobility partner, placing quality, customer experience and a human-centric approach to innovation at the core of everything it does. This vision is brought to life through three pillars: Motion by Design, expressing engineering excellence and distinctive Italian design; Motion through Experience, enabling a seamless and connected ecosystem of vehicles and services; and Motion as Family, reflecting IVECO’s commitment to staying close to customers, drivers and partners throughout their journey.
With a global network of over 2,300 service points, IVECO ensures consistent support, high service quality and uptime wherever its vehicles operate, standing by its customers and drivers at every step of their journey.
Rooted in its Italian
heritage, IVECO combines engineering excellence with design, performance and
attention to detail, shaping mobility solutions that are efficient, distinctive
and built around people.
IVECO Australia
In Australia, IVECO offers commercial vehicles spanning the light, medium, and heavy-duty weight classes, such as the passenger car licence Daily van and cab chassis, Eurocargo in the medium segment, and ACCO and S-Way in the heavy market. Along with road-going models, IVECO has one of the largest off road ranges in Australia with models including Daily 4×4, Eurocargo 4×4 and the T-Way which is available in 4×4, 6×6, 8×8 and 8×4 configurations. All models combine the latest technologies from Europe with extensive local engineering and testing to ensure vehicles thrive in demanding local conditions. IVECO is also a leader in alternative fuels and propulsion systems and is currently trialling its battery electric eDaily models with prominent Australian fleets.
