Carl Gardner is one happy man; well, he‘d be a little bit happier if he didn‘t have the broken leg that‘s stopping him from driving his sharp
new International 9870 on its Dunedin–Christchurch–Invercargill run. Assembled and painted at the Intertruck plant in Mount Maunganui, the distinctive Owens red livery extends to the deep front bumper, rear bumper and fuel tanks.

The truck is fitted with a Cummins X15 motor producing 398kW (530hp) and 2508Nm (1850lb/ft) of torque, and an Eaton two-pedal UltraShift PLUS transmission.

A Cummins RoadRelay helps monitor consumption and productivity. But the features that really set this International 9870 apart are the customised grille, chassis plates, headlight surrounds, stone guard, mirror shells, deep V drop visor, air horns, air intakes, tank straps and rear guard straps, which are all painted in satin black and tie in perfectly with the Owens red, and DuraBright rims.

Climbing up into the big International you notice the deep grey vinyl stud trim that lines the interior, along with the woodgrain accents and dash panels. The elevated bunk (which is an option) enables a 30L Waeco fridge drawer to go underneath. The mattress is the widest and longest in its class and the sleeper has great headroom at 5‘10” so you can move easily from the driver‘s seat through to the back of the cab.

Carl (who previously owned an International) said, “Going back to International was an easy choice as the team at Intertruck made things so easy”. He would also like to thank Shaun Jury for his great work in making this happen, and Cliff from Truck Signs for the signwriting and paint protection work.