THERE is only one thing better than the sound of an old diesel V8 cruising down the road, and that is a whole convoy of diesel V8 powered monsters cruising down the road.

This is exactly what happened recently at Haulin’ the Hume, a chance for older trucks to get out on the road and show that they can still go the distance.

Haulin’ the Hume is run in honour of all the commercial vehicles that have hauled the Hume, from its initial state as a glorified goat track, right up to the multi-lane freeway it is today.

Starting out from the Hawkesbury showground at Clarendon, the convoy travelled along the Old Northern Rd out to Uncle Leo’s at Yennora, then made its way along the original Hume Hwy route, through backroads and over Razorback, quite possibly one of the most notable spots in Australian trucking history.

The sound of these trucks at speed is something else, with one entrant telling Big Rigs “the muffler shop was never going to make any money out of these trucks, mainly because most of them don’t run mufflers”.

Snaking its way through the Southern Highlands, the convoy stopped at Goulburn for lunch for a well-earned break.

One of the first to arrive was Chad Manning, a Sydney driver who brought out his recently acquired matte black Kenworth K125 for the run.

Packing a GM 692, the old girl “moves a bit quicker than I thought she would” Chad said, as he soaked up the nostalgia of the event.

Fresh from display at the Sydney Bus and Truck Museum, their Mack B61 was being piloted by Ronnie Franks.

Ronnie quite enjoys the event because he gets a chance to blow the cobwebs out of the classic rig.

Regulars at the event, the boys from Jeffsann Excavations in Western Sydney had a few trucks on the run.

The pride of their classic fleet, their own B61 Mack, mixed it up with their R Model and Flintstone model trucks and the final addition, their 1914 fully restored Republic truck, being floated along for the ride.

Laurie Refalo, one of the brothers who runs Jeffsann Excavations, told Big Rigs: “It’s a great day out, to see all these great rigs still being used and shared with the world.”

From Goulburn, the convoy made its way along the old highway, down roads that have long been bypassed in the search for a quicker route to Melbourne.

Through Breadalbane and up over the Cullerin Range, past the site of the old K-mart store and onto the stopover point for the night, Yass.

This included a private 20km section of The Old Hume Hwy, just south of Gunning, that was once again opened by the owners for the trucks to travel through.

The location for this year’s dinner was the Yass Memorial Hall, allowing for the ever increasing numbers attending the event.

This year, the Sunday morning send-off was a massive occasion, with the trucks parked up along “Gasoline Alley”, on the south end of town.

Event organiser Bruce Gunter was pleased with the large turnout of both entrants and spectators.

This year managed to attract more than 260 rigs, up from 143 entrants in 2011.

With a 30-year cut off to ensure only classic machinery turned up, the age range for the commercial dinosaurs ranged from 1922 up until 1985. All along the route there were spots packed with those wanting to see this “good old gear” in motion. “This year has had a lot of thought put into it, to ensure the best possible event we can put together,” Bruce said.

“I took part in the event, running in Pat Vassalo’s freshly painted Transtar, so my dad could have a chance to take my Commer for a run.”

Haulin’ the Hume is an event majorly supported by the trucking community, with big company names backing the event.

The generous names behind the event have allowed for a lot of items to help out, including the Haulin’ the Hume trailer, a mobile stage that was purchased from Electrolux Home Products with the help of Western Filters who are the major sponsor of the event.

Boasting the ability to act as a registration area for entrants and change into a stage, it allows for a more polished look to the event and makes for great advertising along the route.

Best of all, it’s all for a good cause, with the majority of the money raised from the run going to Aspect – Autism Spectrum Australia, as well as a portion going to special needs groups in Goulburn.

Haulin’ the Hume is one event which shows that these old trucks (and old drivers) have a lot of life in them yet.

With more trucks getting dusted off and out there on the Hume, the show gets better every year.

Plus with the numbers of entrants and spectators growing, it won’t be slowing down in a hurry.

Much like these old trucks really.