Cover story: Rabbit XPress from Ohakune

Date: 28.12.2022

David Nottage of Rabbit Xpress is a Mack man through and through

I can’t recall if it was the Zebra-print trousers or the bright yellow Mack that flashed before me like a lightning bolt, but the truck and driver, David Nottage, aka Rabbit, (he got the name while working at Child Freighters and it stuck) couldn’t have been missed at the Mack 50th Truck Show, held in Feilding in October.

Rabbit runs his contracting business Rabbit XPress in Ohakune. With its giant carrot monument in the town, it seems like a fitting place for Rabbit. He’s lived there for 32 years and was recently re-elected as a councillor for a fourth term on the Ohakune District Council where, yes, he’s known as councillor Rabbit.

Mack man

David Nottage aka Rabbit

Rabbit says he’s a Mack man through and through and he likes the older ones such as the Ultra-Liners, R-Models and Super-Liners.He owns three Macks — two Ultra-Liners and an R Series and all of them have done their fair share of work in the past and are still going strong.

The 1989 six-wheeler MH Mack, which he bought in 2006, was originally built as a stock truck for driver Peter Curtis, and it worked around the Wairoa and Gisborne area.

"It had a three-deck crate, then someone else bought it and put a bin on the back. It has the old Mack gearbox in it and goes like a dream. That truck has made money for me over the years. It’s a real workhorse and as long as you look after it, it keeps going."

The eight-wheeler was originally brand-new to Pan Pac Forest Products in Napier.

"They ran Super-Liners and Ultra-Liners, and all came out with Cat engines," says David.
After working at Pan Pac, the truck went to Rotorua Forest Haulage, where it worked carting stem logs in Kaingaroa Forest. When Rabbit found it, it was out to pasture, having seen its glory days — or so it seemed.

"It was in a paddock in Utiku where it had been parked for eight years. I was looking for parts for the blue six-wheeler, and the guy said, ‘my uncle’s got one parked in the paddock’. We raced on down. I recall there was an Ultra-Liner and a Super-Liner parked there. The Ultra-Liner’s engine wouldn’t start because it had been parked up so long. There was still fuel in the tank, and the tyres had perished. We put a strong bar on it to crash-start it, and it fired up straight away. The familiar crackle of the Cat engine was like music to our ears. It ran so sweetly for such an old truck. I spent around $60k on it just to get a COF. I bought 12 new tyres, a new ram, a water pump, and a heavy-duty starter motor."

His latest truck is the 1984 R Series Mack, ‘Ajor’, which he’s had for two years. Having seen it advertised, Rabbit journeyed to Puhoi to buy it.

"I rang and said that I’d come up on the train. I was so sure I wanted it; I only booked a one-way trip. When I arrived, it was nighttime, but even in the dark, it looked good, and the interior was immaculate.

"I was hoping to buy a low-loader transporter on the return journey but missed out on one and had to wait a month before I got a 1967 three-axle low-loader from Tairua."

The Mack 285 was tapped out to 315hp and has a 12-speed Mack gearbox and deep reduction — a second gear stick instead of a pull-up or drop-down switch. Since buying it, Rabbit has put one-piece guards with black stripes on the truck, new rear lights, raised the stacks.

"Eventually, I want to take the stacks up to six inches to make it stand out even more."

Always a trucker

Ajor on show at the Mack 50th anniversary in Feilding

Rabbit joined the NZ Army straight out of school and focused on getting his trucking skills up and running while there. He was in the Regular Force for three years and got all his heavy traffic licenses before leaving and going to live in Whanganui. There he worked for a cartage contractor, Jack Dodd, and when the business was bought out by Child Freighters Ltd, who Transpac bought out, he moved to the Ohakune to work on logging trucks.

"I worked for McCarthy Transport Ltd on Macks. I drove two MH Ultra-Liners; they had six with 425 Cat motors. And then I got the second to last Ultra-Liner they built; it had a C12 Cat motor."

He then worked in Tangiwai on logging loaders for McCarthy’s before deciding it was time to get out of trucking.

"I left McCarthy’s, and what did I do?

I bought a truck. It was the blue 1989 Ultra-Liner that belonged to Peter Curtis, which I’ve still got. It works daily around town, as well as other parts of the central North Island: Taihape, Raetihi, Horopito, Waimarino, and Waiouru. I do a lot of quarry work, carting scoria; there’s a large lava flow in town and a crusher, which crushes it into high-quality metal. We use the eight-wheeler with the bin on it everywhere. I say, if you can get it in there; I can tip it out."

The three Macks, plus bulk tippers and a low loader trailer ensure Rabbit can do whatever work comes his way. He also has a Kobelco excavator, a Mitsubishi truck, and a Bandit Woodchipper.

Travel bug

The 1986 Mack 425 at work on forestry roading

Over the years, Rabbit says he’s enjoyed travelling to Russia and Ukraine.

"I love the history, food, music, and architecture of both countries. I work all year and save up to make these trips. But in the last three years, because of COVID-19 and then the war, I couldn’t go, so instead, I bought the third Mack."

On overseas trips, Rabbit finds fabric he can’t buy here and has them custom-made. There can’t be many district councillors in New Zealand with such distinctive outfits.

Rabbit’s ginger cat, Spaghetti, used to enjoy travelling with him in the trucks. He was a well-known identity around Ohakune but sadly, he passed away in June. However, he lives on in the Rabbit XPress logo.

Rabbit reckons Ohakune, with its many outdoor recreational attractions and a range of industries from forestry to farming, pulp, sawmill, and horticulture is an excellent place to live and work.

In December, the big yellow Mack took pride of place in the Raetihi RataVagas Christmas Parade where the children from Orautoha Primary School decorated ‘Ajor’ for the occasion.

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