RFW was an Australian specialist vehicle manufacturer based in Chester Hill, Sydney. The firm specialized in heavy industrial vehicles including coaches, fire appliances, garbage trucks and road-rail vehicles for use in the Asia Pacific region. Many of its vehicles were all wheel drive. The RFW models featured a wide choice of original running gear for their wide range of vehicles for several roles from Scania, Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Nissan Diesel UD, Rolls-Royce Diesel and also Bedford & Hino.
| Industry | Vehicle manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Robert Frederick Whitehead |
| Headquarters | , Australia |
| Products | Customised buses & trucks |
| Owner | Robert Frederick Whitehead |
History edit
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RFW was founded by former Royal Australian Air Force fitter (Bob) Robert Frederick Whitehead.[1][2] RFW completed its first vehicle in 1969, a 8 x 4 [[using a KM Bedford cab dump truck.[3][4] All trucks & Bus chassis were custom hand built by a small team to customers specifications & requirements
Output examples edit
- 9 Airport crash tenders for Royal Malaysian Air Force[5]
- 7 6x6 trucks for EPT Electric Power Transmission at Maryong NSW
- 21 4x4 & 6x6 fire proof cab bush fire trucks for Woods & Forest Dept Mount Gambier SA
- 9 Coach chassis for Ansett Pioneer for use in the Northern Territory[6][7]
- 3 Road-rail vehicles for Hamersley Iron[8]
- 5 Road-rail vehicles for the State Rail Authority[9]
- 14x14 wheel drive road legal Sewage pump for Brisbane City Council[10]
- Catering vehicles for Qantas[2]
References edit
- ^ About RFW RFW Trucks
- ^ a b RFW Historic Vehicles
- ^ The tailored truck that Bob builds Truck & Bus Transportation May 1969 pages 71-75, 116, 117
- ^ A Melbourne truck maker AOMC News February 2022 page 10
- ^ Automatic and all-wheel drive for crash tenders Truck & Bus Transportation November 1976 page 6
- ^ RFW coach chassis for outback Truck & Bus Transportation March 1978 pages 6/7
- ^ RFW Coach Chassis Fleetline issue 34 May 1978 page 7
- ^ The Road-Rail Truck Network July 1991 page 42
- ^ Road/rail emergency units Truck & Bus Transportation July 1992 page 10
- ^ Bob Whitehead builds a massive muck mover Truck & Bus Transportation February 1993 page 11
External links edit
Media related to RFW at Wikimedia Commons