[Robin Craig]

The Kenworth Pallet Loading System (PLS) vehicle was a brute just to look at, in my mind a purposeful truck if ever I saw one. Im not saying it was any good, I am just saying it looked good.

Apparently it lacked some lift capability, there are tales of them lifting the front axle off the ground when loading sea containers filled with beer but I wasn't there.

The flat racks or pallets were capable of being cross decked to the trailer that was towed behind. There was a method of shortening the drawbar to get it within range.

The reason I group the Western Star truck in with the Kenworth is that one was responsible for the genesis of the other. Major Paul Fredonburg was the project officer and at the time a fellow IPMS member. He runs a model making company called Trackjam.

Paul was the one tasked with creating a better engineer support truck, and through the grafting of an HLVW dump box to a highly modified PLS truck the basic template was set down for what was sent out for tender to become the Western Star HESV.

The truck with the flatracks is 81716