Double Coin Imaging Awards

Hayden Paddon’s new hauler is a 2021 Freightliner Cascadia 116 which tows the Paddon Racing Group (PRG) transporter and mobile workshop to major motorsport events.

And as you’d expect from a team that puts maximum effort into the presentation of its Hyundai competition cars, the Freightliner and dual axle semi-trailer also get some sharp treatment as well – making sure they stand out on the highway, at a rally service park, or taking a break at a Z Energy Truck Stop.

Hayden upgraded to the Cascadia last year after using a 2012 Freightliner Argosy since 2020.

The Cascadia 6x4 is powered by the 13-litre 505hp (377kW) Detroit DD13 engine teamed with the DT-12 automated 12-speed transmission. The 36-inch sleeper cab comes in handy for long hauls away from the team base at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell.

“We rented it last year for the North Island rallies and I probably got sucked into how modern and nice it was to drive. So, we sold our Argosy, and we ended up buying it,” Hayden says.

“It’s definitely a lot more comfortable and easier to drive with a lot less rattles as well. It’s 10 years newer than the Argosy and it feels a lot more modern.”

Hayden says he enjoys a long trip behind the wheel of a truck. 

“I’ve had a few nights sleeping in the cab. For me that’s all part of the whole trucker experience,” he says.

“The Cascadia has got less horsepower than the Argosy and we are a little bit slower up the hills. But I’m not in any hurry to get anywhere and we’re not hauling huge weights.”

The 2-axle trailer doubles as a mobile workshop and transporter. It can carry three cars – two on the upper deck and one downstairs – as well as being fitted with racking for tyres and spare parts. There is generator and compressor gear onboard to service the rally cars in remote locations.

Lounge space in the front of the trailer is used for team meetings and for engineers to work on laptops. An awning allows cars to be serviced out of the weather. 

“It was our home away from home workshop for the three North Island rallies last year because we didn’t take anything back to the South Island between events,” Hayden says.

“But this year it hasn’t done as much work because we’ve be doing more events overseas.”

The trailer not only transports the team’s high-speed cargo, it’s also a billboard for PRG partners with prominent Hyundai NZ and Mitre 10 Trade logos along with Z Energy, Bartercard, Winmax Brake Pads and Bars Bugs branding. 

Truck and trailer combine as a sleek looking 5-axle unit with a roof spoiler above the sleeper, polished alloy wheels and a white sun visor.

“There’s a little bit of trucker in me that wants things to look nice,” Hayden says. 

The trailer graphics are a full wrap put together with the latest materials and talents from Signbiz, Avery Dennison and DecraStrip.

A standout feature of the truck is the green lighting highlights behind the grille, along the top of the trailer sides and the under glow lighting kit.

The green maintains a colour theme that has been a signature of Hayden’s motorsport efforts since he was an aspiring teenager.

“I’ve always been green through and through. I don’t think you can ever have enough green,” he says.

With much of Hayden’s rally programme overseas in 2025, the next big adventure for the latest rig will be a trip to Tauranga for the Bay of Plenty round of the NZ Rally Championship in early October with some South Island events scheduled later in the year.