Quizzing the boss at Shepparton Motor Body Builders about the past, present and future of motorsport transporters in Australia.

Keen fans of motorsport, particularly those with an interest in motorbike racing, will know the name Craig Coxhell. One of Australia’s most talented riders in the early 2000s, Craig tried his luck in Europe and went oh so close to forging a professional career on the big stage.

Having returned to Australia to race domestically for a couple more years, Craig’s attention has since shifted to the family business, Shepparton Motor Body Builders, which remains closely connected to the motorsport scene through many of the trailers you see in race paddocks today.

With such interest in the world-class Scott Taylor Motorsport transporter built by the Shepparton operation, we gave Craig a bell to talk all things motorsport trailers.

We started off by asking about the early years.

“Our family started off in 1978 building sleeper caps and doing general truck repairs. That went on for a number of years and then the business took a turn in the early 2000s when we were approached by John Briggs Motorsport to see if we could build an A-trailer for him, which we did. That was in 2002.

“We built a couple more A-trailers over the next few years and then that progressed to an A and B combination with PWR (Paul Weel Racing) in 2004. That started the trend of building these transporters alongside what we’re currently doing now. It all took off from there.”

Business proved lucrative during the boom years of motorsport B-Double building in the noughties.

“We now have about 26 trailers in the Supercars paddock and have a fair bit of success with new design and inventions within the trailers themselves since building our first few. This comes from working closely with team owners and also the transporter drivers themselves.”

Despite a growing focus on specialised vehicles for a range of industries, unique builds have kept the motorsport side active.

“There was a very interesting build we did for Lucas Dumbrell. That originally had wheelchair lifts in the A and the B trailers. We put them in the side of the trailer so Lucas could get up into the A or B trailers as well as a walkthrough platform between the two trailers. The A trailer was a living area and the B was for the car and workshop area, and he was able to get between the two trailers without physically leaving the transporter.

“From there, we saw a shift into the data side of things as the teams got more into data recording and analytics. The next step in the evolution of the trailers was with Triple Eight Race Engineering and their A-trailer. In there, they have a 10-person monitoring room where each technical person had his or her own data port to plug their laptop into. They had masts going out the top of the trailer so they could get signal and feed that into the trailer itself. About $20,000 worth of data went into that A-trailer.”

Scott Taylor then approached the business about the prospect of a transporter that would change the game for good.

“Scott (Taylor) wanted the biggest and the best. We spent a lot of time together. He’s a great guy, and he really pushed us to the next level. We did some designs for a two-storey trailer in CAD. It actually expands up.

“One of the designs essentially had a party area up the top and a work area down the bottom. We have done several different concepts of this style of build, but that didn’t eventuate as they were going to be quite expensive. Also, from what I know, the Supercars guys have quite tight restrictions on what goes in the paddock.”

Despite the most expansive ideas leaving the table, the end product showed glimpses of the potential for transporters when bigger budgets come into play.

“We did get to express some of our talent through Scott Taylor’s trailers through a slide-out in the front of the B-Trailer, accommodating his golf buggy in the A-trailer with a bigger side platform. We also had roof-hatches so he could get up onto the top of the trailer with some points to be able to clip onto with a safety harness so he could run any flags he wanted.

“It also has a full stainless shower in the front of the B-trailer with a living area and around 10 grand worth of Bose stereo system through it.

“It’s got the works, but it’s still not exactly where we want to go with the trailer side of things. If we were given an open chequebook, you would have seen the F1-style two-storey trailers which is the next level for us, but nobody has really given us the opportunity to do that, so we’re still turning out B-trailers.”

When it comes to a modern-specification B-trailer, a change in the race cars themselves has required some essential tweaks.

“The last trailer we did was for Tickford Racing. That was a fairly basic trailer, but it has some nice windows in the side of it and it’s finished off nicely with a meeting room up the front with a nice leather couch in it. It left here about a month ago.

“That’s what we would consider our 2019-spec build. We have had to accommodate a different style rear-loader because for a lot of our customers now, the cars they race are changing. They are much wider and they have been having trouble getting the likes of the Mercedes AMG through the rear loader. We have redesigned our rear loader and Tickford was the first one we did. There is a second one just on the floor now and we’ve had some interest in a couple more.

“They are about 100 millimetres wider which doesn’t sound like much, but to the teams, it’s heaps better than what they have had previously. We have also developed a platform that folds out either side of the actual lifting platform that the car handlers can stand back on, which better allows the cars to be pushed on and off without being pushed off the back of the ramp. That has ticked off a few potential OH&S issues that they have had.”

Looking beyond the 2019-spec build, we couldn’t help but to ask Craig where transporters are going next.

“The future of transporters in Australia is largely governed by what Supercars allow in their paddock, which is fair enough. I come from a racing background and raced motorbikes over in Europe for a few years and something I’ve noticed we lack here is hospitality.

“If budgets allow it, I see some potential for hospitality units for sponsors and corporates that they can entertain as a package throughout the day of racing. I would like to see that take place knowing how beneficial it is for the teams in Europe. It’s a great way to get the people with money into the race track and feeling like they’re involved. That all hinges on a nice, big transporter with an awning off the side and all the catering stuff inside it. Whether that happens or not, it would be a very positive move forward for the industry.”

With limited race teams in Australia, Craig has positioned Shepparton Motor Body Builders squarely on the premium end of the spectrum for race trailers.

“We generally take quite a bit longer than what our competitors would take, due to the fact that we like things done properly. That being said, we would probably do one to two trailers per year.

“Maybe 10 years ago, there was a big influx of new trailers being built where it might have been five or six in a year, but generally, they are about a 20-week build. We can build two beside each other if we need to, but the way our business has gone, it’s not really our prime focus anymore.

“We have since gone off into other areas like specialised armoured vehicles, prisoner transport vehicles and mobile workshops for the mines. They are about a 30-week build. A lot goes into them.

“Having said that, hopefully somebody gives us that big order so we can finally do a two-storey transporter!”

Another big thanks to Craig for finding the time to chat all things transporters during his working day. You can check out Shepparton Motor Body Builders online here.

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