As you may (or may not) know, my youngest brother is a time served HGV mechanic. Every year for as long as I can remember we've gone to Truckfest for the day. They usually stay over, this year we joined them for the weekend at TruckFest North West at the Knutsford Show Ground. I took Friday off work and we met up on the M6 to arrive on site in convoy! The weekend ran from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th September.
We arrived on site Friday with Hotdogs (my brother) leading in his bull nosed Scania, Krys one of his colleagues in his transit recovery vehicle (converted to food storage & prep area) and me in my very practical and spacious, ideal for a weekend camping in a field with thousands of HGVs convertable e46. I'll be honest I did feel a bit left out that I didn't have an array of flashing orange LEDs, my hazard warning lights didn't quite cut the mustard. But my ticket said support vehicle, so I was coming in regardless.
Truckfest 2025 - Scania Bull Nose.
We got pitched up on the end of a row, e46 in first & set back from the path, Scania in next, aligned with the other trucks in the row & Krys's transit out the back parked parallel to the footpath. We set up the tent and event shelter behing the truk alongside the van. The side door opened out onto the gap between the tent and the shelter. Wind break out the front for BBQ shelter and to mark the boundary of our pitch! By the time we'd set up it was starting to go dark, so we made some dinner then went for a wander about. Then sat round the fire having a laugh.
Truckfest 2025 - Our Camp.
We woke up on Saturday morning tidied up the camp, cooked breakfast and awaited for the wives, girlfriend & my dad to arrive for a day visit. TruckFest is everything you would expect it to be from it's name. There's thousands of interesting vehicles there, mostly HGVs, some monster trucks, some show trucks, some work trucks, some expedition trucks, something for everyone. There's a few motorcycle stunt shows each day, monster trucks squashing cars, truck parades, music, food, drink, four of the Gladiators from TV were there too (Steel, Sabre, Diamond & Bionic) if you're into that sort of thing - Mitch is very into that sort of thing.
Truckfest 2025 - Rainbow.
The weather was mostly fine, with the odd bit of light rain in the afternoon. All the while truckfest things are going on, there's people stopping by to take pictures of the truck, asking questions about the truck and having sits in the truck. It's a very different view of things being there with a truck than being there to see trucks. The truck gets lots of attention wherever it goes, as you get close to site there's plenty of people stood by traffic lights to take pictures. But bully (the trucks nickname) gets that attention on the motorway, miles from the entrance.
Truckfest 2025 - Robot in disguise.
I can only imagine the attention some of the more jazzy trucks get! There's usually stands from the big manufacturers, the Volvo one was particulally impressive. There's all kinds there, people with hospitality trucks, trucks all airbrush painted up, specialised trucks. A truck fanciers paradise. There's loads for kids to do, a little fair ground, giant inflatable slides, mini monster trucks, and lots of static cool stuff to look at and get a photo with.
Truckfest 2025 - Piston Cup Winner, Lightning McQueen.
Being there on site all weekend it ace, when you wake up in the morning, the show bit is deserted, it's a very different experience at 0730 when you're on your way to the loo than it is at 1100 when it's bustling with people. The same happens at the other end of the day, the show bit goes quiet and the food section comes alive with truckers & trucker families listening to the live band and enjoying the facilities. Back at camp, we'd got the day squared away and were chilling in the event shelter with a (first time use) twig stove to keep the chill off (and save logs for when it went dark).
Truckfest 2025 - Twig Stove.
We were parked a couple of minutes walk away from a couple of sources of twigs on the site. The kids went out and collected twigs while I split logs in preparation for the BBQ campfire. Many smores were eaten, many laughs were had and many songs were sung by H who it turns out is a talented singer & guitar twanger. Krys's daughter and her friend slept in bedroom 1 of the tent, Mitch and I slept in bedroom 2, Hotdogs & Krys slept in bedroom 3. Fin & Harry slept in the bunk beds in the truck, with the night heater, memory foam matresses and all the trucks gizmos & gadgets, they had the premier accomodation.
Truckfest 2025 - Our Neighbours.
We all had a good wander about during the weekend, the deal is that there always has to be someone at the truck to help people get in & out, to sign autographs and answer questions about the truck (which when it was my turn, involved telling tales about the adventures I've got upto in Bully the truck - I have no HGV licence and know very little about bull nosed Scania trucks but creative licence... that's another story)
Truckfest 2025 - Thunder Truck.
One of my pals at work is a big fan of only fools & horses, Lee, this one's for you. Lee's not very tall, the mini truck on the back is probably perfect fit for him!
Truckfest 2025 - Only Fools & Horses truck.
Looking through the pictures I took over the weekend Volvo trucks are my favourite. I'm basing this on the sheer number of Volvo trucks that are in the camera roll for the weekend. Who knew I had a favourite truck manufacturer.
Truckfest 2025 - Another Volvo.
Being able to wander about at night and see all the trucks with their lights on is awesome, being able to then go back to a basecamp with cumfy chairs, a well stocked food truck, a BBQ, and good mobile coverage is pretty good too. Having Krys's van set up how it was set up was ace. Somewhere with leccy for the 12v fridges, a worktop to prepare food on, food storage (normally full of truck breakdown spares), it's the only way to camp!
Truckfest 2025 - Our Camp by night.
As soon as the sun starts to go down, all the trucks fire up their lights, it's a festival for the eyes & ears, it's LEDs, flashing beacons, sound systems, loud exhausts and friendly truckers showing off thier modifications. The food area with the live band was jumping from 1930 til 1130. Each of the main truck fields were full of lit up trucks, the atmosphere at night is splendid.
Truckfest 2025 - LEDs rule the road.Truckfest 2025 - Bully's always watching.
Our camp was in direct eyeline of the main arena, so if we didn't want to go to a stunt show, but still wanted to watch it, we just looked over and motorcycles were flying through the air. We heard the ooos and ahhhhs asif we were right there with them! Mitch and I went for a ride in the monster truck with 10 seats in the pickup bed. I'm quite a fan on monster trucks, so I was hoping Mitch would be up for a go, he didn't let me down! The dude razzed us about, doing donuts in the front bit, zooming round the big loop, firing mud up from the tyres, everything you'd want for a 5 minute monster truck ride.
Truckfest 2025 - Our Private Motorcycle Stunt Show.
I'm a bit of a redneck at heart, dispite my love for e46 BMWs and distain for modern vehicles, I did meet a vehicle which potentially changes that. A custom Dodge Ram with a 6.2l supercharged V8. Low profile vehicle, subtle and understated! My favourite part is under the bonnet, but the acid green extras were right up there. It was north of £100 grand though, so I can't see one landing at Casa Tiggy anytime soon!
Truckfest 2025 - My favourite non HGV.
Thoughts
If you like trucks, TruckFest is for you! It's a nationwide series of shows that run through the summer each year. It's a great show for the day and camping made it into a brilliant weekend. Tons to see and do, friendly site, loads of people there and a ton of trucks! The weather was a bit shit on Sunday but the weekend was ace. It was great spending time with the kids (boyz weekend), with Hotdogs & H and Krys and his girls. We'll be going again next year, and we'll be camping over again. Keep your eye on the TruckFest website if you fancy it.
