Chaser Series Truck Turns Heads by Paul Jackson

You may have seen Jakob Doolan driving around the area in his red Chaser Series truck lately. I sat down with the former Park Ridge High School Captain to find out what he’s been doing since school and get a tour of his eye-catching truck.

What are some of your favourite memories of school here in Park Ridge?

I enjoyed being Band Captain, Sports House Captain and Student Counsellor in primary school. I was also a part of the composite 5/6/7 class with Ms Byrne where I made a lot of lifelong friends. The school music program helped me transition into the High School program easily.

My greatest achievement at Park Ridge State High School was being School Captain and being part of the amazing music program. I also represented Park Ridge High at state level for athletics and regional level for swimming.

So you went on to complete a degree in Mechanical Design Engineering and started designing 4WD bars for TJM. What do you enjoy about the work you do?

I like that I can be creative and innovative and work with a variety of materials such as sheet metal and plastics, to create something new that no one has ever seen before. My job allows me to create using 3D modeling software and then manufacture that product in-house at TJM Head Office. The job also allows me to oversee the manufacturing process as well as completing the required test fits to vehicles in our R&D Workshop. I also get to be part of the testing process where they stress test the designs to ensure they pass the required safety standards.

The Chaser Series is your baby. You imagined it, designed it and have started bringing it to market. What makes you most proud about your design of the Chaser Series gear?

The TJM Chaser Series products are the Chaser Bullbar, Chaser Rock Sliders, Chaser Tub Rack and Chaser Chase Rack.

I love seeing the products I have designed and worked on for months, being released into the market and seeing the products on customers 4WDs all over Australia. Seeing and hearing the customers feedback makes me proud as well.

In August last year I was asked by TJM to show my Chaser Series products at the TJM World Conference in Thailand to all the Australian distributors. This was an amazing and memorable moment for me.

The TJM Chaser Truck also debuted at the National 4×4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo in April this year. The response and feedback on the truck was amazing. Everyone I met and spoke to at the show loved it and were asking questions and wanting the Chaser Series products for their own vehicles.

You mentioned that you’ll be part of the Finke Desert Race this year. What are you looking forward to about the race and what will your role be?

I am looking forward to getting away from the city life for a while and hitting the dirt road with my newly built Ford Ranger Chaser Truck. I can’t wait to test out all the new gear and accessories on the vehicle and put the truck through its paces. As TJM is the platinum sponsor of the event, the Chaser Truck will be out there supporting and promoting TJM on display at the start line and as a recovery vehicle. I will also be supporting some friends who will be competing in the Tatts Finke Desert Race on their KTM motorbikes.