Leaks in the Limelight

It all started when Mohammed’s 15-year-old son took some videos of his dad at work, interested in the way he detected leaks.

Little did the owner of Sydney Side Plumbing know just how much interest there was in what he did for a living.

“It’s crazy how much people love watching us work,” he said.

“My son put up a couple of videos on Tik Tok and Instagram and before you knew it, we had close to a hundred thousand followers. People just seem to really like leaks. I think they find it satisfying.”

The videos, set to catchy music, show Mohammed using various detecting equipment and locators to find leaks in business and homes. Mohammed didn’t always want to be a plumber, but his father, a builder, pushed him into the trade, believing it to be a good prospect.

“I didn’t like it at all,” he said of the first few months.

“I didn’t like the jobs and I always felt sick, but dad told me to get my license and then decide.”

By the time he did get his license, Mohammed had gotten over the smell and found himself enjoying working for a company specialising in leak detection. He then eventually set up his own business.

His current social media popularity might make him the envy of his fellow plumbers, but he also has something else they seem to covet. He has turned his NLR 45-150 Isuzu Traypack into a customised plumbing workshop on wheels, complete with standout signage, and often fields calls from people in the industry who want help creating a similar truck for themselves.

Back when he was in the market for a vehicle, Mohammed recalls, he wanted something that he could organise with customised boxes to fit everything he would possibly need for a job.

That way he wouldn’t have to wait for parts and could fix the problem quickly and efficiently.

“I wanted to build something on the truck so that I didn’t have to waste time going back and forth to Reece for things,” he said.

“I wanted to have every single pipe and fitting on board. This way if we get called out to an emergency, I have the right things I need to fix it.”

Mohammed said his truck has made Sydney Side Plumbing a standout from the crowd, able to take on even the biggest jobs and finish them without stopping to collect parts or equipment.

The NLR 45-150 Traypack serves Mohammed’s bespoke plans perfectly and he likes the look of its design over the competition’s.

His model is powered by a 4JJ1-TCS engine that produces 110kW at 2,800rpm and has 375Nm of torque. It is a 4 -cylinder, 5-speed manual transmission with a gross vehicle mass of 4,500 kg and a gross combination mass of 8,000 kg.

He now has one more Isuzu trucks getting fitted-out to suit his business’s needs.

“Everything has gone perfectly, and we’ve had no issues,” he said. “The service is fantastic which is why I recommend them to everyone.”

Even better, Mohammed won a prize pack from Isuzu Trucks in its Merry Truckmas competition, winning fuel and parts. Mohammed’s son still takes videos and helps him at work after school and on weekends.

In fact, he is showing some impressive skills.

“He’s better at locating pipes than I am now,” Mohammed said. As for following in his dad’s footsteps, Mohammed said there was no pressure. “Although my dad pushed me into this direction, I am grateful, but I don’t want to push my kids into anything,” he said. “I tell my kids to do what they want to do, but I think he really does like it.”