"He just won't believe this is here for him," his sister, Mary Butler, said, as the Volvo FH16 truck waited for its special passenger.
"He was born with severe cerebral palsy and also has an intellectual disability, so this will be absolute magic for him. It's just fantastic. He'll think he's won Lotto."
"I've seen the wheels. I've seen the wheels," Mr Butler exclaimed excitedly, as he was wheeled out of his home at Marne St Hospital, in Andersons Bay, yesterday morning.
"His whole ambition in life has been to get a Ford car, a truck and a girlfriend, in that order.
But, he's never been able to have any of those things," Mrs Butler explained.
"He's never been able to do anything for himself. He can hold a cup up, but that's about it. But he's always been really positive."
Marne St Hospital manager Deborah Morrison said staff contacted Mainfreight in the hope of doing something special for Mr Butler's birthday.
"He's mad on trucks and we're absolutely overwhelmed that they've done this for him.
"They've brought such joy to the place," she said.
Mainfreight Dunedin branch manager Barry Clark, who drove the big rig, said Mr Butler had the ride of his life.
"It was just something we thought would be nice to do for his birthday.
So we picked him up and took him over the hill to Mosgiel and up the main street and then back to the Mainfreight yard, so he can see all our other trucks.
"He was waving at all the other trucks on the road as we went past. The man absolutely loves trucks."
