July 2016 ISSUE 156
—SERVING ALL OF ONTARIO—
"FAT" Trucks of BC BY MIKE WHALEN
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ne log to the load. When trucks began working in west coast logging operations they were not big enough to haul more than one or two logs per load. The Sitka spruce could be 16 feet in diameter waist high and a western or Pacific red cedar up to 19 feet at waist height. The job of moving logs was originally handled by horses, oxen, steam engines and then by locomotives. The evolution of the heavy duty west coast logging truck began in 1913 when the first truck used for hauling logs was employed in Washington State. After the war military trucks were converted to log trucks. With the size of the timber on the coast these trucks were only able to carry a few logs at a time – and these had to be cut into shorter lengths. Improvements to trucks for logging began in 1920 when Douglas Hayes and partners began building dedicated logging trucks in Vancouver, BC. Hayes Manufacturing was acquired by Mack Trucks in 1969 and renamed Hayes Trucks in 1971. Mack sold the company to Kenworth (PACCAR) in 1975. The last Hayes HDX fat truck built was displayed at Expo ’86. There were also approximately 26 Mack CL350’s built before Kenworth continued with the self-branded model 850. Pacific Truck & Trailer was started by three ex-Hayes Truck employees in 1947 building their first truck in VanFAT TRUCKS >> PAGE 20
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