Vancouver Built the Toughest Log Trucks on Earth — Then They Vanished

They were built by hand in Vancouver, rated to climb a mountain grade with close to 100 tons of logs, and trusted on roads no highway truck could survive. Then Hayes and Pacific — the two companies behind them — disappeared. This is the story of B.C.'s off-highway log trucks: how a Vancouver truck dealer started building its own machines in the 1920s, how three of its employees launched Pacific on a False Creek wharf in 1947, how two Hayes trucks carried a 68-metre Douglas fir flagpole out of Copper Canyon for Kew Gardens, and how a Vancouver logging truck builder ended up hauling missiles for the U.S. Air Force. CHAPTERS 00:00 100 tons on an 8% grade 03:25 Why Vancouver started building its own trucks 08:10 The landing, the loaders and the mechanics 10:55 Private roads and the birth of the off-highway truck 13:10 Pacific: three men and a wharf in False Creek 17:50 The Kew Gardens flagpole 20:30 The chrome Hayes at Expo 67 23:20 A truck that didn't exist yet — South Africa, 1972 25:10 Ownership, closure and the missile trucks 27:55 Why the trucks really vanished 30:20 The people behind the loads SOURCES - Pacific Truck Club — company history and production records - Hayes Manufacturing Company — published company histories - Truck News (Canada) — features on Pacific and Hayes trucks - Equipment Journal — Hayes trucks in B.C. forestry - Kew Gardens flagstaff records (1959 British Columbia flagpole) - Encyclopedia of British Columbia — logging and log transport Some scenes are illustrated reconstructions created for this documentary. Did someone in your family drive, load or repair a Hayes or a Pacific? Tell us in the comments. #LoggingHistory #LogTrucks #BritishColumbia #CanadianHistory #Trucking