CLASSIC TRUCK CANADIAN SUPER-HEAVIES
80 TRUCKING Summer 2019 http://www.truckingmag.co.ukThe HDX was later supplemented
by the 40-inch frame WHDX (Wide
Heavy Duty eXtra heavy frame).
The WHDX was nothing short of a
masterpiece of super-durability
heavy truck engineering. Detroit,
Cummins or Caterpillar diesel
engines were typically mated to
Clark automatic transmissions.
The last WHDXs delivered by Hayes
were confi gured as 6x6 ballast tractors
for Spanish indivisible load haulage
specialist Arbegui SA, with Cummins
VTA-1710-C-700 power and Clark
that to cope with long mountain trail transmission and axles.
downgrades, logging tractor specs
typically have included drum brakes
cooled by a water-spray system.)
The home range of Hayes and Pacifi c
loggers is British Columbia (BC) and
290-mile long Vancouver Island. The
province is 75 per cent mountainous,
60 per cent is forested – and three and a
half times the size of the UK.Hayes pioneers
Hayes was founded in 1922 in BC’s
biggest city, Vancouver. Mack acquired a
two-thirds stake-holding in 1969. Hayes
was then acquired by PACCAR (parent
of Kenworth and Peterbilt) in 1974 and
closed it down 12 months later.
Tandem-axle bogie logging tractors
were pioneered by Hayes. It was also
an early adopter of diesels, with specs
offering 200 bhp Hercules by 1935 –ABOVE With load-retaining bunk arms lowered, Hayes
HDX H17, last of the line, offloads its log haul for rafting to
the sawmillsABOVE One of the Ultra Pacifics rebuilt in 2007. Drivetrain dimensions dictated high mounting of the engine and caban exceptionally high output at the
time. Its grip on the market was helped
by producing its own pole trailers.
Under Mack’s subsequent ownership,
annual output increased from 50 to 500
vehicles, including line-haul cabovers
and conventionals.
In 1952 Hayes introduced the game-
changing HD logging tractor, with a
34-inch wide bolted frame. Widened
to accommodate a V-block Detroit, the
40-inch bolted frame WHD followed in- The 34-inch HDX base spec, with
the enhanced stiffness of an all-welded
frame, appeared in 1954.
Xxxx xx xxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxx xx xxxx xx
xxxxxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.
SAR&H Pacifics moving a 370-ton load.
Perfect tracking allowed four tractors to be
steered by the driver of the front unitU LT R A
PACIFICS
That SAR&H turned to Pacific
for its fleet of custom-built
heavy haulers was logical,
given the mountainous terrain
of British Columbia that
dictated Pacific’s
engineering approach.