# How We Haul Logs On Vancouver Island



## Dave Hadden (Jul 20, 2012)

Little vid some of you might enjoy.

Extreme trucking on Vancouver Island - YouTube


Take care.


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## 2dogs (Jul 20, 2012)

That is a very cool vid. The last portion reminds why I never liked air wipers.


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## Jess562xp (Jul 20, 2012)

Great video!

Man do I miss living in British Columbia.


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## ShaneLogs (Jul 20, 2012)

Sweet, They are a bread all there own up there! Good job!


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## sinawali (Jul 28, 2012)

Great. The trucks are awesome. 
I would love to live in B.C. 
Very interesting, but looks quite dangerous, you drive in winter-month too?


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## H 2 H (Jul 28, 2012)

First time up on the island fly fishing (many years ago) I did have to check myself after seeing my first log truck on one of those roads


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## Dave Hadden (Jul 29, 2012)

sinawali said:


> Great. The trucks are awesome.
> I would love to live in B.C.
> Very interesting, but looks quite dangerous, you drive in winter-month too?



Yes, most outfits used to fight snow a bit and many a load has been carried off a mountainside on a trailer towed by a logging truck wearing chains.
Depends on a number of things as to how hard they'll fight snow however.

In the Interior and up north it's often only in winter that hauling happens as the roads are then frozen up normally. Often too muddy or boggy to haul when not frozen.
They don't use quite as large trucks either.

As to being "dangerous,"........like all jobs it has its hazards but with the size of machinery involved and the weight of the loads everything is magnified somewhat so it's important to have good drivers and bad ones don't usually last very long in the industry.

I have much respect for loggers in general and machine operators and drivers and the people who keep them operating too, given my working background.

Take care.


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## logging22 (Jul 29, 2012)

Nice video. Thanks for sharing.


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## gavin (Jul 30, 2012)

They're hauling with fat trucks on the job I'm falling for on the north island. There's 2 Macks, 1 Pacific, 1 Hayes, and several Kenworths. The valley we just finished in had a 12km stretch of adverse that saw several differentials blow apart. Pretty cool to see them loaded with cedar thats light enough to put 100 m3 on a load. Some of the over 25% favourables and tigiht switchbacks would make my hair stand on end with 100,000 lbs of wood 8 feet behind my head.


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## Humptulips (Jul 30, 2012)

gavin said:


> They're hauling with fat trucks on the job I'm falling for on the north island. There's 2 Macks, 1 Pacific, 1 Hayes, and several Kenworths. The valley we just finished in had a 12km stretch of adverse that saw several differentials blow apart. Pretty cool to see them loaded with cedar thats light enough to put 100 m3 on a load. Some of the over 25% favourables and tigiht switchbacks would make my hair stand on end with 100,000 lbs of wood 8 feet behind my head.



Take some pictures, actually lots of them. You will regret it in the future if you don't.


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## Frank Boyer (Jul 31, 2012)

Great video. I was surprised to see what looked like and automatic trans. I didn't hear a Jake. Are they using trans retarders? Do those logs go to the monster barges that take them to the mills along the Frazer River? I was told that they sank the barges to unlaod the logs.


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## Dave Hadden (Jul 31, 2012)

Frank Boyer said:


> Great video. I was surprised to see what looked like and automatic trans. I didn't hear a Jake. Are they using trans retarders? Do those logs go to the monster barges that take them to the mills along the Frazer River? I was told that they sank the barges to unlaod the logs.




I think the answer to your questions is mostly...............yes. :msp_biggrin:

Often Allison 6 speed automatics, Jakes used more on smaller trucks in my experience, lots of logs barged nowadays to mills on Fraser or general area and some of the barges are self-dumping via sinking one side while others have crane systems onboard.

There are numerous better qualified people here who may respond with much better info than that above too.

I hope they do anyway.

Take care.


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## Frank Boyer (Jul 31, 2012)

Thanks


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## gavin (Aug 3, 2012)

Frank Boyer said:


> Great video. I was surprised to see what looked like and automatic trans. I didn't hear a Jake. Are they using trans retarders? Do those logs go to the monster barges that take them to the mills along the Frazer River? I was told that they sank the barges to unlaod the logs.



Yeah they're automatics, I was surprised too. All the trucks in this camp run transmission retarders but the Pacific has a retarder and a Jake so it can get some good reverse power going. I'll add a picture of me on the Pacific. Wish there was nice wood on the truck though.

They load the logs on the big Seaspan self dumping barges. They're bloody huge. I'll add a picture I took of it loading wood on this job a couple months ago. The have two enormous cranes to load the bundles. To dump it they flood one side of the barge with water to make it tilt. At about a 30* angle the wood all lets go and the barge shoots out from under. I haven't seen it in person but even on video it looks intense.

View attachment 247332


View attachment 247334


Log dump (not my video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI2-BtSTsBM


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## Gologit (Aug 3, 2012)

gavin said:


> Yeah they're automatics, I was surprised too. All the trucks in this camp run transmission retarders but the Pacific has a retarder and a Jake so it can get some good reverse power going. I'll add a picture of me on the Pacific. Wish there was nice wood on the truck though.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 247332



C'mon now Gavin...I see one more saddle on that load...just right for a peaker. Load it, it's going to town anyway. :msp_wink:


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## Frank Boyer (Aug 4, 2012)

THANKS for the video and pictures. I cooked a comp at the Quay in 1996 and those barges kept going by loaded with logs. When someone said that they flooded the barges to unload them I didn't see how.


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## ttwichell (Aug 4, 2012)

Frank Boyer said:


> Great video. I was surprised to see what looked like and automatic trans. I didn't hear a Jake. Are they using trans retarders? Do those logs go to the monster barges that take them to the mills along the Frazer River? I was told that they sank the barges to unlaod the logs.



Hi Frank, I'm the guy that shot that video, Those trucks use Jake Brakes, Retarders, and water cooled brake drums. You will hear that Jake barking as the load leaves the landing and goes down the switch backs... and a couple other places.... sometimes all braking equipment is required when the grades are over 20% and long, they put 400 gallons of water into the brake water tank on just about every trip... sometimes they need to take water enroute... Those trucks have up to 1,200 hp in braking power...The transmission in the Hayes HDX that I was in is an Allison 6061 with retarder, 550-600 hp C-15 Cat Engine with full Jacobs brake, and water cooled brakes on all wheels including the steers.The company has about 20 HDX's and Pacific P-16's and over 100 highway loggers as part of its huge fleet of equipment. Its Island Pacific Logging or "IPL" and they are the biggest contract loggers on the Island. "Stump To Dump" Those guys are cutting very high in the mountains now it takes a long day to make two trips to the sort at Serita on the west coast of the Island.


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