There’s a lot of ground to cover with all of the dead truck brands, so we’ll stick to those that survived into the post-war era. Hayes was a Canadian company, from British Columbia, and specialized in logging trucks and off-road heavy haulage and such. Keep in mind that no one did logging of giant old growth trees in modern times like in B.C., so it took some really gnarly equipment.
But Hayes also built some over the road trucks, like late ’70s Clipper. And they made sure folks knew what it was, with that huge “H” on the hood.
No, this is not a photoshop. It’s probably a bit bigger than the typical load, but this was not out of the ordinary either, at least for a Hayes.
Here’s a more modest sized load.
And here’s a couple teaming up to haul a really long one. I’ve never seen that before, and I can’t say why, except that somebody must have wanted a really long log for some reason.
There was also this Clipper COE. I’m not recognizing the cab, so presumably it was their own design. Handsome trucks.
Hayes was sold to Mack in 1969, and then to Paccar, which closed the plants.
I have heard of them. They were mighty trucks needed to perform mighty work. Thanks for bringing this to the fore. Old Truck Guy
Wow, those huge loads look like something you’d see on the back of a Peugeot 504 Wagon (or a moped) in some remote part of Africa. Never heard of this brand before but they do look attractive and the “H” on the first one is hard to miss, it’s perhaps better on the COE.
Sheesh Paul, your 66 Ford could haul those loads. 🙂
Cool start to the morning. I’m pretty sure that there’s at least one fleet of HDX’s actively working on the island in 2020.
When I grew up on Vancouver Island in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the Hayes trucks were everywhere. The log haulers swore by them as the toughest units available. Then one day they were gone. Sad, since it was a local company.
This promises to be a cool series. Are you going to write about Pacific too?
There is one that is identical to the yellow one at our local museum, the BC forest discovery centre in Duncan BC. It is an impressive rig. To bad the company got bought out and disappeared. Like western star a few decades later.
Yep, I remember reading about these giant Canadian logging tractors, Hayes and also Pacific. IIRC, Kenworth and Mack also built similar, special tractors.
The Clipper cabover in the last picture resembles the Kenworth K100.
This must be the Mack, the CL-350:
Peterbilt had flat fendered heavy duty trucks, the 353 and later 387 that were used for heavy logging as well as oil field use. Many saw duty in the Philippines, but somehow seemed less popular than other PNW brands in BC. The COE cab does look K100-like but I’m pretty sure it’s not.
Thanks. Thinking of it, given the history and roots of Peterbilt, it’s only logical they also offered heavy tractors for logging. Ah yes, the oil field trucks, with their long wheelbase and tandem axles all the way at the back.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/jack-and-the-butane-burning-peterbilts
An article you might find interesting about some old off highway Pete’s
Thanks!
That long log may have been bound for Japan. I recall seeing a documentary about Shinto or Todaiji temples and how they source logs for the ridge beams. Apparently Japan no longer has suitable trees so they source them from the PNW, at great expense, since the ridge beam has a spiritual significance.
it was destined for kew gardens in the UK.It came from Vancouver Island BC
The Jack’s Chrome Shop YouTube channel has an episode about Hayes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmj2Spx2dd8
They also have videos about most other American truck brands.
The odd Hayes and Pacific landed out here strictly off road they could carry massive tonage.
Google tells me the long log was destined for the UK as a 70m long flag pole celebrating BC’s Centenary in 1958. (https://www.equipmentjournal.com/vintage-heavy-equipment/hayes-trucks-forestry/)
There were apparently a handful of Hayes in Australia, not sure if any survive.
Transporting flag pole for Kew Gardens in London
Note on the off-highway trucks the cab is not centered, but rather offset to the left. Part of that is because the entire truck is so wide, the front track is actually narrower than the very wide rear track for the enormous Clark planetary tandem rear axles rated for up to 121,000#.