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00:00Are you ready?
00:02Yeah, ready when you are, pal.
00:04Our trucking heroes are back.
00:07Ranger, off you go.
00:09Okay.
00:10These are the super heavyweight champions of the road.
00:14Just another day, moving machines.
00:17It is very nerve-wracking, very, very nerve-wracking.
00:20Wielding some of the heftiest hardware in the world.
00:24Lift it up, pinch it up.
00:26When every mile's a battle.
00:30Where's he come from?
00:31He's obviously totally ignored us.
00:33And every second counts.
00:35Because it's such a big machine, we're going to block the yard, so we need to be quick.
00:39These are the experts making light work.
00:42About half an inch off the house, eh?
00:45All good. Going really well, actually.
00:47Of the largest loads imaginable.
00:50It is quite easy to make a catastrophic mistake.
00:54What a hell of one way asked.
00:56So put your pedal to the metal.
00:58We're committed now. This is it.
01:00Things are about to get...
01:03Trucking heavy.
01:05Start of the week off with a happy customer.
01:08It can only get worse from here, can't it, Mick?
01:11Today...
01:16Somebody's wanting to walk.
01:18Hauling a hulking Highland holiday home.
01:21When it is good, and the weather's nice, you're paid to be a tourist.
01:26Has Ewan on the high road to hell.
01:29Well, I don't know what's happening here.
01:32While in Birmingham, three fathers of the steam age.
01:36It's not every day you get a big gold statue travelling from Redditch to Birmingham.
01:42Make a dazzling comeback.
01:44It's pretty bright, isn't it?
01:45But raising the three-ton trio proves problematic.
01:50These things have to be precise.
01:52Welcome to Scotland.
01:59Land of rugged terrain, unpredictable weather, and lots of locks.
02:05Here the sheep roam free, and the trucks roam even freer.
02:10Where horsepower meets the highlands, and the loads are heavier than the local shortbread.
02:23Thousands of trucks carrying colossal cargo criss-cross the country every day.
02:30One mega-mover used to working these roads is Ewan.
02:34The majority of where we go with this kind of thing is remote, interesting places.
02:46He loves moving massive loads in his motherland.
02:50Up the A9's beautiful, especially at this time of year.
02:53If it's dry, it's nice, because you've got all the snow in the hills,
02:57and the temperature's quite cold, so it should be nice and frosty.
03:00So at least when it's frosty, it's nice and clear.
03:03It's plenty to see.
03:04So we've a lot of stuff in the diary to do.
03:07All over Scotland, which is a good thing, looking at quite an abundance of work just now.
03:14His journey through the world of haulage has been long and winding.
03:19So I'm driving lorries 19 years.
03:22I had various different jobs doing fridge work, delivering food stuff.
03:28I never, ever found anything that ticked all the boxes and gave a bit of appeal,
03:34until I started shifting caravans and lodges and various other types of mobile homes.
03:40It's just a bit different, because you're delivering a product that somebody actually wants,
03:44and somebody appreciates the effort to get it there.
03:47He now specialises in hauling hefty holiday homes to idyllic locations.
03:55And after years of working for others, Ewan bought a truck and never looked back.
04:02I'm joined by the moon.
04:04I've only me to worry about.
04:05It's a lot less stressful, and it's an easier lifestyle,
04:11because I've only one lorry to worry about.
04:13Despite being the boss, this is not a one-man-band operation.
04:19His most loyal co-worker is with him on every job he does.
04:25I've got my wee spaniel, wee cocker spaniel Millie that goes everywhere.
04:30Every week I've worked for my daughter, she's been with me in the truck.
04:34It's great company. You can talk away to her.
04:37And you don't need to worry about any back chat.
04:40She's a great companion.
04:41Today he's gunning it to Glasgow to collect a caravan that he'll be hauling north for one lucky customer,
04:50looking forward to life on a lock.
04:53The caravan site we're going to tomorrow is a country park.
04:56Quite a nice, nice park, nice place.
04:59Views up there are good.
05:00But right now, this rolling residence is residing in a concrete jungle at Glasgow's SEC Convention Centre.
05:11Everyone's obviously out of the show yesterday, and they'll be setting up another event in the SEC.
05:16The large lodge is 35 feet long, 12 feet wide, and tips the scales at a whopping six tons.
05:25That's the same weight as an African elephant.
05:28Ewan's got to shift this holiday home in a hurry, because the exhibition centre's car park has to be cleared in the next few hours.
05:39Where are you? Come here!
05:45Your paws dry.
05:47His load is one of the last waiting to be picked up.
05:52Over the course of last week, there's been a holiday home, water home, caravan exhibition.
05:58So we've got this one out of here to go up to a site up at Fort William that we do.
06:03But most of them's already gone.
06:04Ready on site to help Ewan haul this hefty house today is Chris.
06:11Grab the end of that.
06:13Moving a mobile home is no trivial matter.
06:16The first challenge is getting it up and onto the trailer.
06:25Ewan positions ramps perfectly in line with its wheels.
06:30Ready to roll it on.
06:32Next up, he wrangles the winch line.
06:37Time to hook up and hope it holds.
06:41The winch that we use to pull the caravans on with has got two chains on the end of it.
06:47So you hook each one chain on either side of the axle.
06:50So one left, one right.
06:52At least it's no raining and it's kind of half dry for lying underneath it.
06:55Ewan uses the controlled power of his winch to slowly creep the moving mansion toward his trailer.
07:08But the uneven car park is proving problematic.
07:15See what I mean?
07:17It's alright, it's alright.
07:19And could derail the pull.
07:21See what I mean about the ground?
07:23Just runs away.
07:24Coming up.
07:29Coming up.
07:30Digger boy would have moved across here when you put your indicator on.
07:34Road users in a rush make life risky.
07:37If you show them an open and folk will try and pass you where they shouldn't pass you.
07:41And Dave struggles to secure his load.
07:44It means taking it all back off again now.
07:46Well I think it'd be better if we can.
08:00Where are you?
08:01Come here!
08:02In Scotland.
08:04At least it's no raining and it's kind of half dry for lying underneath it.
08:07Ewan and Chris are loading a six tonne mobile home.
08:11We've got this one out of here to go up to a site up at Fort William that we do.
08:16From a car park in Glasgow.
08:24See what I mean?
08:25It's alright, it's alright.
08:27Just runs away.
08:29But the bumpy ground has stopped the pull.
08:31Ewan pauses to check the wheels.
08:34That one's alright.
08:36He goes again.
08:42And uses a bit of brute force to keep the move true.
08:51Inch by inch, the cargo cautiously trundles up the narrow ramps.
08:56It's a precise art.
08:58And Ewan is a master.
09:04Put your hands on and I've had it done.
09:05His years of experience pay off.
09:16With a perfectly positioned payload.
09:19We're all good.
09:21It's on anyway.
09:23Preventing the carefully crafted construction from twisting.
09:26Or worse still.
09:27Falling off in transit requires every possible precaution.
09:33Jacking up the chassis and taking the weight off the wheels.
09:35And then putting wooden blocks in to support it.
09:38So then it carries the weight in the road and it makes it safe.
09:42But an obstacle on the onward journey means Ewan has some extra work to do.
09:47Because of where we're going, it needs to be that bit higher.
09:50So we've got to put extra blocks in.
09:52You go into the site, you're over a railway bridge.
09:54So the parapets of the bridge, so high.
09:57The caravans would normally never be up as high in the trailer.
10:00But you need to have them up that height to get them over the bridge to get into the site.
10:05So it's a bit more of a thought process.
10:08The truck is loaded.
10:11Millie is on board.
10:13And Chris is in his support vehicle.
10:16Are you ready?
10:18You're on.
10:22The house is ready to roll.
10:25On a two day journey.
10:30We've got loaded only too bad, just over half an hour.
10:35So we're currently out on the M74 now on the south side of Glasgow.
10:41Sitting at 12 feet wide means a direct drive to its destination isn't an option.
10:48To avoid narrow roads will require a 50 mile detour.
10:53A nice run.
10:55Pretty picture-esque if it's nice.
10:56This mega move will stop first at Perth.
11:03After a quick kip, it's on to Dalwini.
11:07Where police will escort the wide load.
11:1145 miles through tight country roads.
11:15To its final resting point, just outside Fort William.
11:19This being the wind that's at, you've got to be aware of other things overtaking passing you, like trucks, buses, things like that.
11:32You cannae see everything.
11:34Make sure, obviously, that nobody's trying to do anything silly, cos everybody, if you show them an opening, folk will try and pass you where they shouldn't pass you.
11:41Eagle-eyed Chris is on the case of a driver, in a hurry.
11:46Think that boy would've moved across, Kevin, you've got your indicator on and he's getting up and I'll snide him.
11:51No, but that's just the way it is. There's no point of getting worried about it. It's just the way they are.
11:59Ewan has seen it all before.
12:02There's no point of getting stressed about what other folk are doing, because it's just, it's pointless.
12:08The whole idea is to try and keep the lorry rolling all the time. It makes everybody's day a bit easier.
12:14Tearing up the tarmac, he hits Perth by nightfall.
12:18And he's ready for a well-earned break.
12:23The journey's went good. We're just at Perth tonight, where we are going to park up for the evening.
12:33We've got a bit of facilities, I'm going to go and get showered and get dinner.
12:37The list is dry tonight, so we'll get a walk with the dog, I think.
12:41But Ewan can't clock off until he's given his cargo a once-over.
12:46Just a wee kind of check when we stop, make sure we've not got a puncture or the load's moved.
12:58Because if at least we've got a puncture at night, there's a problem.
13:02You can address it tonight rather than try to address it tomorrow.
13:05The load is shipshape and safely stored.
13:08But there's one team member that still needs to do her job.
13:12Come on, run the grass quick.
13:14Quick.
13:17Quick.
13:20The peepee.
13:21As dawn breaks north of the border, Ewan and Chris are waking up to day two of their mega move of the mobile home.
13:33You do need more?
13:34Aye.
13:36Fun to see you be on.
13:38Aye.
13:42He'd just stay behind me a little and a little.
13:44We're just leaving Perth to head up to day nine again.
13:57In the middle of the Cairngorms and then we go to Dulwiny.
14:01And then we meet up with two police Scotland officers who are going to assist us with that part of the last part.
14:06Kind of maybe an hour and a half of the journey from Dulwiny over to Corpich at Fort William.
14:12The road's not that great over there so the police assistance is required to make the whole thing stay for everybody, for us and for other road users.
14:2155 miles down today and it's time to hit the brakes.
14:34So this is us at Dulwiny which is the...
14:40Maybe you can run sat at the back of you then or just sit bare arm?
14:44No, just sit where you are. They're fine.
14:46We're just at Dulwiny where we meet the police for the escort.
14:51So we'll just wait here.
14:53Get a walk a wee minute.
14:55I think somebody's wanting a walk.
14:58Aye.
14:59I think somebody's wanting out.
15:01Look at you.
15:05On the grass.
15:14The village of Studley Warwickshire has a secret.
15:19A heavy metal secret.
15:23The mountainous mounds, moved with their massive machines by over-sized hauliers allergies.
15:30And not just big.
15:31Sometimes they're packed with history as heavy as their haul.
15:37Back in 2022, driver Dave Hemmings heaved a much-loved but tricky load.
15:45We aim to take the Golden Boy out of storage, load it onto the wagon and then secure it so we're all ready to go tomorrow morning into Birmingham.
15:56The company previously oversaw the return of the floozy back to her jacuzzi in Birmingham's city centre.
16:05Now the Golden Boys, a statue honouring 18th century steam pioneers Matthew Bolton, James Watt and William Murdoch is also ready to go home to the city.
16:19They help turn into an industrial powerhouse.
16:22There's three people on one plinth, three individual statues, but it's all one statue.
16:32All in a gold coloured alloy of some sort.
16:36Heavier than even the biggest white rhino, this three-headed beast weighs in at a hefty three tonnes.
16:46Transporting it is a delicate operation that requires the meticulous planning of engineering manager Matt Cobain, who's forensically checked the site and statue for any pitfalls.
17:00Lots of challenges with a move of this type. This is a gold gilt statue, so we have to be very careful of the surface finish, which is easily damaged.
17:12The other thing which makes it quite tricky is that the centre of gravity is estimated to be somewhere in the middle.
17:18If we were to lift from the base, the statue would try and actually overturn, so we need to lift from the strongest points as high up as we can find.
17:30Taking on the lift is Dave's DAF CF Rigid.
17:37A 330 horsepower tractor unit boasting a seven metre long bed and a crane able to deadlift an impressive 5.8 tonnes.
17:49It will just be the forklift to load it. So, yeah, one of the big forklifts will just put it on the wagon.
17:59Theendeeds
18:22Thatenshin
18:26Forklifting the three-tonne monument inside its one-tonne crate
18:30without scratching the refurb gilding
18:32takes every ounce of Dave's 17-year heavy haulage experience.
18:38I want to make sure the crate is in the centre of the bed of the wagon.
18:44If I match up either boards on either side,
18:48I'll know when it's in the centre.
18:50Just distributes the weight on the wagon evenly.
18:53It looks like it's got to come over, about a board and a half.
19:05Until the boys sit dead centre on the bed,
19:08they could lose balance in transit and fall.
19:11To avoid such a calamity, Dave will also strap the load to his truck bed.
19:19Unfortunately, you have different length straps.
19:21Some of them might not reach you.
19:23Some of them might be on the side.
19:24Once he finds a strap long enough to go over his golden cargo...
19:29It's a question of having straps that are long enough.
19:32Dave employs his golden arm.
19:35I shouldn't have got it with that one.
19:38Perfect.
19:38The reason I like the job so much is mainly the variety.
19:55You rarely do the same job twice in a week.
19:58Yeah, no, I don't suppose there's that many people about who can actually say they enjoy their work.
20:05That can't be a bad thing, that one and all seven done.
20:09Dave might lose some love for his job if Matt's unhappy with his afternoon's work.
20:14Thoughts on that?
20:18Taking the top of the crate off to make it easier to sling tomorrow.
20:23Means taking it all back off again now.
20:25I think it'll be better if we can.
20:27Right.
20:27To make life easier tomorrow.
20:28My preference is yes.
20:30Split the top off here where it's easier.
20:31And then we'll sling them straight out there.
20:35And then you've only got the one lift then.
20:36Pick it straight out.
20:37Round onto the plinth.
20:38Yeah.
20:39Yeah, oh yeah.
20:40Because otherwise, that's going to be awkward to try and sling as one.
20:44Yeah.
20:44Okay, right.
20:45Okay, Matt.
20:47He wants us to take the top off.
20:50To make it easier on site to get the statue out of the crate.
20:54Bit more work here in the yard now.
20:57But makes sense.
20:59To make the statue easier to rig and lift tomorrow,
21:04engineer Dave Cockleberg sets to work on removing the crate's top half.
21:13I shall come back and secure it back to the wagon in the morning.
21:18The wagon will stay here for the night now.
21:21Hopefully we'll be good to go,
21:23as expected around about seven o'clock in the morning.
21:29Coming up...
21:33Ewan must avoid vehicles.
21:40They didn't stop.
21:41Just kept going.
21:43And dodge dangling branches.
21:46The trees, just where we are in front of us now,
21:48are starting to hang into the road.
21:50And in Birmingham...
21:52It's very bright, isn't it?
21:53These three boys need to stay golden.
21:57I just don't want to bang the sides of the crate and wrist chipping pintware.
22:01Ewan is awaiting the police to escort his 12-foot-wide mobile home
22:22through the narrow roads to Loughlinny.
22:25On the grass.
22:26After a quick sniff and a stroll for Millie the Mutt,
22:31it's all paused to the pavement,
22:33because the police have pulled up.
22:36It's fresh, isn't it?
22:37Look at the shorts on.
22:38Despite the cold weather,
22:40Ewan is optimistic about the onward odyssey.
22:43They are pretty chill.
22:44I've had them both before.
22:45So, they are pretty chill on what they are doing.
22:49It's fine.
22:50It'll be good.
22:51Be easy enough for them.
22:53Time to haul this house into the highlands.
23:00Just you need to be telling me what's coming,
23:03because, you see, we're a lot of narrow and narrow bits along here.
23:07No bother.
23:07Today, it's three degrees, and it is bitter.
23:14When it is good, and the weather's nice,
23:16you're paid to be a tourist.
23:18Basically, when the weather's nice, you're paid to be a tourist.
23:22The police are ploughing a path, keeping the road clear,
23:26so this mighty mobile mansion can mosey on without causing chaos.
23:32This stretch road we're on just now
23:34is one of the kind of single carriageway bits.
23:36So, at least with the police being far enough ahead,
23:39they can get lorries and big things out of the way for us
23:41before we get to them, in theory.
23:44This time of day is not too bad in the winter.
23:47But in the summertime, it's just constant.
23:49With cars and coaches and more homes and caravans,
23:53a lot of the tourists,
23:55they don't understand what the van's doing or the police is doing.
23:58And then they come round a corner,
23:59and then they see you with the lorry and the wind with the load,
24:02and then they panic, they freeze,
24:04and the next thing, they're sitting in the middle of the road.
24:09The police soon prove their worth.
24:20As they manage a long line of oncoming vehicles,
24:24so Ewan can cruise past.
24:27Aye, spot on.
24:28I'll get them here, no bother.
24:30Everybody's pretty much out of the way.
24:33Couldn't really be any better than that.
24:3829 miles, so probably about 50 minutes from here
24:42to where we're going.
24:44So, we've maybe got another couple of miles
24:46of this kind of single carriageway,
24:48and then we're back on to Tulane A Road.
24:52So, it's not too bad.
24:54I don't know what's happening here.
24:56Chris has stopped there in that corner.
24:58When hauling mighty mobile homes,
25:01not knowing what's lurking around blind corners,
25:04he's never good.
25:06Just watch here, just coming round the corner.
25:09I think it might be in the mood that came up on.
25:13Aye, aye, aye.
25:15They didn't stop.
25:16Just kept going.
25:17Probably don't get me to get on.
25:21Luckily for Ewan,
25:23Chris is acting as his advanced eyes
25:25on the bendy back road.
25:30Flagging every hazard.
25:33All right, you know what?
25:34He's got a build-in.
25:35I'm going to post that to be the road to do.
25:39You know, getting by him,
25:40he's not kind of wide enough bit there.
25:41As he rolls deeper into the rugged highlands,
25:51an upcoming obstacle is weighing on his mind.
25:54It's deep-rooted and demands respect.
25:58Up where we are today,
26:06and most of Scotland,
26:08when you leave the motorway network,
26:10your biggest problem is trees.
26:11Caravan's not the most robust thing.
26:16All the time, try to avoid touching them,
26:19but sometimes you end up with a pile of small branches
26:23that's hanging off trees.
26:25And in the tin caravans,
26:27it takes very, very little to mark them.
26:32Up ahead, the police escorts
26:35has pulled over a parade of oncoming traffic,
26:39bringing the flow to a full stop
26:41on a narrow, tree-lined road.
26:46We're meeting this stuff here now,
26:50and obviously, she's not too bad of it.
26:54But if you look at the trees,
26:56it's hanging over.
26:58It'll get by her, OK,
26:59but I'm probably actually going to let them come forward
27:03or let them go here.
27:05It's too tight.
27:07When you go.
27:09So Ewan finds a safe spot
27:11and lets the traffic come to him.
27:14Even though there's enough room in the road
27:15for me to get past,
27:17the trees just where we are in front of us now
27:19are starting to hang into the road.
27:21So it's probably better letting them too pass.
27:25You really need to just see your eye on the ball.
27:29For the sake of a minute or two,
27:31there's no point in trying to be a hero
27:33and we're literally eight miles away
27:35and then you damage it.
27:36It just doesn't make sense.
27:41Finally, the team are at the outskirts of town.
27:46All right, see that wee bit there.
27:49Aye, aye, aye, we're all right, we're all right.
27:53But this is just...
27:54We'll just need to let that...
27:57Probably let that stuff come
27:59because where that car's sitting is a bit narrow.
28:02But despite the police escort,
28:05a bus is blocking the way
28:06and this one isn't budging.
28:12The bus driver's sitting flapping his hands
28:15at the policeman.
28:15Oh, we've just got a bit of a standoff
28:20between the policeman and the bus driver.
28:22The bus driver's sitting gubbing
28:24and he's flapping his hands at the policeman.
28:27There's only one person
28:28who's going to win out of that debate.
28:33Why would you sit and argue with a policeman?
28:36Do you know what I mean?
28:37They're always going to win.
28:38Smile and wave, smile and wave.
28:57He's sitting there with a big crab at Haydon
28:59and the arms folded.
29:08Ewan's not letting road rage get the better of him.
29:14He's cool as a cucumber behind the wheel,
29:17eyes locked ahead
29:18and things are looking up.
29:21Sun's shining.
29:22So that makes everything better.
29:24It doesn't matter how bad traffic is.
29:26If the sun's shining, it's a good day.
29:28We're only probably half a mile away
29:31from where we're going.
29:31So a mile, half a mile.
29:34So we're not too bad.
29:3520 hours since loading,
29:39the boys are just metres
29:40from their lock-side destination.
29:43But this portable holiday house
29:45is nowhere near home and dry.
29:48Just you tap the van
29:49over the other side of the bridge and stop.
29:51Put far it and then to the left
29:53and we'll get the van out of the way
29:54because we'll need to get a bit of watch
29:56over this bridge here.
30:01Off public roads,
30:03the police peel away.
30:07Cheers.
30:09But now Ewan
30:10must guide the vehicle
30:11across a narrow bridge.
30:19Back in Warwickshire,
30:21it's a big day
30:22for heavy hauler Dave Hemmings.
30:25It's now ready to strap on
30:27and be delivered.
30:28Once the Golden Boys
30:32are securely strapped down.
30:34These little black marks
30:36on the straps
30:37indicate the tonnage
30:38that they're good for strapping.
30:41And so this one's got five lines.
30:43It's a five-ton strap.
30:46After five years away,
30:48this iconic Second City statue
30:50can finally go home.
30:53I think it's time we
30:55headed into Birmingham.
31:03Despite expert strapping,
31:06once he hits the road,
31:07Dave must still make sure
31:09that the boys stay planted.
31:11You can feel the actual height.
31:15The body rocks a bit
31:16when you're going round corners.
31:19From the ground up,
31:21the statue measures
31:22just over 15 feet,
31:25well below minimum height
31:26of any man-made main road
31:28overhead hazards.
31:30We're a foot under
31:32the legal height.
31:35But in the heavy haulage game,
31:37nature can ruin
31:38even the best laid plans.
31:41Sometimes,
31:42particularly if it's been raining,
31:45some of the trees hang lower.
31:47So you have to keep an eye
31:49on overhanging trees.
31:5320-odd years ago,
31:54I was actually a bus driver
31:56in the city.
31:57You get a lot less hassle
31:59moving items about.
32:02It actually makes you
32:04quite proud
32:05that you get to do
32:06jobs like this.
32:09It's not every day
32:10you get a big gold statue
32:12travelling down the roads
32:14from Redditch to Birmingham.
32:19We're literally
32:20about half a mile
32:21from the site now.
32:25Safely at Centenary Square.
32:27So directly in front of us
32:30over there
32:31is the concrete block
32:33that this statue's going on.
32:37Dave teams up
32:39with Engineering Manager Matt,
32:40who needs the load
32:42in the perfect lifting spot.
32:44It'll probably take
32:47quite a few shunts
32:48to get as square
32:50as they want me to.
32:53This kerb's going to
32:54be awkward.
32:55That one a little bit.
32:58It's going to want to cut
32:59across here.
33:01Cut across there
33:02and then swing
33:03the front across.
33:04Yeah, basically,
33:05as soon as I'm clear
33:06of that kerb,
33:07they'll probably
33:07put a timber
33:08against there.
33:09Yeah.
33:10I mean,
33:10they're about two inches,
33:11two and a half inches deep.
33:12They're just sharp, aren't they?
33:19Tire-shredding,
33:21kerb-edge masked,
33:22Dave painstakingly
33:24moves his cargo in.
33:29And thoughts
33:31can finally turn
33:32to the lift.
33:33Yeah, perfect.
33:34Thank you, Dave.
33:35Yeah.
33:36To successfully raise
33:38three tons
33:39of heavyweight history,
33:41Dave's crane
33:41must be stable.
33:43For that,
33:44he'll need
33:45his weight-bearing
33:46outrigger legs.
33:48I'm going to extend them,
33:49although I'm not going
33:50to put them down yet.
33:51It's just to give us
33:52an idea of where
33:53the outrigger mats
33:54have got to go.
33:59Before placing
34:0020-plus tons
34:01of pressure
34:02onto some
34:03of Birmingham's
34:04poshest paving,
34:06the team
34:06must protect it.
34:08So just checking
34:09that when we have
34:11the aluminium
34:12rigger pads
34:13set up,
34:14that we're not going
34:14to be on this drain
34:15or these slabs,
34:17and they're not going
34:17to cause any damage
34:18to any underlying
34:19surfaces,
34:20or have any
34:21movement or
34:22settlement of the ground.
34:23sweet spot located,
34:27the alley mats
34:28can be laid.
34:32And with the
34:33outriggers down,
34:35Matt immediately
34:35consults
34:36his lifting plan.
34:39We're actually
34:39going to use
34:40a three-tonne sling
34:41instead of a five-tonne
34:42sling around the body.
34:44That's just so
34:45that we can actually
34:46physically get them
34:47through the small gaps
34:48in the statue.
34:50We then have
34:50two pool lifts
34:52and another
34:53three-tonne sling
34:54up to the crane hook.
34:56With no lifting
34:57points to hook onto,
34:59this lift relies
35:00on three perfectly
35:02placed and properly
35:03secured slings
35:04that won't slip.
35:07Basically,
35:08they thread the one
35:09end through the other
35:10end, pull it tight,
35:11and that creates
35:12what they call
35:13a choke on it.
35:15Once it's on
35:16the plinth,
35:17only Allerley's
35:18slinger, Wayne,
35:19is authorised
35:20to de-rig
35:21the monument.
35:24It's just me
35:24harness here.
35:26Every time you work
35:27at height,
35:27you've got to
35:28clip onto something
35:29just to minimise
35:31the risk of fall.
35:32It's very bright,
35:33isn't it?
35:34It's nice, actually.
35:36It's quite nice.
35:38In the meantime,
35:40it's Dave's job
35:41to ensure the statue
35:42remains in
35:43pristine condition.
35:45I just don't want
35:46to bang the sides
35:47of the crate
35:48and risk chipping
35:49the paint
35:50and risk chipping
35:50the paint.
35:51May Wayne's here.
35:52We'll knock that
35:53side out of the crate
35:54and take the handrail
35:55off.
35:56I've got an impact
35:58gun thread there
35:58to screw it in.
35:59It's screwed in?
35:59Yeah.
36:00Crateside removed
36:08for a cleaner raise,
36:10Dave's ready to start
36:12carefully lifting
36:13the three-ton monument.
36:15But as soon as he does,
36:30there's a hitch.
36:36A bit longer still?
36:37It's going to have to be,
36:38yeah?
36:38Yeah, back down.
36:40It's picking up
36:41on that side first
36:43rather than
36:44at the same time.
36:45Each golden boy
36:46is attached
36:47to the lifting cable
36:48with individual
36:49slings and chains.
36:52But because one
36:54is shorter,
36:55the lift
36:56is uneven.
36:58It's just a case
36:59of trial and error
37:00as far as
37:01what's the right length
37:03for these top slings.
37:06To correct the discrepancy,
37:08Matt lengthens
37:09the short sling.
37:12OK, Dave.
37:14Yeah.
37:15And this time,
37:22the fathers of the steam age
37:23go full steam ahead.
37:26OK, Ian.
37:35Until they're hanging
37:37above the plinth.
37:38We need to make sure
37:40that we land
37:41the statue level.
37:42If one side of the statue
37:43is to touch down first,
37:44we could actually
37:45end up chipping
37:46or breaking a corner.
37:47Right, back to you
37:48a touch.
37:50With statue restorer
37:52Ian Clark
37:53watching intently,
37:54every millimetre matters.
38:00But these things
38:01have to be precise.
38:05He's got markings
38:06all on the top
38:07of the plinth
38:08which it's got to
38:09line up with
38:10exactly.
38:11so just a tiny bit
38:13of fine-tuning.
38:16We're just waiting on
38:17Ian giving the
38:18it's in position.
38:20It's looking good.
38:23Smile.
38:24Yeah.
38:25That's what we like to see,
38:26a smile in Ian Clark.
38:28It's job done.
38:33Attached to the crane arm
38:34with his own harness
38:36and lanyard,
38:37Wayne sets to work
38:38on the D-rig.
38:41Don't damage
38:42more new slings, Wayne.
38:44I'm really pleased
38:46with how that lifted.
38:48It's always a bit
38:48of a tense moment
38:49for something
38:50that's irreplaceable,
38:51really.
38:52And so fragile.
38:53So, yeah,
38:54great job by everyone.
38:58The job went well.
38:59We knew there'd be
39:00a little bit of tinkering
39:01about with the slinging
39:03and that
39:03because it's not
39:05a normal load.
39:07It's all installed
39:08and everybody appears
39:10to be happy.
39:10So that's good.
39:19Still to come,
39:21Ewan battles the bridge.
39:23We need to have it up
39:24on the trailer
39:24to get it over
39:25the top of the handrails.
39:26and gets ready
39:27to bring the house down.
39:30It's good to just bend
39:31like bananas.
39:45Deep in the heart
39:47of the Highlands,
39:48Ewan's hold
39:49a 3.9 metre wide
39:51holiday home
39:52across 150 miles.
39:54Now, finally,
39:56at the gates
39:57of the holiday park,
39:58there's just one
39:59last hurdle.
40:01He must squeeze it
40:02over a narrow bridge.
40:04We've been over it
40:04a few times
40:05so we kind of,
40:06we know the height,
40:06we need to have it up
40:07on the trailer
40:08to get it over
40:09the top of the handrails.
40:10When loading up
40:11yesterday,
40:13Ewan played it smart,
40:14raising the house
40:15on wooden blocks
40:16to give the holiday home
40:18a crucial boost.
40:20a few extra inches
40:22to clear the bridge's railings.
40:25But now
40:26comes the moment of truth.
40:29Did the maths measure up?
40:31Has the house
40:32got the height
40:33to clear the crossing?
40:34It's fine.
40:35It's fine.
40:35It's fine.
40:35It's fine.
41:04We didn't hit it,
41:09so we had enough clearings.
41:12Ewan is finally
41:13on the banks
41:14of lovely Loch Linney.
41:20The view
41:20like that is,
41:24when it's a day like this
41:25you can see for miles
41:26it's breathtaking.
41:28It's breathtaking.
41:30One of the loveliest places
41:31we've come to, I think.
41:33But he doesn't have
41:34too long to admire
41:35this beauty spot
41:36because now
41:37it's time to deliver.
41:42Let's get the airlines out
41:43like that.
41:44Get the coat.
41:46Yeah, yeah.
41:49Just jacking the caravan up
41:50to get the weight off
41:52the blocks
41:52and get the blocks out.
41:59They ready
42:03the ramps.
42:07So we're just
42:08using the blocks
42:09that we had
42:10to block the caravan up
42:11to put underneath
42:13the skids
42:13to obviously
42:14to carry the weight
42:15because if not
42:15the skids would just bend
42:16like bananas.
42:24Heavyweight winch
42:25deployed.
42:26The six-tonne Titan
42:27begins its slow
42:29steady roll
42:30towards terra firma.
42:39One missed step
42:41one missed ramp
42:42and this whole mission
42:44could become
42:44one big mess.
42:57It's off
43:00but not yet
43:01in its permanent pitch.
43:03Time to engage
43:05the toba.
43:06Straight on the way.
43:08Yeah.
43:09Got to try and
43:09take that chain off
43:10at the wheel.
43:15The site owner
43:16trundles over
43:17in his tractor.
43:20Back a wee bit.
43:22To transport it
43:23into position.
43:24Now their
43:27responsibility.
43:28Our winch is off
43:30it's off our ranks.
43:31It's all his now.
43:34At the end
43:35of a long
43:36two days
43:37it's time
43:38to take off.
43:40Job done.
43:41Any people
43:42outside
43:42and then
43:43we're away.
43:43Next time.
43:54We want to turn
43:55left and he
43:55wants to come out
43:56there.
43:56Landing a 60 foot
43:58long maritime
43:58monster
43:59leaves Mark
44:00in a tight squeeze.
44:01There's a bus
44:02coming down
44:02so we'll
44:03land on here.
44:04He's here.
44:05It takes
44:06sharp eyes
44:07and steady focus
44:08to safely
44:09berth a boatload
44:10of big trucks.
44:11We don't have
44:12any cameras
44:13here or any
44:13parking sensors
44:14so it's all
44:15done by eye.
44:16And a supersized
44:17cylinder takes
44:18to the skies.
44:19Pinch up a tiny bit.
44:20Hold it there.
44:21Hold it there.
44:22But comes back
44:23down to earth
44:24with a bump.
44:26Try it
44:26nice and steady
44:27and it means steady.
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