- 20 hours ago
Highway Thru Hell Season 14 Episode 1
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Short filmTranscript
00:00This season on Highway Through Hell.
00:08Winter's here.
00:09Yeah!
00:10Woo-hoo!
00:11Stop!
00:12Who's winter?
00:14Why are you winter?
00:15Catchy time!
00:16Hey!
00:16Whoa!
00:17Whoa!
00:17Quick, quick!
00:18Before this guy gets hit, the coquiholic can take your life.
00:21Whoa!
00:22Holy crap.
00:24It's time to go!
00:26Yo, that ambulance is here!
00:28Take that line off!
00:30No rest for the wicked some days.
00:31Let's go!
00:32Watch out!
00:33Whoa!
00:35Jack!
00:36Jack!
00:36Both tracks!
00:38Go, go, go, go, go!
00:39Whoa!
00:40You got the sphincter tight.
00:42It's gonna be unbite.
00:45Merv's school of logic.
00:46Don't drive excavators into deep holes.
00:48Whoa!
00:50Jack!
00:50Hit tight!
00:52There it is!
00:53It's gonna be a fun season.
00:55What would you guys do without me?
00:56What's the weather like?
01:01In southeast British Columbia,
01:04It's cold and clear.
01:07Snow has come early to the southern Rocky Mountain Trench.
01:12Aperture is dropping as we speak.
01:14A region lined by the Rockies to the east and the Purcell Mountains to the west.
01:22You just drive safe.
01:24It is home to Highway 93.
01:26A prime north-south transport route connecting the Trans-Canada Highway to the U.S. border.
01:34Heading into unfamiliar territory.
01:40I've never seen so many tow trucks.
01:42A convoy of wreckers led by a new truck.
01:47A little bouncy, eh?
01:48And Jamie Davis at the wheel.
01:51I just got licensed yesterday and I just got the decals done.
01:54HU-88 is the newest addition to his fleet.
02:00Two months have gone into buying this truck, organizing it, getting it on the road, and today's the day.
02:06I can go to work and use this thing.
02:09Nice new truck.
02:13Wow.
02:14With his beloved L.A. Rotator still in the shop.
02:19It's going to be a showstopper when it's done.
02:21Jamie has had to shift gears.
02:24Looking good, eh?
02:25The newly purchased rescue truck HU-88.
02:29This is like a mobile office, mobile toolbox.
02:32It has everything in it.
02:34Is joining Bruce's recently remodeled 92 Peterbilt.
02:38This is beauty. This is men.
02:41To round out Jamie's fleet this season.
02:44That's a nice-looking Pete you got there, bud.
02:49Running Bruce's truck today.
02:51I've been waiting for this for years.
02:54Heavy operator Mitch Mahood.
02:57You excited?
02:58Yeah.
02:59I like having my hands here.
03:02And his wife, Brooke.
03:04I've been pretty blessed to be able to get my hands on Bruce's truck.
03:07Jamie did an awesome job on this one.
03:11All the heavy wreckers are all going.
03:14Making up the rest of the convoy, 50-ton HR-100, and two flagging trucks.
03:22We're working all across the province.
03:24We're just going wherever the customers need us.
03:28It takes a small army to do a wreck like this.
03:31We'll go organize this.
03:43All right.
03:46Man, you know.
03:48Oh, she slid on the wall for a while.
03:53So that means the load probably shifted.
03:55The trailer's fully loaded with cabinetry and granite countertops.
04:03The load's very heavy.
04:07You just want to look...
04:09Miraculously...
04:11Well, it ain't broken, so that's good.
04:12The fully loaded rig is in nearly perfect condition.
04:17We need to get it up without it breaking apart.
04:21It's going to be tough.
04:22The truck will need a couple of big wreckers.
04:48On Highway 93, Jamie and his crew...
04:52Okay.
04:53The load probably shifted.
04:55...face a nearly mint tractor-trailer on its side.
04:59It's a bigger challenge to recover that unit and make sure it's damage-free.
05:05He's kept it on its wheels for as long as he could.
05:08Earlier, the fully loaded semi lost the road, sliding along the bank before coming to a stop.
05:22Nothing looks broken.
05:24But to recover the rig undamaged, offloading the cargo is not an option.
05:31When you open these back doors, you never know what's going to happen.
05:34The doors are quite a bit of strength through the trailer.
05:38We don't want to go there.
05:40It needs bags.
05:42It needs bags.
05:46Jamie decides to deploy a specialized tool.
05:50This would be a classic airbag job.
05:53We have a perfect surface to use airbags on here.
05:56We've got gaps at the front, gaps at the back of the trailer.
05:59And if you're in the airbag business, you like gaps.
06:03Hey, Martin, only the big ones.
06:06Helping Jamie today, swamper Martin Steffek.
06:11I always bring Martin with me to an airbag job because he's this big, strong Polish guy.
06:18In charge of traffic control...
06:20With recovery, safety is the most important thing.
06:24Jamie's stepson, Brandon Kodalis.
06:25I've been flagging since 16 years old, so just about 14 years now.
06:32Knowing that I can be useful on the team is a good feeling.
06:35Hey, Alexis.
06:36I'm going to put a cone right here.
06:38In the second flagging truck...
06:40And this is where your truck's going to be, Kay.
06:43Okay, thank you.
06:45His 19-year-old sister, Alexis Davis.
06:48I have never flagged in my life.
06:50I want to learn all of it, inside and out, being in this industry.
06:57Last one is a little Ford car.
06:59Okay, put your stop sign up.
07:01Copy.
07:02We're going to have to be parked in the one lane.
07:04There's no shoulder of the road, and flagging is a big part of this job.
07:09Without it, nothing happens.
07:11The perimeter's set.
07:16The crew gets to work.
07:19The biggest gap we got is back here.
07:23Yeah, let's try to get one down here.
07:26The lower you get it, the better.
07:30Wherever you can put an airbag in, that's the first thing you do, just to start the lift.
07:35And then we'll put a strap over the back end.
07:37Nice.
07:38We want to be able to fit the straps underneath the back corner of the trailer.
07:45The first bag is in place.
07:48Looks like a beautiful sunny day, but she's cold.
07:51Minus 12, so not exactly warm.
07:56This thing starts like a champ every time.
07:59But as Jamie fires up the air compressor...
08:02It's not wanting to start.
08:09It's cold, yeah.
08:10Everything becomes kind of more and more difficult.
08:29It's a beautiful day, eh?
08:301,000 kilometres north-west, near the central interior city of Quesnel.
08:39Just another knee in Paranormal.
08:43An auto 50-ton is on the move.
08:46I'm heading north of Quesnel.
08:49With owner-operator Rob Barber.
08:52We're heading out to recover an excavator that's in the ditch.
08:55The customers, in the last five or six years, he's got into logging quite a bit.
09:03Him and his son do it together.
09:07Today's job takes Rob off the blacktop.
09:12The road's quite narrow.
09:13It's a little tighter with ditches on the sides with not a whole lot of space.
09:21On a narrow turn, he arrives to an upside-down log loader, 20 feet below the road.
09:31They cut the corner too tight, and it fell off the low bed and rolled onto its roof.
09:38Working with limited space...
09:40You can't really get a big angle to do much.
09:42They'll try to flip the loader over and hope to walk it out of the ditch.
09:48I have rolled over excavators bigger than this, but the road is not wide enough to get a true good angle,
09:55to cleanly roll it over and make it comfortable.
09:58To add more muscle, a TD-20E dozer.
10:04Rob's on speed dial.
10:05And the owner of the log loader, Larry Borutsky.
10:09He always gets our trucks and brings them home.
10:13He can drive down into the ditches where I can't go.
10:18To get a better angle of it.
10:20Thick and right here.
10:23You think you can pull it from there?
10:25Yeah.
10:26Can you put much tension on that arm?
10:30Also on hand?
10:31Yeah.
10:32Larry's business partner and son, Joey Borutsky.
10:37We're going to have Larry spin it so that the tracks are facing up the hill.
10:42So when it rolls over, the tracks will sit flat on the ground and not halfway up the bank.
10:48You pull from your winch?
10:50Yeah.
10:54A line from the dozer will hook on to the log loader's arm, spinning it 90 degrees.
11:03Then a line from the 50-ton will roll it back onto its tracks.
11:08Incoming, Aaron.
11:12Larry's crew.
11:14All right.
11:15Rigs a chain to the boom.
11:18Just watch the hydraulic lines and everything.
11:22We got that pinhole.
11:25If we could get through that, then we wouldn't be anywhere near our hydraulic lines.
11:28Okay, it's hooked up.
11:37I guess we're going to find out in a minute if that's going to work or not.
11:40We've hooked the old dozer up to the excavator.
11:43Okay, are we ready?
11:45I think so.
11:46Kind of a max pull for that line to move that machine sideways.
12:00Fingers crossed.
12:02We hope we don't break anything.
12:12There it goes.
12:12Outside Quenelle.
12:26A risky log loader spin.
12:33There goes the cable.
12:34Is suddenly sidelined.
12:37Did it break it?
12:38Yeah.
12:38That might be more than that wire rope wants to deal with.
12:43The pole.
12:44I think so.
12:45Was too much for the one-inch-thick winch line.
12:50Just trying to break it free and the main line broke.
12:53Nobody was hurt.
12:55Luckily.
12:57You going to run the cat down to the shop?
12:59Nope.
13:00Everything's right here.
13:01Larry has another one.
13:03We're going to try to put it back on the cat and try it again.
13:05But before replacing the line.
13:10What if we hooked in that hole we're at?
13:12And another chain on the end of the boom?
13:16Rob and Larry hatch a new plan.
13:19Do a V.
13:20Yeah.
13:21Yeah.
13:21Get leveraged.
13:22Yeah.
13:23And this time.
13:24You think it would help if you were on that track closest to you?
13:28Pulling it up?
13:30They'll add in the 50 ton.
13:32I can try.
13:34I'll hook my wrecker to it and try to give him a little assist.
13:37See if we can spin it around.
13:40I need a bit more.
13:44Okay.
13:45While Larry replaces the dozer's line.
13:49How are you making out, Joey?
13:51Joey re-rigs to the loader.
13:54I just about got this hooked up.
13:59With a line from the dozer hooked to two chains on the loader arm.
14:04And the 50 ton hooked to the track.
14:09Together, they'll spin the loader 90 degrees.
14:17Try to throw it in the far side of that track.
14:19I should be able to have enough power.
14:25Are you ready?
14:26Yeah, I'll get it one.
14:29Here's hoping for the best.
14:30The new plan
14:42immediately spins the loader.
14:54That looks pretty good, isn't it?
14:56Yeah, that's good.
14:57We didn't really have you even had a paw that hard.
15:02I'm surprised.
15:03They come over pretty easy.
15:05Rotate it into position.
15:07So I think if I put my mind to this side of the track.
15:12Same sort of spot, just on the other side?
15:14Yeah.
15:15They can start re-rigging to roll it right side up.
15:19We're just going to try to get two of us hooked to the side of this thing so we can
15:23hopefully roll it onto his feet.
15:26Once upright, the loader can walk out and get back to work.
15:31And just wrap it right around the whole track?
15:33Yeah.
15:35Just make sure everybody's clear when I release my tension, eh?
15:39Oh, there's a truck on the side here.
16:0110 hours southeast on Highway 93.
16:08It's cold, yeah.
16:09It's not wanting to start.
16:11A stalled compressor has frozen Jamie's airbag recovery.
16:17Cold weather makes the job take twice as long.
16:21But Jamie...
16:23We'll just change out that spark bug and heat it up a bit.
16:27...has a trick up his sleeve.
16:31Mm-hmm.
16:33Try that.
16:34If you pull the spark bug out and heat it up with a torch, generally it will start.
16:44Oh, here we go.
16:46One of them old faithful machine.
16:48Like me, just an old thing that won't die.
16:50All right.
16:51That was a temporary roadblock for us.
16:54Take care of the roadblock and move on.
16:57Want to wind her up?
16:58Okay.
17:01Jamie starts inflating the first airbag.
17:04Is it pushing it up?
17:06Yeah, it's starting to come up now.
17:09The airbag at the very back is going to give us an initial lift.
17:14But before they can place any more bags under the trailer...
17:18Like, is it wrecking the wall anywhere?
17:20Yeah, it's kinking in a bit.
17:24Yeah.
17:25Jamie needs some added support.
17:27So we'll get a strap around here.
17:32Let's bring your big wreckers in and pull down on the trailer, okay?
17:35We want to be able to get the recovery strap around the back end, and then look for other places where we can put some more bags under.
17:42The carefully placed airbags will raise the trailer, then lines from HR 100 and Bruce's truck will hold it in place, so the bags can be repositioned until the wreckers can safely take over and winch it back onto its wheels.
18:06Okay, pull it over.
18:08The trucks are only there to take up the slack.
18:12Is that enough?
18:13Oh, you got it.
18:14Okay.
18:15And they're really in place to be a safety in case something goes wrong.
18:19You pull yours up a bit?
18:20The airbags are doing the work here, not the big wreckers.
18:21Tighten up a bit.
18:22Okay, now stop.
18:23The M2.
18:24They're pulling too hard already.
18:26They're pulling thinking they're winning the war here, but they're not.
18:33We could lose this whole trailer.
18:35The trailer could break apart.
18:37Why is the trailer moving?
18:38The load could be sitting on the side of the road.
18:39I said stop.
18:48What is going on?
18:52Why is the trailer moving?
18:58the load could be sitting on the side of the road what's going on why is the
19:06trailer movement on southeastern BC's highway 93
19:13are you guys not listening Jamie why are you inching I can't stop
19:21pulls the emergency brake on a huge airbag recovery earlier the fully loaded semi
19:34lost the road sliding along the bank before coming to a stop with minimal
19:42damage up the road I'd rather be working on the wreck because then I wouldn't be
19:48as cold Alexis shivers through her first flagging job you know a guy gets too
19:54greedy as Jamie struggles they have the powerful big wreckers but what they're
20:00gonna do is pull the trailer off of the bags the bags are gonna blow out and we
20:04can have a failure here and I'm sitting here looking at the wall watching it
20:08bounce right now you see it bulging right there with the wreckers holding steady
20:17like right in about here you can not too far back but it right about there
20:22Jamie's crew hustles to get the rest of the airbags in position let's get it down
20:28as low as you can let's get another bag ready to go okay right down as long as
20:37you can go with that right to the bottom push way down way down the goal here is
20:43to get the airbags down low oh yeah right there baby that's it we know that the
20:48load is down there we want the airbags pushing against that load and lifting
20:53load okay she's going up
20:59the wall okay I think so yeah
21:06so we're at the point now where the bags can do their work we got a nice really nice bank to push
21:15against here I'm happy that the bags are all positioned properly they're all lifting load
21:21okay you might as well get on the wreckers now okay and then now only take up the slack do not pull
21:29I'll tell you when to pull okay now that I've got these guys straightened out that we're not gonna
21:36pull this load with the wreckers at this point we gotta let the airbags do their job the bags need
21:43the weight right yeah it's only take up the slack and then at the very last minute it'll be down
21:49yeah without weight on those bags we could go from hey this is a perfect airbag job and everything's
21:56going great to a failure in blink of an eye 15 minutes northeast of Cornell a log loader that needs
22:13writing has rolled that's worse the wrong way the escalator kind of tips over to a negative it'll
22:25make it harder to pull it because we'll have to stand it up onto the cab of itself and then back
22:30onto its tracks but Rob should we go the other way finds a silver lining that's what I'm thinking
22:39and then we wouldn't touch the cab yes we're kind of tipped away from the cab it's already that way
22:45yeah so now we can pull it without hurting the cab I can sit up kind of in that corner do you think
22:53you can get to that right there through these trees I should be all right okay I'm gonna pull
22:58ahead we're gonna bring the dozer over to help me roll it over it'll take a lot of pressure off me
23:06with both machines on the road you'd go on the heavy end they can start rigging for the improvised pull
23:14is it gonna reach there we're trying to roll it over without hurting us Larry's got lots of work for
23:27for it and he can't really lose it at this point ready yeah start pulling
23:33that worked out good I yeah we work good as a team
24:01it went really smooth the cab itself was right in the bottom of the ditch line so it was actually
24:09protected we're gonna check the fluids pull the injectors and hopefully fire it up
24:15one last test
24:19and Larry's loader is back in business didn't do any damage and Larry's son's gonna drive it away today
24:34well thank you much have a good day we'll definitely be a touch yeah again as nice as a family business
24:48that we are can help another family business to get going and not lose any downtime that all worked out
24:56good the mood for the season is good we're hoping we get lots of snow but what comes is what comes you
25:03keep moving forward
25:04back on highway 93
25:18Jamie's airbag job
25:22hey
25:25not pulling could be slipping away
25:29bags will pop out if they have no way a closer look seems to me the load is mostly to the front section
25:39here reveals there's no load on the wall for the airbag to push against
25:45I don't want the bag pushing against an empty trailer there's no strength there
25:53still pumping but the remaining airbags oh yeah these three are doing it are still doing the heavy lifting
26:00as the load comes up the weight on the bags becomes less and less and less and less as it
26:06inflates they're getting there the load then is transferred to the wheels
26:12that's good
26:15it's a very critical point when the wreckers take over from the airbags and I've got to make that call
26:26as the airbags reach their maximum capacity
26:30the job reaches a tipping point
26:35pull pull your straps are taking over this is the point of no return
26:41okay stop you're there
26:50it's really a zen moment when the trailer's upright trailer's not broken in half
26:56good beauty okay so pull these bags up now
27:00what we want to do is just winch the truck back on the road
27:05even after the unit's upright there's still a little ways to go to pull it out of the ditch
27:10once we get this thing kind of 90 it'll keep the trailer up
27:17we're gonna winch the tractor up first which actually puts the unit in an L position and the tractor actually will assist in having the trailer up
27:24yeah
27:34once we get this thing kind of 90 it'll keep the trailer up
27:38We're going to winch the tractor up first, which actually puts the unit in an L position,
27:44and the tractor actually will assist in having the unit not flip over again.
27:49Crank your wheel to the left.
27:56But as the tractor makes its way up the bank...
27:59Trailer's coming off the ground.
28:02The trailer starts to tilt.
28:04Give it a little bit.
28:07Oh, it's going to go.
28:11Looks like they're going to get ready to recover it, but...
28:14On Highway 93...
28:17Crank your wheel to the left.
28:22Jamie's recently righted semi...
28:25Trailer's coming off the ground.
28:28...threatened...
28:31Oh, it's going to go.
28:33...to roll back over.
28:36Okay, stop.
28:37The problem we have here is that the unit's still quite tippy, and we want to pull that trailer down somewhat.
28:46To secure the trailer...
28:48I got a winch, too.
28:51Jamie puts his newest truck, HU-88, to the test.
28:56Okay.
28:57So I'm just going to bring the rescue up here, and we'll put a hold line on it.
29:02It's a five-ton winch in the front, hydraulically powered, so it's perfect new use for this truck.
29:11Okay, let's go. Let's give her.
29:13I had no idea that the winches on the utility truck, they were that strong to be able to handle it.
29:19I'm quite impressed.
29:24Turn the wheel to the right.
29:25Two hours since Jamie's team arrived.
29:33I can probably drive it out now.
29:35Unhook her, yeah.
29:36The semi is back on pavement.
29:41She came out really nice.
29:43Everybody worked together, and there's a few tense moments when you're doing that, but she's really good now, out on the road.
29:49There's a little bit of damage here, right here, I can see, but I don't think there's a problem with this truck, though. It's drivable.
29:58I call it the holy grail, where the customer can actually take this trailer and truck and the load and drive away, and there's no loss.
30:06It's definitely one of those holy grail moments.
30:07The customer should be happy. He can carry on with his day.
30:10We're going to go into town and buy the crew lunch.
30:12I think having the utility truck in the fleet re-energizes everybody to know that we've been updating, adding some more things to the fleet.
30:24It's signaling kind of a new era for us.
30:28You on the radio, Brendan?
30:31Yeah, go ahead.
30:32Can you guys hold traffic so I can get out of here?
30:34Alexis, can you hold traffic?
30:36Yep.
30:37It's different. Very different being on this side of it.
30:42Nice work.
30:46Looks like he's clear.
31:09How is I, Lee?
31:10680 kilometers west.
31:15Pretty bad.
31:16The first snowstorm of the season...
31:20Coming down pretty heavy.
31:22...is slamming drivers on Highway 5A.
31:265A is pretty windy and dangerous.
31:29You never know what you're going to face, especially in the wintertime.
31:32It's also a key connector between Highway 3 and the Coquihalla.
31:39Even though the maintenance crews are out there, a flash freeze can happen instantly and everything changes.
31:43Did they put a plow to that road yet?
31:46Midway between Princeton and Merritt.
31:55A B-train loaded with rock truck tires stretches across the road, completely blocking the vital route.
32:07Good job, big truck, yeah. Blocked the frickin' road.
32:12Already on scene...
32:13This is a little bit crazy.
32:16...light duty operators from reliable towing...
32:20All right, so now we're on the way to the next one.
32:24...worked the south side of the blockage.
32:26It's the first big one that's here.
32:30Heading to the north side, out of Merritt.
32:33Highway is closed.
32:35Got reports about B-train stuck in the middle of it.
32:39Reliable operator John Dodds in a 35-ton wrecker.
32:45With RCMP call-outs, it's always an urgent call.
32:49They're calling, the road's got to get open.
32:52But 400 metres short of the blockage...
32:56It's starting to feel like one of those nights.
32:59John spots another stranded trucker...
33:02Just cresting a hill on a blank corner.
33:05...teetering on the shoulder.
33:07He's not in a good spot at all, so we want to get him out and back on the road.
33:12Oh yeah, she's slagged.
33:14He moves in for a pull-out.
33:16But his record...
33:21She is icy!
33:22...slides 30 metres...
33:26...before coming to a stop.
33:28You're the first one on my list here, bud.
33:33But I'm gonna throw a set of chains on so I don't just keep sliding down the mountain here.
33:38And then I'll get you all figured out.
33:41Yep, thanks.
33:44The close call has John chaining up.
33:50Whoa!
33:52But before he can get the second set on...
33:55It's always pretty sketchy when your truck starts sliding away on you.
33:58It's off, it's off, it's off.
34:00Stop.
34:03I'm gonna throw a set of chains on.
34:0533 kilometres north of Princeton...
34:09...a flash freeze on Highway 5A...
34:14...has John's record...
34:17Whoa!
34:19...on a slippery slope.
34:21Quick reaction was just throw a chain in front of it.
34:25Okay, stop, stop, stop.
34:26It starts making your heart throb quite a bit.
34:29Seeing 30,000 pounds of going down a hill.
34:33Stop.
34:34John's quick thinking with the tire chain...
34:37Not ideal.
34:39...stops his wrecker from sliding.
34:42Didn't think it was gonna stop.
34:45...six feet short of a 100-foot drop.
34:49That's the first time I've ever had a truck slide away on me.
34:52So I just threw the spade into the ground from the side puller and hopefully that'll plant us for a second...
35:03...while I throw these chains on.
35:07John anchors his 35-ton.
35:09There, maybe we won't slide away now.
35:13I'd say she's slick.
35:15Oh, yeah.
35:17Like that.
35:18I'd hop that one chain on and it started rolling away.
35:24Alrighty.
35:25Now he can refocus on the stranded semi.
35:31I just want to get out of this before I cruise worse.
35:36Same thing's gonna happen to you the second we pull that out.
35:38Yeah.
35:40Try to get the chained up.
35:41At least on one axle.
35:43Even if we can get them all loose.
35:46John starts.
35:48I don't want anything on this hill without chains at this point.
35:52By making sure the driver has the right traction for the flash freeze conditions.
35:58You don't want to have a truck take off down the hill.
36:01It could kill somebody.
36:03Do what you can to get your chains all tightened up.
36:06Okay.
36:08He leaves the driver to chain up.
36:10If we pull him out first, there's risk of him sliding down the hill into this other truck at the bottom of the hill.
36:17Alright, good luck.
36:18Okay, thanks.
36:20And carefully starts backing down towards the main blockage.
36:27Roger, coming down the hill here.
36:31On the other side.
36:33Traffic is still blocked.
36:35Northbound traffic is backing up.
36:38They had a couple of plow trucks here, but they couldn't get caught.
36:45Within minutes.
36:47Oh, buddy.
36:48John arrives at the massive B train stretched across the narrow road.
36:56He's blocking both lanes.
36:58Tires, they're definitely not light.
37:01They're weighed about 10,000 pounds each.
37:04Already on scene.
37:06How was it to come down?
37:08It's slick.
37:09Reliable tow operators whose light-duty trucks are stuck on the south side of the wreck.
37:18Police are eager to open the critical route.
37:21This is the only vehicle we know of now that's impeding any traffic.
37:27So once this is cleared, we hope to have traffic moving again.
37:30I'll just keep it doubled.
37:32Working in a narrow space.
37:35We're going to be in for a bit of a battle tonight.
37:37John is counting on his side puller.
37:40We'll try to grab her on the fifth wheel plate.
37:42To move the 100,000 pound load.
37:46See if it all.
37:48Now we're fighting some pretty heavy weight.
37:51Okay, we'll get her and go.
37:53We want to open the road again.
37:56We want to get the job done.
37:57We're pulling and all we're doing is stalling the winch.
38:14We're definitely fighting it here.
38:19Outmatched.
38:22It's one of those things.
38:28Highway is open yet?
38:30North of Princeton.
38:32There's a truck down at the bottom of the hill here.
38:35Vital Highway 5A is shut down.
38:39While Team Reliable wrestles a super heavy super beam.
38:46Stretched across the highway.
38:49We've got to get this thing off the road and opened up quick
38:52so that the maintenance crew can get through
38:54and deal with the ice conditions.
38:55But John's 35 ton side puller.
39:01Outmatched.
39:03Can't handle the 100,000 pound load of tires.
39:08Between the weight of the truck and the ice on the roads,
39:12we're not going to be able to pull it out that way.
39:14He might end up needing to roll ahead a tiny bit as we go.
39:18The gravel truck's been out from the Princeton side, so there's tons of gravel in front of them now.
39:25John looks to take advantage of the traction highway maintenance has laid down below them.
39:31I think gravity's going to be our best friend on this with him facing downhill already.
39:37He's already got a set of chains on.
39:40Hopefully we'll be able to just kind of let him roll ahead and just hold the weight while he comes up over the bank here.
39:46We've got a plan B in place.
39:49We are hoping it's going to work.
39:52Good to go.
39:56With a side puller rigged to the rear frame of the trailer.
40:01You got a copy?
40:03Yep.
40:04John.
40:05Whenever you're ready, just let me know and we'll start pulling, bud.
40:09Directs the driver to start rolling downhill.
40:13Okay, yeah, we'll go ahead nice and slow.
40:19Yep, keep her going.
40:21The 35 ton.
40:24Slow it out.
40:26Hold on, hold on.
40:27He tried to hold it from sliding back into the ditch.
40:31We're just letting the line out as he's going.
40:34Nice and slow.
40:36Roll ahead again.
40:42We're making progress.
40:46He's slowly inching forward.
40:48Okay, hold there.
40:50I think we're going to have it done in the next couple minutes here.
40:53I'm going to unhook.
40:54We're going to roll you just a little bit more.
40:57With the tractor fully on gravel.
41:02Okay, take her nice and slow.
41:04John lets the driver take over.
41:08Hey, you should be open.
41:10Got a lot of luck.
41:13But before he can call it a day.
41:16We still got to get up to the top and get that next truck going.
41:18John hustles back up the hill to the stranded trucker.
41:29Alrighty.
41:32With the semi now chained up, John quickly rigs a strap to the front.
41:39Okay.
41:40And once again leans on his side puller.
41:46It's coming up nice now.
41:49To pull the unit clear of the ditch.
41:54I definitely feel proud of myself for getting it done with this truck.
41:58Alright, everybody get out of here.
42:01Go ride the brakes!
42:02This hill, it's all cleared up now.
42:12We'll let the maintenance crew get out here and sand it and salt it really good.
42:18Before anything else happens.
42:20Move home and go to bed.
42:21I'm always impressed with my team.
42:24And today is no different.
42:29There really isn't much that we can't do.
42:32I'm sure we're going to see a lot more of this over the next few months.
42:36And we'll be prepared to handle every situation.
42:41I think the winter has just begun.
42:46Oh yeah!
42:47Next time, on Highway Through Hell.
42:54Slipping and sliding.
42:59Reliable.
43:01In the danger zone.
43:03Before this guy gets hit.
43:05Quiring.
43:07Works the hill.
43:11And cutting loose.
43:14With auto.
43:1543 metric tons of wood on that truck.
43:45Plugin.
43:47Can be earned in the off-road.
43:49We're at the end of the road.
43:51All right.
43:55Yeah.
43:56To get out of here.
43:58Let's go.
44:00To work in a minute.
44:04You'll be right back.
44:08To be right back.
44:11You'll be right back.
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