- 4 hours ago
Highway Thru Hell - Season 14 Episode 1 - Tba
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00This season on Highway Through Hell, winter's here.
00:09Yeah!
00:10Woo-hoo!
00:11Stop!
00:12Who's winter?
00:13Why are you winter?
00:14Catchy time!
00:16Hey!
00:16Whoa!
00:17Quick, quick!
00:18Before this guy gets hit, the coquaholic 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!
00:31Watch out!
00:33Whoa!
00:35Track!
00:35Track!
00:36Both tracks!
00:37Go, go, go, go, go!
00:39Whoa!
00:40You got the sphincter tight.
00:42It's going to be unplayed.
00:44Merv's school of logic.
00:46Don't drive excavators into deep holes.
00:48Whoa!
00:48Whoa!
00:50Guys, get tight!
00:52There it is!
00:53It's going to 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.
01:12Temperature is dropping as we speak.
01:14A region lined by the Rockies to the east and the Purcell Mountains to the west.
01:22Hey, you 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...
01:46A little bouncy, eh?
01:48...and Jamie Davis at the wheel.
01:51I just got licensed yesterday, and I just got the decals done.
01:56HU88 is the newest addition to his fleet.
01:59Two 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 LA rotator still in the shop...
02:19It's going to be a showstopper when it's done.
02:21Jamie has had to shift gears.
02:23Looking good, eh?
02:24The newly purchased rescue truck HU88...
02:29This is like a mobile office, mobile toolbox.
02:32It has everything in it.
02:34...is joining Bruce's recently remodeled 92 Peterbilt...
02:39This is beauty.
02:39This is men.
02:40...to round out Jamie's fleet this season.
02:46That's a nice-looking peak you got there, bud.
02:49...running Bruce's truck today...
02:51I've been waiting for this for years.
02:53Heavy operator, Mitch Mahood...
02:57Are you excited?
02:58Yeah.
02:59I like having my hands here.
03:01...and 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 records are all going.
03:14Making up the rest of the convoy, 50-ton HR100 and two flagging trucks.
03:20We're working all across the province.
03:23We're just going wherever the customers need us.
03:25It takes a small army to do a wreck like this.
03:29We'll go organize this.
03:43All right.
03:46Man, you know...
03:48Oh, she slid on the wall for a while.
03:50So that means the load probably shifted.
03:56The trailer's fully loaded with cabinetry and granite countertops.
04:03The load's very heavy.
04:07I just want to look...
04:08Miraculously...
04:10Well, 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.
04:22Oh, God.
04:23The truck will need a couple of big wreckers.
04:48On Highway 93, Jamie and his crew...
04:52Okay.
04:53The load probably shifted.
04:55Face 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.
05:06He's kept it on its wheels for as long as he could.
05:11Earlier, the fully loaded semi lost the road,
05:17sliding along the bank before coming to a stop.
05:21Nothing looks broken.
05:24But to recover the rig undamaged, offloading the cargo is not an option.
05:30When you open these back doors, you never know what's going to happen.
05:35The doors are quite a bit of strength through the trailer.
05:38We don't want to go there.
05:38Jamie decides to deploy a specialized tool.
05:49This would be a classic airbag job.
05:52We have a perfect surface to use airbags on here.
05:56We've got gaps at the front, gaps at the back of the trailer.
06:00And if you're in the airbag business, you like gaps.
06:02Hey, Martin, only the big ones.
06:05Helping Jamie today, swamper Martin Steffek.
06:09I always bring Martin with me to an airbag job because he's this big, strong, Polish guy.
06:17In charge of traffic control.
06:20With recovery, safety is the most important thing.
06:23Jamie's stepson, Brandon Codales.
06:27I've been flagging since 16 years old, so just about 14 years now.
06:31Knowing that I can be useful on the team is a good feeling.
06:34Hey, 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, okay?
06:43Okay, thank you.
06:44His 19-year-old sister, Alexis Davis.
06:48I have never flagged in my life.
06:51I want to learn all of it, inside and out, being in this industry.
06:56Last 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.
07:06And flagging is a big part of this job.
07:09Without it, nothing happens.
07:13The perimeter's set.
07:15The crew gets to work.
07:18The 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.
07:29Wherever you can put an airbag in, that's the first thing you do just to start the lift.
07:34And then we'll put a strap over the back end.
07:37Nice.
07:39We want to be able to fit the straps underneath the back corner of the trailer.
07:42The first bag is in place.
07:47It looks like a beautiful sunny day, but she's cold.
07:51Minus 12.
07:52So, uh, not exactly warm.
07:56This thing starts like a champ every time.
07:58But as Jamie fires up the air compressor.
08:07It's not wanting to start.
08:08It's cold, yeah.
08:10Everything becomes kind of more and more difficult.
08:12It's a beautiful day, eh?
08:301,000 kilometres north-west.
08:35Near the central interior city of Quesnel.
08:39Just another day in Paranormal.
08:41An auto 50 tonne is on the move.
08:46I'm heading north of Quesnel.
08:49With owner-operator Rob Barber.
08:53We're heading out to recover an excavator that's in the ditch.
08:56The customers, in the last five or six years, he's got into logging quite a bit.
09:02Him and his son do it together.
09:04Today's job takes Rob off the blacktop.
09:12Ah, the road's quite narrow.
09:13For a back road recovery.
09:16It's a little tighter with ditches on the sides with not a whole lot of space.
09:21Whoa!
09:22On 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.
09:37Working with limited space...
09:39You 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,
09:51but the road is not wide enough to get a true good angle
09:55to cleanly roll it over and make it comfortable.
09:57To add more muscle, a TD-20E dozer.
10:03Rob'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 to get a better angle of it.
10:20Thinking right here.
10:21You think you can pull it from there?
10:24Yeah.
10:26Can you put much attention 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
10:45and not halfway up the bank.
10:48You pull from your winch?
10:49Yeah.
10:54A line from the dozer will hook on to the log loader's arm,
10:59spinning it 90 degrees.
11:03Then a line from the 50-ton will roll it back onto its tracks.
11:10Incoming, Aaron.
11:12Larry's crew...
11:13All right.
11:15...rigs a chain to the boom.
11:17Just watch the hydraulic lines and everything.
11:22We got that pinhole.
11:24If we could get through that,
11:26then we wouldn't be anywhere near our hydraulic lines.
11:28Okay, it's hooked up.
11:36I 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.
11:54Kind of a max pull for that line to move that machine sideways.
12:00Fingers crossed.
12:01We hope we don't break anything.
12:12There it goes.
12:15Oh!
12:15Outside Quennell.
12:26A risky log loader spin.
12:33There goes the cable.
12:34The cable is suddenly sidelined.
12:37Did it break it?
12:38Yeah.
12:39That might be more than that wire rope wants to deal with.
12:43The pole...
12:44I think so.
12:45...was 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.
13:00Larry has another one.
13:03We're going to try to put it back on the cat and try it again.
13:06But before replacing the line...
13:09What if we hooked in that hole we're at
13:11and another chain on the end of the boom?
13:16Rob and Larry hatch a new plan.
13:19Do a V, yeah.
13:20Yeah.
13:21Get leveraged, yeah.
13:22And 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.
13:33I 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.
13:39I need a bit more.
13:44Okay.
13:45While Larry replaces the dozer's line...
13:48How are you making out, Joey?
13:51Joey re-rigs to the loader...
13:54I just about got this hooked up.
13:58With a line from the dozer hooked to two chains on the loader arm
14:03and the 50-ton hooked to the track.
14:08Together, they'll spin the loader 90 degrees.
14:12Try to throw it in the far side of that track.
14:21Hit!
14:22I should be able to have enough power.
14:25All right, are you ready?
14:26Yeah, I'll get it, Will.
14:29Here's hoping for the best.
14:30The new plan immediately spins the loader.
14:46That looks pretty good, isn't it?
14:56Yeah, that's good.
14:58We didn't really have you even had to pull that hard.
15:01I'm surprised.
15:02It came over pretty easy.
15:05Rotated into position.
15:06So I think if I put mine to this side of the track...
15:11Same sort of sponge that's on the other side?
15:14Yeah.
15:15They can start re-rigging to roll it right side up.
15:20We're just going to try to get two of us hooked to the side of this thing
15:23so we can hopefully 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?
15:41But as Larry slacks his line...
15:47Hey!
15:48Oh.
15:49The loader...
15:50Ah!
15:51...rolls away from them.
15:54That's worse.
15:59Oh, there's a truck on the side of the gear.
16:02Ten hours southeast...
16:04On 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.
16:22But Jamie...
16:23We'll just change out that spark plug and heat it up a bit.
16:26...has a trick up his sleeve.
16:31Mm-hmm.
16:32Try that.
16:33If you pull the spark plug out and heat it up with a torch, generally, it will start.
16:44Oh, here we go.
16:45One of them old, faithful machines.
16:48Like me, it's an old thing that won't die.
16:50All right.
16:51That was a temporary roadblock for us.
16:53Take care of the roadblock and move on.
16:55Want to wind her up?
16:58Okay.
17:00Jamie starts inflating the first airbag.
17:03Is it pushing it up?
17:05Yeah, it's starting to come up now.
17:07The airbag at the very back is going to give us an initial lift.
17:12But before they can place any more bags under the trailer...
17:17Like, is it wrecking the wall anywhere?
17:21Yeah, it's kinking in a bit.
17:23Yeah.
17:25Jamie needs some added support.
17:29So, 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
17:38and then look for other places where we can put some more bags under.
17:45The carefully placed airbags will raise the trailer.
17:50Then lines from HR 100 and Bruce's truck will hold it in place
17:55so the bags can be repositioned
18:00until the wreckers can safely take over
18:03and winch it back onto its wheels.
18:10Okay, pull it over.
18:12The trucks are only there to take up the slack.
18:16Is that enough?
18:20Oh, you got it. Okay.
18:22And they're really in place to be a safety
18:24in case something goes wrong.
18:27You pull yours up a bit?
18:29The airbags are doing the work here, not the big wreckers.
18:33Tighten up a bit.
18:39Okay, now stop.
18:42The M2.
18:44They're pulling too hard already.
18:47They're pulling thinking they're winning the war here,
18:50but they're not.
18:51We could lose this whole trailer.
18:54Trailer could break apart.
18:55Why is the trailer moving?
18:57The load could be sitting on the side of the road.
19:00I said stop.
19:04What's going on?
19:06Why is the trailer moving?
19:07On southeastern BC's Highway 93.
19:13Are you guys not listening?
19:16Jamie.
19:16Why are you inching?
19:19I said stop.
19:21Pulls the emergency brake on a huge airbag recovery.
19:26I haven't had a chance to look at this side.
19:28You can pull the wall out.
19:32Earlier, the fully loaded semi lost the road.
19:35Sliding along the bank before coming to a stop with minimal damage.
19:44Up the road.
19:45I'd rather be working on the wreck because then I wouldn't be as cold.
19:49Alexis shivers through her first flagging job.
19:53You know, a guy gets too greedy.
19:55As Jamie struggles.
19:57They have the powerful big wreckers,
20:00but what they're going to do is pull the trailer off of the bags.
20:03The bags are going to blow out, and we can have a failure here.
20:06And I'm sitting here looking at the wall, watching it bounce.
20:09Right?
20:12Now...
20:13You see it bulging right there?
20:14With the wreckers holding steady.
20:17Think right in about here.
20:19If you can.
20:20Not too far back, but right about there.
20:23Jamie's crew hustles to get the rest of the airbags in position.
20:27Let's get it down as low as you can.
20:29Ah, there we go.
20:30Let's get another bag ready to go.
20:34Okay.
20:35Right down as long as you can go with that.
20:38Right to the bottom.
20:39Push.
20:40Way down, way down.
20:42The goal here is to get the airbags down low.
20:45Oh yeah, right there, baby.
20:46That's it.
20:47We know that the load is down there,
20:49and we want the airbags pushing against that load and lifting.
20:58Okay, she's going up.
20:59That wall okay?
21:04I think so, yeah.
21:09So we're at the point now where the bags can do their work.
21:13We've got a nice, really nice bank to push against here.
21:16I'm happy that the bags are all positioned properly.
21:20They're all lifting load.
21:22Okay, you might as well get on the wreckers now.
21:25Okay.
21:26And then only take up the slack.
21:28Do not pull.
21:30I'll tell you when to pull.
21:32Okay.
21:33Now that I've got these guys straightened out that we're not going to pull this load
21:37with the wreckers at this point,
21:39we're going to let the airbags do their job.
21:42The bags need the weight, right?
21:44Yeah.
21:45It's only take up the slack,
21:46and then at the very last minute, it'll be down.
21:49Yeah.
21:49Without weight on those bags, we could go from,
21:53hey, this is a perfect airbag job, and everything's going great,
21:57to a failure in the blink of an eye.
22:02Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
22:0715 minutes northeast of Cornell,
22:11a log loader that needs riding
22:14has rolled
22:17the wrong way.
22:22The excavator kind of tipped over to a negative.
22:25It'll make it harder to pull it,
22:27because we'll have to stand it up onto the cab of itself,
22:29and then back onto its tracks.
22:32But Rob...
22:33Should we go the other way?
22:35...finds a silver lining.
22:37That's what I'm thinking,
22:39and then we wouldn't touch the cab.
22:41The excavator kind of tipped away from the cab.
22:44It's already that way.
22:45Yeah.
22:46So now we can pull it without hurting the cab.
22:49I can sit up kind of in that corner.
22:52Do you think you can get to that right there?
22:54Through these trees, I should be all right.
22:57Okay, I'm going to pull ahead.
22:59We're going to bring the dozer over to help me roll it over.
23:01It'll take a lot of pressure off me.
23:06With both machines on the road,
23:09you'd go on the heavy end.
23:10They can start rigging for the improvised pull.
23:13Where's it going to reach?
23:20There.
23:23We're trying to roll it over without hurting it.
23:26Larry's got lots of work for it,
23:27and he can't really lose it at this point.
23:31Ready?
23:32Yeah.
23:32Start pulling.
23:33There it goes.
23:55That worked out good, huh?
23:59Yeah, we work good as a team.
24:04It went really smooth.
24:06The cab itself was right in the bottom of the ditch line,
24:09so it was actually protected.
24:11We're going to check the fluids, pull the injectors,
24:13and hopefully fire it up.
24:18One last test.
24:24It's ready!
24:25And Larry's loader is back in business.
24:29It didn't do any damage,
24:31and Larry's son's going to drive it away today.
24:39Well, thank you much, sir.
24:41Have a good day.
24:42We'll definitely be in touch.
24:44Yeah.
24:45Again.
24:46It's nice as a family business that we are
24:49can help another family business to get going
24:51and not lose any downtime.
24:52Yeah, it all worked out good.
24:57The mood for the season is good.
24:59We're hoping we get lots of snow,
25:01but what comes is what comes.
25:03You keep moving forward.
25:04Back on Highway 93,
25:18Jamie's airbag job
25:22Go, go, go, go.
25:25Hey!
25:26Stop pulling!
25:27Could be slipping away.
25:32Bags will pop out if they have no weight.
25:35A closer look.
25:36Seems to me the load is mostly to the front section here.
25:40Reveals there's no load on the wall
25:43for the airbag to push against.
25:47I don't want the bag pushing against an empty trailer.
25:50There's no strength there.
25:53Still pumping?
25:55But the remaining airbags...
25:56Oh, yeah.
25:57These three are doing it.
25:58...are still doing the heavy lifting.
26:01As the load comes up,
26:03the weight on the bags becomes less and less and less and less
26:06as it inflates.
26:07They're getting there.
26:09The load then is transferred to the wheels.
26:12That's good.
26:18It's a very critical point
26:20when the wreckers take over from the airbags.
26:23And I've got to make that call.
26:26As the airbags reach their maximum capacity...
26:30Hey, go!
26:32...the job reaches a tipping point.
26:35Pull, pull.
26:37Your straps are taking over.
26:39This is the point of no return.
26:42It's already a zen moment
26:53when the trailer's upright,
26:55the trailer's not broken in half.
26:57Good.
26:57Beauty.
26:58Okay, so pull these bags up now.
27:02What we want to do
27:03is just winch the truck back on the road.
27:06Even after the unit's upright,
27:08there's still a little ways to go
27:09to pull it out of the ditch.
27:10With HR 100 re-rigged to the front of the tractor
27:16and Bruce's truck still strapped to the rear of the trailer.
27:22Are the tractor brakes released?
27:24Yeah.
27:26Mitch steers the truck
27:28as Jamie winches it out of the ditch.
27:31Once we get this thing kind of 90,
27:36it'll keep the trailer up.
27:38We're going to winch the tractor up first,
27:41which actually puts the unit in an L position,
27:43and the tractor actually will assist
27:46in having the unit not flip over again.
27:48Crank your wheel to the left.
27:50But as the tractor makes its way up the bank...
27:59Trailer's coming off the ground.
28:01The 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...
28:15Crank your wheel to the left.
28:18Jamie's recently righted semi...
28:25Trailer's coming off the ground.
28:28...threatens...
28:31Oh, it's going to go.
28:33...to roll back over.
28:36Okay, stop.
28:38The problem we have here is that
28:40the unit's still quite tippy,
28:42and 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,
28:53HU-88, to the test.
28:56Okay.
28:57So I'm just going to bring the rescue up here,
28:59and we'll put a hold line on it.
29:01It's a five-ton winch in the front,
29:04hydraulically powered,
29:05so it's perfect new use for this truck.
29:08Okay, let's go, let's get her.
29:15I had no idea that the winches on the utility truck,
29:17they 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.
29:38The semi is back on pavement.
29:41She came out really nice.
29:43Everybody worked together,
29:44and there's a few tense moments when you're doing that,
29:47but she's really good now, out on the road.
29:51There's a little bit of damage here, right here,
29:52I can see, but...
29:53Okay.
29:54I don't think there's a problem with this truck, though.
29:56It's drivable.
29:57I call it the holy grail,
30:00where the customer can actually take this trailer and truck
30:02and the load and drive away,
30:04and there's no loss.
30:05It's definitely one of those holy grail moments.
30:07The customer should be happy.
30:08He can carry on with his day.
30:10We're going to go into town and buy the crew lunch.
30:13I think having the utility truck in the fleet
30:16re-energizes everybody to know that we've been updating,
30:21adding some more things to the fleet.
30:23It'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?
30:36Yes.
30:37It's different.
30:38Very different being on this side of it.
30:43Nice work.
30:46Looks like she's clear.
30:53Six hundred eighty kilometers west.
31:15Pretty bad.
31:16The first snowstorm of the season.
31:20Coming down pretty heavy.
31:21Is slamming drivers on Highway 5A.
31:265A is pretty windy and dangerous.
31:29You never know what you're going to face,
31:30especially in the wintertime.
31:33It's also a key connector
31:35between Highway 3 and the Coquihalla.
31:38Even though the maintenance crews are out there,
31:41a flash freeze can happen instantly
31:42and everything changes.
31:44Did they put a plow to that road yet?
31:48Midway between Princeton and Merritt.
31:50A B-train loaded with rock truck tires
31:59stretches across the road,
32:03completely blocking the vital route.
32:08Good job, big truck.
32:09Yeah, block the frickin' road.
32:11Already on scene...
32:13This is a little bit crazy.
32:15Light-duty operators from Reliable Towing.
32:20All right, so now we're on the way to the next one.
32:24Worked the south side of the blockage.
32:28It's the first big one that's here.
32:31Heading to the north side.
32:33Out of Merritt.
32:35Highway is closed.
32:36We've got reports of a B-train stuck in the middle of it.
32:40Reliable operator John Dodds
32:43in a 35-ton record.
32:46With RCMP call-outs,
32:48it's always an urgent call.
32:50They're calling, the road's got to get open.
32:53But 400 metres short of the blockage...
32:56It's starting to feel like one of those nights.
32:59John spots another stranded trucker.
33:03Just cresting a hill on a blank corner.
33:06Teetering on the shoulder.
33:08He's not in a good spot at all,
33:10so 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.
33:19Oh!
33:21But his record...
33:22She is icy!
33:25...slides 30 metres
33:26before coming to a stop.
33:32You're the first one on my list here, bud,
33:35but I'm going to throw a set of chains on
33:37so I don't just keep sliding down the mountain here.
33:39And then I'll get you all figured out.
33:42Thanks.
33:45The close call has John chaining up.
33:51Whoa!
33:53But before he can get the second set on...
33:56It's always pretty sketchy
33:57when your truck starts sliding away on you.
33:59It's locked, locked, locked.
34:03I'm going to throw a set of chains on.
34:0633 kilometres north of Princeton...
34:09...a flash freeze on Highway 5A...
34:14...has John's record...
34:18...on a slippery slope.
34:21Quick reaction was just throw a chain in front of it.
34:24Okay, stop, stop, stop, stop.
34:27It starts making your heart throb quite a bit,
34:30seeing 30,000 pounds going down a hill.
34:33Stop.
34:34John's quick thinking with the tyre chain...
34:37...not ideal.
34:40...stops his wrecker from sliding.
34:43Didn't think it was going to 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.
34:57So I just threw the spade into the ground from the side puller...
35:00...and hopefully that'll plant us for a second...
35:05...while I throw these chains on.
35:07John anchors his 35-ton.
35:09There, maybe we won't slide away now.
35:14I'd say she's slick.
35:17Oh, yeah.
35:17Like that.
35:18I'd hop that one chain on and it started rolling away.
35:24All righty.
35:27Now he can refocus on the stranded semi.
35:30I just want to get out of this before I cruise worse.
35:36Same thing's going to happen to you the second we pull that out.
35:39Yeah.
35:40Try to get you chained up.
35:42At least on one axle.
35:44Even if we can get them all loose...
35:47John starts...
35:48I don't want anything on this hill without chains at this point.
35:52...by making sure the driver has the right traction...
35:55...for the flash freeze conditions.
35:57You don't want to have a truck take off down the hill.
36:00It could kill somebody.
36:02Do what you can to get your chains all tightened up.
36:05Okay.
36:08He leaves the driver to chain up.
36:10If we pull him out first, there's risk of him sliding down the hill...
36:14...into this other truck at the bottom of the hill.
36:17All right. Good luck.
36:18Okay. Thanks.
36:20...and carefully starts backing down...
36:23...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.
36:40They had a couple of plow trucks here, but they couldn't get by.
36:45Within minutes...
36:46Oh, buddy.
36:47John 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 weigh about 10,000 pounds each.
37:04Already on scene...
37:06What 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.
37:16Woo!
37:18Police are eager to open the critical route.
37:22This 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.
37:43...to move the 100,000 pound load.
37:47See if it all...
37:49Now we're fighting some pretty heavy weight.
37:52Okay, we'll give her a go.
37:54We're going to open the road again.
37:56We're going to get the job done.
38:10We're pulling and all we're doing is stalling the winch.
38:14We're definitely fighting it here.
38:19Outmatched!
38:20Outmatched!
38:22It's one of those in.
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...
38:45...stretched across the highway.
38:47We've got to get this thing off the road and opened up quick so that the maintenance crew can get through and deal with the ice conditions.
38:56But John's 35-ton side puller...
39:01Outmatched!
39:03...can't handle the 100,000 pound load of tires.
39:08Between the weight of the truck and the ice on the roads, we're not going to be able to pull it out that way.
39:13He might end up needing to roll ahead a tiny bit as we go.
39:19The gravel truck's been out from the Princeton side so there's tons of gravel in front of him 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.
39:38He'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.
40:05John...
40:06Whenever you're ready, just let me know and we'll start pulling, bud.
40:09...directs the driver to start rolling downhill.
40:12Okay.
40:13Yeah.
40:14We'll go ahead nice and slow.
40:18Yep.
40:19Keep her going.
40:21A 35 ton.
40:24Slow it out.
40:25Hold on.
40:26Hold on.
40:27We'll try 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.
40:37Roll ahead again.
40:42We're making progress.
40:45He's slowly inching forward.
40:48Okay, hold it.
40:50I think we're going to have it done in the next couple of 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.
41:07Hey, 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.
41:21John hustles back up the hill to the stranded trucker.
41:29Alrighty.
41:31With the semi now chained up, John quickly rigs a strap to the front.
41:38Okay.
41:40And once again, leans on his side puller.
41:46It's coming up nice now.
41:48To pull the unit clear of the ditch.
41:54I definitely feel proud of myself for getting it done with this truck.
41:57Alrighty bud, get out of here.
42:01Don't ride the brakes!
42:10This hill, it's all cleared up now.
42:14We'll let the maintenance crew get out here and sand it and salt it really good.
42:18Before anything else happens.
42:20Go home and go to bed!
42:22I'm always impressed with my team.
42:23And 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.
42:40Woohoo!
42:41I think the winter has just begun.
42:46Oh yeah!
42:49Next time, on Highway Through Hell.
42:52Woohoo!
42:54Oh, slickie poo.
42:56Slippin' and slidin'.
42:58Woohoo!
43:00Reliable.
43:01In the danger zone.
43:02Real quick!
43:03Before this guy gets hit.
43:04Quiring.
43:05Rock slide sasquatch touch.
43:06It's time to go!
43:07Works the hill.
43:08Could be anything that closes the road.
43:10Wow.
43:11And cuttin' loose.
43:13Oh, frappola.
43:14With auto.
43:1643 metric ton of wood on that truck.
43:31What's going on?
43:33It's time to go!
43:34It's time to go!
43:35It's time to go.
43:36What if?
43:37If it's time to go!
43:39Trash?
43:41I'm not ready!
43:43It's time to go!
43:45It's time to go!
43:46It's time to go!
43:48I'm not ready!
43:50It's time to go!
43:52It's time to go!
43:54That's what all these guys have been!
43:55It's time to go!
43:56I'm not ready!
43:57The начинаers!
Comments