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00:05This season on Highway Through Hell, winter's here.
00:09Yeah! Woo-hoo! Stop!
00:12Who's winching? Why are you winching?
00:14Can't you die? Hey!
00:16Whoa! Whoa! Quick, quick!
00:18Before this guy gets hit, the coquaholic can take your life.
00:21Whoa! Holy crap.
00:24It's time to go!
00:26Yo, that ambulance is here!
00:28Take that line off!
00:29No rest for the wicked some days.
00:31Let's go! Watch out!
00:33Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
00:35Shots! Shots! Both shots!
00:37Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't!
00:39Whoa! You got the sphincter tight.
00:41It's gonna be unpolite.
00:44Merv's school of logic.
00:46Don't drive excavators into deep holes.
00:48Whoa! Whoa!
00:50Dad, get tight!
00:51There it is!
00:53It's gonna be a fun season.
00:55What would you guys do without me?
00:58What's the weather like?
01:01What's the weather like?
01:01In southeast British Columbia...
01:03It's cold and clear.
01:06Snow 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.
01:21You just drive safe.
01:24It is home to Highway 93.
01:27A prime north-south transport route connecting the Trans-Canada Highway to the U.S. border.
01:36Heading into unfamiliar territory...
01:39I've never seen so many tow trucks.
01:42A convoy of wreckers led by a new truck...
01:46A little bouncy, eh?
01:47...and Jamie Davis at the wheel.
01:50I just got licensed yesterday, and I just got the decals done.
01:55HU-88 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 L.A. Rotator still in the shop...
02:18It'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 HU-88...
02:29This is like a mobile office, mobile toolbox. It has everything in it.
02:33...is joining Bruce's recently remodeled 92 Peterbilt...
02:38This is beauty. This 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.
02:54...heavy operator Mitch Mahood...
02:57You excited?
02:58Yeah.
02:59I like getting my hands here.
03:01And his wife, Brooke.
03:03I'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.
03:21We're working all across the province.
03:24We're just going wherever the customers need us.
03:27It takes a small army to do a wreck like this.
03:40We'll go organize this.
03:43Alright.
03:46Man, you know...
03:47Oh, she slid on the wall for a while.
03:50Well...
03:53So that means the load probably shifted.
03:57The trailer's fully loaded with cabinetry and granite countertops.
04:03The load's very heavy.
04:06You just want to look...
04:10Miraculously...
04:11Well, it ain't broken, so that's good.
04:13The fully loaded rig is in nearly perfect condition.
04:17We need to get it up without it breaking apart.
04:20It's gonna be tough.
04:22Huh.
04:45The 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 shipped it on its wheels for as long as he could.
05:11Earlier, 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.
05:30When you open these back doors, you never know what's gonna happen.
05:34The doors are quite a bit of strength through the trailer.
05:38We don't want to go there.
05:39Oh, yeah, it needs bags.
05:42It needs bags.
05:45Jamie decides to deploy a specialized tool.
05:50This 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.
05:59And if you're in the airbag business, you like gaps.
06:02Hey, Martin, only the big ones.
06:05Helping Jamie today, Swamper, Martin Steffek.
06:10I 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 Kodalis.
06:26I'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.
06:35Hey, Alexis.
06:36I'm gonna put a cone right here.
06:38In the second flagging truck.
06:40And this is where your truck's gonna be, Kay.
06:43Okay, thank you.
06:44His 19-year-old sister, Alexis Davis.
06:47I 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.
07:01We're gonna 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 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,
07:32just 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.
07:45The first bag is in place.
07:47Looks like a beautiful sunny day, but she's cold.
07:50Minus 12.
07:52So, uh, not exactly warm.
07:56This thing starts like a champ every time.
07:59But as Jamie fires up the air compressor...
08:06It's not wanting to start.
08:08It's cold, yeah.
08:10Everything becomes kind of more and more difficult.
08:28It's a beautiful day, eh?
08:311,000 kilometers northwest, near the central interior city of Quesnel.
08:39Just another day 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.
08:56The customers, in the last five or six years, he's got into logging quite a bit.
09:02Him and his son do it together.
09:07Today's job takes Rob off the blacktop...
09:11Ah, the road's quite narrow.
09:13...for a back road recovery.
09:15It'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.
09:55Just cleanly roll it over and make it comfortable.
09:58To 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.
10:12He can drive down into the ditches, where I can't go, to get a better angle of it.
10:20Thinkin' right here.
10:22You think you can pull it from there?
10:24Yeah.
10:26Can you put much attention on that arm?
10:29Also on hand...
10:31Yeah.
10:32...Larry's business partner and son, Joey Borutsky.
10:37We're gonna 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?
10:49Yeah.
10:54A line from the dozer will hook on to the log loader's arm, spinning it 90 degrees.
11:02Then a line from the 50-ton will roll it back onto its tracks.
11:10Incoming, Aaron.
11:12Larry's crew...
11:14Alright.
11:15...Rigs a chain to the boom.
11:18Just watch the hydraulic lines and everything.
11:22We got that pinhole.
11:24If we could get through that, then we wouldn't be anywhere near our hydraulic lines.
11:35Okay, it's hooked up.
11:36I guess we're gonna find out in a minute if that's gonna work or not.
11:40We've hooked the old dozer up to the excavator.
11:43Okay, are we ready?
11:45I think so.
11:53Kind of a max pull for that line to move that machine sideways.
12:00Fingers crossed.
12:02We hope we don't break anything.
12:11There it goes.
12:15Oh!
12:20Outside Quinnell.
12:26A risky log loader spin...
12:33There goes the cable.
12:34...is suddenly sidelined.
12:36Did it break it?
12:38Yeah.
12:39That might be more than that wire rope wants to deal with.
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 gonna run the cat down to the shop?
12:59Nope. Everything's right here.
13:01Larry has another one.
13:03We're gonna 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?
13:12And another chain on the end of the boom?
13:15Rob and Larry hatch a new plan.
13:19Do a V, yeah?
13:20Yeah. Get leverage, 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.
13:32I 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.
13:39I 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.
13:55Just about got this hooked up.
13:58With a line from the dozer hooked to two chains on the loader arm.
14:04And the 50 ton hooked to the track.
14:08Together, they'll spin the loader 90 degrees.
14:17Try to throw it in the far side of that track.
14:21Hit!
14:22I should be able to have enough power.
14:24Are you ready?
14:25Yeah, I'll get one.
14:29Here's hoping for the best.
14:41The new plan...
14:44...immediately spins the loader.
14:54That 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.
15:07So I think if I put mine 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.
15:20We're just going to try to get two of us hooked to the side of this thing so we can...
15:24...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?
15:43But as Larry slacks his line...
15:46Hey!
15:48...the loader...
15:51...rolls away from them.
15:54That's worse.
15:59Oh, there's a truck on the side of here.
16:00Oh, there's a truck on the side of here.
16:01Ten hours southeast.
16:06On Highway 93.
16:08It's cold, yeah. It'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 bug and heat it up a bit.
16:26...has a trick up his sleeve.
16:31Mm-hmm.
16:32Try 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.
16:45One of them old, faithful machine.
16:47Like me, just 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.
16:57Want 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.
17:08Oh, there we go.
17:08The airbag at the very back is going to give us an initial lift.
17:13But 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.
17:29So, 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 and then look for other places
17:41where we can put some more bags under.
17:45The carefully placed airbags will raise the trailer.
17:49Then lines from HR 100 and Bruce's truck will hold it in place.
17:56So the bags can be repositioned until the wreckers can safely take over and winch it back onto its wheels.
18:09Okay, 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 in case something goes wrong.
18:27Can you pull yours up a bit?
18:29The airbags are doing the work here, not the big wreckers.
18:34Tighten up a bit.
18:39Again, I'll stop.
18:42Him too.
18:44They're pulling too hard already.
18:47They're pulling thinking they're winning the war here, but they're not.
18:51We could lose this whole trailer.
18:53The trailer could break apart.
18:56Why is the trailer moving?
18:58The load could be sitting on the side of the road.
19:01I said stop.
19:04What's going on? Why is the trailer moving?
19:07On Southeastern BC's Highway 93.
19:13Are you guys not listening?
19:16Jamie.
19:18Why are you inching? I said stop.
19:21Pulls the emergency brake on a huge airbag recovery.
19:26I haven't had a chance to look at this side. You can pull the wall out.
19:31Earlier, the fully loaded semi lost the road.
19:37Sliding along the bank before coming to a stop with minimal damage.
19:43Up the road.
19:45I'd rather be working on the wreck because then I wouldn't be as cold.
19:50Alexis 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.
19:59But 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.
20:05And I'm sitting here looking at the wall watching it bounce.
20:09Right?
20:12Now...
20:12You see it bulging right there?
20:14With the wreckers holding steady.
20:17Think right in about here.
20:19If you can. Not too far back, but right about there.
20:22Jamie's crew hustles to get the rest of the airbags in position.
20:27Let's get it down as low as you can.
20:29There we go.
20:31Let'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. That'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.
21:03The wall okay?
21:05I think so, yeah.
21:09So we're at the point now where the bags can do their work.
21:12We 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.
21:34Now that I've got these guys straightened out that we're not going to pull this load with the wreckers at
21:38this point,
21:39we're going to let the airbags do their job.
21:42The bags need the weight, right?
21:44Yeah.
21:44It's only take up the slack and then at the very last minute, it'll be down.
21:49Without weight on those bags, we could go from, hey, this is a perfect airbag job and everything's going great.
21:58To a failure in the blink of an eye.
22:03Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
22:0715 minutes northeast of Cornell.
22:10Hey!
22:11A log loader that needs riding.
22:14Whoa.
22:16Has rolled.
22:18That's worse.
22:19The wrong way.
22:21The excavator kind of tipped over to a negative.
22:25It'll make it harder to pull it because we'll have to stand it up onto the cab of itself and
22:30then back onto its tracks.
22:32But Rob.
22:33Should we go the other way?
22:34Finds a silver lining.
22:37That's what I'm thinking and 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.
23:18Where'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 and he can't really lose it at this point.
23:29I got you.
23:30Ready?
23:32Yeah.
23:32Start pulling.
23:54There it goes.
23:58That worked out good, eh?
23:59Yeah.
24:00We work good as a team.
24:04It went really smooth.
24:06The cab itself was right in the bottom of the ditch line, so it was actually protected.
24:11We're going to check the fluids, pull the injectors, and 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.
24:38Well, thank you much, sir.
24:41Have a good day.
24:42We'll definitely be in touch.
24:44Yeah.
24:45Again.
24:46As nice as a family business that we are can help another family business to get going and not lose
24:52any downtime.
24:55Yeah, it all worked out good.
24:57The mood for the season's good.
24:59We're hoping we get lots of snow.
25:01But what comes is what comes.
25:03You keep moving forward.
25:14Back on Highway 93.
25:21Jamie's airbag job.
25:24Hey!
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 for the airbag to push against.
25:47I don't want the bag pushing against an empty trailer.
25:51There's no strength there.
25:53Still pumping?
25:54But the remaining airbags.
25:56Oh, yeah. These three are doing it.
25:58Are still doing the heavy lifting.
26:01As the load comes up, the weight on the bags becomes less and less and less and less as it
26:06inflates.
26:07They're getting there.
26:09The load then is transferred to the wheels.
26:14That's good.
26:18It's a very critical point when the wreckers take over from the airbags.
26:23And I've got to make that call.
26:26As the airbags reach their maximum capacity.
26:30Okay, go!
26:32The job reaches a tipping point.
26:35Pull, pull.
26:37Your straps are taking over.
26:39This is the point of no return.
26:47Okay.
26:48Stop!
26:49You're there.
26:52It's really a zen moment when the trailer's upright, the trailer's not broken in half.
26:56Good. Beauty.
26:58Okay, so pull these bags up now.
27:02What 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.
27:11With HR 100 re-rigged to the front of the tractor.
27:17And Bruce's truck still strapped to the rear of the trailer.
27:22Are the tractor brakes released?
27:24Yeah.
27:26Mitch steers the truck as Jamie winches it out of the ditch.
27:33Once we get this thing kind of 90, it'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 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.
28:01The trailer starts to tilt.
28:04Give it a little bit.
28:07Oh, it's gonna go.
28:11Looks like they're gonna get ready to recover it, but...
28:14On Highway 93...
28:16Crank your wheel to the left.
28:22Jamie's recently righted semi...
28:25Trailer's coming off the ground.
28:29Threatens...
28:31Oh, it's gonna go.
28:33To roll back over.
28:36Okay, stop.
28:38The problem we have here is that the 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.
28:50Jamie puts his newest truck, HU88, to the test.
28:56Okay.
28:57So I'm just gonna bring the rescue up here and 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.
29:11Okay.
29:12Let's go.
29:12Let'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.
29:20Quite impressed.
29:24Turn the wheel to the right.
29:30Two hours since Jamie's team arrived.
29:33I could 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 and there's a few tense moments when you're doing that.
29:47But she's really good now, out on the road.
29:50There's a little bit of damage here, right here, I can see, but...
29:54Okay.
29:55I don't think there's a problem with this truck though, it's drivable.
29:57I call it the holy grail where the customer can actually take this trailer and truck and the load and
30:03drive away and there's no loss.
30:05It's definitely one of those holy grail moments.
30:07The customer should be happy he can carry on with his day.
30:10We're gonna go into town and buy the crew lunch.
30:13I think having the utility truck in the fleet re-energizes everybody to know that we've been updating, adding some
30:21more 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?
30:36Yes.
30:37It's different, very different being on this side of it.
30:43Nice work.
30:46Looks like he's cleared.
30:48Looks like he's cleared.
31:08How is highway?
31:12680 kilometers west.
31:14Pretty bad.
31:16The first snowstorm of the season.
31:19Coming down pretty heavy.
31:22Is slamming drivers on highway 5A.
31:265A is pretty windy and dangerous.
31:29You never know what you're gonna face, especially in the wintertime.
31:33It's also a key connector between Highway 3 and the Coquihalla.
31:38Even though the maintenance crews are out there, a flash freeze can happen instantly and everything changes.
31:44Did they put a plow to that road yet?
31:47Midway between Princeton and Merritt.
31:55A B train loaded with rock truck tires.
32:00Stretches across the road.
32:04Completely blocking the vital route.
32:08Good job, big truck.
32:09Yeah.
32:09Block the frickin' road.
32:11Already on scene.
32:13This is a little bit crazy.
32:16Light duty operators from reliable towing.
32:20Alright, so now we're on the way to the next one.
32:24Work 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.
32:36Got reports about the train stuck in the middle of it.
32:40Reliable operator, John Dodds, in a 35-ton wrecker.
32:46With RCMP call-outs, it's always an urgent call.
32:50They're calling, the road's gotta get open.
32:54But 400 metres short of the blockage.
32:57It'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.
33:09So we want to get him out and back on the road.
33:12Oh yeah, she's slagged.
33:15He moves in for a pull-out.
33:18Oh!
33:20But his wrecker...
33:22She is icy!
33:25...slides 30 metres.
33:28Before coming to a stop.
33:31You're the first one on my list here, bud.
33:35But I'm gonna throw a set of chains on so I don't just keep
33:38sliding 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!
33:52But before he can get the second set on...
33:55It's always pretty sketchy when your truck starts sliding away on you.
33:59It's locked, locked, locked.
34:03I'm gonna throw a set of chains on.
34:0533 kilometres north of Princeton...
34:09...a flash freeze on Highway 5A...
34:15...has John's wrecker...
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.
34:27It starts making your heart throb quite a bit.
34:29Seeing 30,000 pounds going down a hill.
34:33Stop.
34:34John's quick thinking with the tire chain...
34:37Not ideal.
34:40...stops his wrecker from sliding.
34:43Didn't think it was gonna stop.
34:45...six feet short of a 100-foot drop.
34:50That's the first time I've ever had a truck slide away on me.
34:56So I just threw the spade into the ground from the side puller...
35:00...and hopefully that'll plant us for a second...
35:04...while I throw these chains on.
35:07John anchors his 35-ton.
35:10There, maybe we won't slide away now.
35:14I'd say she's slick.
35:16Oh, yeah.
35:18I had half that one chain on and it started rolling away.
35:24All righty.
35:27Now he can refocus on the stranded semi.
35:32I 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.
35:39Yeah.
35:40Try to get contained 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.
35:58You 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.
36:11If we pull him out first...
36:13...there's risk of him sliding down the hill into this other truck...
36:16...at the bottom of the hill.
36:17All right, good luck.
36:19And 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.
36:36Northbound traffic is backing up.
36:40They had a couple plow trucks here, but they couldn't get caught.
36:46Within minutes...
36:47Oh ho, buddy!
36:50John arrives at the massive B train stretched across the narrow road.
36:56He's blocking both lanes.
36:58These tires, 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...
37:11...whose light-duty trucks are stuck on the south side of the wreck.
37:16Whoo!
37:18Police are eager to open the critical route.
37:22This is the only vehicle we know of now that's impeding any traffic.
37:28So once this is cleared, we hope to have traffic moving again.
37:30I'll just keep it doubled.
37:33Working 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 you, Bill.
37:49Now we're fighting some pretty heavy weight.
37:52Okay, we'll give her a go.
37:54We want to open the road again.
37:56We want to get the job done.
38:11We're pulling and all we're doing is stalling the winch.
38:15We're definitely fighting it here.
38:20Outmatched!
38:23It's one of those things.
38:28Highway is open yet.
38:31North of Princeton.
38:33There's a truck down at the bottom of the hill here.
38:36Vital Highway 5A is shut down.
38:40While Team Reliable wrestles a super-heavy super-beam...
38:46...stretched 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.
38:57But John's 35-ton side puller...
39:02Outmatched!
39:03...can't handle the 100,000-pound load of tires.
39:09Between 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.
39:15He might end up needing to roll ahead a tiny bit as we go.
39:19The gravel truck's been out from the Princeton side,
39:23so there's tons of gravel in front of them now.
39:26John looks to take advantage of the traction
39:29highway maintenance has laid down below them.
39:33I think gravity's going to be our best friend on this,
39:35with him facing downhill already.
39:38He's already got a set of chains on.
39:41Hopefully we'll be able to just kind of let him roll ahead
39:44and just hold the weight while he comes up over the bank here.
39:47We've got a plan B in place.
39:49We are hoping it's going to work.
39:52Good to go!
39:56With the 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.
40:09...directs 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.
40:27We'll try to hold it from sliding back into the ditch.
40:32We're just letting the line out as he's going.
40:35Nice and slow.
40:37Roll ahead again.
40:42We're making progress.
40:46He'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.
40:54I'm going to unhook.
40:55We're going to roll you just a little bit more.
40:57With the tractor fully on gravel.
41:02Okay, take her nice and slow.
41:05John lets the driver take over.
41:08Hey, you should be out.
41:11Got a long line!
41:12What?
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.
41:22John hustles back up the hill to the stranded trucker.
41:29All righty.
41:32With 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.
41:59All righty bud, get out of here.
42:02Don'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.
42:21Move home and go to bed!
42:22I'm always impressed with my team.
42:25And today is no different.
42:30There 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.
42:41Woo hoo!
42:43I think the winter has just begun.
42:47Oh yeah!
42:49Next time on Highway Through Hell.
42:52Whee!
42:53Slipping and sliding.
42:57Woo hoo!
42:59Reliable.
43:00Oh!
43:01Oh!
43:01In the danger zone.
43:02Real quick!
43:03Before this guy gets hit.
43:04Quiring.
43:05Rock, slide, task, watch, touch.
43:07It's time to go!
43:08Works the hill.
43:09Could be anything that closes the road.
43:11Wow.
43:11And cutting loose.
43:13Oh crap, hold up.
43:15With auto.
43:1643 metric ton of wood on that truck.
43:21Motivata.
43:355.
43:41Look.
43:42If we have any more new one.
43:42I'm gonna be a star.
43:42Just go.
43:42There it is.
43:43You're not going to be a star.
43:43Here we go.
43:46There we go.
43:48The way us are going to be the star.
43:48You
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