Pacific Trucks

Last updated
Pacific Trucks
Industry Truck manufacturing
Founded1947
FounderVic Barclay
Mac Billingsley
Claude Sydney Thicke
Headquarters,
Canada
Parent Crane Carrier Company

Pacific Truck & Trailer Limited was a Vancouver, Canada based manufacturer of heavy trucks famed for their durability. Pacific built both highway and off-road trucks, particularly for the logging industry, heavy haulers, and fire trucks.

In 1947, three former Hayes Truck employees set up their truck-building shop, Pacific Truck & Trailer. Initially based on a shipping wharf at West Coast Shipyards on False Creek, in 1948 it moved to Franklin Street, East Vancouver. In 1967 it moved to North Vancouver. By this stage, it had manufactured 350 trucks and many trailers. In 1970, the business was sold to International Harvester. International managed worldwide sales, but left Pacific the design and manufacture of the products; however, some of the Pacific models featured International cabins. [1]

Pacific P12W3 Ballast Tractor connected with draw bar for hauling HMT configuration in South Africa. Rotran Set International Pacific Truck Tractors (21639664751).jpg
Pacific P12W3 Ballast Tractor connected with draw bar for hauling HMT configuration in South Africa.

In 1981, International Harvester sold Pacific Truck and Trailer to Inchcape Berhad (Singapore). In October 1991, the last Pacific truck was built and the manufacturing plant was closed and torn down, with only the parts department left in operation in Vancouver. In 1994, the remnants of the company were sold to Crane Carrier Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. Crane continued until 2002, selling the Pacific name, intellectual property, and rights to Coast Powertrain of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. [1] [2]

In addition to the Canadian and USA markets, Pacific was selling too in Australia, New Zealand, and South East Asia. However, its most impressive order was for four ultra-heavy road tractors to pull massive loads of up to 370 tons for the South African Railways. These units were delivered in 1972, featured 600 hp Cummins engines, and were known as the "largest on-highway trucks in the world". Sometimes they all worked coupled forming an extra-long road train, including an extra-capacity lowloader trailer to total 860 tons gross combination mass.

The well-known World War II M25 Tank Transporter (also known as Dragon Wagon) truck, commonly referred to as Pacific was not a product of Pacific Truck and Trailer but of Pacific Car and Foundry.

Again, the well-known Pacific School Coach was a Kenworth model CT school bus, made from 1949 onwards; Kenworth itself being a subsidiary of Paccar since 1945.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-trailer truck</span> Combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight

A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi-truck, (or semi, big rig, tractor-trailer, or eighteen-wheeler) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called a fifth wheel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road train</span> Type of trucking vehicle

A road train, land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a trucking vehicle used to move road freight more efficiently than semi-trailer trucks. It consists of two or more trailers or semi-trailers hauled by a prime mover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mack Trucks</span> American truck manufacturing company

Mack Trucks, Inc., is an American truck manufacturing company and a former manufacturer of buses and trolley buses. Founded in 1900 as the Mack Brothers Company, it manufactured its first truck in 1905 and adopted its present name in 1922. Mack Trucks is a subsidiary of AB Volvo, which purchased Mack along with its then parent company Renault Véhicules Industriels in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paccar</span> American commercial vehicles and heavy equipment manufacturing company

PACCAR Inc is a multinational company primarily focused on the design and manufacturing of large commercial trucks through its subsidiaries DAF, Kenworth and Peterbilt. The company is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, in the Seattle metropolitan area, and was founded in 1971 as the successor to the Pacific Car and Foundry Company, from which it draws its name. The company traces its predecessors to the Seattle Car Manufacturing Company formed in 1905. In addition to its principal business, the company also has a parts division, a financial services segment, and manufactures and markets industrial winches. The company's stock is a component of the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 stock market indices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heavy equipment</span> Vehicles designed for executing construction tasks

Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems: the implement, traction, structure, power train, and control/information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pegaso</span>

Pegaso was a Spanish manufacturer of trucks, buses, tractors, armored vehicles, and, for a while, to train apprentices, and have a good brand image, some sports cars. The parent company, Enasa, was created in 1946 and based in the old Hispano-Suiza factory, under the direction of the renowned automotive engineer Wifredo Ricart. In 1990, Iveco took over Enasa, and the Pegaso name became a secondary brand of Iveco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenworth</span> American truck manufacturer

Kenworth Truck Company is an American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1923 as the successor to Gersix Motor Company, Kenworth specializes in production of heavy-duty and medium-duty commercial vehicles. Headquartered in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, Washington, Kenworth has been a wholly owned subsidiary of PACCAR since 1945, operating alongside sister company Peterbilt Motors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peterbilt</span> American truck manufacturer

Peterbilt Motors Company is an American truck manufacturer. Established in 1939 from the acquisition of Fageol Truck and Motor Company, Peterbilt specializes in the production of heavy-duty and medium-duty commercial vehicles. The namesake of company founder T. A. "Al" Peterman, Peterbilt has operated as part of PACCAR since 1958, operating alongside sister division Kenworth Truck Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Harvester</span> American manufacturing company

The International Harvester Company was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It was formed from the 1902 merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company and three smaller manufacturers: Milwaukee; Plano; and Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner. Its brands included McCormick, Deering, and later McCormick-Deering, as well as International. Along with the Farmall and Cub Cadet tractors, International was also known for the Scout and Travelall vehicle nameplates. In the 1980s all divisions were sold off except for International Trucks, which changed its parent company name to Navistar International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dump truck</span> Truck which can tip its bed, dumping its contents

A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump trailer, dumper trailer, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials for construction as well as coal. A typical dump truck is equipped with an open-box bed, which is hinged at the rear and equipped with hydraulic rams to lift the front, allowing the material in the bed to be deposited ("dumped") on the ground behind the truck at the site of delivery. In the UK, Australia, South Africa and India the term applies to off-road construction plants only and the road vehicle is known as a tip lorry, tipper lorry, tipper truck, tip truck, tip trailer or tipper trailer or simply a tipper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cab over</span> Truck with the cabin above the engine

Cab-over, also known as cab over engine (COE), cab forward (U.S.), flat nose (Canada), or forward control (UK), is a body style of truck, bus, or van that has a vertical front, "flat face" or a semi-hood, with the cab of the truck sitting above the front axle. This contrasts with a conventional truck where the engine is mounted in front of the driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euclid Trucks</span>

The Euclid Company of Ohio was a company that specialized in heavy equipment for earthmoving, namely dump trucks, loaders and wheel tractor-scrapers. It operated in the US from the 1920s to the 1950s, when it was purchased by General Motors. It was later purchased by Hitachi Construction Machinery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayes Manufacturing Company</span> Canadian manufacturer of heavy trucks

The Hayes Manufacturing Company Limited was a Vancouver-based Canadian manufacturer of heavy trucks known for their durability and a revolving bunk system. Founded in 1920, Hayes built both highway and off-road trucks, particularly for the logging industry. On a smaller scale, Hayes also manufactured buses. The Signal Company acquired a controlling stake in the company in 1969, and in 1971 renamed it Hayes Trucks. In 1975, Signal sold the company to Paccar, which closed the Hayes plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillig Transit Coach School Bus</span> Motor vehicle

The Gillig Transit Coach School Bus is a series of buses that were produced by the American bus manufacturer Gillig from 1940 to 1982. Alongside its namesake usage as a yellow school bus, the Transit Coach also served as the basis of motorcoaches and other commercial-use vehicles. Marketed primarily to operators on or near the West Coast of the United States, the Transit Coach competed nearly exclusively against the similar Crown Supercoach through much of its production.

Challenger Manufacturing Ltd. was a British Columbia-based Canadian manufacturer of heavy trucks, that built both highway and off road trucks, particularly for the logging industry, under the Challenger, Custom Built for Heavy Industry, brand.

<i>Highway Thru Hell</i> Canadian documentary series

Highway Thru Hell is a Canadian documentary TV series that follows the operations of Jamie Davis Motor Truck & Auto Ltd., a heavy vehicle rescue and recovery towing company based in Hope, British Columbia. Quiring Towing, Aggressive Towing, MSA Towing, Mission Towing and Reliable Towing are also featured in the series. The show focuses on the hardships of operating along the highways of the BC Interior, especially the Coquihalla Highway (Coq).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M425 and 426 Tractor Truck</span> 5-ton 4x2 Semi-tractor

The M425 and M426 Tractor trucks (G671) were 5 ton (4,536kg) load rated 4x2 semi-tractors that were used from 1944 on by the US Army. They are famous for the use on the Red Ball Express from Normandy to the front, but were also used in the China Burma India Theater. After the war they were used in Europe, including during the Berlin Crisis, and in the Korean War.

Great Dane, formerly known as Great Dane Trailers, is a Chicago, Illinois based manufacturer of truck dry van, refrigerated van and flatbed semi-trailers. Established in 1900 by J.P. Wheless and T.H. McMillan as the Savannah Blowpipe Company in Savannah, Georgia, it has gone on to become one of the world's largest manufacturers of commercial truck trailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faymonville Group</span> Heavy equipment business group

Faymonville Group is a trailer and heavy transport equipment manufacturer operating worldwide. Started back in the 1960s in Rocherath, Belgium as a blacksmith shop later started to manufacture and sell agriculture machines and tractor cabins in 1962 opened a new production unit to fulfill the demand of forestry vehicles. In the late 1960s, the company manufactured its first semi-trailer. Today it manufactures every type of trailer for different transportation needs, ranging from flatbeds to SPMTs. With 4 production facilities spread around Europe in Luxembourg, Belgium, Poland and Italy while having its headquarters in Luxembourg.

References

  1. 1 2 "Across the Pacific". Vintage Trucks & Commercials Magazine. No. 59. Australia: Jarrah Media Group. May 2020. pp. 18–24. ISSN   1838-0492.
  2. Pacific Truck Manufacturing Coast Power Train