Some Heavy Winter Hauling....

[thrashingcows]

I spent two days, and 800+ Km's, helping my brother move two of his Ford trucks.

It started on Thursday Nov 28 at about 4pm. I picked up my brother from his work, and grabbed one of their Tandem axle, tilt deck car trailers....nice trailer! We then went back to his place and loaded up his 72 Ford 4x4. We finally got going about 6pm. It was dark, cold (-8*C), and windy and starting to snow.

We traveled about an hour until we hit the Flying J truck stop to get some eats, and repair a couple lights on the trailer. Wind was so bad that I was seeing 12-14lbs of boost on level hwy surface!

Here what we looked like....





Now the next 4-5 hours we were up in the mountains of BC. It was friggin cold, and had been snowing the last day or so, and was continuing to snow. The roads we were on were single lane each way, and twisty, up and down, was packed ice with snow covering it. Top speed was maybe 70km/h, but mostly 50km/h.

First fill up about 10:45pm.....

 

[thrashingcows]

That was the last of the "Good" roads. The next 100kms was mostly wash board dirt roads covered in packed ice and snow. Not a lot of gravel tossed down either for traction. Nasty climbs up and down....switch backs and 8-13% grades!

I was surprised how well Ol' Patches did. Thank goodness I had those diffs rebuilt...that power loc in the rear diff was one busy piece of equipment I can tell you that!

I spun out on one hill. It was a sheet of ice under the snow cover, and now gravel to be seen. Even in 4Lo it wouldn't continue up the hill. Thankfully I had brought my cheapy cable chains with me. We ended up putting one chain on the back RH side, and one on the LH front.





And what the truck and trailer looked like by this time....



I gently got under way and was able to get enough traction to get to the top of the hill. We continued on, again at top speeds of 50km/h until we were about 10Km's from our destination. We had one last hill to climb. This one covered about 1200ft in 10km's....I made an attempt and spun out on the first section. Put it in 4Lo and made it to pull out and dropped the trailer.

By now it was 3am and we were done for the night. Up to my brothers place and crash for a few hours.

 

[thrashingcows]

Next morning it was -20*c with a windchill about -25+*C!



We went back down the hill with hopes the road crews had tossed more rock on the hill...not really. So we hooked back up to the trailer, and then got the old ford running, and he drove it up while I brought up the trailer.



Here are a couple pics from that climb.

 

[thrashingcows]

We then had to haul out his old 52 Ford from storage, clean and sort it out, bolt things down and get it on the trailer....there was no motor in this one.

We finally got out of there some time around 1:30pm. The roads were not any better then the night before, and it was dark by 4:30pm.

Stopped to check trailer and chains...Gorgeous scenery. That pile of loose rock, down between the hills, is a Dam!





Didn't spin out on the way down, guess the slightly lighter truck helped there. But I did use the 4wd a little more on some of the steep switch back grades. It took us until about 10pm to get to my brother place down here. Quick drop of the trailer at his place, then I had to rush home, get cleaned up and get to bed so I could get up for work at 4am!

Over all I was pretty happy with the way the crew performed. Think I averaged about 13mpg for the trip. But considering that a straight away was probably less then 1/4 mile, and most of the trip was spent in 3rd gear doing 50km/h at 2000rpm. I think it did OK.

Now I have to wait for it to warm up so I can give Ol' Patches a good bath.

 

[commando1]

That was an absolutely great story Brian. An Ice Road Truckers meets Goldrush story but real and unscripted. Thanks.

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[Stormer]

Best FCBO thread ever.

 

[monaco75]

Thanks for sharing, great story! I'm very jealous of Patches! What a truck.

 

[pmschmitt]

Love that truck patches!!! Jealous

 

[CanCritter]

nothing like a good adventure in the mountains during a snowstorm...lucky bugger

 

[thrashingcows]

Thanks guys...Hoped you'd all enjoy the story.

I think the only thing that would have made the hauling better would have been an exhaust brake. When coming down a 13% grade to a switch back, and the trailer starts pushing, and the brakes start locking up and sliding, and the only thing between you and a 2000 foot drop is a small pile of snow...things can get a little tense. ;)

First trip my brother and I have done together in over 20 years. We drifted apart over the years, but when my Dad fell ill and passed away earlier this year, our reconnection was something good to come out of something bad.

 

[Ironwolf]

Awesome story and great pictures !!! ccasion14:

It made me feel like I was there less the freezing cold temperatures :frozen tongue:

 

[cm23uoc]

Great Story. Good pics. Your pickup picked up quite a few parts from other donors as it seems. Police will have a hard time hunting you down with witnesses giving about five different descriptions of the Color depending on where they stood. LOL

 

[detmatt]

Great truck, great story! The best part is the whole brotherly thing. Oh and ahh, it's looks beautiful there but I'd move.

 

[1978 NYB]

That was an absolutely great story Brian. An Ice Road Truckers meets Goldrush story but real and unscripted. Thanks.

Posted via Topify on Android

x2 great road march!

I watch both those shows...

 

[C Body Bob]

Did you see Big Foot ? I mean Sasquach?

 

[Ripinator]

Gary: I think you and your brother should hang a set of those "big balls" on your trailer hitch. You guys are definitely not lacking in the balls department. . .

 

[1978 NYB]

Note to self...

Take North American Victory Road March from East Coast Canada to West Coast Canada during the summer.

What major highways did you take on your trip with those trucks?

 

[patrick66]

I want your truck! What year is that Crew Cab? Looks like '81 - '85 with a '91 grille???

 

[polarus]

And I thought driving a big block Dart with manual steering down a 10% grade with hairpin turns was sketchy, nothing like mortal danger to bring two brothers back together! Great story and photo's. Thanks for posting.

 

[bulldogchesty]

Awesome story. Glad you made it home safely.