Ford Transit Euro Style

This geriatric Ford RV showed up today, apparently from Belgium.

What appears to be a 1980s era European Ford Transit Mark II (1978-1986) has a slightly droopy bunk over the cab - time for diet? - and some duct tape repairs. According to waht I can learn this particular model was a manufactured in Genk, Belgium, Southampton, Amsterdam, Turkey and New Zealand.

The well traveled truck has a sticker from Finland over its Ford monogram. It appears that the mongram was relocated from the grille, which is probably why it is crooked.

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Straight Petes

Long known for their big highway tractors, Peterbilt (part of Pacific Car and Foundry along with Kenworth) has expanded its range to include a range of vocational, and smaller straight trucks of all sorts.

Just by chance I have seen a couple of stylish straight Petes recently.

A nice change from the usual vanilla (like the generic lease Freightliner next to it) this Pete tandem with reefer body is probably a fish carrier. Its large fuel tank suggests long fast runs to the markets.

This Pete is operated by a company that makes automated medication dispensing systems. Based in Longueil, QC the company manufactures, delivers and installs its equipment throughout North America. The equipment certainly travels in style.

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Volvo moves out

After sitting ona Halifax pier for several weks after arriving by ship, this big Volvo aerial device finally moved today, when it was loaded aboard a rail car.

As previously reported, http://truckfax.blogspot.ca/2016/04/more-euro-trucks.html, Janneniska is a Finnish copmany that rents aerial devices. This one is fitted with a Bronto Skylift for servicing wind turbines.

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HLVW surplus wrecker

Someone has acquired a surplus Canadian military wrecker. The HLVW, based on the Austrian Steyr Percheron, and devloped as the UTDC 24M32 has been in service since 1990, with some 1200 vehicles of its class with many variants. The heavy 6x6 can also operate as a 6x4 for highway travel.
See more at: http://www.military-today.com/trucks/hlvw.htm

Sydia Bros. Enterprises Ltd of Lloydminster, AB sent their KW dolly / float to pick up the truck which probably came out of Newfoundland.

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Cars to go

Halifax's Autoport brings in foreign cars by ship then distributes them by rail and truck. There is also a large car auction business just outside Halifax and that puts more cars on trucks for wider distribution.

A tiny fraction of the thousands of new cars that are awaiting prep and delivery at Autoport, with another ship ready to unload more.

Most of the imports go out by train, but some impatient owners arrange for truck transport, particularly for high end Audis, BMWs and Mercedes.

Driver Can Transport, based in Waterloo, QC, SE of Montreal, is one of many companies providing  specialty auto transport service. http://drivercantransport.com/about-driver-can-transport/

Many auto racks these days are hauled by straight trucks with  a "stinger" hitch which allows for a much lower chassis. This one can carry a small car on the lower level of the tractor.

Eastcan Trasnport Services Ltd of St.John's runs this Western Star with an extended sleeper.

 Some cars get to ride in enclosed comfort such as those carried by Boychuk Ventures Inc of  Edmonton, AB and Phoenix, AZ.

Boychuk also likes the extended sleeper on its pinstriped Kenworth. Auto transport is only one of the specialized services offered by the company. http://www.boychuk.net/

Perhaps your vehicle doesn't warrant such careful treatment (because it may be too late!) In which case a drop deck should do the trick.

A long hood KW with painted moose bars takes a break at the Irving Big Stop at Enfield.

Akita Equipment and Autocarriers seems to do double duty from its St.John's, NL base, hauling machinery one way and backhauling vehicles. http://akitaequipment.com/

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More Euro trucks

Spring is here and European vehicles are popping up like daffodils.

The RV invasion has begun, and one of the first to arrive was this clean looking Merc with Bimodal body work.

It carries German plates - the most common origin of European RVs that come to Canada.


In transit for the French islands of St-Pierre et Miquelon is this small Renault fire apparatus.

It is wedged in among several other trucks that are headed for Newfoundland, so it wasn't possible to identify the builder. Since St-Pierre et Miquelon is department of France, it is likely a standard government issue for remote places. It is high off the ground and likely AWD.
[Renault has its own fire apparatus subsidiary CAMIVA, which makes off-road, brush trucks like this.]

Sitting around for some weeks now is this aerial platform lift truck that leaves no doubt its owners are the Finnish rental company Janneniska. http://www.janneniska.com/en/

Built on a five axle Volvo chassis with 600 series cab and a Bronto Skylift S 90 SLA aerial, it appears to be destined for wind turbine servicing, with a vertical lift of nearly 300 feet (90 meters).


The Bronto Skylift company is also from Finland but was bought by Federal Signal Corp (then owners of Emergency One). In January 2016 Federal sold Bronto to Morita Holdings Corp of Japan. Bronto specializes in aerial platforms for utilities and fire /rescue. http://www.brontoskylift.com/

See a video of an S90 lift in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unGXrkH5K48

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Karsan ATAK bus

Amid the cranes, farm and timber hauling machinery that has arrived in Halifax over the past few weeks, one wheeled vehicle stands out from the rest.

It is a Karsan Atak bus. A product of Turkey, the low floor bus has become popular across Europe and has made inroads in North America.
See: http://en.karsa n.com.tr/
There are also numerous other links and videos on the net.

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Off to Saudi

These small armoured vehicles have been arriving over the last few weeks and today were loaded aboard the Saudi ship Bahri Jazan.

Wide stance, sharp corners and what can only be called a grimacing facial expression make them suitably intimidating. The yellow item emerging from the left nostril is a routing sticker.

 In amongst the collector cars and RVs these butal little wagons tend to stand out.

Since the Saudi ships have changed terminals these export vehicles are now much harder to see and photograph, so apologies for the quality, and the lack of side on views.

Update:
Thanks to a reader, I now know these are Terradyne Gurkha models, built in Newmnarket, ON. 
http://terradyneinc.com/

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Dead Cat in Middle of the Road

Readers of my post on Cat trucks the other day were kind enough to point out that I had missed the news that Cat has opted to cease production of their on-the-road trucks. The announcement from Cat on February 26, 2016 stated in effect that market conditions didn't warrant further production and no more orders would be taken. Presumably there are some new trucks still in the pipeline, and some orders to be filled, but soon there will be no more new Cats.

One of Atlantic Tiltload's Cats was out and about making deliveries today, undeterred by the news that there will be no more new Cats on the road.

The Cat on-the-road truck came about in 2011 in partnership with Navistar, which built the trucks at their Escobedo, Mexico plant. Navistar was developing a 15L engine to complement the 13L engine, which would potentially have increased sales, particularly in Canada. However in July 2015 Navistar announced that they were ending the partnership and would begin to produce their own similar vocational vehicle the HX, "inspired" by the Cat, however they were shelving plans for the 15L engine.

Caterpillar then said they would continue production of their truck, moving the assembly to a plant in Victoria, TX, and would be developing their own 15L engine. That move never took place, and Cat will be out of the truck manufacturing business. They will continue to service and supply parts for the Cat truck.
Cat will still produce off-the-road vehicles as they always have, but there is no word on the 15L engine.

So Cat joins the list of recent casualties in the heavy truck business, notably Sterling, becoming another dead cat in the road. Due the longevity of some trucks however we can expect to see the brand on the road for many years to come, but becoming rarer and rarer as time goes on. 

I guess Cat was trying to capitalize on its name brand recognition, but it just never took off. 

  White on white motif struck me as Clearway Cat disembarked from the Toronto Island ferry in 2014.

And to add to the previous post, here is the same G+R Kelly Cat, but with its plow attached, back in 2013.

So far I have yet to take a picture of the axle forward Cat model.

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New name in town

In the last weeks I have noticed several trucks from a company that I had never seen before in this part of the country. J.Verbruggen Trucking Ltd of Union, ON is well known in Ontario as a fuel hauler, but also as the operators of well maintained rigs and sharp looking trucks.

The first ones I saw were a trio of Remtec B-trains, one of which was pulled by a Mack, parked for the Easter weekend at the Valero / Ultramar facility in Eastern Passage.

Today I spotted a four axle single Remtec trailer with a Kenworth day cab doing local delivery to an Ultramar station.  

Valero / Ultramar has a dock associated with its storage tank farm in Eastern Passage, but it sees very few ships. It has no rail connection, so its product has usually been delivered by Quebec based trucks from its refinery in St-Romuald, QC, or purchased from local suppliers. With the demise of the Imperial Oil / Esso refinery nearby (it has been reduced to a tank farm now) that local source has disappeared. 

The Verbruggen trucks are likely bringing the product in from Quebec, but is interesting that they are also distributing it locally.

See also this story aboutr consolidaiotn of ownership in the tank trailer business: http://www.lbt-inc.com/about.php

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