Mark A. Miller, Kevin Mills, and Neil Thomas
Great Pacific Television
Starring
Jamie Davis Colin McLean Cam Niño Al Quiring Gord Boyd Cary Quiring Jason Davis Chris Mervyn Ken Duperon Dylan Greenwood James Luke Mitch Karr Evan Pardy Jace Summers Andy Cullum Aj Case Ty Kennedy John Dods
Highway Thru Hell is a Canadian documentary television 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.[1] The show focuses on the hardships of operating along the highways of the BC Interior, especially the Coquihalla Highway (Coq).
Highway Thru Hell was created by Mark A. Miller, Kevin Mills, and Neil Thomas. Thomas met one of the heavy rescue operators for Jamie Davis Motor Truck & Auto after Thomas' moving truck broke down on Highway 5 in the summer of 2010. In the early winter of 2011, cameraman Mills and executive producer Miller dropped in on Davis' company while passing through Hope. The idea of a show about heavy recovery was discussed. The winter of 2010–2011 had been a record-setting season for Davis' business, and he expressed a desire to change the public's perceptions about his industry.
In his review of High Arctic Haulers, another reality-TV series produced by Great Pacific Media, Jim Bell of Nunatsiaq News described the formula used by this and similar shows: "Rugged teams of blue-collar heroes, mostly male, struggle against bad weather, bad luck and other hardships to transport the necessities of life ..."[3]
Highway Thru Hell debuted on Canada's Discovery Channel on Tuesday, September 4, 2012.[4] Steep hills, lethal drop-offs, killer rockslides, and the worst weather in a decade captivated audiences, resulting in the most-watched series premiere in the channel's history.
The second season premiered on September 3, 2013, and included 13 new episodes, as well as four re-edited Season 1 episodes featuring new content, factoids, and viewer tweets.
After Season 2, competition in the Hope area became more intense, causing Davis to seek out new territory, and expand his business (and fleet) along Alberta Highway 63.[5] In Season 3, Davis is seen dealing with the stresses of business expansion, especially as senior drivers step into managerial roles in his absence, and sometimes leave chaos in their wake. As an active avalanche season occurs on the Coquihalla, the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder is tackled by the series, as some drivers encounter difficult situations. Al Quiring's family business, Quiring Towing, is featured more prominently in this season.
Filming for Season 4 took place in British Columbia and Alberta during the winter of 2014–2015, when the days-long Hope Ice Storm occurred. Davis' company is split into two "camps", and he sometimes calls in his brother's company, Aggressive Towing, for backup. Mission Towing, a family business including generations of tow-operators, headquartered in British Columbia's Fraser Valley, is first featured in this season.
Season 5 kicked off on September 13, 2016, with an episode depicting a teary-eyed Davis selling his beloved rotator. Quiring Towing tackles some difficult excavator recoveries in British Columbia's nasty peat bog, and Davis' crew suffers some near-misses.
In Season 6, Davis closes his company's Alberta offices, shrinking his operation to Hope and Chilliwack, British Columbia. In an effort to make his business more lean, Davis begins buying and restoring older equipment to add to his fleet, such as a vintage 22-ton Holmes Python wrecker.
Season 7 began airing on September 4, 2018. At Davis' yard in Hope, classic Holmes tow trucks – some nearly half a century old – are replacing newer, costlier wreckers. For Davis, the vintage trucks are more than just a passion; they represent survival. Under pressure to reduce costs and stay competitive, Davis is confident he and his crew can tackle some of the toughest jobs – on and off the Coquihalla – using an older, rebuilt fleet. Colin McLean is back in Hope as lead driver, but since he has driven some top-of-the-line hydraulic trucks, Davis' "old iron" takes some getting used to. The seventh season sees some of the younger generation stepping up, with Cary Quiring one of the first to respond to a mass-casualty event[6] on the Coquihalla, and Dylan Greenwood of Mission Towing taking the lead on some big wrecks and recoveries in the Fraser Valley. Reliable Towing, out of Merritt, makes its debut in the second half of Season 7, first responding to a small wreck of a truck and trailer with pigs inside, and then to a six-semitrailer crash on the Coquihalla, north of Merritt. Mudslides and rockslides contribute to a tough time for recovery crews all around. The season ends with a tearful goodbye as Davis sells HR 117 to Reliable which adds the truck to their Mission fleet.
Season 8 opens with the winter of 2019 and the Hope Mudslide which almost destroys Davis' yard and buries The Coq in 20 feet of mud cutting off access to Merritt and Abbotsford. Davis buys a new Mack Anthem and dubs it HR 127 to close out the season.
Season 9 begins with Davis hiring Greg to drive HR 127 and marks the return of TR 37 to service which was under repairs in Davis' shop at the end of Season 7 to get a new motor. The season ends with the return of Colin and the passing of Ken Monkhouse who died in May 2020. Davis tries to get Colin back by ordering HR 130 but ends up selling HR 126 to pay for the truck. Quiring Towing is profiled as Quiring shows us his hobby of recovering and restoring old bulldozers and excavators and several recoveries featuring Quiring using his dozers to recover wrecks and trapped machinery from the peat bogs following the landslides.
Season 10 opens with Davis buying Columbia Towing and acquiring some of his former trucks back which he sold to them at the end of Season 3 when he closed Alberta and opening a new yard in Golden. Davis also gets Brandon back who now works for a flagging crew out of Golden. Mission is forced to bring out all their trucks and even ask for help when a logging truck goes over the edge. Jr. joins the Davis crew as a swamper and Davis announces his projects for the year. The COVID-19 Pandemic forces Davis to lean back his operation as mandates go into effect. The Season ends with Davis teaming up with Aggressive to recover a truck that went over the edge, Davis in Ely, Nevada buying one of his project trucks and a used boom for 47, and Davis in LA buying HR 56 from the LA Fire Department and adding it to his fleet. The Rotator is also profiled recovering two wrecks after its arrival from LA, a lumber truck that went off the road in the same spot another one did in Season 6, a logging truck that went over the edge in Fraser Canyon, and a tanker which almost causes a chemical spill. Davis also reminisces on 10 years of Highway Thru Hell on the air.
Season 11 opens with another mudslide in Hope which threatens to take out Davis' yard, Davis Towing acquires several new trucks some of which appeared on Ice Road Truckers and other shows, The Coq is rebuilt so Davis can help with the cleanup, Davis says goodbye to some of his fleet after HR 127 is lost in a fire and COVID forces him to make selloffs to pay Miller for replacements to keep his fleet running, and an old warhorse returns to the Coq while Jr. profiles his projects with Davis working on some of his own.
Season 12 opens with disaster. Rotator is run off the road and suffers a bad crash, FD 124 suffers a rollover and is totaled, Jamie's Mack Anthem 127 is torched, and Jamie is forced to sell HR 85 and the General as collateral to pay for a new truck. The season ends with the arrival of HR 100 and MR 134 who will fill in for Rotator and 47 and the cast of Highway Thru Hell says farewell as the series announces the death of Al's mother and father.
International broadcast
National Geographic Channel began airing the show on its American and Scandinavian channels in spring 2013,[7] and has also aired the first two seasons on its British and Irish channel.
The Weather Channel broadcast the show in the United States as well, beginning in October 2013.
TV3 screened the first season in New Zealand in 2015.
Season 1 was also shown in France on RMC Découverte in 2015.
Australia's ABC2 screened the first three seasons in 2016.
ProSieben Maxx has been broadcasting the show in Germany, under the title Highway Heroes Canada, since March 2015.[8]
Seasons 1 through 5 were available in some territories on Netflix by January 2017. By January 2020, the series was no longer available on the platform.[9]
TR 47 – 1979 Holmes 500 (10 ton, awaiting upgrade to Holmes 600, to be renumbered to Coastline 47 its original number)
TR 52 "007" – Kenworth Tractor Trailer (blown engine, supposed to be stretched and receive a 1701)
? – Coastline GM with twin line Holmes 480 unit
? – yellow GMC currently tandem axle gas engine
? – old Yeller Holmes 750
? – 1990 Chevy Silverado with AATAC body (Jr.'s project truck, to be mounted onto a Ford F350 XLT, will be assigned to Hope Fleet)
? – 1998 Ford F350 XLT crew cab (new chassis for Jr.'s project truck, see above)
HR 56 – 1995 Peterbilt 377 Century 1040 (40 ton rotator, suffered a bad crash on Highway 5 near the Coq, in the shop to have hood replaced and frame rebuilt)(Almost done)
? – Holmes 1625 Legend (was supposed to go on HR 50 but Jamie needed that truck back on the road, unit in storage until Jamie can get a heavier tractor to go under it)
Incident Response
IR 105
IR 106
IR 108 – 4-wheel drive
Jamie's Former Fleet
R 120 – Rescue truck
TR 44 – used for parts, see HR 50 above (Project List)
MR 60 – Army Truck Holmes 600
MR 62 – Holmes 600
MR 64 – Peterbilt (15 Ton)
MR 134 2022 Freightliner M2 Century 3212 16 ton (Sold at NATTS)
HR 63 "Mighty Mo" – Western Star Holmes 850 (40 ton), sold to Coquihalla Towing 2024
HR 66 – Century/International chassis (25 ton), sold to Columbia towing, sold to Kool Country Towing in BC 2020
HR 70 "The General" – 1980 GMC, Holmes 1801 (45 Ton), sold June 2021 to Hustler Towing in Olds Alberta
HR 52 – 1999 Kenworth W900 Century 7035 (35 Ton), sold to in 2012 (Never seen in HWH) Peninsula Towing on Vancouver Island (current owner)
HR 52 – 2012 Kenworth T800 Century 5230 (Adam's truck) (30 Ton), sold to Tonk's Towing in Richmond B.C, 2022 sold to Mario's Towing in Kelowna B.C.
HR 68 – 2011 Western Star 4900sb Century 2012 5230 (Bought for Scott Bird, then used in Alberta by Colin, Johnny) (30 ton), sold to Berg's Towing in IL, sold to Val-U Auto & Towing in Owego, NY, and in July 2021 at Lil Pete's Automotive in Mahopac, NY, Mike's in Connecticut
HR 116 – 2015 Western Star 4900sb Century 9055 (50 Ton), sold to Reliable Towing Merritt, BC, currently in the Mission Fleet
HR 117 – 2015 Western Star 4900sb Tri Axle Century 9055 with SP-850 XP side puller (50 ton), sold to Berg's Towing in Monmouth, IL, traded in to Zip's and then to A+ Towing
HR 126 – 1999 Peterbilt 379 Vulcan V70 (25 ton), Wrecker body is a 2015, truck went into service in 2016, sold to Peninsula Towing in Vancouver Island January 2021
HR 127 – 2019 Mack Anthem, Century 5230 (30 ton) Burned in a fire due to brakes catching fire on a downhill while towing a tractor on May 16, 2022.
HR 85 – 1985 KW LW900 Century 1040 (bought from Ben's Towing in 2021), sold to Steve's Towing, Clinton, British Columbia
FD-114 Freightliner twin axle deck truck (sold to peninsula Towing September 2022)
FD 131 – 2021 Ford F-550 22 ft Century flat deck truck (SOLD)
48 – 2020 Ford F-550 22 ft century flat deck truck (sold Feb 2023) COASTLINE
49 - 2021 Ford Jerr Dan self-loader (sold Feb 2023) COASTLINE
134 - 2022 Freightliner M2 Century 3212
Rotators
HR 150 – 2009 Peterbilt Twin axle Century 1075 (75 ton), sold to United Towing Services Inc in Canmore, AB, sold to FIFE in Washington state, then sold to Purdy's towing in Oregon
HR 150 "The Famous Rotator" – 2012 Western Star 4900SB TRI Axle Century 1075 (75 ton), sold to Berg's Towing in Monmouth, IL, traded in to Zip's, July 2021 Ron's Towing Lincoln, IL
Miscellaneous Former Trucks
Coastline 51, sold to Logan Lake Towing
Coastline TR 43
FD 121 – Flatdeck, sold to Aggressive Towing
FD 124 – Rob Mitchell's flat deck truck that was severely damaged in a rollover incident(recovered by Jamie in HWH)
Unit 90 "The Green Goblin" – 2007 Kenworth T800H with a Vulcan V100 tri-axle wrecker with side puller
Unit 55 "Plan B" – 2017 KW T800 V100 Vulcan tandem wrecker
Unit 95 – 2009 Kenworth T300 single axle, Challenger (20 ton)
Unit 85 – 2016 Kenworth T800 28-foot Tandem NRC 40TB Flatdeck
Unit 50 – 2016 Kenworth T470 26-foot Jerr-Dan Flatdeck with SRS10 Side Recovery System (10 ton)
Unit ?? - 2021 Ford 22-foot Deck truck
Unit C60 – 1973 GMC 3-ton Holmes 500 Wrecker
Unit 25 – 1985 GMC Service Truck
Unit ?? - 1964 D9 Dozer
Unit ?? - 1967 D9 Dozer
Spinoff
On October 10, 2016, the pilot for Heavy Rescue: 401, a spinoff series set in Ontario, aired on the Discovery Channel.[11] The first season of Heavy Rescue: 401 debuted on January 3, 2017.
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Jim Bell (2020-01-08). "Review: Northerners will love CBC's High Arctic Haulers". Nunatsiaq News. Retrieved 2020-01-09. Nunavut's lands, seas and communities also function as stars of the show, revealed in stunning digital video, some of it shot from overhead drones. Future episodes will feature communities like Naujaat, Gjoa Haven, Kugluktuk, Pangnirtung and Hall Beach.
