[Narrator] This time on Highway Thru Hell...
[Narrator] ...Jamie and his rotator...
[Jamie] Give 'er.
[Narrator] ...between a rock wall...
[Jamie] Go ahead slowly.
[Narrator]...and a tight space.
[Narrator] Things heat up...
[Don] Look, there's smoke now.
[Narrator] ...on a precarious haul...
[Narrator] ...and a sunk excavator...
[Andy] Holy crap!
[Narrator] ...leaves team Reliable...
-[Ty] Come on! -[Narrator] ... dangling.
[Andy] Whoa!
[Narrator] Late winter...
[Narrator] ...in eastern British Columbia...
[Narrator] ...the Trans Canada Highway...
[Narrator] ...snakes through the doorstep of the Rockies.
[Jamie Davis] There's some steep drop-offs here,
winding curves.
You gotta be very careful on this road.
Take it easy, pay attention.
[Narrator] East of Revelstoke, B.C...
[Narrator] ...a red one-tonne is on the move...
[AJ Case] I'm on my own today.
[Narrator] ...with Jamie Davis's youngest operator,
20-year-old AJ Case.
[AJ] I've done a few recoveries with this truck.
AJ, he's a guy I can trust...
...and he's quickly becoming my right-hand guy.
I've still got a lot to learn.
[AJ] I really wanna do a good job,
not just for Jamie, but for myself as well.
[Narrator] Just ahead...
Holy!
[Narrator] ...an unexpected discovery.
[AJ] Oh, my gosh.
Jeez.
It's kinda stressful to be first on scene.
[AJ] There's a semi truck jackknifed
in the eastbound lane.
[Narrator] AJ reports the crash to authorities...
[Narrator] ...but for now...
You need to go.
[Narrator] ...it's up to him
to manage the scene.
[AJ] We're on a blind corner,
and it's just not a good place to be.
[AJ] No, no, no.
You're on a blind corner.
This is a really dangerous spot.
You have semis coming at 100 kilometres an hour.
You're gonna cause another accident.
[engine starting]
[♪♪♪]
[horns blare, engines roar past]
[Narrator] A jackknifed semi...
You're on a corner.
You need to go.
[Narrator] ...sits in a dangerous spot.
[Narrator] Moments earlier...
the semi lost control on the turn,
and barrelled into the other side of the highway.
[Narrator] AJ...
Okay?
[Narrator] ...secures the scene...
It's a fully loaded tractor-trailer.
[Narrator] ...but the one-tonne he arrived in is outgunned.
We need something a lot bigger.
I'm gonna run back and grab the heavy.
[Narrator] 75 kilometres west...
[Narrator] ...there's another wreck on the highway.
A 40-tonne rotator heads to the crash...
[Jamie] This could be a real challenge.
[Narrator] ...driven by Jamie Davis.
We're pulling up on the job site now.
[Narrator] Today, a local tow company...
[Jamie] This is their customer,
so I'm just kinda helping out with a spare truck.
[Narrator] ...needs his L.A. rotator.
[Jamie] This trailer's fully loaded.
It's in a bad corner.
[Jamie] They wanna try to get it out
without unloading it right on the side of the road.
[Jamie] The rotator is the key
to bringing the trailer out loaded.
I'll go see what's happening here.
[Jamie] Wow.
Right against the bank.
[Narrator] Jamie...
[Jamie] How's it going, man?
[Narrator] ...meets the local crew.
I wanna go look on the other side.
[Jamie] First thing on my mind,
what's on the other side
between the rocks and the trailer?
Maybe the wall is already damaged,
or it won't hold up.
Look at that.
[Narrator] Damage is limited,
but 20,000 pounds of mixed goods...
[Narrator] ...threaten to break through
the fragile wall.
[Jamie] Is there nowhere to get a strap anywhere, you think?
It's pretty much intact...
...and we gotta keep it that way.
[Jamie] I'll swing this around now.
[Narrator] He'll use the rotating boom...
[sirens wailing]
[Narrator] ...to keep the highway moving.
[Jamie] A rotator really is great
for keeping this traffic going.
[Jamie] Fire or ambulance need to get by.
Having the lane open
is really an important thing.
Rotators are able to stay confined in one lane
and keep traffic going.
Ready?
Nailed it!
[Narrator] With lines hooked to straps,
the L.A. rotator will lift the trailer
off the rocks,
then with the other wrecker hooked to the tractor,
they'll pull the semi onto the road
in unison.
[Jamie] Little more.
Okay.
Hopefully that works out.
[Narrator] With the heavy load against the wall...
[Jamie] I don't know if it's going to work, but...
[Narrator] ...lifting the fragile trailer...
[Jamie] We might get lucky.
[Narrator] ...is risky.
[Jamie] Go now?
[Jamie] The load is resting on the wall.
[Jamie] If you pull too hard...
...it could crack the sidewall.
[Jamie] Man, oh man.
[Narrator] On Highway 1...
[Jamie] Man, oh man.
[Narrator] ...Jamie's using his L.A. rotator
to lift a loaded trailer...
[Jamie] Okay.
That's good.
I don't want to pull any more against it.
[Narrator] ...off a rock wall.
[Jamie] You don't want to get greedy.
That'll work.
You want to keep it away from the wall,
then support it.
Hopefully get this out before dark.
[Narrator] The other tow company...
They're gonna get hooked up to the front end.
[Narrator] ...adds their wrecker...
...and the 90,000-pound pull...
[Jamie] Are you ready?
[Narrator] ...begins.
[Jamie] Give 'er.
Go ahead slowly.
[Jamie] The back end of it wants to fall over.
We're gonna have to work together in unison
to pull this off.
Really good.
Nice... nice.
Almost there.
[Narrator] Once the tractor reaches the road,
it can drive itself out.
Other than the original damage from him hitting the rocks,
the trailer has no other damage.
[Jamie] Everything's intact,
and the customer's saving money.
Now my lines are free-wheeled,
and he's going far out.
With the rotator, we've had no hiccups,
the unit's out of the ditch...
Yeah, I'm good if you guys are good!
[Jamie] ...the highway's gonna be open quicker,
everybody wins.
[Narrator] With the wreck on its way...
[Jamie] Rotators really do the job.
[Narrator] ...Jamie's work is done.
[honking horn]
[Jamie] That's the beauty in a rotator.
Really the best tool for this job.
[Narrator] An hour east...
[Narrator] ...a 40-tonne blue beast hits Highway One...
[AJ] This thing's a bit of a handful to drive.
[Narrator] ...with AJ in the hot seat.
It's my first run with this truck
doing a big recovery like this.
[AJ] This truck is twice the size
of the truck that I normally drive.
It's a bit of a learning curve.
[Narrator] He's heading back to the accident scene
on the blind corner.
[AJ] I don't want to be there too long.
It's a bad spot,
and the likelihood of being hit on the road...
Brianna wouldn't be too happy with me.
[AJ] Now winch in.
[Narrator] AJ has been working for Jamie for two years.
This one?
Yeah.
Okay, no, it's the other one.
[Brianna] Yeah, I knew that.
[Narrator] Recently,
it's brought him together
with Jamie's 18-year-old daughter, Brianna.
[AJ] That's where it led to...
[AJ] Keep going.
...Brianna and I
are now in a relationship.
Keep going.
[Jamie] We have our tight-knit little business,
and AJ's becoming family, really.
[AJ] I'm really happy with the way you did that.
[Narrator] Now...
with Brianna in the back of his mind...
...AJ returns to the jackknifed semi.
Two hours ago,
the semi lost the corner,
and jackknifed into the other side.
[AJ] There's a lot of pressure on me here.
It's Jamie's truck and his name on the door.
[Rob Wall] Hey, AJ!
[Narrator] Also on scene,
operator Rob Wall.
If you get in here, you're off the road.
You can pull it that much, anyways.
[Rob] We gotta hustle
to get the job done as quick as possible...
...especially on a blind corner.
Hook 'em up.
[Narrator] First...
[Rob] Okay, hurry up, let's go.
[Narrator] ...AJ
must make room...
[Rob] That's lots, AJ!
[Narrator] ...to straighten the jackknife.
[Rob] Start pulling.
Come on, let's go.
[Narrator] It's his first heavy recovery...
[AJ] I'm still a greenhorn
when it comes to these big trucks.
[Narrator] ...without the boss.
This is the heaviest wrecker I've operated.
I'm excited, but I'm nervous.
I don't really have a coach this time.
[AJ] Come on.
[Rob] Yeah, it's coming.
[AJ] That's good.
[Narrator] AJ...
It was tough at first, but it's feeling pretty good.
[Narrator] ...gets the tractor-trailer
straightened out.
AJ's coming a long ways with recoveries.
[AJ] We aren't home yet.
[AJ] I don't like highways at night.
They're sketchy.
My goal is, just as quick as I can,
get set up and go.
Yeah, we're good.
[Narrator] Before heading back...
[AJ] I'm gonna give Jamie a call.
[call ringing]
[Narrator] ...AJ checks in.
[Jamie's novelty ringtone ringing]
Hello?
Hey, Jame.
Yeah, it was awesome.
AJ, he reminds me of myself at his age.
I'm proud of you, buddy.
Thank you.
Jamie's been in this business for well over 40 years,
and for someone as green as me,
it feels pretty good.
Really good job.
-Bye. -Bye-bye.
AJ is moving and advancing quickly in this business...
[truck honking twice]
...and I'm very amazed by him.
[Narrator] 650 kilometres southwest...
[Narrator] ...in Mission, B.C...
[Narrator] ...en route is a 35-tonne wrecker
with fresh Reliable Towing decals...
[Ty Kennedy] This thing is literally brand-new.
[Narrator] ...driven by Ty Kennedy.
It's the cat's meow.
Yeah, this truck's awesome.
[Ty] I'm taking it out
on its first-ever recovery.
I don't wanna scratch it.
[Narrator] Earlier this winter...
[Ty] It's the nicest truck I've ever driven.
[Narrator] ...Ty completed a cross-country journey
from Toronto
to bring the new wrecker home.
Pretty excited to have 'er on the road.
Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
[Julian] Look at how fresh it is.
Love it!
[Narrator] Joining the new wrecker today...
[Narrator] ...the Mission Towing 50-tonne,
and operator Andy Cullum...
[Andy] Another rainy day in Mission.
Love it.
[Narrator] ...but the scene awaiting them...
[Andy] Holy crap!
[Narrator] ...is worse than they expected.
He sent a few pictures in, but...
[Andy] It got deeper.
[Andy] With all this rain we're having,
the water's coming up.
I don't think it's gonna run anymore, either,
all those electronics with the water on it.
Yeah, it has to come out dead weight.
[Andy] The excavator being dead in the water
means more resistance for us.
It can't run to move the tracks,
or the bucket, or anything.
[Narrator] Then a local resident...
Oh, there's a beaver right there!
[Narrator] ...reminds them...
[Andy] The beav isn't happy with us.
[Ty] Mm-mm.
[Narrator] ...that this is also wildlife habitat.
[Ty] He's wondering what's happening with his home.
[Ty] I feel bad for the animals.
Hopefully we can get out of here soon.
[Narrator] On the muddy stream crossing...
I wonder if we can back onto here.
[Narrator] ...Andy and Ty...
[Ty] It's so soft over here.
[Narrator] ...have little confidence...
[Ty] This is like soup.
[Narrator] ...in the road the excavator fell off.
[Ty] We're not crossing that.
We don't wanna risk our trucks being damaged or getting stuck.
[Andy] You wanna go with an angle right there?
[Ty] Yeah.
[Narrator] The alternative...
[Ty] There you go.
[Narrator] ...is to pull the excavator...
...towards the main road.
[Andy] So fancy.
I know.
[Andy] First wreck, Ty bends the boom
on the brand-new truck.
Yeah. [laughing]
[Narrator] With lines from the 50-tonne
to the tracks,
and lines from the new 35-tonne
to the bucket,
they'll pull the tracks
in line with the wrecker,
then winch the entire excavator out.
[Ty] That's good there.
[Andy] Okay.
[Ty] I'm nervous.
We're gonna see what happens.
Let's give it a try.
[Narrator] Both wreckers
begin pulling
46,000 pounds of dead weight...
[Ty] There we go.
It's coming.
[Andy] It's working, it's working.
[Narrator] ...but then...
[Andy] Hey!
My front end's two feet in the air.
[Ty] Come on.
[Narrator] In the Fraser Valley...
[Andy] Hey!
[Narrator] ...team Reliable...
My front end's two feet in the air.
[Narrator] ...is fighting an excavator
stuck dead in its tracks.
[Andy] We gotta get it to pivot
without the machine running.
[Ty] Come on.
[Ty] If this doesn't work,
I have no idea.
What's fighting us?
[chains rattling]
[Andy] Whoo!
That scared me.
Ah, there we go. Now it's coming.
[Narrator] The tracks...
[clanking]
...finally come over.
[Andy] Whoa!
It starts to lean over pretty good.
We don't want this to tip over in the water...
...and dump oil everywhere.
[Narrator] The two wreckers...
You pull, I pull.
[Narrator] ...must perform a delicate dance.
[Ty] It's a coordinated effort by both operators.
We'll try and get this done.
[Ty] Here it comes, here it comes.
[Narrator] The excavator...
[Ty] Hey, we did it.
[Narrator] ...is back on solid ground...
[Ty laughing]
[Narrator] ...with the new 35-tonne...
I love new equipment.
[Narrator] ...none the worse for wear...
[Ty] I'm happy.
This recovery couldn't have gone any better.
[laughing]
Job done. Job won.
[Narrator] ...and the locals
can go about their day.
It's important to keep the environment clean.
We did that, and we got 'er done.
[Andy] Did it again.
[Ty] You bet.
Onto the next excavator.
Yeah.
I don't expect my team to be perfect...
[Ty] Oh, it's so dirty in here!
[Andy chuckling]
[Suki] ...but I feel, given any challenge,
my team could do it.
[Narrator] 500 kilometres north...
[Narrator] ...outside the town of Quesnel...
...a 50-tonne Autow wrecker
launches down Highway 97...
[Rob Berber] There's a logging truck
that burnt last night.
[Narrator] ...with company owner and operator Rob Barber.
[Rob] Logging is our main industry.
Pretty much everybody in Quesnel
survives by a sawmill.
[Narrator] Arriving on scene,
Rob discovers
the trailers
were untouched by the flames...
[Narrator] ...but the tractor...
...is unrecognizable.
[Rob] It burnt a lot more than we thought.
Burnt trucks are hard to deal with.
Yeah, holy crap.
[Narrator] Despite the blaze...
[Rob] It melted them tanks right off.
[Narrator] ...the load of logs was saved.
A farmer with a tractor
dumped snow on top of the truck.
The wood didn't get burnt very badly,
and they'll salvage the load.
[Narrator] Also on scene...
[Gerard Langlois] What a mess, eh?
[Narrator] ...Rob's brother-in-law,
Gerard Langlois.
[Rob] Gerard's my go-to guy
for helping me do cleanups.
[Gerard] That metal's been heated.
It's deformed it.
[Rob] After something's burnt that hot,
it's hard to find solid metal
to safely pick it up.
[Gerard] I think that'll be okay.
[metal snapping]
[Narrator] But...
[Gerard] Ooh, look at the smoke now.
[Narrator] ...after hooking up for the tow...
[Rob] Tire's burning.
[Narrator] ...fresh air fuels the fire.
[Rob] It's burning pretty good now.
Sometimes the tires will start on fire again.
[Gerard] That rubber just doesn't want to give up, eh?
[Rob] You need more snow.
We gotta try to get it out
before we can move it down the road.
[Narrator] Rob...
[Rob] I think that'll be okay.
[Narrator] ...smothers the fire.
[Narrator] But then...
Oh.
[Narrator] ...he spots a new problem...
[Rob] Oh, wow.
Transmission fell out of it.
[Narrator] ...the entire transmission
has dropped to the ground.
It's one more problem to deal with.
[grunting] I hate burnt vehicles.
[Narrator] 40 minutes south of Quesnel...
[Rob] The transmission...
[Narrator] ...Rob...
That's a problem!
[Gerard] Oh, it's right completely off the engine.
[Narrator] ...and Gerard...
have an 800-pound problem to solve.
[Rob] I've never had a fire melt the bell housing,
and have the transmission fall out of a truck.
[Narrator] ...and with the wreck still smoking...
[Rob] I don't really wanna lay underneath there
and pull the drive shaft. -[Gerard] No.
[Narrator] ...the transmission is in a tough spot.
[Rob] That don't seem like
the safest place in the world to be.
[Rob] We have to somehow lift it
so it can come with the truck.
[Gerard] Can we hook a chain under
and hook it on the frame?
[Rob] Might be able to.
[Narrator] With a well-placed throw...
[Rob] Okay, pull it towards ya.
[Narrator] ...they keep their hands out of the embers...
[Gerard] There we go. Try that.
[Narrator] ...and secure the transmission to the wreck...
You got 'er.
Oh, yeah, it's right off the ground.
It'll hopefully hold it all together.
See if I can make it up there now.
[Rob] We gotta transport down the road
so we can offload it.
[Rob] I probably won't get outta first or second gear.
[Narrator] ...but the next pullout...
...is two kilometres away.
We don't want to go very fast with it.
[Narrator] Rob starts crawling the wreck
down the highway.
[Rob] I'm hoping the transmission
doesn't fall on the ground...
...and the truck doesn't fall apart.
[Narrator] After 15 minutes
of a tenuous tow...
[Rob] Okay.
[Narrator] ...Rob makes it
safely into a pullout.
[Rob] Now we'll just get unloaded.
We can get a picker to come in
and pull the wood off of it
and reload another truck.
[Narrator] A specialized picker truck arrives...
...and begins transferring
3,000 pounds of logs at a time.
Every load of lumber helps our community survive.
[Narrator] With the logs on their way,
there's one last challenge...
[Kyle Langlois] Yee-haw.
[Narrator] ...that will be handled by Gerard's son,
Kyle Langlois.
[Kyle] We're gonna have a little bit of work
ahead of us here.
Holy.
[Rob] We're gonna load the burnt logging truck
onto the deck truck.
It'll be a safer, cleaner way to go down the road.
We might be able to lay this over.
Yeah.
[Narrator] As dusk falls...
...Kyle makes the wreck...
[banging and hammering]
[Kyle] Oh, yeah, she broke. Ha!
[Narrator] ...regulation height.
That should be good.
[Rob] Kyle has learned lots.
He'll take over more and more,
and I can slow down a lot more.
There you go.
[Kyle] I want to keep going with the business.
That would be my biggest goal.
[Rob] It's on there.
[Gerard] That's good.
It's a family business.
Back to the yard.
[Rob] I want to see it continue and grow,
and see where it goes after I go.
[Narrator] 600 kilometres south...
[Narrator] ...in the Fraser Valley...
...a stolen vehicle has been abandoned.
Today...
[Chris Mervyn] Some fun country roads!
[Narrator] ...Aggressive Towing's
Chris Mervyn
isn't in his wrecker.
It's not quite like my rotator.
[Narrator] He's riding shotgun on a flatbed
carrying Aggressive's 23-tonne excavator.
It's not often you get to go tool around
with an excavator.
[Merv] It's quite muddy and gross,
and they're a little worried about sending in a wrecker.
[Narrator] At the end of the road
waits a Reliable Towing wrecker.
[Merv] Lutz is here on scene.
He's gonna be letting us know
where we're looking for this thing.
I'm Merv.
[Suki] Aggressive Towing
is one of the best in the business.
[Merv] Let's see if we can make magic happen.
[Narrator] Merv fires up the excavator...
...and heads into the boggy field.
[Merv] Being versatile
and being able to operate anything
is key in the towing industry.
[Narrator] His first test...
[Merv] It's gonna be tons of fun.
[Narrator] ...will be crossing a barely frozen pond...
[Merv] It's like a bowl of Jell-O.
We could end up with the, you know, big excavator stuck.
[Narrator] ...but Merv...
[Merv] One victory!
[Narrator] ...makes it across,
and reaches his target...
[Merv] Oy. Yeah.
[Narrator] ...a cube van
stripped and abandoned.
[Merv] Looks like they just drove it down,
stole everything out of it and off of it.
[Lutz] Yeah.
[Merv] The tires have been stolen.
It's in pretty rough condition.
[Merv] There's no pretty way about it.
We're just gonna drag it.
[Merv] Without wheels,
it is more resistance for us.
[Narrator] Merv chains the truck
to the excavator bucket...
[Merv] We'll see what happens here.
[Narrator] ...and sets out for the 200-metre journey
in reverse.
[Merv] It's not gonna be a smooth ride for this thing
coming out.
It is gonna get bounced around and beat up a little bit.
[Narrator] His first major obstacle...
is the pond.
[Merv] Coming in hot!
The extra resistance it's putting up,
let's hope we don't have to call Team Green to pull me out.
Beauty!
[Narrator] Merv makes it through...
[Merv] Almost there.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
[Narrator] ...but on the final hill...
[Merv] Ho.
[Narrator] ...the wreck gets mired down.
[Merv] Not the greatest trail.
[Merv] Due to the terrain around here,
we're in for a pretty good wrestling match.
[Merv groaning]
Come on.
[Narrator] In the Valley...
[Merv groaning]
[Narrator] ...Merv is using a 23-tonne excavator...
to wrestle a bogged-down stolen truck.
[Merv] We're gonna drag 'er out.
It's no easy feat.
Ho... come on!
[Merv] Luckily, we brought a big enough excavator...
...that can pretty much move that thing like a rag doll.
There we go!
Jobs like this,
you definitely gotta bring the right equipment.
[Narrator] The tracks hit hard pavement...
[Merv] Almost there, buddy, almost there.
[Narrator] ...and Merv gets the wreck
across the finish line.
[Merv] Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
It was just an eyesore out in the wilderness.
Ta-dah! [laughing]
Getting it out of there definitely makes me happy.
[Narrator] Reliable Towing
will take it from here.
[Suki] I'm proud that the teams worked together
to get the job done.
Okay, buddy.
-All righty. -Thanks, Merv.
[Narrator] Merv loads up,
and team Aggressive...
...hit the road.
[Merv] It's crazy for wrecks this year.
A whole bunch of different stuff.
Makes things interesting for us.
[train horn blasting]
[Narrator] On the weekend...
...at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds...
...it's a special day...
...for the trucking community.
[James Luke] Here I am
enjoying these really awesome-looking
old-school trucks.
[Cary Quiring] Today's the 100th anniversary
of the Hayes truck.
There's some beautiful trucks here.
[Narrator] Also on site,
an old-school wrecker,
and recovery legend Ken Duperon.
[Ken Duperon] Keep your fingers off the switches, Cary!
His old Hayes is beautiful.
The Hayes trucks have been in British Columbia's history
for a long time.
This Hayes wrecker
ended up coming to the Mission Towing fleet
in around the mid '70s.
[Narrator] Yesterday,
from its home in the Mission tow yard...
...Ken and James Luke...
Am I good where I'm at?
[James] He's, like, perfectly in line.
[honking horn]
[Narrator] ...hauled the classic wrecker to the show.
[grinding]
[Ken] Get that gear next time.
[laughing]
It happens.
Don't let me make you nervous, now.
I'm watching him shift his gears here...
Nice.
[gears grinding]
[both laughing]
You jinxed me, Ken!
...missing the odd one.
I think he's getting used to the truck he's driving.
[James] After today, I'm retiring.
[both laughing]
[Narrator] Today,
it's the only wrecker on display.
There's gonna be a lot of eyes on this truck.
It's in really good shape.
Yes, well, they're solid steel, you know.
Everything's solid, solid, solid with them.
Don't make them like that anymore, do they?
No, they don't, no.
[Ken] Gonna go look at some trucks.
[Ken] This is the most Hayes trucks
I've seen at one show
in my life.
[truck owner] This is a bush truck.
[Ken] Yeah?
[truck owner] It's got its battle scars,
but like you and I,
we get older, we have battle scars too.
Yes. [laughing]
Yeah.
[Ken] I see something
that I'm gonna go check out.
Never, ever seen one in my lifetime.
[Ken] I didn't even know they made Hayes buses.
That's it, you're in.
It's locked. I'm in.
Wow. That is amazing.
This would be pretty cool to be driving
years and years ago.
[Narrator] For Ken,
it's a seat he's become familiar with.
[Ken] Kids are really great.
[Narrator] These days...
[Ken] Hi, girls. Good morning.
I've moved away from towing.
Good morning.
[Narrator] ...Ken spends his time
driving local kids to school.
Ready to go?
[Ken] I put a lot of hours in on a bus.
I really quite enjoy it.
All righty.
[Ken] It gives you a reason to get up in the morning.
It's a new chapter in my life.
[Narrator] ...and there's something else
that's changed in Ken's life.
I have some very sad news.
My dad has passed away.
All my life, him and I worked together.
It hurts.
It's a big loss.
[♪♪♪]
[Narrator] In the town of Mission...
[truck honks twice]
[wailing sirens]
[Narrator] ...a day of honour...
Get 'er rolling.
[Narrator] ...and appreciation
gets underway.
[Ken] As a celebration of life,
the towing community,
they all put their trucks in a parade
for remembrance of the person that's passed.
This is for Grandpa Wally.
[honking horn]
Turnout today is to celebrate my dad's life.
[James] We're doing a cruise through town
in memory of a great tow operator.
It's a honour to be part of this.
[♪♪♪]
[Narrator] Minutes away,
Ken...
[Ken] The trucks look good, don't they?
[Narrator] ...gets his first look
at the procession of chrome.
They look pretty cool.
Feeling pretty special.
My dad was very picky how his fleet looked.
All the trucks here today
are washed, and waxed, and polished.
I think my dad would really be happy,
but he wouldn't show it.
The towing community, he was very big in it.
Look at this...
If you're in the towing business,
you know, he liked you.
[Jamie] And so we put it in a frame
and brought it up to ya.
Well, that's really nice. Thank you very much.
I'm on a quest to buy old-- Oh!
--Old Holmes.
This is the old truck we used to drive.
[Ken] It wasn't about the money all the time.
It was about his satisfaction in business,
and how he helped people.
[Dylan] He affected a lot of people's lives.
It's good to see everybody come out
and show remembrance for Grandpa.
Well, this is amazing.
It is.
[Suki] The symbolism of Mission Towing
is hard work,
and Wally was that.
I was about 19 years old, I drove for him.
-Oh, wow. -Yeah.
Oh, he's definitely missed in the towing community.
[Cary] He was a very well-spoken, kind man.
If you needed help, he was there for you.
Tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.
Be careful, and I don't want it wrecked!
That's my pride and joy!
[Ken] He was really devoted to his company.
That was a very big love of his...
[laughing]
...and sometimes I think
he maybe liked that more than us, but...
I don't know.
[truck honking]
Wow, it's nice to drive this again.
Just like old times, Dad.
What do you think?
-Yeah. -Huh?
[Ken] Memories are really good.
That makes me feel proud he was my father.
It was a lot of fun working with you
all these years, too.
[Wally] Yeah.
Good and bad times.
[laughing]
[laughing] Good and bad!
I'll never forget a handshake from him.
It tells you a lot about a person.
[Dylan] He had a lot of fight.
He was very proud of his family,
and he was very proud of his tow trucks.
And I really want to thank everybody.
Like, wow, this is really exciting.
It's amazing, it really is.
[♪♪♪]
[Narrator] Next time on Highway Thru Hell...
[Al] Ooh.
[Narrator] ...a heavyweight showdown...
[Al] This is a heavy frigging machine.
[Narrator] ...turns family affair.
[Al] I'm sure I told him to stay home.
[Larry] Oh, I hate ice.
[Narrator] A backroad job...
[Larry] Deep breath.
[Narrator] ...slips towards disaster.
[Margaret] Woo, no! It's slippery! Aah!
[Narrator] ...and the unthinkable...
Just a bad day for me.
[Narrator] ...leaves Jamie broken.
[♪♪♪]