Pacific Trucks
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| Industry | Truck manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1947 |
| Founder | Vic Barclay Mac Billingsley Claude Sydney Thicke |
| Defunct | 1991 |
| 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. While this is may be a low volume compared to higher-production truck brands, Pacific was well regarded for their hand-built quality and ability to respond to custom requests. 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]
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In addition to the Canadian and USA markets, Pacific sold trucks in Australia, New Zealand, and South East Asia. Among their most impressive orders was a request for five ultra-heavy road tractors to pull massive loads of up to 370 tons for the South African Railways. These units were delivered in 1972, featuring 800 hp Cummins engines. Photos show the "largest on-highway vehicle in the world", consisting of the five tractors hauling a 370 ton Siemens generator stator totaling an 860 ton gross combination mass and length of 160m.[2]
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. In the summer of 1995 the Vancouver depot built the last Pacific Truck in the back of their parts warehouse. A hand-built 100 ton capacity ore tractor, model P12W3. Crane continued until 2002, finally selling the Pacific name, intellectual property, and rights to Coast Powertrain of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Some amount of the brand lives on through Coast Powertrain, continuing to make OEM parts and sub-assemblies for old Pacific trucks under the name Pacific Truck Manufacturing.[1][3]
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.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Across the Pacific". Vintage Trucks & Commercials Magazine. No. 59. Australia: Jarrah Media Group. May 2020. pp. 18–24. ISSN 1838-0492.
- ^ "South African Road Schnabel". southern.railfan.net. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ Pacific Truck Manufacturing Coast Power Train
External links
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