King Of The Forest

Hayes wasn’t the biggest name in the world order of truck manufacturers but in its heyday was a giant in its native Canada

- Norman Chapman

When business partners Douglas Hayes and W E Anderson of the Hayes-Anderson Motor Company Ltd found that the US-built trucks they were selling to Canada’s logging industry weren’t sturdy enough for the rough forest terrain, they decided to build trucks of their own design instead.

This wasn’t their first foray into building trucks – six years earlier, in 1922, they had built a bespoke logging truck. Known as Old Number One, the articulated chain-driven tractor was of a basic design with solid wheels and no driver’s cab.

As the company became more established, it manufactured most aspects of light, medium and heavyweight chassis, ranging from 1.5-15 tons. Power options were petrol and diesel using Continental, Hercules and Leyland engines. The company also built buses, coaches, vans, fire engines and trailers.

Hayes-Anderson’s bread-and-butter market was the huge Canadian logging industry, which always required heavyweight trucks to satisfy its needs. Hayes-Anderson continued to build larger, stronger, heavy-duty tractor units and logging trailers.

By 1934 the business became the Hayes Manufacturing Company Ltd, with a new facility at False Creek Flats in Vancouver. The continued emphasis was on building trucks for the logging industry, buses and also the specialist Draymaster, a rigid, low-bed chassis for dockside work at the Port of Vancouver. There were also diverse engineering projects, including axle kits to convert four-wheelers into double-drive six-wheelers.

Forefront of new ideas

Hayes also continued to produce a complete line of logging ‘pole’ trailers, now up to a 60-ton carrying capacity. Hayes was always at the forefront of new ideas and it was the first manufacturer to add twin rear axles plus diesel power to its logging trucks.