Highway Thru Hell is a Canadian documentary TV series that follows the operations of Jamie Davis Motor Trucking, a heavy vehicle rescue and recovery towing company based in Hope, British Columbia. Quiring Towing, Aggressive Towing, Mission Towing and Reliable Towing are also big players in the series. The show focuses on the hardships of operating along the highways of the BC Interior, especially the Coquihalla Highway.
Episodes
Formula
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. There is also a spin-off series called in which some of the Coquihalla heroes of Highway Thru Hell comment on the trials and difficulties faced by the tow truck operators on the 401.
History
The show was created by Mark A. Miller, Kevin Mills and Neil Thomas. Neil Thomas met one of Jamie Davis' heavy rescue operators after his moving truck broke down on Highway 5 in the summer of 2010. In the early winter of 2011 Cameraman Kevin Mills and executive producer Mark Miller were passing through Hope, BC and dropped in on Jamie Davis Motor Truck. The idea of a show about heavy recovery was discussed; Davis expressed a desire to change the public's perceptions about his industry. The winter of 2010-2011 had been a record setting season for JDMT. The show debuted on Discovery Channel on Tuesday September 4, 2012 in Canada. Steep hills, lethal drop-offs, killer rockslides, and the worst weather in a decade captivated audiences, with Highway Thru Hell ranking as the #1 series premiere in Discovery Channel Canada's history. Its second season, premiered on September 3, 2013, and featured 13 episodes as well as four reloaded episodes with new content, factoids and viewer tweets. At the end of Season 2, Jamie Davis sought out new territory, expanding his business along Alberta Highway 63 as competition in Hope, B.C. became more intense. In Season 3, Jamie Davis is seen dealing with the growing pains of business expansion, especially as senior drivers step into managerial roles in his absence, sometimes leaving chaos in their wake. This season tackled the issue of PTSD as some drivers came into contact with tough situations. Al Quiring's family business, Quiring Towing, features more prominently this third season. The Coquihalla also saw an active avalanche season during this time. For Season 4, filming occurred during the winter season of 2014 - 2015 in all BC and Alberta locations as Davis' company is split into two "camps", during this time Jamie would sometimes call in Aggressive Towing, his brother's company, for back-up. Mission Towing in B.C.'s Fraser Valley began to feature during Season 4, also depicting a company run by several generations of tow-operators in one family business. This season featured the Hope Ice Storm event which lasted over a few days. Season 5 of Highway Thru Hell aired on Discovery Canada beginning on September 13, 2016 and kicks off with a teary-eyed Jamie Davis selling his beloved rotator. Al Quiring's team tackles some difficult excavator recoveries in B.C.'s nasty peat bog and Jamie's crew suffers some near-misses. In season 6, Jamie Davis Towing closed the Alberta offices and began operating out of Hope and Chilliwack, BC. In an effort to make his business more lean, Jamie begins buying and restoring older equipment like the vintage 22 ton, Holmes Python wrecker that joins Jamie's fleet. Season 7 began airing September 4, 2018. At Davis’ yard in Hope, B.C., 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 Highway – using an older, rebuilt fleet. Colin McLean is back in Hope as lead driver, but having run some of the top-of-the-line hydraulic trucks, Davis’ “old iron” is going to take some getting used to. This 7th winter sees some of the younger generation stepping up, as Cary Quiring is one of the first to respond to a mass-casualty event on the Coquihalla and Dylan Greenwood of Mission Towing takes the lead on some big wrecks and recoveries in the Fraser Valley. Reliable Towing out of Merritt, British Columbia makes their debut in the second half of Season 7, first on a small truck and trailer wreck with pigs inside and then in the next episode with a 6 semi crash on the Coquihalla north of Merritt. Mudslides and rockslides contribute to a tough time for recovery crews all around.
Unit 90 - "The Green Goblin" - 2007 Kenworth Vulcan V100 tri-axle wrecker with side puller Unit 55 - "Plan B" - 2017 Kenworth T800 Vulcan V100 tandem wrecker Unit 95 - 2009 Kenworth T300 20 ton single axle Unit 85 - 2016 Kenworth T800 28' Tandem NRC 40TB Flatdeck Unit 50 - 2016 Kenworth T470 26' 10-tonne Jerr-Dan Flatdeck with SRS10 Side Recovery System
