STOUFFVILLE, Ont. (Aug 2, 2004) — There’s no distance that will keep Don Anderson from hauling something really, really heavy.

Last August, the heavy-hauler from Stouffville, Ont., led eight trucks and flatbeds1,500 miles east for an eight-day assignment in P.E.I. The job — tempting enough to overrule the cost of sending that many empty trailers, drivers, and tractors a third of the way across the country — required Don Anderson Haulage to unload what would be North America’s largest wind turbine off a ship at Summerside harbour and take it 100 kilometres to Norway, P.E.I.

Dozens of potato farmers looked up Veterans Memorial Highway, and watched four trucks and flatbed dollies carrying the turbine’s tower pieces (ranging from 13 to 73 feet in diameter and 75,000 to 115,000 pounds); three contracted trucks hauling additional parts in containers; and a supporting cast of police, utility, and escort vehicles.

But the real crowd-pleaser was the rig hauling the main 85-tonne nacelle generator at 40 clicks, and again a couple days later on a separate trip, the turbine’s 90-metre diameter blades. Once erected, the tower and nacelle unit (which houses the generator, gear box, transformer, and hub) would stand a combined 40 stories and weigh more than 500,000 pounds.

What kind of monster machine can take on such a job? To pull the 200,000-pound nacelle generator and wind blades, Anderson used a tractor powered by a 430-horsepower Detroit Diesel Series 60 and an Allison six-speed automatic transmission, backed up by a two-speed auxiliary transmission for lots of reduction, and planetary rear-ends rated at 85,000 pounds.

The real action is behind the coupling. Carrying the generator was a custom-made German Scheuerle trailer with eight wheels across eight axles. All 64 wheels can be hydraulically suspended and controlled individually. Total combination length: 187 feet.

Planning for this job began eight months in advance, and it wasn’t a piece of cake from Anderson’s home base 1,500 miles away. There were countless long-distance phone calls and a bunch of trips back and forth before the vessel carrying the turbine even docked, says Anderson.

Perhaps the most challenging part on any heavy-haul is the coordination and communication with up to a dozen different parties. Who comes along for the ride? In Don Anderson’s case, there’s the management for Vestas Canada; RCMP and local police to oversee the operation and direct traffic through several construction zones; bridge engineers to monitor crossings; the cable company and Maritime Electric to raise or temporarily remove wires; pilot car operators who sandwich the convoy; technicians trained in hydraulics in case of a roadside breakdown; and a crew to remove overhead signs in Summerside.

The final bill? Just about $100,000 — not counting indirect costs such as eight months of planning, or wear and tear and fuel for a small fleet of unloaded trucks going to P.E.I and back. “There’s no backhaul when you’re talking about this kind of equipment,” says Anderson.

So you mean there’s not many 40-storey turbines from Summerside to Toronto popping up on the job boards, Don?

“Umm … no.”

— read the complete story in the July/Aug print issue of Today’s Trucking