COLBORNE, ON– This is a retired firetruck. It spent 33 years in service with the Chicago fire department before the ownership was transferred to Gerry Hasiuk, founder and owner of Hasiuk Trailers.

Colborne, ON., -based Hasiuk Trailers has been a family-owned-and-operated rental business, providing highway and storage trailers, ocean-shipping containers and office trailers to a wide range of businesses throughout Southern Ontario for the past 50 years.

“I started the business back when I was 21. I didn’t want to go to college, I wanted to drive truck instead so I got a contract with a company in Montreal,” Hasiuk says. “This truck brings back memories. I started off with a 1950 Mack just like this one.”

“Well, not like this one,” Hasiuk adds, after a moment’s reflection.   

This Mack, unlike the truck of his youth, has air-ride suspension, air-ride seats, in fact it’s much more comfortable than the old trucks were.

“And the old trucks didn’t look like this either,” Hasiuk says. “Everything’s new on this one.”

“We have a big shop in Colborne so when the guys–we have four mechanics working full-time–when they’re not busy, they’re working on this truck,” he says.

The guys put single tires on, changed the front axles, added the fifth wheel, installed air brakes on, new shoes, and increased the top speed, from 42 mpt to 60. It has 22,000 miles on the clock, 225 hp, a Mack engine, eight-speed transmission, and, Hasiuk adds, all the windows work!

“We take it to shows all the time and wanted to be able to drive it on the highway, but 60 miles an hour is all we wanted; it’s all we need,” Hasiuk says.

It took a full year to get it to look as nice as it does, Hasiuk says, but there’s still work to be done.

For one, the truck didn’t come with a tachometer. Hasiuk found one and is working on installing it.

He’s one proud trucker.

“I drove for many years, even as the company was growing,” Hasiuk says. “But then my wife said ‘If you want my good cooking and loving then you’re going to have to stay home more,’ so I stopped driving. Happy wife, happy life, right?”

Hasiuk met his wife at a wedding in ’59 when he was a young buck with a nice Mack and a white corvette with leather interior that he regrets not having kept. Together they have two sons who now work in the business.

“We all work together and are very happy.”