Removing trucks could be almost 'impossible,' say heavy towing experts

Heavy-duty towing experts say it will be difficult or impossible to remove the hundreds of heavy trucks entrenched in Ottawa's downtown — unless the drivers allow it.

CBC counted 40 trucks on Kent Street and 109 on Wellington Street Friday, with dozens more on other streets spread around the downtown core. Then on Saturday, Ottawa police said 500 heavy trucks were in the so-called "red zone."

Trucker Lloyd Crowe from Picton, Ont., has been parked just a couple of blocks away from Parliament Hill since last weekend, but he's not worried about being towed. 

"If you know anything about truck air brakes, once you pull that button, all 18 wheels are locked," Crowe told CBC on Wednesday.

"Nothing can move it, except maybe a big wrecker. And no wrecker worth his salt is going to come anywhere near this, because they're on our side." 

CBC spoke to multiple towing companies across Ontario and while many weren't willing to be interviewed, several sources told CBC that the companies contracted by the City of Ottawa were refusing to tow trucks involved with the demonstration. 

The city would not confirm or deny this, saying only that its bylaw department "uses several contracted services to assist with towing vehicles throughout the city."

On Sunday, the city declared a state of emergency, which among other things will make procurement more flexible, according to city solicitor David White.

While the city likely has some vehicles with heavy-duty towing capacity for large OC Transpo vehicles, they also did not provide a response when asked how many they had.

Bylaw and regulatory services director Roger Chapman said in a statement that 28 vehicles associated with the protest had been towed "for impeding traffic and blocking laneways," but it is not clear if any of those were commercial trucks.

David Allen, president of Gary's Towing in London, Ont., said while towing a truck that doesn't want to be moved would be hard, it is physically possible — even if the air brakes are engaged.

Heavy-duty tow trucks can transfer air from their system to the trucks to release the brakes, Allen said. Failing that, they could "cage" the brakes, which involves manually backing the brake off each individual wheel. 

"We have all the capabilities on our tow trucks to do it … but I don't think anyone would want to," he said.

That's because many companies who provide heavy towing would be hesitant to risk their relationships with trucking companies, Allen said.