Little Big Rig

I’ve been attending the uphill tractor trailer drag races in St. Joseph de Beauce in Quebec for a few years, and if you can take your eyes away from fully-loaded big rigs winding on the governor and dumping the clutch for a 900’ squirt up a 10% incline, you need to check out Jacques Auger’s mini Kenworth tractor trailer.

Jacques owns one of the largest and cleanest fleets of petroleum tankers in all of Canada. In 2007, he decided to build a small-scale exhibition truck to mirror its full-size brethren. He and Donald Gingras invested over 2,600 hours and countless Benjamins to end up with one of the coolest lil’ trucks anywhere. And this ain’t no fiberglass body over a golf cart – it is an exact replica!

Power for the “little big rig” is provided by a 37-hp 3-cylinder Cummins turbo diesel hooked to a Ford Ranger 5-speed tranny, ending up in a true tandem drive system, using a pair of Suzuki jeep differentials. There is also a complete and fully-working air brake system, which can bring this amazing little ride to a halt, in a hurry.

By itself, you can’t tell this little guy from a full-size Kenworth – until you have something to compare it to. The truck he hauls it around with looks exactly like the mini rig, except that it is full size. Pretty cool. There are some videos on YouTube of Jacques having fun with his completely unique toy. I suggest you find the videos and have some fun watching this neat “little big rig” running around.