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Canadian Tire built an ice truck on the frame of a 2005 Chevy Silverado. (All photos from Canadian Tire Facebook Fanpage
When the people at Canadian Tire first began talking about building a truck made of ice, there was a lot of concern if it could be done. It’s the first of its kind in the ice industry.
The goal was to promote their AGM Eliminator battery. The objective was to freeze the battery to minus 40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) and put it to the ultimate test and install the frozen battery into a truck made of ice. According to John Keddy, one of the ice truck’s fabricators, “It’s a good way to test life here in Canada.”
The project became a challenge when the amount of ice required to build the truck calculated to 14,000 pounds on a truck frame. Adding to the challenge, the truck frame had to be rigid or the ice would crack and fall off if the frame moved even a fraction of an inch.
The crew worked hard to sculpt the blocks of ice into body panels.
Every detail that wasn’t essential to the driveability of the truck was made of ice, including mirrors and windows.
The ice itself was engineered for the perfect build. The company explained that normal ice, like the ice cubes made in your refrigerator at home, have a white center because of trapped air. The ice used in the building of the ice truck had all of the air removed during formation so that the ice blocks were crystal clear.
Even the evergreen air freshener and license plates were made of ice.
Like any other truck in North America, the ice truck was equipped with an license plate and an evergreen air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror – all made of ice.
The ice truck logged over 2.5-miles in a single trip, a feat that was submitted to the Guiness book of world records for approval.
The day finally came when the crew fired up the truck, opened the garage doors and proudly drove their see-through creation through the local streets.
With the initial testing done, the Canadian Tire truck, built from 11 000 pounds of ice, set out to prove how reliable the MotoMaster Eliminator Ultra Automotive Battery would be in the most exteme conditions. The MotoMaster Eliminator Ultra Battery with AGM was frozen to – 40 degrees celsius before being used to start the Ice Truck. The Canadian Tire Ice Truck not only started with the frozen battery but took the driver, Paul and his son, to hockey practice. The truck ended up logging over 2.5-miles and submitted the feat to Guinness book of world records.
Even the interior was made of ice. No creature comforts here. No radio, no defroster, no heater and no seat warmers.
Add to the cool factor that everything that wasn’t critical to the drivability of the vehicle was made completely of ice. From the front windshield all the way to the mirror’s and license plates. Even the front grille ornament was made of frozen colored water. This truck is as cool as it gets – literally
When the project was all finished, the ice truck was power washed like an ice truck should be.
