Who Bought Those Oshkosh MK-48s???

[Hoefler]

The team needs to pomp up for extraction duty!
Pete

 

[wreckerman893]

I have received word that the extraction team has safely arrived in JAX this afternoon, and are dining on my dime.

We had a feast at a Chinese place......I drank my yearly beer and am dizzy.

The truck we drove down has been delivered and we are chillin at FOB Holiday Inn about 2 miles from the Primary Objective.

Tomorrow will be an exercise in logistics as we have three trucks scheduled to load that will be headed to all points in the US. I also am going to try to check out a truck for another SS buyer while I'm resting.

The three tomorrow are going to Andy1234, Augdog and Hoefler.

I got word today that some of the units are not put together as was advertised by GL....they were putting them together and another mission popped up.

I tried to get on base to do a recon but it is a closed base meaning that even with my military ID I have to be escorted on post. I'm used to this since Anniston Army Depot is the same way.

We are supposed to meet GL guy Luis at the gate tomorrow morning to take care of that. I have been communication with him since last week and he seems to be on the ball.

Here are some pics of the trip so far.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

we had a feast at a chinese place......i drank my yearly beer and am dizzy.

The truck we drove down has been delivered and we are chillin at fob holiday inn about 2 miles from the primary objective.

Tomorrow will be an exercise in logistics as we have three trucks scheduled to load that will be headed to all points in the us. I also am going to try to check out a truck for another ss buyer while i'm resting.

The three tomorrow are going to andy1234, augdog and hoefler.

I got word today that some of the units are not put together as was advertised by gl....they were putting them together and another mission popped up.

I tried to get on base to do a recon but it is a closed base meaning that even with my military id i have to be escorted on post. I'm used to this since anniston army depot is the same way.

We are supposed to meet gl guy luis at the gate tomorrow morning to take care of that. I have been communication with him since last week and he seems to be on the ball.

Here are some pics of the trip so far.

is that elmo in those pics ? ? ?

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

is that elmo in those pics ? ? ?

Please DISREGARD my last transmission..... I found the "Alternate Possum" had already been introduced in the "POSSUM 911" Thread.



Carry on!

 

[Augdog1964]

Huge thanks!

WOW, guys if you haven't had Wreckerman help on a pickup, I can tell you he knows his stuff is most importantly, IS ABOUT HOW STUFF GETS DONE, NOT WHY IT CAN'T BE!

How many times do people say what can't be done... instead of how it can. He is in Jacksonville pickup of our Mk48s today, and despite the pic on GL of my unit being fully assembled, when they showed it was, you guessed it, disassembled.

Wreckerman called, and it was about the issue, but how it was going to get fixed... in no time flat he had it all taken care of and the rear unit attached to my FPU.

Thanks for your help Wreckerman and his helper... they saved the day for me!

 

[wreckerman893]

Welll today was an exercise in logistics as I predicted.

We got one truck shipped today but thanks to the above situation and some issues with two of the inbound trucks it was the only one of the three original ones that shipped.

One trucker is across the street from FOB Holiday Inn and will follow us in tomorrow morning.

Luis, the GL guy on the ground has been great, the gooberment contractors no so much. They did help some by allowing us to move the trucks to an adjacent lot with a loading dock.

They kicked up off the base at 2PM so that limits the hours we have to load....8am-2pm.

No one who bids on these trucks should believe that they are put together. In many cases the power units had been backed up to the trailers but not attached. Often the trailers they were backed up to were not the trailer that sold with that unit.

Most of the trucks have to be slaved off to get started. To couple the unit together you have to back the power unit up till it seats, install the big bolts, hook up the driveshaft and then connect the air lines.....did I mention you have to drain all the air out of the system to do this.....then slave the truck off again to build the air back up.

Getting them on the trucks is easy once you get them put together.

I didin't take pictures because I was busier than a three legged dog at a flea circus and they don't really like people shooting pictures without permission from the military Public Affairs Office.

I may sneak a few tomorrow if I get a chance.

See picture for my opinion of the way the gooberment contractor (not GL) handles these vehicles.

 

[3dAngus]

I aint kidding ya, those are some beautiful goats.

Congrats on the logistics there Richard. You're the right man for the job! Good luck tomorrow. OH, one question:

I was wondering about the bolts the other day. I never saw any in the ads. Were they just on the truck or something. Sure seems like those would be some super heavy duty ones. (Imagine the job if they were not available.)

 

[Hoefler]

Thanks Wreckerman. You are seemingly able to keep a cooler head than me on this sort of fiasco.
Pete

 

[wreckerman893]

I was wondering about the bolts the other day. I never saw any in the ads. Were they just on the truck or something. Sure seems like those would be some super heavy duty ones. (Imagine the job if they were not available.)

So far we seem to be lucky with the bolts.....they're usually stashed in the cab but I have no doubt that Mr. Murphy has been collecting them from the site.......sooner or later we won't be able to borrow from Peter to pay Paul.

I'm going to look for a Fastenall around here to see if they have the same size bolts just in case.

I am considering a return engagement either next week or the week after.....it depends if enough people want to pay me far more than I'm worth.

The heat is kicking my butt but me and Ron are pacing ourselves and doing our best with what we got.

I'm fixing to get off my butt and travel over to Horrorable Fright to get some cheap tools to continue the mission tomorrow.

 

[paradeduty]

you 'da man, richard!.......the "wreckerman"!

 

[73m819]

One more thing, the base does not want the power or compleat units LOADED on standard flat beds, they feel that due to squlley nature of the trucks steering, that a flatbed is to high to be safe, they are letting the DRIVERS load the flatbeds so far, can not say how long that will last, also most trailers will make the load to high. So guys THINK about what trailers you ask for.

You ought to see the face of some of the truckers when they SEE 2 seperete units or the NOT happy look as thay drive a fpu up on to a flatbed

Looks like WM covered everything else, a fun project, the way things look, we may could be busy for a bit.

sorry, no spell check.

 

[camp9]

So they want drop decks? Why are the truckers unhappy?

 

[ZZ4x4]

One more thing, the base does not want the power or compleat units LOADED on standard flat beds, they feel that due to squlley nature of the trucks steering, that a flatbed is to high to be safe, the are letting the DRIVERS load the flatbeds so far, can not say how long that will last, also most trailers will make the load to high. So guys THINK about what trailers you ask for.

You ought to see the face of some of the truckers when they SEE 2 seperete units or the NOT happy look as thay drive a fpu up on to a flatbed

Looks like WM covered everything else, a fun project, the way things look, we may could be busy for a bit.

sorry, no spell check.

Good point on the yaw steering being an issue on a flatbed. In the operators manual for the MK48, it says the yaw steering lock-out rod should be used when transporting this way. The rod should be stored up under the front grill and can be removed and put into position on the yaw pivot. I am using AMAC and they are having a tough time finding a truck for my pick-up this week. Looks like I may not get mine out of there until next week. Hopefully Dr Wreckerman can be convinced to return!!

 

[ZZ4x4]

One more thing... After installing the yaw lock out rod, should probably disable the yaw steering cylinders by moving the lever near the hydraulic reservoir ( right side of rig) to "Aux Hydraulics".

 

[3dAngus]

This would probably be a good time for some of you experienced and/or knowledgeable MK-48 people to upload some tech manuals you know of on the site tech manual section. Looks like the sale of MK-48s and trailers are going to be more regular. Congrats to all winners and buyers.

 

[emmado22]

Seems the only places online that have them want you to pay for them.

 

[Augdog1964]

Releases

Hey since the Mk48s are now being released, could we get a specific section of Steel Soldiers for them?

There should be massive amounts of information starting to come out and be shared with these units hitting the ground.

I'd volunteer to help with that section of the board in whatever capacity deemed fit...

I know we're going to be digging in... and I have the Maintenance TM and Parts TM for the system current.

Just an Idea!

 

[MAJ MALFUNCTION]

Hey since the Mk48s are now being released, could we get a specific section of Steel Soldiers for them?

There should be massive amounts of information starting to come out and be shared with these units hitting the ground.

I'd volunteer to help with that section of the board in whatever capacity deemed fit...

I know we're going to be digging in... and I have the Maintenance TM and Parts TM for the system current.

Just an Idea!

2nd that motion!!!

 

[tokarev]

More info

I am all for the info part - one MK48 is in route and the second will arrive tomorrow.

 

[Augdog1964]

Emotional Homecoming...

An emotional homecoming today....

Ok it was just me jumping around like a 7 year old on Christmas Day!!!

She's home all... special thanks to Wreckerman893 and crew, for getting her on the way... and Andy1234 for arranging all the shipping details...

Also, I've had a LOT of loads, but this shipping company has to be one of the best!

Some pics, so I don't get the dreaded ICONS OF CHASTISEMENT...

Thanks All!

I hope we can get a section on Steel Soldiers for this and the HEMTT!