M275 Towing Pics

[73m819]

In picture number 4, what is that blue wrecker, looks like a WW2 KW from looking at the boom.

 

[cattlerepairman]

This is a good looking rig. How do the mechanics of the trailer work, compared to modern designs (size and capacity aside)?

 

[cphillips]

The truck in picture number four is actually a 1994 International 4700 with a early 1990's Elliot crane/manlift on the back. Elliot makes there cranes what I consider to be very simple but seems to be a time proven strategy that holds up great. You are certainly not the first person to assume the crane is older then it really is, from the cab back the truck looks rather old.

As far as the trailer mechanics it originally was not powered at all. To drop the front you had to use a truck that had longer then usual ramps leading to the fifth wheel. You first unlatched the fifth wheel but left the airlines attached and applied the trolly brake. You then attached a thick steel cable from the gooseneck to the truck and pulled forward. The cable was long enough that the trailer would slide down the ramps till the bottom was resting on the ground. Then you pulled the pins that held the gooseneck to the trailer and undid the lower set of glad-hands and pigtails. Then you pulled the gooseneck back up the ramps by ether a come-along attached to the steel cable or a winch if you were lucky enough to have one of those on your truck.

Obviously this is pretty time consuming so it looks as if 90% of the time my grandfather (the trailers former owner) side-loaded his dozers and other tracked equipment onto it. The sides of the beams are scarred pretty bad from tracks over the years. Everything from D6-D8's were hauled on this trailer. The original truck that towed the trailer was a 1947 International gasser that was traded in for a 1967 International Transtar 4300. I still have the Transtar and intend to restore it one of these days. It has a 855ci cummins and a 13speed. It has wet lines and my grandfathers last project that he left unfinished was adding hydraulics to the trailer.

I am adding a hydraulic ground-bearing cylinder, winch and large hydraulic ramps to the trailer to make dropping the deck easier and loading my antique tractors off the rear possible without dropping the deck. I added a similar vintage wiconsin THD engine that I rebuilt to the trailer to run the hydraulic pump so that any truck, wet-lines or not, can use it. Also the lights are omnivolt LED's so they work on 12-24v.

 

[Dipstick]

They are 11x20 tires and unless my tach is way off it is doing 55 at about 2000-2100rpm. I have verified the speed with a gps and another car. I usually cruise at 2000rpm regardless of what the speedo says just because I feel that is what the engine sounds comfortable at.

That is a neat rig you have there! Must be great to have LDS power! My bobber runs 11R-20 tires and he does about 2,300 rpm at 50 mph. Do the tractors have 6.72 differentials also?

 

[cphillips]

Dipstick, I am not sure what gears my M275 has in it, I have never checked. Maybe somebody on here can speak up if they know whether or not the gears in them were different than a standard deuce would be. To be really exact my standard 2,000rpm cruising speed is in-between 50 and 55, my speedo jumps around some so Id say 2,000 rpm is like 53mph and 2,100rpm is 55.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Gimpyrobb, am I reading this correct, you have run 1100-1200 degrees for many miles? If so, I didn't know any motor would pyro that hot for long pulls and not have problems. What is your water temp showing when you do that?

160-180 usually, it gets hotter when I'm pulling a deuce or 5ton.

 

[Triple C]

160-180 usually, it gets hotter when I'm pulling a deuce or 5ton.

Thanks gimpyrobb, that's good information. The pyro on my 400 big cam and N14 never got that hot (though I am assuming they were properly calibrated!)
That's a lot of temperature differential - 1200 degrees on the head at the exhaust port to under 200 in the block.

 

[steelandcanvas]

Very nice set-up! I'm another one that has a soft spot for 275's. I would to restore one someday.

 

[sandcobra164]

Awesome rig. My truck is also on 11's and I'll take it out for a spin with my GPS and see what the rpm's are on mine. I don't think the M275 had different axles but I agree that the rpm reading's you've observed seem a little low.

 

[cphillips]

That would be great sandcobra, I have often wondered about the tach as it was unhooked when I originally bought the truck but I hooked it back up and it has seemed to work fine ever since. I normally shift at 2,300-2,400 rpm when pulling a load and about 2,200 when bobtailing so I know I'm not running it against the rev-limiter when cruising cause Ive had it revved faster. Bobtailing it will hit 60 at about 2,400 rpm then it stops accelerating. I thought the governor was higher then 2,400 so I guessed it was all the power she had. Next time I take the truck out without the trailer I'll try to make a video of speed versus rpm, its just too much to worry about with the trailer on there.

In response to another question my water temps are 160-180. 180 is when I'm pulling something heavy, its really hot out or I'm going slow at high revs around the farm. The egt's will go past 1200 if I let them but I always try to keep it below that. Unless I hear different I'm assuming 1000-1100 pre-turbo sustained is ok. I run 950-1000 all day long in my powerstroke pickup but I know the engine is a much newer design. I have a jeep comanchee with a transplanted Mercedes 300D engine (OM617) that I have supped up that runs 1250-1300 on a hard acceleration and cruises about the same as the deuce.

 

[cattlerepairman]

As far as the trailer mechanics it originally was not powered at all. To drop the front you had to use a truck that had longer then usual ramps leading to the fifth wheel. You first unlatched the fifth wheel but left the airlines attached and applied the trolly brake. You then attached a thick steel cable from the gooseneck to the truck and pulled forward. The cable was long enough that the trailer would slide down the ramps till the bottom was resting on the ground. Then you pulled the pins that held the gooseneck to the trailer and undid the lower set of glad-hands and pigtails. Then you pulled the gooseneck back up the ramps by ether a come-along attached to the steel cable or a winch if you were lucky enough to have one of those on your truck.

Obviously this is pretty time consuming

I'd say! Also a lot can go wrong if you do not pay attention to each step. I can see why they did not bother and just side-loaded, despite being hard on the trailer.

 

[cphillips]

The other thing my grandfather mentioned was if there was a crane or excavator around they unhitched the trailer from the truck then pulled the gooseneck off with the crane or excavator. This only worked unloaded though due to the weight of the trailer when loaded with a dozer.

 

[Dipstick]

Dipstick, I am not sure what gears my M275 has in it, I have never checked. Maybe somebody on here can speak up if they know whether or not the gears in them were different than a standard deuce would be. To be really exact my standard 2,000rpm cruising speed is in-between 50 and 55, my speedo jumps around some so Id say 2,000 rpm is like 53mph and 2,100rpm is 55.

Thanks for your reply! As a note, I've observed, that when my tach and speedo needles were jumping around, it was just before they failed. I've since replaced both cables and my tach and speedo both operate smoothly and accurately.

 

[wreckerman893]

55 mph @2000 rpm? Are you sure?

I used my M275 on a couple of trailer recoveries from Redstone. On flat ground with a step deck van trailer I had the speedo buried. That tractor ran like a striped arsed ape. I have an LDS engine and a set of 1100x20's for it but with all the projects I have going I don't have time (or shop) to work on it. I have it in the classifieds.

 

[Dipstick]

I used my M275 on a couple of trailer recoveries from Redstone. On flat ground with a step deck van trailer I had the speedo buried. That tractor ran like a striped arsed ape. I have an LDS engine and a set of 1100x20's for it but with all the projects I have going I don't have time (or shop) to work on it. I have it in the classifieds.

Wrecker...don't give up on that LDS! You'll get it in one day! Horsepower and torque are good. My 11R-20s have treads that would put most earth movers to shame, but they ride smooth as heck on the highway. An LDS powered M275 on 11Rs would be fantastic!

 

[BKubu]

Here is a pic of my old M275A2. This truck eventually made its way to Kenny (RECOVERY4X4), too. This was a sweet running truck. I have never before heard a deuce scream like this one did. It was a whistler's whistler! The pic shows it as a non-turbo; John Winslow did the conversion for me (I bought the truck from him).

 

[sandcobra164]

That would be great sandcobra, I have often wondered about the tach as it was unhooked when I originally bought the truck but I hooked it back up and it has seemed to work fine ever since. I normally shift at 2,300-2,400 rpm when pulling a load and about 2,200 when bobtailing so I know I'm not running it against the rev-limiter when cruising cause Ive had it revved faster. Bobtailing it will hit 60 at about 2,400 rpm then it stops accelerating. I thought the governor was higher then 2,400 so I guessed it was all the power she had. Next time I take the truck out without the trailer I'll try to make a video of speed versus rpm, its just too much to worry about with the trailer on there.


Sir, my results are 1st gear, 2,650 (governor backing away and pretty much what the tach was reading) 9.5 mph, 2nd, 17 mph, 3rd, 29 mph, 4th, 45 mph, 5th, 59 to 60 mph, GPS kept going back and forth so somewhat on the bubble of those two. I don't have a smartphone so I don't have pictures but I did swipe my wife's Garmin for a little while to ensure I didn't have faulty ground speed readings. At 55 mph in 5th I was turning roughly 2,400 rpm, at 45 mph in 5th, I was turning roughly 2,100 rpm and this is where my truck is happiest and that's where I run it for the most part. My truck sits on 11R20 Firestone T831's and they have less than 3,000 miles on them since installed so they are in no way worn down. Respectfully.

 

[cphillips]

Thanks for the great information sandcobra! Looks like my tach is probably low by about 300rpm, maybe a little less. My truck will free-rev to right around 2,600 on the tach so I think my tach might just be hanging up in the 2,000-2,500 range. Either way I know to add a little to what the tach says from now on. I will still probably cruise around what my tach says in 2,000 because the engine seems to like it and not lug too much especially when towing something.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Thanks Bruce. I did have the luxury of having one of the nicest M275A2 tractors around. It certainly was a screamer amongst whistlers.