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Attention!! Please use caution when driving vehicles home from auction!

vtdeucedriver

Well-known member
2,523
38
48
Location
Vermont
Great thread. I remember someone not long ago on here posted pics towing a M105 with the hitch open and no safety chains attached cause the shackels were missing on the truck............I could not believe it.

One more note............................For god sake, keep the stupid crap of YOUTUBE too!!!
 

TigerHawk

New member
79
0
0
Location
Small Town USA
Level headed advice!

This is good advice! Being a Volunteer Firefighter and an EMT, you can't imagine this things we see. You may be excited when recovering a vehicle and have good intentions. However, your life can change in a moment! Could you live with yourself having known you caused an accident that had fatal effects? We see many lives ruined over just a moment of stupidity.

Please don't let it be yours!

TigerHawk




I think the post served it's purpose.
Some fellers seem just hell bent to overload trailers, disregard safety concerns and even drive MV's without insurance.
As somewhat stated above...individual actions/risks may effect us all in the hobby.

If we can't afford to do it right...let's just save up and wait until we can. As stated...once that tragic accident happens...the person on the ground will feel the immediate effects...but we will all feel the after shock!

It really ticks me off to read on the forum...or anywhere else about an SS troop taking crazy risks/chances that may effect us all...so please...if ya can't do it right and safely...leave it alone until ya can.

PS...If ya do something stupid...and get by with it...please don't brag about it here...others may try and not be so lucky!
:soapbox:
 

conductorx

New member
123
1
0
Location
Reserve, LA
I don't really see a problem with no tags, but if you are driving home an unsafe truck, or a truck with no insurance, you are an idiot. There is no excuse for those two, none at all.
I am probably talking out of my hat. I recover VWs all the time I know it is a big difference from picking up a deuce.

As to driving without tags, it is common in Louisiana to travel without tags to get a vehicle home. It is allowed as long as you can prove,

A. I just bought it.
B. It has insurance.
C. I have all the paper work to prove A & B.
D. Lights, brakes, tires and mechanicals are in order.
(cruising down the interstate with a flat or junk hanging off is not allowable)

Just my two pennys worth,
Gary
 

USAFSS-ColdWarrior

Chaplain
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
18,469
5,476
113
Location
San Angelo, Tom Green County, Texas USA
"Safety First"... We've all seen this slogan in our workplaces, work vehicles on the public roadways and, well, EVERYWHERE! It only stand to reason that it should be FIRST here.

Dear Chris (and other Moderators),
Would it be possible, in some way, to make this thread MANDATORY READING for new members? Maybe at least have it Auto-Emailed to the new members mailbox?

Just my first thoughts following my first read of this wonderful thread.

Roll-On SteelSoldiers:driver:....Safely, PLEASE:!:....................................:jumpin:
 

Jones

Well-known member
2,237
83
48
Location
Sacramento, California
Accidents do happen and they're the ones to post in a effort to get the word out so that someone else doesn't find themselves in the same hot spot.

Accidents due to; inattention to detail, being over-confident, under-smart, in too much of a rush... they're not the ones to be proud of.
For those who say "Aww, that'll never happen to me"-- put your wife and kids in the front seat with you and say that same line over again. Are you still willing to take a chance?

Second point; While any MV is a rolling billboard for enthusiasts, it's also a rolling red flag for those who want to take us off the road-- why give the bad guys any advantage at all?

Lastly; Chris and the mods have, and do, put in long hours to make the site what it is.
Getting in a wreck, hurting yourself... well that's the price you pay.
But nothing gives a careless operator the right to make Chris, or the site members, or any innocent bystanders have to pay for that operator's screw-ups.
 

conductorx

New member
123
1
0
Location
Reserve, LA
Accidents due to; inattention to detail, being over-confident, under-smart, in too much of a rush... they're not the ones to be proud of.
For those who say "Aww, that'll never happen to me"-- put your wife and kids in the front seat with you and say that same line over again. Are you still willing to take a chance?
I can testify to that fact. In 2006 I fell off of my roof for those exact same reasons listed above. In spite of a perfect safety record for over 25 years of working in chemical plants, refineries and 9 years at NASA I forgot the rules. I spent 12 weeks out of work, 4 of those in a wheel chair, 4 more weeks on crutches and I still have a limp.

Heed the advice given here. I have never bid on a deuce or larger truck simply for the reasons stated by the moderator at the begining of this thread.

Take care guys and hope to see you all safely on the highway.
Gary
 

Amer-team

Well-known member
1,706
28
48
Location
Centralia/WA
M54 recovery

How about a story where it went right, even though it should have gone wrong. I picked up an M54 w/w from a city auction. We recovered it on a cold day in March. Assisting in this was a retired 1st Sgt. of Artillery. He was expericenced on this type truck.

Chalked on the front bumper was, No Brakes. We looked at all the bodily fluids including the master cylinder and all seemed to be in good order. With a little coaxing, it was in March and cold, the multifuel started. They had disconnected the air alarm, but the gauge built pressure. We bled the tank which had quite a bit of water in it. Let it warm for a bit and decided to move it, pulled it ahead and it stopped, pulled ahead and it stopped. Drove a bit more and it stopped, so we decided to chance a drive of about 7 miles on low volumn back roads.

Went slowly and had no brake problems. Got home and called on the city mechanic to ask about the brake situation, where he informed me there was nothing wrong with the brakes as they had just put about $2700 in brakes and bearings. I paid considerably less than that for the truck and a couple of guys I talked to did not bid because of the message on the bumper.

As a friend tells me, "it is a good thing that you don't have to be good looking to be lucky"
 

Amer-team

Well-known member
1,706
28
48
Location
Centralia/WA
M54 recovery post script

As a post script to this saga, this truck developed a persistent leak of the left front wheel cylinder. After reading many threads on SS it seemed we had better get to looking at it.

Took the wheel and brake drum off. The brakes and bearings looked great, but the wheel cylinder had moisture in it that caused it to rust up and interfere with the piston rubbers and caused the leak. With a little cleaning this issue was resolved and the cylinder was reassembled. One tip from an old mechanic here in town was to use brake cycliner assembly fluid. It is a lubricant. I used per his instructions and it seems pretty good. Others will say to use a bit of brake fluid to lube with. He told me that the lube would stay longer in the places that are not contacted by brake fluid.

Another issue with this truck is that they had changed the DOT 5 to DOT 3. There is a sticker on the dash that says DOT 5 only. After reading many threads and internet sites on this issue, have to beleive that this was a contributing factor to moisture in the system. So after cleaning both front wheel cylinders, flushed the system with DOT 5 before putting the brake lines back on the newly cleaned cylinders, then reattached the lines. Figured it was better to sacrifice a bit of DOT 5 rather than running contaminated DOT3 throught the newly cleaned cylinders.
 

Milbikes

New member
260
0
0
Location
CT
Why I am glad it was trailered.

My new to me M1008 sounded good, drove around the block nicely...But I paid extra to have it trailered the 125 miles to my house. Good thing! On my first drive over a mile, it started leaking coolant at a fairly fast rate. It turned out to be a simple fix, but If I was part way home, stuck on the side of the road, overheated, with no tags or insurance, and the law stopped to check me out, things would have gotten a lot more expensive than the delivery was! Trailering....because you just never know!
 

cjtroutt

CW2 26 BDE HHC S6
Steel Soldiers Supporter
756
4
18
Location
C.G. JMTC MICHIGAN
When in dout use common sence It will be there for you Every time i drive any car or truck Semi or My MVS I per form PMCS my 2006 Chevy pickup had problem last week ABS sensor on both front wheel went bad this truck has 22,043 miles on it only driven a few times in the winter all my truck & cars & MVS get power washed when I get home to make them last.:driver: PMCS SAFETY IS THE FIRST CHOICE.
 

Stan Leschert

New member
1,662
90
0
Location
North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Sense is NOT common. If you get lucky enough to get a new find, please take the time to get it off site, and preform a very detailed pretrip inspection. If anything fails, store it or have it hauled. Tow bar it if feasible.

Remember, you just threw a good chunk of you bank account at a dream. If you screw up in anyway, three things are quite possible:
1) You wreck your truck.
2) You kill a civvie.
3) You remove yourself permanently from the Big Green Accumulation hobby!


.... or just maybe the Good Lord will look out for Fools, Sailors, Drunks, and people whose luck has not yet run out.


The Boy Scouts have a moto which seems appropriate, "Always Be Prepared!"
 

WPNS421

New member
441
3
0
Location
Cantley Quebec
Some of the M105 recoverys I've read about here are pretty scary. Two stacked on top towed by a small truck or the guy who towed two behind and steadied them with cargo straps. Classic.........................
Worse I've seen 5 trailers on a trailer built for 2 going from Ft Drum to the east coast.
 

Brentzilla

Member
172
0
16
Location
Greenville, NC
I still have to learn how to drive my Deuce... Ive only driven stick a few times but Ill take it to parking lots and such at first. I still gotta learn a bunch, Ive never messed with a truck this big or anything off road capable[thumbzup]
 
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