5 ton wrecker crane and winch in a deuce?

[TexAndy]

I know this sounds crazy, but has anyone ever swapped an 816 wrecker bed, with crane and winch, onto a deuce?

Is it even doable? How hard would it be? How much does all that stuff weigh? Would it make the deuce overly top heavy? Would the deuce even be able to handle the weight and still have enough carrying capacity to actually lift anything?

I realize you'd probably want to swap out the ldt-465 for the nhc-250, too just so it would have enough power to operate the crane and winch... and I really don't even know if the nhc-250 will fit in a deuce. Or if I'd have to swap both the transfer case and transmission along with it.

This is from the standpoint of someone who just won an M816 and is starting to realize what a headache is involved with the legalities of owning something in CDL/DOT weight territory.

I would just say "screw it" drive it around town the *maybe* half dozen times a year I'd planned to without the proper license/registration, but I'm either getting older and wiser or just spineless... but a wrecker strikes me as the kind of military vehicle the local txdot agents would stop and demand papers on when they saw it. I try to avoid those kinds of road use taxes as they're usually a bit stiffer than the ones you pay at the pump or registration office.

Anyone got a spare title to a parted out M108 laying around?

 

[wreckerman893]

The 816 has a very heavy duty reinforced frame.....double I think.

It also has huge rear springs to carry the weight.....not only the weight of the wrecker body itself but what ever you hook to also.

The 250 will not swap into a deuce....too heavy and too big and the front suspension would never hold it.

There is also several systems involved in operating the crane, PTO's, air and hydrolic.

Even if you managed to do the swap the weight would still throw you into the CDL requirement.

Getting a CDL it not hard.....the biggest issue most folks have is getting a truck to take the road test in.

If you tag and insure it as a farm truck you will save a lot of money.....but you may not be able to tow anything on the road with
it.........that was a stipulation with my Progressive policy....go figure.

One of the reasons I sold my 816 was it was eating my lunch and I was not making any return on my investment....that and the
engine was FUBAR.

As a former member of the wrecker club I wish you the best with it.

 

[TexAndy]

That's the thing. The license is not what's bugging me. If nothing else, I'll do the personal use ag exemption and just get a class B Non-CDL. I really don't want to get a Texas CDL because if I ever get a ticket, even driving my Chrysler, I will be UNELIGIBLE to take defensive driving to get it dismissed.

What I foresee problems with is having to get commercial insurance... for a truck I won't be able to charge anyone anything for using or even plan to take outside the front gate more than once every other month... IF THAT. That's the real bummer.

I wonder if the average cop would believe a deuce data plate in a M-816...

 

[doghead]

Sounds like you bought without thinking the whole thing through. Pay the price or sell the truck. At least have proper insurance on it, if you drive off your own property.

 

[TexAndy]

Sounds like you bought without thinking the whole thing through. Pay the price or sell the truck. At least have proper insurance on it, if you drive off your own property.

I still don't know what the actual facts are regarding insurance. some people are telling me you have to have a commercial policy of $750k liability regardless of how it's used. Others tell me, no, that's just if you drive it for commercial purposes on a regular CDL. 75% of my frustration is from the asinine complexity level of the law. I can't even get the same answer from the four different people with Tx CDLs I've asked. What is the proper insurance on a 36,000 pound wrecker registered as a Former Military Vehicle driven on a Class B non-CDL issued as an agricultural exemption? Would I need expensive commercial insurance on an RV in Texas? Those are exempted from having to get a real CDL to drive in the same section of the law the ag exemption is found. eta: Ok, I guess the board doesn't like paragraph breaks. I've tried fixing it, but the paragraphs won't stay put.

 

[nhdiesel]

I priced commercial ins. here in NH a few years ago, and found it to be insanely high. For comparison, my Deuce costs me under $200/yr for liability. Our Durango is a little over $300/year. Commercial liability for a 1987 12,600 lb. rollback truck was going to be a bit over $6000/yr. I ended up registering the truck in my name and only hauling my personal vehicles. In my small town I would never have done enough towing to make it worth $6k a year.

Jim

 

[EMD567]

Isn't the M816 set up to tow just military vehicles. All of the wreckers used to tow "normal" cars and trucks are designed to tow from the wheels, with hyd. lifts. Bumpers on todays cars are a joke to lift with, as are 90% of the front bumpers on todays highway tractors. I know an M816 could just about pull anything out of a mudhole, but as far as towing- forget it with todays cars and trucks.
Bout' the only thing an M816 is good for is to ride around in, show off, and pick up Gimpyrobb when he rolls the deuce at Haspin.

 

[Recovry4x4]

First you need to define what you want it to do. Suppose tags and insurance was $1.98, what would you be doing with the truck. They suck for towing. Although they are cool to lift with, there are other avenues to take. Some of your headaches are the reason I have an M108. I think moving the M816 and putting a knuckle boom on a deuce gives one just about everything they need in a small package. Find something else to tow with.

 

[papercu]

This is from the standpoint of someone who just won an M816 and is starting to realize what a headache is

Did you win the Texas lottery? Wayne

 

[Floridianson]

Bout' the only thing an M816 is good for is to ride around in, show off, and pick up Gimpyrobb when he rolls the deuce at Haspin.

And change out a B24 engine

 

[jwaller]

simply putting the bed of an 816 on the back of a deuce would overload it and would look so silly you'd be ashamed to drive it.

 

[wreckerman893]

simply putting the bed of an 816 on the back of a deuce would overload it and would look so silly you'd be ashamed to drive it.

And it would be difficult to steer with the front wheels in the air.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Such negative waves! Our mechanical genius, Moriarty, can install that bed in no time and all you need is a second turbo!

 

[TexAndy]

well, this begs the question... is the crane/winch assembly from a M-108 wrecker different from that of an M-816 wrecker?

 

[123mack]

I had my M123 insured with Gulfway. After I sold it to Dirt71 earlier this year, I got a M816 out of Readstone from GL. I called up Gulfway, said I had sold the M123 and need to insure a new truck. I gave them the info they needed, along with photos. I had the insurance card in hand in less than a week. Can't recall the exact cost right now, but it's about 250.00 a year.

 

[Westex]

You need a bigger boat.

 

[Capt.Marion]

Definitely. (Yes the m108 is an entirely different beast from the 816)

 

[TexAndy]

I had my M123 insured with Gulfway. After I sold it to Dirt71 earlier this year, I got a M816 out of Readstone from GL. I called up Gulfway, said I had sold the M123 and need to insure a new truck. I gave them the info they needed, along with photos. I had the insurance card in hand in less than a week. Can't recall the exact cost right now, but it's about 250.00 a year.

wow, not bad. What's the liability limit?

 

[hndrsonj]

well, this begs the question... is the crane/winch assembly from a M-108 wrecker different from that of an M-816 wrecker?

Is anyone reading the manuals anymore?

 

[sirmrtow]

as far as your class b cdl thats ok to drive the truck with ,but to tow anything with it you need a class A because its a combo vech.