wrecker need to know

[Welder Sam]

Howdy. I'll be in the market soon for a 5 ton wrecker and i'd appreciate it if you all would tell me the "NEED TO KNOWS" of them. Im interested mainly in 543's, 816's, and 936's. Recommendations and pointing me in a direction is also welcome.

Thanks fellas

 

[gimpyrobb]

Same as any other truck.
When it comes to the BII stuff, if it has it with it, it can double the selling price.

 

[wreckerman893]

They are money pits....very cool money pits.......but money pits never the less.

Unless you can write them off as a business expense you will prob never break even.

My big issue was insurance.......$750.00 a year and I could not tow anything with it (my stuff or anyone elses).

Military wreckers were used more for the boom than the wrecker capability (in my experience).

I was in an Armor unit in Korea and they used the M816 mostly to pull engine packs....if they wanted to tow something big they called the unit down the street that had a HEMMT wrecker.

 

[Derrickl112]

Check the boom for hydraulic leaks! Mine has several that i need to fix....eventually...

 

[Welder Sam]

BII stuff? Im green when it comes to these. Not the right green either.

Itll likely never get tagged or insured. Off road only, aka yard/farm use.

Leaks and such are natural right?

Was the unit "down the street" an engineering unit in sonjourie(sp i know)?

 

[Derrickl112]

BII stuff? Im green when it comes to these. Not the right green either

Basic Issue Items???

 

[wreckerman893]

BII...Basic Issue Items... hand tools, snatch blocks, chains, towbars, spades, welding equipment, etc...a wrecker is issued with a couple of thousand bucks worth of equipment on it.

 

[Castle Bravo]

BII stuff? Im green when it comes to these. Not the right green either

BII = Basic Issue Items. The stuff that the truck is supposed to be issued with. Tools, etc.

 

[Andy1234]

Bring your wallet.

Andy

 

[gimpyrobb]

Yup, basic issue items. Cutting torch sets, tow bar sets, vices, tools, tackle blocks, etc,etc,etc.

 

[Derrickl112]

BII...Basic Issue Items... hand tools, snatch blocks, chains, towbars, spades, welding equipment, etc...a wrecker is issued with a couple of thousand bucks worth of equipment on it.

BII = Basic Issue Items. The stuff that the truck is supposed to be issued with. Tools, etc.

I win

 

[Welder Sam]

No. Derrick, i win. Cuz i lernt sumptin new.

 

[Derrickl112]

No. Derrick, i win. Cuz i lernt sumptin new.

so did I! i had to google it to figure out the answer!

 

[Welder Sam]

Awesome! The more that gain from this, the better!

 

[Floridianson]

Love mine just for the cool factor. I have recovered with it and they are underpowered but will get the job done. I have a 400BC I will put in one and thinking about my Cummins turbo 240 formula turned up to 300 with a nonoverdrive transmission in the outher. I say get one but what do I know

 

[gimpyrobb]

The 45,000lbs winch on the back with3/4 wire cable is certainly formidable. I know someone that needs one to do a recovery Sunday, but doesn't have one on his wrecker. It will be interesting to see how his recovery of a 55klbs crane in the water goes.

 

[LanceRobson]

Look in the back of the -10 TM and you will find the loooong list of BII items. Darn few of them ever surface at MV shows and you could spend a long time hunting down the whiffletrees, boom braces, snatch blocks etc.

Inspect, inspect, inspect... You can drop a lot of dollars, time and frustration into a unit that has numerous leaks. None of the hoses are inexpensive to replace.

As already stated most units were used for the crane far more than for towing and so they tend to be high hour units in relation to the miles. Installing bypass coolant and oil filters are good ideas as is a radiator cover to help the engine warm up. Even running at high idle the cooling system is so big that the engine never really gets hot and the engine will be much happier running at 160 degrees or more. You can use the canvas radiator cover or cut a 20x20" piece of 1/4" plywood and drop it into the lip around the front of the radiator. You'll figure it out if you look. Don't leave the cover in place when you drive.

Do your best to determine what condition the winch and hoist cables are in since they would be pretty xpensive to replace.

Lance

 

[Recovry4x4]

By far the most complicated vehicle of their respected series. They have more U-Joints that NAPA.

 

[1958 M274]

By far the most complicated vehicle of their respected series. They have more U-Joints that NAPA.

He's not kidding! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emfgTfqo2d4[/media]

 

[73m819]

Get a m819 (tractor/wrecker) mount a 900 5t hyd. drive winch in the frame UNDER the fifth wheel, you will have the best of both worlds, longer frame helps it tow better, longer boom (26') and can pull a NICE long neck lowbed like a old 35t/50t lacross