GL M109A3 tranny carnage experience w/pics

[Katahdin]

Background: I won a M109A3 last Oct 1st at GL auction. The truck was advertised as "Truck Did Start" then inspected and started by my brother on base at Ft. Campbell. It looked in decent "drivable" condition before the auction.

Fast Forward to the week before Xmas when the EUC cleared and Eric Carlson from Hotshot was enroute from NC to pick it up. My brother shows up at GL with Xmas presents to throw in the back for the trip to Maine. GL escorts him to "my truck"

The 109A3 now has two flat tires. The batteries are missing. My brother is on the cell phone with me as he approaches and describes "my truck" to me. He climbs into the cab is shocked to find the floor ripped up, the shifter is hanging lifelessly. He can see gears through the floor. He says it looks like somebody did a strategic strike to steel parts from "my transmission." We panic, my brother says there's no way we're driving this truck on/off the trailer which also kills my plan to unload it a mile from my house for delivery. Panicking we end the call so my brother can find the GL manager and I call Eric to waive off the pickup.

As I'm on the phone with Eric my brother calls me laughing. GL showed him to the wrong D@mn truck!!! Needless to say my actual truck was fine and Eric got it to Maine just fine.

I can laugh about this now but the experience still bewilders me. What would do this to a deuce transmission? I've attached photos I found when the damaged 109A3 came up for auction. Any idea what happened here?

 

[frodobaggins]

Wow.

 

[Chief_919]

Typical Government Liquidation story.

They destroyed the truck with a forklift.

Then they tried to give you the wrong truck.

 

[319]

Or could the trans have self destructed and pushed the cover upwards in the process?

 

[doghead]

Fork lift damage, in my opinion.

 

[Chief_919]

Or could the trans have self destructed and pushed the cover upwards in the process?

No way.

That is 100% forklift mangled.

 

[shootiniron]

Some of the GL locations have some real ape's working there.

 

[kipman]

Fork lift damage, GL in some areas could care less, we all know that, see it first hand to many times.

 

[combat32]

I could fix that, did it go cheap?

 

[Chief_919]

Fork lift damage, GL in some areas could care less, we all know that, see it first hand to many times.

It really is sad.

Sad first because the damge is 100% preventable. It is 100% the result of either lazy Government Liquidation employees not willing to take the 3 extra minutes to do it right or Government Liquidation employees using equipment like forklifts they are not qualified and/or trained to use, in which case the blame lies with management.

Sad second because if a Soldier did that same damage when loading or unloading a vehicle, they would get a statement of charges and the cost of repairs be taken from their paycheck. But evidently Government Liquidation employees have free reign to go about damaging government property with zero repercussions.

And who loses when they do their damage? We, the taxpayers. Damage like this means that the truck sells for less, so the taxpayers get less money when it does sell. It is like the Government Liquidation employees poke a hole in everyone’s wallet with the forklift (or at least the 55% of us who pay taxes) every time they do this.

 

[OPCOM]

more prettier

 

[whyme]

i just cant see it. unless there is somthing im not seeing, how would the forklift have gotten to the transmission? unless the truck was dropped onto something. i don't meant to seem argumentative, far from, i just cant picture how this happened.

 

[Chief_919]

i just cant see it. unless there is somthing im not seeing, how would the forklift have gotten to the transmission? unless the truck was dropped onto something. i don't meant to seem argumentative, far from, i just cant picture how this happened.

Lift from underneath, don't go far enough under, and the ends of the forks lift on the transmission instead of the far frame rail.

The transmission would be holding half the weight of the truck- and quickly fail.

 

[heavy]

I have seen GL sites (Fort Riley, KS) pick up CUCV's with a fork lift and bend both drive shafts to about 45 degree angles. Not to worry. Now they dont have a fork lift at all and apparently will not assist with load outs. Although they did help a driver I sent to get two Deuces by pull starting one.

I also recently saw a Deuce and a 5TON unloaded off a flat bed trailer at a port with a BIG forklift. The operator was very carefull but I could not believe it.

 

[Blood_of_Tyrants]

The unit probably just turned it in that way.