Help with ideas for picking up my newly purchased M923a2

[bricksrkids]

I bought an M923 in northern Michigan (Boyne City) and I live in Georgia.

1.) I've put out for bids on the shipping site, but the price is pretty high compared to what I paid for the truck.

2.) Flying into Boyne City is not possible. The closest airport is Traverse City (60 miles).

3.) Flying into Traverse City, renting a car and dropping off a car is not possible. Boyne City is too small to have a rental company willing to pick up the rental. I called them all.

4.) I have a mid size SUV and Jeep JK Unlimited I could drive up to Michigan, but how would I tow my car back? This is the BEST idea, if I could figure out a way to tow one of my cars behind the M923.

Any ideas of how to tow one of my cars?

Thanks!

 

[Alexsha]

Well, you could always pick up a set of tow bars for the 923 and flat tow one of your vehicles. I just had an M923A2 delivered from AZ and that's what the seller did. Towed up his Dodge pickup and drove back.

You could find tow bars in the classifieds here, craigslist, GL, etc.

 

[Warthog]

Too many unknowns. Not to be a smartypants, but did you figure out your recovery plan before you bought the truck?

What is your skill set in driving a 20,000+ lb truck? If you breakdown what are your mechanical skills?

Many companies make towbars for a jeep. You just need one with a lunette hitch instead of a ball hitch.

A fellow member loaded his Corvette in the back of his Deuce and drove from Seattle to Oklahoma. He had a bunch of tools with him for any breakdown.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?72382-The-Epic-Separation

A loading dock of even a towing company can help load the Jeep in the back of the truck.

 

[Scar59]

The Jeep may fit in the bed of the 923. Just need a dock or the right hill/embankment. Can the seller pick you up in Traverse City, not to big of an inconvenience.

 

[bricksrkids]

Too many unknowns. Not to be a smartypants, but did you figure out your recovery plan before you bought the truck?

What is your skill set in driving a 20,000+ lb truck? If you breakdown what are your mechanical skills?

Many companies make towbars for a jeep. You just need one with a lunette hitch instead of a ball hitch.

A fellow member loaded his Corvette in the back of his Deuce and drove from Seattle to Oklahoma. He had a bunch of tools with him for any breakdown.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?72382-The-Epic-Separation

A loading dock of even a towing company can help load the Jeep in the back of the truck.

No plan before buying!!! Got a last minute deal.

Drove bigger trucks for a living many years ago. No longer have CDL, but could pass the test in one try. I've built a couple of Cobra replias from scratch, so I might be able to turn a wrench. But on the road with something this big, I may not have all the tools needed.

I like your idea of loading the Jeep in the back of the truck and hauling it back that way.

Tahnks

 

[bricksrkids]

The Jeep may fit in the bed of the 923. Just need a dock or the right hill/embankment. Can the seller pick you up in Traverse City, not to big of an inconvenience.

The seller is in a different state and the truck is being stored at a friends. The friend is pretty busy so I'm not going to bother him to see if he'll drive 2.5 hours (both ways)

Any idea how tall the bed is of the M923? I'm concerned about the height of my Jeep inside the bed. My jeep is 6' 8" tall.

Thanks

 

[swbradley1]

If you are going to drive it one way or another you want to tow the other vehicle. If you break down somewhere you can disconnect and go get whatever.

Let us know when the recovery is so we can prepare along I75.

 

[bricksrkids]

If you are going to drive it one way or another you want to tow the other vehicle. If you break down somewhere you can disconnect and go get whatever.

Let us know when the recovery is so we can prepare along I75.

Thanks, I think that would be good. I'm looking for a tow bar to put on my 2011 Jeep. I may just go ahead and load the Jeep if I can find a flatbed in Boyne City. Since I-75 is so busy and I have family posted about every 200 miles, I don't think getting stuck on the road would be that bad until another flat bed came to unload my Jeep or wait for family to come help.

I think my trip back will begin on this coming Saturday. I'll post my trip plans once they are final. I will be on I-75 99% of the time.

 

[Warthog]

If it works with a M818 it will work with a M923

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?33548-Got-it-home-!!

 

[VPed]

Bed is just under 5 foot high.

 

[eaw46]

You can get a cheap tow bar that will just handle the jeep for less than a $100 bucks from Tractor Supply or Harbour freight and put a pintel on it or get a real MV tow hook for about $300 that will do much more. Make sure the truck is in shape for the trip, no point in doing damage to it on the trip home if its not ready or having to pay big bucks for an emergency tow. Be legal have proper insurance and licence. Proper preparation will pay you more in the end. Eddy

 

[porkysplace]

There are a couple members in the Boyne City area , citizensoldier , MatthewH and AndrewH and a couple more in the area.
Maybe one of them could look it over to see if it's up for the trip and maybe assist at the airport or have a idea how to .

 

[maxtor]

Sometimes having to pay a shipper to bring your M923 home can be cheaper, plus less stress on you.

 

[bricksrkids]

How do you put the correct tow hook on a Harbour Freight tow bar? That would be great!

You can get a cheap tow bar that will just handle the jeep for less than a $100 bucks from Tractor Supply or Harbour freight and put a pintel on it or get a real MV tow hook for about $300 that will do much more. Make sure the truck is in shape for the trip, no point in doing damage to it on the trip home if its not ready or having to pay big bucks for an emergency tow. Be legal have proper insurance and licence. Proper preparation will pay you more in the end. Eddy

 

[bricksrkids]

There are a couple members in the Boyne City area , citizensoldier , MatthewH and AndrewH and a couple more in the area.
Maybe one of them could look it over to see if it's up for the trip and maybe assist at the airport or have a idea how to .

Thanks. I'll send them a PM.

 

[hndrsonj]

You could also add a standard receiver hitch instead of converting the towbar to a pintle hitch.

 

[bricksrkids]

You could also add a standard receiver hitch instead of converting the towbar to a pintle hitch.

Is that something that could be done quick enough without any power tools?

thanks

bill

 

[porkysplace]

You may want to look into flying into Flint Mi renting a car there and returning it there . It is about 4 hours or so to Boyne City from Flint but you might make up the cost of a rental in lower ticket prices on the plane fare . Flint has some cheap flights from Atlanta , Traverse City is tourist town with high rates.

 

[98G]

If you're going the towbar route, save yourself trouble in the long run and get a military towbar because it's a certainty you'll want one at some point.

With a military towbar you now have 2 obstacles. The first is getting the towbar connected to your jeep. My suggestion is to use a 1" clevis. That gives you feet compatibility with the 5ton. See above pic.

The 2nd obstacle is lighting. You need 24v tow lights .

I know for a fact a jeep will fit in the bed of a 5ton. Given a nice drainage ditch or berm you can load and unload easily. Sounds like you'll still be under the legal max height....

 

[Warthog]

This might work.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?127495-Road-master-stow-master-pintle-hitch-tow-bar