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Just won a 5 ton in Barstow. Who's can give me some pointers for picking it up?

DUG

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Is Barstow still a drive off lot or does it need to be towed off?
 

philofab

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unclemikey

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Barstow is a drive off. Good to deal with these days. Be sure you first stop at the gate office to fill out some pass forms, about 15 to 20 min. I watched Barstow close today and there was a lot of really good deals, you my friend were right at the top of them. Nice going. Nice Truck!
 

MWMULES

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It takes that long huh? I was worried I did it wrong.

And if CC payment you will get a link to the paid in full invoice later in the afternoon. If you are worried log into gl go to your account and check your bid history, it will state if your were high bidder or not.
 

DUG

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It takes that long huh? I was worried I did it wrong.



I'd rather drive it off but if not I'll have to build a quick tow bar and drag it behind my Dodge. Anyone local to Barstow/Daggett that wants to help?
They aren't concerned with what you would rather do. Many base commanders realize that these trucks haven't always been run in years, are not tagged and few people bother with insurance before pick up. Sprinkle in a few accidents and near misses and many places require it be PROPERLY towed off the base.

Ideas of towing a 5 ton truck with a homemade towbar behind a Dodge are exactly the reason these restrictions have come about.
 

Karl kostman

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Congrats on the 5 ton and welcome to the group! If you are allowed to drive it off there are a few things to look at are going to be the following. The truck may or may not start, and they may or may not give you a jump, keep that in mind! Lets say the truck will start, first BEFORE you do anything check to make sure its got oil in the engine at least enough to get it off post, if the oil is OK then get the truck running. After the engine starts and before it gets warm check the overflow tank for coolant, be prepared to add some, I would have at least a few gallons ready. After it starts keep an eye on the oil pressure, just make sure it has some, you should see good oil pressure within 30 seconds of the engine running, if not shut it down right away and find out why there is not pressure. If you have oil pressure then watch your air pressure, at around 50 PSI your brakes will release and it should build right up to 120 PSI, actuate the brakes while the truck is sitting there you should hear air dumping when you release the brakes. If that all checks out then move the truck a little and try the brakes, does the truck stop good? If so good, by now your should be seeing the engine temp starting to rise and your should be getting some voltage from the alternator, it should indicate in the green on the gauge. OK all this is good right, now here is another important part, have a CLOSE BY LOCATION to take the truck to when you get it off post to give it complete inspection prior to driving it any distance. By close I mean try to keep it under 5 miles, while your driving there keep an eye on all the gauges especially temp oil pressure and air pressure they should all be stabilized within a couple miles, if not you need to find out WHY. When your get the truck to your inspection location check ALL fluids and lubricants on the truck, yes this means transfer case, differentials, transmission, engine for both oil and coolant, power steering pump everything. Look for leaks of any form, if the truck has been sitting for a while these small leaks can turn ugly very fast. Make sure that you bring a bucket load of appropriate tools for this truck, make sure your at least up to date on most of the TMs. BE smart about this, they are great trucks but remember they are big and heavy they dont stop like any car made. Make sure that you have insurance on the truck while its being transported. Good luck and remember you represent ALL of us when your driving this unit!
KK
 

philofab

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I have insurance for my business that covers anything I drive plus my regular auto insurance which covers my other vehicles. I will check everything out on the truck before it's driven, no worries there. I am also bringing a expert on these who spent years fixing them in Iraq. My Dodge will drag a FL60 based toter home around in the dirt hooked to a big trailer, so one of these unloaded won't be an issue on a tow bar to get it off base at 5 mph. Video on the GL site shows it running and moving under it's own power. Thanks for the pointers though. I'm mostly worried about dealing with the base, mechanical stuff is easy. Will bring air tools, fluids, batteries, and I can pump diesel from the 85 gallon tank in the Dodge.
 

KsM715

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I wouldn't be caught dead towing one of these trucks off of Federal property without everything being done the right way. It's not like towing a broken down vehicle down the block to your neighbors garage. If your on a public road on base you better be up to standards, ie proper lighting, safety chains, BRAKES, ect......
 

philofab

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I've already read the TMs but I will go over them again before picking it up. I gotta go get it before I head to San Felipe on Thursday, so timing is tight. Sucks, my buddy at Fort Bliss has been giving tow bars away beginning the first of this year. I think they are all gone but I would have one if I knew about them around Christmas. Would have made this easier.
 

98G

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My experience has been that the places that won't let you drive off, won't let you tow it off yourself either. They insist you use one of their approved towing companies. Not really an issue in this case since you can drive off in Barstow.

Flat towing one of these beasts with a Dodge is a nontrivial exercise. Pulling it isn't that big of a deal, but stopping is even with exhaust brake and G56. I've got a Dodge that I fabricated clevis mounts to replace the factory towhooks up front. This way I can tow the dodge with the medium towbars and 5ton feet, making Plan A drive the dodge to pick up the 939, and then pull the Dodge with the 939. Plan B is that if something goes wrong I can then pull the 5ton with the Dodge at least short distances with copious amounts of caution.

If your Plan A were flat towing the 5ton, best bet would be to choose something more capable than the Dodge. Ideally another 939.

Keep in mind that Cali is just nuts about restrictions on EVERYTHING. Their CDL requirements are more stringent than any other state. I'm willing to bet that pulling a 22,000lb 5ton with a 9,500lb Dodge requires something more than just the standard stuff in Cali. Even if it doesn't, I'll bet that randomly chosen CHPs will think it does and will stop you as soon as they see you. A call to Cali's DMV would probably be a good idea prior to making the retrieval (or maybe not: 4 calls to OK's DMV yielded 4 different answers. 3 calls to TX's DMV yielded 3 conflicting answers.)

As far as dealing with getting on base a drivers license, proof of registration, and proof of insurance are all that's required. Be sure not to have any restricted items in your vehicle.

**edit to add**

I just went and looked at your GL auction. You got a screaming deal on that truck. About $500-700 less than value, in my estimation. Congrats!
 
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philofab

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I should be more clear, flat towing would only be at 5 mph to get it off base, then I would just fix it. I've rebuilt transmissions on tailgates to finish the Baja 1000, no reason I couldn't repair what was needed to make it road worthy before driving home unless it's terminal. Worst case scenario is put it in storage until I could make other arrangements. I have no delusions of towing this on I40 at high speed.

Gotta see what I can scam from my friends in the motor pool for this thing. Gotta rig a hidden kill switch to the PCM plug on the firewall too since keys don't really matter on these... lol.
 

quickfarms

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You need to get a trip permit for the truck and a insurance card that has the trucks vin number listed.

Flat towing the truck would require a class a CDL.

How are you going to actuate the brakes on the truck?

How are you going to get the spring brakes to release?
 

philofab

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Bullhead, AZ
You need to get a trip permit for the truck and a insurance card that has the trucks vin number listed.

Flat towing the truck would require a class a CDL.

How are you going to actuate the brakes on the truck?

How are you going to get the spring brakes to release?
Arizona does 3 day trip permits for $1. Insurance guy already got me handled even though my liability policy covers anything I drive. Just waiting on the actual VIN. Once again I will state that flat towing would be just to get it off base if they didn't allow drive off, moot point now. I wouldn't use the brakes for slow speed flat towing, just install caging bolts to release them.
 
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