M816 Towing Exercises (with pictures!)

[jimmcld]

The first thing I ever towed was another wrecker. Granted, it was a gasser. However, I lifted the front and pulled it up a twisting hill with no problem steering. But I didn't use the tow bar. I just had it swinging from the wiffle tree (I never got out of the driveway). I wonder if that made a difference.

Great pictures.

 

[Capt.Marion]

Just curious, why did you flip the shackles upside down when lift towing the other 816? Is there a reason for that or was it just to prevent damage?

From looking at the pictures, I'd reckon that the whiffle tree wouldn't mate correctly with the shackles unless they were flipped. The angle in the shackles would prevent them from aligning with the whiffle tree.

Feel free to correct me; I'm no expert at this.

 

[Ord22]

make sure you put the trans and transfer, both in neutral. reminds me when i had a wrecker in the army. alot of fun!

 

[1958 M274]

Just curious, why did you flip the shackles upside down when lift towing the other 816? Is there a reason for that or was it just to prevent damage?

It seems like I remember reading somewhere in a manual to flip the shackles around. Looking back at it, that is probably only necessary on trucks without winches, since the shackles aren't very far forward of the grille.

 

[feldmarshal]

It would be better to drop the driveshaft for towing over any distance.