- 307
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- Location
- York, PA
I have to make this quick. Recently acquired three additional trucks and two trailers. M35A2's (one is a dropside), a M105A2 trailer with cover, and the M105A2 woodworking shop trailer. The M105A2 recovery has been posted already. It's the one where I lost air pressure. Fixed the leak by the way with a 3/8" compression fitting as suggested. Worked perfectly. You can read about the entire recovery in a different thread.
I still had to pick up the three trucks and the woodworking shop trailer though. My appointment was for yesterday 2-13-08 at letterkenny. Last Friday I made a last minute decision to go out to letterkenny to double check that everything was ready for the short 58 mile journey home. Called Justin at GL and he said no problem. Except that trucks are no longer at GL, they are at another location downtown Chambersburg. At the last minute, my dad decided to go along. Which meant that I could now possibly drive one of the trucks home with the woodworking trailer. So we quickly got a bunch of tools and supplies together and headed out.
The three trucks were runners. However, only one had heat and another had no brakes. Pedal goes to floor. My intent all along was to try to fix brakes before bringing home, working on-site. I borrowed Medlog's medium towbar as a backup plan.
We get to the normal GL lot and load out the woodworking trailer. Decided that I would rather haul that with my Disco II down to the other site than driving a truck back up to get the trailer. That worked pretty good. Disco II noticed the trailer, but it did pretty good.
We get to the other site and this place is a mess. We are now short on time because I had an evening commitment with the wife and the original intent was to work on the brakes of the one truck and check the rest out one more time for the drive home yesterday. The alternate lot is used for sold trucks. So once they are no longer GL's and you've paid your money, they move them without warning about 5 miles away.
I looked at the weather last week for yesterday and noticed it might be cold. Last Friday wasn't so bad so I decided that I would drive the dropside without heat home Friday pulling the trailer. That way I could have heat for yesterday.
I started taking the fill plug off the master cylinder of the one truck, then decided that if I was going to drive the other one home with the trailer, we'd better get going. Located the third truck in a back row where a massive oshkosh was sitting in front and trucks on all sides. Justin said he would have everything moved when we return yesterday.
So we got the trailer unhooked from the Disco II and hooked to the dropside. My dad was tasked with replacing mirrors on the dropside so I had good ones on both sides. Drivers was broken and in-op. Trailer lights worked. Amazing! But the brakes didn't. As soon as air was added, brakes locked. Thoughts on that?
So I released the air and we headed off. That trip went well until my wife saw what was sitting in the driveway when she got home. Looked like a junkyard. Oh well. All is ok now. I thought for a moment the truck had power steering, but alas, it doesn't. Just steers a lot easier than my others. A sticky throttle too, but that's ok now as well. It's a decent truck and is probably a keeper even though a may have one or two others that are nicer. I need the dropside for the business. Easier loading. It's got an almost brand new cargo cover, which I also need.
That brings us to yesterday. Yes, we still recovered. For those in the northeast, you may think I am crazy because we had a few inches of snow followed by a nice coating of ice. These things don't do well in rain much less snow and ice. And that's without pulling another truck behind. It was raining hard and when we got to the yard, I knew right away GL was hoping I was cancelling, or expecting that I would because nothing had been moved. My truck with heat was still in the back and the huge oshkosh was still in the way. I think Justin was flustered when we showed up. It was a comedy of errors trying to move things. I finally just hoped in another truck and started moving things myself.
While Justin was trying to move things around and my dad and friend were trying to direct him, I started working on the brakes of the other truck. I really wanted to drive both home. I did not feel like towbaring one home in that weather. I REALLY didn't want to do that.
Master cylinder was bone dry. So I filled. Nothing. No pressure at all. Fluid stayed in as well. Any thoughts?
Now it was really freezing raining like cats and dogs and the last thing I wanted to do was start tearing apart the brake system with 4 inches of snow all around. So I decided that we should focus on the other truck and getting it out. It took almost two hours to move all the trucks because most had to be towed. Some were 5 ton cargos with flat tires. We finally got everything moved which required getting mine started and pushing other things out of the way.
I moved it out to the front so I could check everything out. I pulled the heater knob out then pushed it back in. SPARKKKKKKKKKKSSSS! Then the wires started melting. GREAT. So I turned the ignition off for a bit, then back on. No more melting, but wasn't about to use heat now. Great, no heat on a day like yesterday.
It was just about this time that we were told we would have to leave the lot and go to a parking lot up the street. And we didn't have time to hook the towbar between the trucks, so I had to drive the no-brakes truck to that lot. That's right, no brakes, unregistered truck, in downtown Chambersburg, oh and with ice and snow on the roads. I guess Justin had to get back to the main lot.
I made it just fine though. We got both trucks to the other lot and got the towbar hooked together. Tried to pull out, nothing. The lot hadn't been plowed yet, but I couldn't budge the towed truck. Clutch out the hole way. I first thought the clutch was shot. Then I put the front axle in and I could move. But the tires of the towed truck wouldn't follow in the snow. So my dad hoped in the towed truck to steer until we could get to clear, but wet, pavement. That worked. I was of course chosen as the driver of this contraption.
We paused for a moment to double check our route home. Making sure to avoid sharp turns.
Started out slowly with front axle engaged in low range. Everything was going fine. Good brakes too as long as you planned. Made it a few miles then double checked everything and let people pass. Kept going. It was slow going, especially on the hills. No heat was miserable. I was really nervous too so that took it's toll, but after 2 hours, we were finally at our destination. I couldn't believe it. We really just towed a truck home in an ice storm. Road were primarily wet, so that was good.
The last 1/4 mile was a snow/ice covered dirt lane, so as soon as I hit that the towed trucks front wheels locked again and wouldn't track. Had to do the rest driving that truck. The towbar worked great. In fact everything worked great. I knew the risks, so acted accordingly and we were all safe. Wet, tired, but safe.
All I had to drink when I got home, was wine, but it sure was nice. Got beer and pizza later. Picked up my 2 1/2 year old son, made a fire, and fell asleep.
It was actually a really cool recovery. I’m sure I’ll do it again someday.
Pics for you voyeurs. Pics don't show final hookup. We did remove snow from trucks and add safety straps. Last pic is of saw in trailer (more pics in separate thread) and first pic is of off-site GL lot.
Thanks for all those who've offered help and advice. Greatly appreciated.
I still had to pick up the three trucks and the woodworking shop trailer though. My appointment was for yesterday 2-13-08 at letterkenny. Last Friday I made a last minute decision to go out to letterkenny to double check that everything was ready for the short 58 mile journey home. Called Justin at GL and he said no problem. Except that trucks are no longer at GL, they are at another location downtown Chambersburg. At the last minute, my dad decided to go along. Which meant that I could now possibly drive one of the trucks home with the woodworking trailer. So we quickly got a bunch of tools and supplies together and headed out.
The three trucks were runners. However, only one had heat and another had no brakes. Pedal goes to floor. My intent all along was to try to fix brakes before bringing home, working on-site. I borrowed Medlog's medium towbar as a backup plan.
We get to the normal GL lot and load out the woodworking trailer. Decided that I would rather haul that with my Disco II down to the other site than driving a truck back up to get the trailer. That worked pretty good. Disco II noticed the trailer, but it did pretty good.
We get to the other site and this place is a mess. We are now short on time because I had an evening commitment with the wife and the original intent was to work on the brakes of the one truck and check the rest out one more time for the drive home yesterday. The alternate lot is used for sold trucks. So once they are no longer GL's and you've paid your money, they move them without warning about 5 miles away.
I looked at the weather last week for yesterday and noticed it might be cold. Last Friday wasn't so bad so I decided that I would drive the dropside without heat home Friday pulling the trailer. That way I could have heat for yesterday.
I started taking the fill plug off the master cylinder of the one truck, then decided that if I was going to drive the other one home with the trailer, we'd better get going. Located the third truck in a back row where a massive oshkosh was sitting in front and trucks on all sides. Justin said he would have everything moved when we return yesterday.
So we got the trailer unhooked from the Disco II and hooked to the dropside. My dad was tasked with replacing mirrors on the dropside so I had good ones on both sides. Drivers was broken and in-op. Trailer lights worked. Amazing! But the brakes didn't. As soon as air was added, brakes locked. Thoughts on that?
So I released the air and we headed off. That trip went well until my wife saw what was sitting in the driveway when she got home. Looked like a junkyard. Oh well. All is ok now. I thought for a moment the truck had power steering, but alas, it doesn't. Just steers a lot easier than my others. A sticky throttle too, but that's ok now as well. It's a decent truck and is probably a keeper even though a may have one or two others that are nicer. I need the dropside for the business. Easier loading. It's got an almost brand new cargo cover, which I also need.
That brings us to yesterday. Yes, we still recovered. For those in the northeast, you may think I am crazy because we had a few inches of snow followed by a nice coating of ice. These things don't do well in rain much less snow and ice. And that's without pulling another truck behind. It was raining hard and when we got to the yard, I knew right away GL was hoping I was cancelling, or expecting that I would because nothing had been moved. My truck with heat was still in the back and the huge oshkosh was still in the way. I think Justin was flustered when we showed up. It was a comedy of errors trying to move things. I finally just hoped in another truck and started moving things myself.
While Justin was trying to move things around and my dad and friend were trying to direct him, I started working on the brakes of the other truck. I really wanted to drive both home. I did not feel like towbaring one home in that weather. I REALLY didn't want to do that.
Master cylinder was bone dry. So I filled. Nothing. No pressure at all. Fluid stayed in as well. Any thoughts?
Now it was really freezing raining like cats and dogs and the last thing I wanted to do was start tearing apart the brake system with 4 inches of snow all around. So I decided that we should focus on the other truck and getting it out. It took almost two hours to move all the trucks because most had to be towed. Some were 5 ton cargos with flat tires. We finally got everything moved which required getting mine started and pushing other things out of the way.
I moved it out to the front so I could check everything out. I pulled the heater knob out then pushed it back in. SPARKKKKKKKKKKSSSS! Then the wires started melting. GREAT. So I turned the ignition off for a bit, then back on. No more melting, but wasn't about to use heat now. Great, no heat on a day like yesterday.
It was just about this time that we were told we would have to leave the lot and go to a parking lot up the street. And we didn't have time to hook the towbar between the trucks, so I had to drive the no-brakes truck to that lot. That's right, no brakes, unregistered truck, in downtown Chambersburg, oh and with ice and snow on the roads. I guess Justin had to get back to the main lot.
I made it just fine though. We got both trucks to the other lot and got the towbar hooked together. Tried to pull out, nothing. The lot hadn't been plowed yet, but I couldn't budge the towed truck. Clutch out the hole way. I first thought the clutch was shot. Then I put the front axle in and I could move. But the tires of the towed truck wouldn't follow in the snow. So my dad hoped in the towed truck to steer until we could get to clear, but wet, pavement. That worked. I was of course chosen as the driver of this contraption.
We paused for a moment to double check our route home. Making sure to avoid sharp turns.
Started out slowly with front axle engaged in low range. Everything was going fine. Good brakes too as long as you planned. Made it a few miles then double checked everything and let people pass. Kept going. It was slow going, especially on the hills. No heat was miserable. I was really nervous too so that took it's toll, but after 2 hours, we were finally at our destination. I couldn't believe it. We really just towed a truck home in an ice storm. Road were primarily wet, so that was good.
The last 1/4 mile was a snow/ice covered dirt lane, so as soon as I hit that the towed trucks front wheels locked again and wouldn't track. Had to do the rest driving that truck. The towbar worked great. In fact everything worked great. I knew the risks, so acted accordingly and we were all safe. Wet, tired, but safe.
All I had to drink when I got home, was wine, but it sure was nice. Got beer and pizza later. Picked up my 2 1/2 year old son, made a fire, and fell asleep.
It was actually a really cool recovery. I’m sure I’ll do it again someday.
Pics for you voyeurs. Pics don't show final hookup. We did remove snow from trucks and add safety straps. Last pic is of saw in trailer (more pics in separate thread) and first pic is of off-site GL lot.
Thanks for all those who've offered help and advice. Greatly appreciated.
