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Sarge and I went on a mission this morning to recover his “new” M49C tanker. He bought it sight unseen for a couple of hundred dollars. It is a 1962 gasser, runs, but has iffy brakes. It had been used as a fire tanker, but the city had retired it and was going to sell it for parts. They had taken off the hood, side panels, and grill, but then sold the whole lot to Sarge.
We took my M813 and tow bar and went to flat-tow it back.
We put all the removed parts in the back of the 5-ton, got everything on the deuce ready for towing, hooked up the tow bar and off we went.
Now most stories would end with that, but this was a Sarge and Rory trip… What can happen on a 40 mile trip you say?? Ha..
After about 10 miles, coming around a curve, in my mirror I noticed the deuce peeking out a bit to my left as if it wanted to pass. Now we all know an unoccupied truck on a tow bar should NOT do this. It did this a couple more times as I looked for a spot wide enough to stop. Turns out that three of the four bolts that hold the right tow bracket on had departed the area, the rear most bolt being the only one left. This allowed the bracket to rotate about that bolt, thus allowing the swing to the left. We dug around, found a couple of bolts the right size elsewhere on the deuce and fastened the tow bracket down tight. We figure the bolts must have been loosened up when they took the grill off, the stress of the tow being enough to convince them to go.
Onward, with the deuce obediently following as it should. A few miles later, the rearmost right inner dual gave up the ghost with a bang that would put a howitzer to shame. No biggie, didn’t need that one. Its partner on the left side went much more quietly.
A few more miles and we were safely on the Flying F. While unhooking the tow bar from the M813, I noticed the retaining clip on the tow bar foot pin had snapped, fallen out, and the pin was partially out. Not sure how that happened, and it happened in just a few miles. Even though we never went over 35 mph on the whole return trip, it could have been very exciting if that pin had come all the way loose.
But it didn’t, so the story ends there.
Cheers
Pic 1- Sarge expresses his delight as he examines his ‘new’ truck
Pic 2- Getting the tow bar hooked up
Pic 3- M813 ready to pull the M49 out
Pic 4- Safe at its new home
Pic 5- The wandering pin
We took my M813 and tow bar and went to flat-tow it back.
We put all the removed parts in the back of the 5-ton, got everything on the deuce ready for towing, hooked up the tow bar and off we went.
Now most stories would end with that, but this was a Sarge and Rory trip… What can happen on a 40 mile trip you say?? Ha..
After about 10 miles, coming around a curve, in my mirror I noticed the deuce peeking out a bit to my left as if it wanted to pass. Now we all know an unoccupied truck on a tow bar should NOT do this. It did this a couple more times as I looked for a spot wide enough to stop. Turns out that three of the four bolts that hold the right tow bracket on had departed the area, the rear most bolt being the only one left. This allowed the bracket to rotate about that bolt, thus allowing the swing to the left. We dug around, found a couple of bolts the right size elsewhere on the deuce and fastened the tow bracket down tight. We figure the bolts must have been loosened up when they took the grill off, the stress of the tow being enough to convince them to go.
Onward, with the deuce obediently following as it should. A few miles later, the rearmost right inner dual gave up the ghost with a bang that would put a howitzer to shame. No biggie, didn’t need that one. Its partner on the left side went much more quietly.
A few more miles and we were safely on the Flying F. While unhooking the tow bar from the M813, I noticed the retaining clip on the tow bar foot pin had snapped, fallen out, and the pin was partially out. Not sure how that happened, and it happened in just a few miles. Even though we never went over 35 mph on the whole return trip, it could have been very exciting if that pin had come all the way loose.
But it didn’t, so the story ends there.
Cheers
Pic 1- Sarge expresses his delight as he examines his ‘new’ truck
Pic 2- Getting the tow bar hooked up
Pic 3- M813 ready to pull the M49 out
Pic 4- Safe at its new home
Pic 5- The wandering pin
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i guess that M49C didnt want to go!
