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Hello all,
Numerous threads have been brought to my attention lately. Unfortunately, the problem with these threads has been the description of illegal or unsafe actions while recovering a vehicle from an auction site.
There have been tens of thousands of vehicles auctioned off from GL and GSA auctions over the last couple of years. Many of the vehicles range in size from 3/4-ton CUCV's to 5-ton 6x6's. I am sure that Steel Soldiers members have been some of the busiest bidders out there (myself included) judging by the action on the forums. The vehicles that we have been buying are sometimes as good as a fresh rebuild and sometimes as bad as a residue truck. This can either make the task of recovering that vehicle from the auction site easy or a nightmare.
Here are some of the problems that I have been seeing in threads:
I know a lot of you are operating on a limited budget, but you really need to allow for a little extra expense when you are setting your max bid in case you need to hire someone to recover a less than perfect truck for you. At least that way you won't feel trapped into driving your new truck with problems off base.
If you have never driven a deuce, 5-ton, etc..., contact a SS member near you that has one and see if they will let you test drive it. You will feel a lot more confident in your skills and won't be trying to learn how to drive it coming off the GL lot.
There are a bunch of threads on here about recovering vehicles. Read up and you will learn what to do and what not to do. Download all of the manuals from the SS server and familiarize yourself with all of your new truck's systems.
With a big truck comes a huge responsibility. A 13,000 lb deuce or a 22,000 lb 5-ton will smash a normal car into little metal meatballs. God help you if the car is occupied.
If you take all of the necessary precautions and still have a problem, please think twice before posting it on SS. We don't need to give any groups who are against the MV hobby the ammunition to put us down. From now on, threads that describe unsafe or illegal behavior when recovering a vehicle will be edited or completely deleted by the moderators.
Please feel free to add to my list of other unsafe or illegal activities if you think of others. This thread is not directed at any one particular person, so please don't PM me and ask if I was talking about you. If we work together on this we can make a difference and protect our hobby.
Thanks,
Chris
Numerous threads have been brought to my attention lately. Unfortunately, the problem with these threads has been the description of illegal or unsafe actions while recovering a vehicle from an auction site.
There have been tens of thousands of vehicles auctioned off from GL and GSA auctions over the last couple of years. Many of the vehicles range in size from 3/4-ton CUCV's to 5-ton 6x6's. I am sure that Steel Soldiers members have been some of the busiest bidders out there (myself included) judging by the action on the forums. The vehicles that we have been buying are sometimes as good as a fresh rebuild and sometimes as bad as a residue truck. This can either make the task of recovering that vehicle from the auction site easy or a nightmare.
Here are some of the problems that I have been seeing in threads:
- Driving a truck home with no insurance
- Driving a truck home with no tags
- Driving a truck home with poorly functioning brakes or no brakes
- Driving a truck home with lighting or other electrical problems
- Driving a truck home with broken or missing drive line parts
- Driving a truck home without performing a basic check of important fluids and systems
- Driving a truck home that you don't really know how to drive
- Driving a truck home with flat tire(s) or tires in poor condition
- Etc, etc, etc....
I know a lot of you are operating on a limited budget, but you really need to allow for a little extra expense when you are setting your max bid in case you need to hire someone to recover a less than perfect truck for you. At least that way you won't feel trapped into driving your new truck with problems off base.
If you have never driven a deuce, 5-ton, etc..., contact a SS member near you that has one and see if they will let you test drive it. You will feel a lot more confident in your skills and won't be trying to learn how to drive it coming off the GL lot.
There are a bunch of threads on here about recovering vehicles. Read up and you will learn what to do and what not to do. Download all of the manuals from the SS server and familiarize yourself with all of your new truck's systems.
With a big truck comes a huge responsibility. A 13,000 lb deuce or a 22,000 lb 5-ton will smash a normal car into little metal meatballs. God help you if the car is occupied.
If you take all of the necessary precautions and still have a problem, please think twice before posting it on SS. We don't need to give any groups who are against the MV hobby the ammunition to put us down. From now on, threads that describe unsafe or illegal behavior when recovering a vehicle will be edited or completely deleted by the moderators.
Please feel free to add to my list of other unsafe or illegal activities if you think of others. This thread is not directed at any one particular person, so please don't PM me and ask if I was talking about you. If we work together on this we can make a difference and protect our hobby.
Thanks,
Chris
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