Marines42
New member
- 92
- 1
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- Location
- Canton, GA/Baghdad, Iraq
Around December of last year while I was in Iraq working, I came across a 5 ton bobber. I made contact with the owner who was a surprisingly young guy who, along with his family has a large yard and shop where they do various vehicle work in Gainesville, FL. Being from Canton in North GA I decided this was probably the most reasonable distance I would find to travel to procure a bobber. I needed something in the 5 ton range to tow all of my military vehicles and wanted a bobber for the reduced amount of room it would take up. He agreed to hold it until I got home from Baghdad the first week of January and we agreed on a price and all was well.
Fast forward to my first week home, I procure a one way ticket to Gainesville from Atlanta via Charlotte on the 5th of January. The flights go well and he meets me at the airport in Gainesville in the bobber. As I get into town, signs of trouble start to gather in the sky. Checking my iphone, I see that despite the entire clear week prior and clear week after, this day has a huge storm front running down the entire east coast. We go back to his property which is just a stones throw from the airport. We arrive and we go over the truck together. Most everything looks pretty good except for the front right tire which has some small bulges. We go over controls etc. and it starts to rain. I brought a GPS only to find there is no DC connection to plug one in (I thought I recalled 5 tons having one) but we move into the shop where 2 of his friends are also working. his brother arrives and is an electrical guy and quickly rigs me up a 12 VDC attachment in 5 minutes that works perfectly. Very nice guys all. As we hang in the shop, all the guys are about my age and we shoot the breeze letting the rain blow through. It dies down a bit but becomes clear it isn't going to stop completely and it is approaching 5 P.M. rapidly. I say my goodbyes and take my place in the truck. I have never driven a 5 ton but have driven a deuce before. In the rain with the crappy vacuum system wipers, it is already hard to see.
I have my GPS set up and begin following directions to the hwy to make my way home. I have my hands full getting used to the shift, the brakes, the rainy windshield, and notice that the vibration makes the mirrors very hard to use and they are difficult to adjust. I make a note to stop as soon as I get out of surface streets to top off and make adjustments. Obviously, the vehicle takes a few to get up to speed and the stop and go takes some getting used to as well. I finally get onto a long straightaway that is leading to the interstate and get up to about 50 mph. There is one stop light ahead at a T intersection and of course as I approach, it turns yellow. I pull my foot up to depress the clutch and discover a serious problem. The pedal comes up so high that I have to raise my leg very high to get a purchase on the pedal. I am tall and my knee made contact with the steering wheel and prevented me from shifting. I depress the brakes and try again. I am slowing but not fast enough. I depress the brakes harder and then it happens. Hydroplane in a 5 ton bobber approaching an intersection. The truck slides left and I correct. slides right and I correct. I straighten out just in time to blow through the now red light. Fortunately for me, it was a very clear intersection and everyone was paying attention and saw this monster truck ice skating toward the red and held their place. I was able to straighten out and drive on and no harm done except to my nerves.
I continued on without further drama and stopped at a gas station after 20 miles. There, I filled up with diesel and adjusted the mirrors using pliers and a screw driver until I was satisfied with my field of view. As I hit the road, I got comfortable driving the truck at speed and cruised at about 55 mph according to my GPS. The truck bounces rhythmically at low or high speed and I was told this is common. Being January, I thought it would get cold but the engine heat kept the cab very comfortable. The rain was torrential but I finally found the sweet spot and kept on trucking. I stopped at a truck stop to eat near Valdosta and then again at a rest stop near Macon when the rain got too heavy. While on the road, I could hear everything through the vinyl soft top which did a great job of keeping me dry and warm but rain, engine noise, and the sound of other big trucks permeated the cab.
I debated stopping to sleep but after I was north of Macon, I was on the home stretch to reaching familiar ground and kept at it. The truck was humming just fine and I was in the zone. I finally pulled into my house at around 0400 and put the girl to bed for the night as well as myself. The next day, I looked her over and noticed a small amount of oil under the truck. I checked and found a tiny leak in the PTO assembly and also found that the rubber in the oil filler cap was pinched and it had sloshed a small amount of oil on top of the engine that had been spread by the fan to look like a LARGE amount of oil. I was momentarily concerned until I checked the oil and found no trouble. She is as sound as I hoped and pulls strong. I have never had a diesel before and it was empowering. My neighbors are all duly impressed with it.
It snowed of course 3 days later and she had a chance to move around in it a bit. This truck will be a great tow vehicle and general load of fun with some minor adjustments.
Fast forward to my first week home, I procure a one way ticket to Gainesville from Atlanta via Charlotte on the 5th of January. The flights go well and he meets me at the airport in Gainesville in the bobber. As I get into town, signs of trouble start to gather in the sky. Checking my iphone, I see that despite the entire clear week prior and clear week after, this day has a huge storm front running down the entire east coast. We go back to his property which is just a stones throw from the airport. We arrive and we go over the truck together. Most everything looks pretty good except for the front right tire which has some small bulges. We go over controls etc. and it starts to rain. I brought a GPS only to find there is no DC connection to plug one in (I thought I recalled 5 tons having one) but we move into the shop where 2 of his friends are also working. his brother arrives and is an electrical guy and quickly rigs me up a 12 VDC attachment in 5 minutes that works perfectly. Very nice guys all. As we hang in the shop, all the guys are about my age and we shoot the breeze letting the rain blow through. It dies down a bit but becomes clear it isn't going to stop completely and it is approaching 5 P.M. rapidly. I say my goodbyes and take my place in the truck. I have never driven a 5 ton but have driven a deuce before. In the rain with the crappy vacuum system wipers, it is already hard to see.
I have my GPS set up and begin following directions to the hwy to make my way home. I have my hands full getting used to the shift, the brakes, the rainy windshield, and notice that the vibration makes the mirrors very hard to use and they are difficult to adjust. I make a note to stop as soon as I get out of surface streets to top off and make adjustments. Obviously, the vehicle takes a few to get up to speed and the stop and go takes some getting used to as well. I finally get onto a long straightaway that is leading to the interstate and get up to about 50 mph. There is one stop light ahead at a T intersection and of course as I approach, it turns yellow. I pull my foot up to depress the clutch and discover a serious problem. The pedal comes up so high that I have to raise my leg very high to get a purchase on the pedal. I am tall and my knee made contact with the steering wheel and prevented me from shifting. I depress the brakes and try again. I am slowing but not fast enough. I depress the brakes harder and then it happens. Hydroplane in a 5 ton bobber approaching an intersection. The truck slides left and I correct. slides right and I correct. I straighten out just in time to blow through the now red light. Fortunately for me, it was a very clear intersection and everyone was paying attention and saw this monster truck ice skating toward the red and held their place. I was able to straighten out and drive on and no harm done except to my nerves.
I continued on without further drama and stopped at a gas station after 20 miles. There, I filled up with diesel and adjusted the mirrors using pliers and a screw driver until I was satisfied with my field of view. As I hit the road, I got comfortable driving the truck at speed and cruised at about 55 mph according to my GPS. The truck bounces rhythmically at low or high speed and I was told this is common. Being January, I thought it would get cold but the engine heat kept the cab very comfortable. The rain was torrential but I finally found the sweet spot and kept on trucking. I stopped at a truck stop to eat near Valdosta and then again at a rest stop near Macon when the rain got too heavy. While on the road, I could hear everything through the vinyl soft top which did a great job of keeping me dry and warm but rain, engine noise, and the sound of other big trucks permeated the cab.
I debated stopping to sleep but after I was north of Macon, I was on the home stretch to reaching familiar ground and kept at it. The truck was humming just fine and I was in the zone. I finally pulled into my house at around 0400 and put the girl to bed for the night as well as myself. The next day, I looked her over and noticed a small amount of oil under the truck. I checked and found a tiny leak in the PTO assembly and also found that the rubber in the oil filler cap was pinched and it had sloshed a small amount of oil on top of the engine that had been spread by the fan to look like a LARGE amount of oil. I was momentarily concerned until I checked the oil and found no trouble. She is as sound as I hoped and pulls strong. I have never had a diesel before and it was empowering. My neighbors are all duly impressed with it.
It snowed of course 3 days later and she had a chance to move around in it a bit. This truck will be a great tow vehicle and general load of fun with some minor adjustments.
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