HEMTT M984E1 Wrecker on the mend

[paradeduty]

My wife is being very nice and not reminding me (very often!) that I'm going to be a half dollar this summer. Sniffle, Sniffle.

 

[12vctd]

This should be what your looking for will be shipped out tommorow.

 

[paradeduty]

YOU ARE THE MAN!

Thanks seems to be not enough.

Dave.

 

[12vctd]

no problem, thanks is more than enough. I really wished I could drive up there and go over the pig with you. I really think you will be amazed when you get her up and running

 

[mudguppy]

... we are hoping that it won't be too much of a PITA to towbar my deuce M45A2C (cab & chassis) w/w and 17' camper body (was water purification unit (erdilator?)) to some events. ...

why would you ever towbar anything behind a HEMTT wrecker??

pick it up and tow it like it was designed to be towed. towing w/ the retrieval system is much safer than flat-towing.

 

[paradeduty]

Hey Travis,

Yes, you are probably right that actually "lifting and towing" the deuce would be better than using a towbar. The only reason I was leaning that way was how I register/plate/insure/use my MV's. Because they are used for parades and shows, I register and insure them as historic vehicles. Even though it is a wrecker - once I lift something and tow it on the roads AS A WRECKER, I'm pretty darn sure that my historic vehicle use registration and insurance would be null and void. Actually, I'm thinking that towbarring might be a problem as well, but we'll see. There is no way that I could ever afford to put an actual GVW plate on this rig (53,000 lbs empty) let alone a wrecker plate or insurance. Legal wrecker overhead in Michigan from what I understand is very expensive unless you do it all of the time (i.e. for a living - still expensive, but it gets paid for). Heck, the 24,000 lb GVW plate (lowest class they have) I have to keep on my F350 Dually (commercial work truck) is $500.00 a year - and that is a toy compared to trucks in this weight class. And remember - in Michigan, technically there is a special plate for wreckers. In the back of my mind I am just hoping I can slide by using a towbar. Time will tell. Just one of the hidden joys of owning any "wrecker" for a toy, I guess. Some of you guys with 5-ton wreckers may know of similar issues.

Take Care, Dave.

 

[mudguppy]

i know it will start an argument, but i don't see the difference when it comes to registration - doing anything w/ an MV besides driving it to/from show events or parades would likely be outside of the operating assumptions of the historic plate. and i'd say towing another vehicle w/ a towbar is just as outside of historic plate stipulations of "driving it to/from show events" as using the retrieval system (on any wrecker).

just like the 'load of gravel' and 'moving personal property' arguments are technically outside of most historic plate stipulations, so would towing another vehicle since that second vehicle isn't an intergral part of the primary vehicle for show (like the 'prime-mover' argument you can make for a trailer).

just sayin'. if it were me and i had a HEMTT wrecker, i sure as chit would be using it to tow my own stuff. just sayin'...

so if it starts an argument, it shouldn't completely hi-jack this thread.



regardless, i'm completely jealous that you have this beast. after driving one for 60 hrs towing an M931/tanker across some nasty terrain the night(days) of the invasion in '03, and countless recovery missions.... i want one to call my own.

 

[paradeduty]

Wow - Thanks for all that you (and our others in uniform) did over there. You made/make us proud.

I have already checked with the powers that be on this subject (that is not to say that things can not change or be interpreted differently by the time I try to put it to use).

IN MICHIGAN - a trailer can also be registered as a historic vehicle. I was looking into the pros and cons of a MV Tractor at the time. Well, what is the point of a tractor without a trailer. And then what is the point of a tractor/trailer without a "load" to give it purpose. You can see where this started going. The folks I talked to said that it would be legal for the tractor/trailer as long as the trailer also had historic vehicle registration (insurance could have been another issue), the "load", I was told, would most probably get a pass as long as it was equally a "historic MV" (I was looking at a 113 or something someday - don't worry, ain't ever going to happen, just dreaming, definitely do not have time for "track maintenance").

I know where you are going with the "cargo" angle. Depending on the officer, could be an issue. But honestly, I mostly take them out for parades and the like (and most guys leave the MV's alone on parade days - I know, I have read the horror stories though). At 3 mpg, I probably will not be heading on any huge outings with 20,000 lbs in tow very often at all! I would consider myself lucky to get up to Camp Greyling for the trail ride in the fall once a year with the "camper" in tow. Now THAT would be a blast!

Take Care, Dave.

 

[mudguppy]

so a vehicle in tow is a 'trailer' as long as it also has historic plates? sounds sketchy...


back on subject - i want your HEMTT...

 

[paradeduty]

Hey Travis,

No, not at all trying to claim that - but I guess the alternative is to find a 25 year old (for "historic purposes") equipment trailer to put the "camper" on. I think most of them are not over 3' deck height. The 10' tall "camper" would then be below 13' total. It does seem that this might be a little more "visible" and raise more questions than one HV towing another HV. I don't know - I will have to dive into that subject in time.

Good questions though, thanks, Dave.

 

[12vctd]

YOur tach drive is in the mail. Let me know when you get it. And if you need any other parts.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Just curious here...

Have you actually read the WRITTEN LAWS of your state, or just the overviews and cheat sheets put out by the DMV folks???

Here in Texas, the Texas Former Military Vehicle (TxFMV) registration permits exhibition use and maintenance runs. There is NO DEFINITION of either. Therefore, If you maintain a log of your activities, and can demonstrate that by TOWING with your wrecker, you are actually "Exhibiting the capabilities of your TxFMV" and are therefore "legal".

One must be VERY intimate with the LAW in order to adequately explain this to a LEO, but it IS in the LAW.

As a TxFMV, a former military wrecker is also EXEMPT from the standing commercial Wrecker Laws since it is prohibitted from being used commercially.

Just my two-cents...

Hence it's very important to become deeply understanding of the LAWs of your state.

 

[paradeduty]

Very interesting, good to know. Actually I have read quite a bit of the law as it stood within the last 8 months or so, althought I can't say absolutely that I have read every bit of it as I can not remember for sure. But, based on my memory, I do not think that Michigan has an exclusion for historic wreckers (or other vehicles being used for their intended purpose, for that matter). I am going to have to get some serious, quasi-professional, legal interpretation before I do any actual wrecker sort of operations on the road. I would have to assume that once you "lift" a vehicle for towing ala wrecker, whether by a HV or not, you might be in a whole different arena as it comes to insurance (classic vehicle insurance). Remember, even if the State and the DMV says its OK to do, State Farm (or your favorite ins co) may have a different opinion - and that is not in the law books. Time will tell!

Dave.

 

[12vctd]

LOL its a HEMTT wrecker just tow everything offroad! Yeah I cant imagine the chase it will be to find the real right answer, I just see whoever you talk to saying A What???? lol

 

[paradeduty]

SO TRUE - how was it from Back to the Future - "where we're going, we don't need roads!"

 

[paradeduty]

I know - getting the definitive answer is almost impossible. Thats why we have courts!

 

[12vctd]

I still cant believe your score, Im very green with envy, and the truck looks in very good shape.

 

[paradeduty]

I try my best NOT TO mention to the truck part suppliers what I am working on when I get parts for any MV's. I just get this deer in the headlights / glazed over look....."a what"......I told you, it's not in your books.

 

[feldmarshal]

I was on a 88 but would ride in the 984 some times to recover something. They rock you to sleep on the autobahn. Congrats on a good find and best of luck in the restore. We used ours for all kinds of stuff.

 

[paradeduty]

Thanks feldmarshal,

I have been told that they ride and drive pretty smooth for their size and weight capacity.
Once I get the rear MHC going again, it could be quite the adventure!

Dave