nf6x
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Driver just called. Couldn't get all the way down the dirt road with his landoll, so he offloaded at a clearing and is driving it the rest of the way!
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Need Reliable Towing Co. for Barstow, CA Pickup
- Thread starter nf6x
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papabear
GA Mafia Imperial 1SG
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Ok...just a question..not a jab...but I just gotta ask...did you tell the towing company about the dirt road and close quarters?
The reason I ask is I have 2 landolls and a 50ton RGN. Customers will tell us "Oh yeah...there is plenty of room, big trucks come in here and turn around all the time."
Then when we show up...maybe you could turn a dump truck around...lol...that's a big truck to them!
Anyhoo...I'm glad ya got things worked out Brother!
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nf6x
Feral Engineer
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It's here! More details later...
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nf6x
Feral Engineer
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Yes, I did tell the towing company about the dirt roads, and I gave them the lest painful route to use (if they relied on a GPS map, it would get them into lots of trouble). I've had Landolls onto my property before; for that matter, my entire house came up that road in two pieces. I've also had drivers prefer to unload off-property. It all depends on the individual driver and what truck they're driving, and I try to be as accommodating as I can.
In this case, the driver already knew that the truck started and drove. They had them packed in tight at GL, and he said he would have been there for hours if he had to drag it out of position and up his Landoll. He was also real glad about the power steering, since it was parked in there so tight! So, the driver got to the end of the pavement, saw the dirt road in front of him, and he knew that he had a well-running tactical truck on his bed... and he made the obvious choice!
Ok, I haven't driven the truck myself yet, but it looks GREAT! And the driver says it runs great, and opined that I got the best truck on the lot. The only noted faults so far are that the accelerator pedal sticks (in fact, a piece of duct tape on the windshield indicates that it was deadlined for that reason), and I heard an air leak behind the dash when he shut off the engine. The driver commented on how much torque the beast had, and said he thought it'd practically drive up a telephone pole. Ok, a bit of exaggeration, but it's a nice truck anyway!
It has G177 tires on it, and they look nearly new. There are some spots where the re-painting peeled off with surface rust underneath, such as the driver's side step. Overall, I'd say that this truck looks at least as good as the M109A3 that I bought from bkubu many a year ago, and if any of you saw that truck, you would know what a compliment that is!
The crate that was shown in the GL pictures is thankfully still present and strapped shut. I haven't had a chance to look inside yet. The driver said that it was hanging out of the cab door when he got there, and he wasn't sure if it was supposed to go with the truck, but since it was more "in" than "out", he pushed it into the cab and loaded up (YES!). My best guess is that the BII is inside; I'll discover this weekend, if not before.
I talked more with the lady at the other end of the phone a few times today, and she was super-apologetic and embarrassed about the foul-up. I was on the phone with her when the truck rolled into their yard, and it was great to hear her expression as she saw it arrive! She called a bit later to ask if they could deliver earlier than we had planned in order to unload before dark, and luckily I was able to leave work early to accommodate that (not that I needed any arm-twisting, mind you).
I'm quite pleased with the final outcome, and Friday's headache was just an annoyance. I consider everything squared up, and I'm planning to use them for another recovery from another site at Barstow (an M1102 trailer), probably this Friday.
I also bought popacom's last M9xx cargo bed cover kit, and Old Dominion called today to say that it should be at the local terminal on Friday. I'll pick it up on Saturday, most likely.
Here are a few more pictures for now. I'll do a detailed blog post on my web site after I've had more time to assimilate the awe and majesty of this great truck. I took a gamble on a non-screened buy from GL, and so far it looks like I won the jackpot. I've also gambled and lost that way before, so I went into this with eyes open.
Thanks for all of your advice and help, folks! And if any of y'all are particularly curious about particular parts of the M923 model, I happen to know a guy who'll be crawling all over one with a camera this weekend, so feel free to make detail requests.
My web page will be getting the glorious hi-res pics.
Anyway, now that all is resolved satisfactorily, I will say that the towing company is Sierra Towing, and I'll recommend them. I'll also get in the habit of calling on the morning-of to make sure all is going smoothly, with any company I contract with in the future... I tried to be easygoing and not pester them, but I guess I dialed back the anxiety just one notch too far.
In this case, the driver already knew that the truck started and drove. They had them packed in tight at GL, and he said he would have been there for hours if he had to drag it out of position and up his Landoll. He was also real glad about the power steering, since it was parked in there so tight! So, the driver got to the end of the pavement, saw the dirt road in front of him, and he knew that he had a well-running tactical truck on his bed... and he made the obvious choice!
Ok, I haven't driven the truck myself yet, but it looks GREAT! And the driver says it runs great, and opined that I got the best truck on the lot. The only noted faults so far are that the accelerator pedal sticks (in fact, a piece of duct tape on the windshield indicates that it was deadlined for that reason), and I heard an air leak behind the dash when he shut off the engine. The driver commented on how much torque the beast had, and said he thought it'd practically drive up a telephone pole. Ok, a bit of exaggeration, but it's a nice truck anyway!
It has G177 tires on it, and they look nearly new. There are some spots where the re-painting peeled off with surface rust underneath, such as the driver's side step. Overall, I'd say that this truck looks at least as good as the M109A3 that I bought from bkubu many a year ago, and if any of you saw that truck, you would know what a compliment that is!
The crate that was shown in the GL pictures is thankfully still present and strapped shut. I haven't had a chance to look inside yet. The driver said that it was hanging out of the cab door when he got there, and he wasn't sure if it was supposed to go with the truck, but since it was more "in" than "out", he pushed it into the cab and loaded up (YES!). My best guess is that the BII is inside; I'll discover this weekend, if not before.
I talked more with the lady at the other end of the phone a few times today, and she was super-apologetic and embarrassed about the foul-up. I was on the phone with her when the truck rolled into their yard, and it was great to hear her expression as she saw it arrive! She called a bit later to ask if they could deliver earlier than we had planned in order to unload before dark, and luckily I was able to leave work early to accommodate that (not that I needed any arm-twisting, mind you).
I'm quite pleased with the final outcome, and Friday's headache was just an annoyance. I consider everything squared up, and I'm planning to use them for another recovery from another site at Barstow (an M1102 trailer), probably this Friday.
I also bought popacom's last M9xx cargo bed cover kit, and Old Dominion called today to say that it should be at the local terminal on Friday. I'll pick it up on Saturday, most likely.
Here are a few more pictures for now. I'll do a detailed blog post on my web site after I've had more time to assimilate the awe and majesty of this great truck. I took a gamble on a non-screened buy from GL, and so far it looks like I won the jackpot. I've also gambled and lost that way before, so I went into this with eyes open.
Thanks for all of your advice and help, folks! And if any of y'all are particularly curious about particular parts of the M923 model, I happen to know a guy who'll be crawling all over one with a camera this weekend, so feel free to make detail requests.
My web page will be getting the glorious hi-res pics.Anyway, now that all is resolved satisfactorily, I will say that the towing company is Sierra Towing, and I'll recommend them. I'll also get in the habit of calling on the morning-of to make sure all is going smoothly, with any company I contract with in the future... I tried to be easygoing and not pester them, but I guess I dialed back the anxiety just one notch too far.
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papabear
GA Mafia Imperial 1SG
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That's a beautiful truck and I'm so glad all worked out well for you Brother!
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Wow! That is nice.
When can we go for a cruise?
When can we go for a cruise?
nf6x
Feral Engineer
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Good question! I have to get the form 97, find out how to best insure the beast, get it titled, renew my medical card...
Cucvnut
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woot!
armytruck63
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Way to go Mark!
nf6x
Feral Engineer
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Thanks, Matt!
Time to head out to the truck and sit in it for a bit before bedtime. I'll take a little mind-cruise in it.
Time to head out to the truck and sit in it for a bit before bedtime. I'll take a little mind-cruise in it.
nf6x
Feral Engineer
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I couldn't wait any longer to see what's in the wooden crate that was holding down the passenger seat. As I guessed, it contained the basic issue items (BII) for the truck: Tool bag, manual bag, a few hand tools, 8-ton hydraulic bottle jack, geared dual-wheel lug wrench with bars, chain hoist for the spare tire davit, and tire inflation hose/gauge. Shortages noted were the flat-bladed screwdriver and the padlock set. The Phillips screwdriver is made by Stanley, so I may be able to find an exact replacement for the missing flat-bladed screwdriver at the local hardware store.
With the crate out of the way, I was able to open the passenger seat to see the four new-loking 6TMF batteries underneath. I'm debating whether I'd like to get one of those battery relocation kits.
The cab top is the insulated vinyl variety, in fine condition. I'd like to replace it with a hard top kit, but it'll be fine in the mean time. Plus, it looks like my trick of mounting one of those APC dome lights between the two rear cab bows with pipe mounting clamps will work just fine.
I'm not a huge guy, but that cab appears to be made for smaller folks than me, anyway. I wish that the driver's seat could slide back a few more inches to get my legs into a more comfortable position. My HMMWV's driver position is similarly uncomfortable. Well, if I ever need knee joint replacements, maybe the doc can take a few inches out of my legs?
With the crate out of the way, I was able to open the passenger seat to see the four new-loking 6TMF batteries underneath. I'm debating whether I'd like to get one of those battery relocation kits.
The cab top is the insulated vinyl variety, in fine condition. I'd like to replace it with a hard top kit, but it'll be fine in the mean time. Plus, it looks like my trick of mounting one of those APC dome lights between the two rear cab bows with pipe mounting clamps will work just fine.
I'm not a huge guy, but that cab appears to be made for smaller folks than me, anyway. I wish that the driver's seat could slide back a few more inches to get my legs into a more comfortable position. My HMMWV's driver position is similarly uncomfortable. Well, if I ever need knee joint replacements, maybe the doc can take a few inches out of my legs?
Frank Serpico
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Wow, awesome post. A duece or a 5 ton have always been of interest for me. First time I fell in love was basic training, using the step in the tail gate and jumping into the back with 15 or 20 other smelly, stinky recruits. Then a year later sitting in the back cruising down the interstate as we left Camp Pendleton enroute to Santa Ana to return back to our reserve company.
Driving down the interstate with our M16s, sitting on those troop seats and having beautiful California girls on a summer day, hanging out their cars and screaming for our phone numbers, LOL.
LOL, Hanging over the edge trying to get a blonds phone number over the ROAR of the exhaust stack, tire noise and wind noise is impossible, trust me, I tried and tried until I was forcibly pulled back into the bed by my BDU pants.
LOL, I can only imagine the sight of an enlisted man bent in half over the posts, with a girl hanging her window and everyone on the freeway honking and giving thumbs ups.
Good times.
Driving down the interstate with our M16s, sitting on those troop seats and having beautiful California girls on a summer day, hanging out their cars and screaming for our phone numbers, LOL.
LOL, Hanging over the edge trying to get a blonds phone number over the ROAR of the exhaust stack, tire noise and wind noise is impossible, trust me, I tried and tried until I was forcibly pulled back into the bed by my BDU pants.
LOL, I can only imagine the sight of an enlisted man bent in half over the posts, with a girl hanging her window and everyone on the freeway honking and giving thumbs ups.
Good times.
Last edited:
Frank Serpico
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Almost forgot, so from your post you need a Commercial DL to drive a Deuce and half in California?
Ive had my commercial for about 7 years now, I'm a State Certified Commercial Driving Instructor thru the California Dept of Transportation. If you guys need study guides for the DMV test, let me know, I should be able to scrounge some up, if my work doesnt care.
I drive 40' MCI buses for my job, little different than the public version, we have security cages, shotguns, pistols, tasers and OC, LOL.
Ive had my commercial for about 7 years now, I'm a State Certified Commercial Driving Instructor thru the California Dept of Transportation. If you guys need study guides for the DMV test, let me know, I should be able to scrounge some up, if my work doesnt care.
I drive 40' MCI buses for my job, little different than the public version, we have security cages, shotguns, pistols, tasers and OC, LOL.
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Very nice!!!