If you drove one of these trucks in the service, you are probably one of the most qualified drivers to do a recovery. One point Chief_919 makes that I have to echo is that the cost of driving/flying to get it, fuel cost ( 10 MPG and $3.75/gal ) and overnight costs are significant and you need to be ready for that. Definitely compare that with having it shipped.
If you elect to get it yourself, you should have a chase vehicle. On my first recovery, which I did alone, I towed a ’69 Bronco. While driving my M923A1 from Ft. Benning, GA to Denver, CO, my wife drove an SUV.
On the trip from GA to CO two major things occurred: the engine threw a water pump belt and an outside duel blew. We found a replacement belt and used the chase car to fetch it. We ran out of time to deal with the tire and left the truck in Dublin, TX in my daughter’s back yard. If we’d have taken 1 more day, I could have changed the blown tire, but we opted to finish the trip later (in 6 weeks).
Before starting, I downloaded to a laptop all the TMs I could find on SS and it was extremely valuable; I would not have figured out how to tighten the belt without them. Without the internet I would not have been able to quickly find a replacement belt. We used a Pantech Element smart pad to get on the internet and contacted Cummins for a cross-over part number and subsequently NAPA for the part. We actually had it in-hand within an hour of pulling off the highway in Jackson, MS.
Something I didn’t learn about until I got home was that you should know about, they may have caged your brakes so that the truck can be moved dead. Google “caged air brakes” to learn about it.
One last thing, trucks from Sparta, WI appear to be in better repair than those from other places.
