- 1,577
- 139
- 63
- Location
- Norwood LA
Recovery disaster- Pics on pg 3, Final Update Pg 6
Truck is fixed - Update on bottom of page 6
What started out as a great trip to pick up my M871 flatbed trailer left me stranded on the side of the road at dark 85 miles from home.
I left home on Wed. at 0730 to reach Ft. Polk by 1300 to pick up the trailer. Aside from an occasional shower, the M818 was cruising happily along at 49-50 mph and 2000 rpm and I took my time.
I had to go to three gates to find the truck entrance, since the others were restricted to 2-ton vehicles or smaller. When I got to the GL lot on time, had to wait since there was only one GL employee there, and the trailer was located at North Fort Polk. After about 1/2 hour, we went to the other yard, but couldn't find the trailer as it had been moved since I had previewed it to another storage yard. (BTW, there are probably over 100 M870 and M871 trailers that may be excessed, since the folks working there said they were not really suitable for the 900 series tractors due to the higher hitch height). The M870 is too heavy for the M818, and the M871 is probably too heavy fully loaded for the M818 to pull easily.
After about 20 min searching, we finally found it, but I saw someone had poked a hole in one of the brand new Goodyear 286 tires.
The trailer has been totally reworked with new brake system, bearings, tires, wood, paint, wiring and lights. Thankfully, I only bid on the trailers with spare tires and the sideboards that you can put on the flat bed. The ruined tire was noted on the invoice by the GL rep, and I'll have to go through the damage claim process again. 
The worst part was I had to change the tire by myself in 90 degree heat with 70 % humidity. By the time I got the new tire in place, I had to rest a few minutes after hand starting each nut. That job just whipped my butt - those tires are HEAVY. At that point, one of the workers stopped by and said I could pull the trailer into one of their shops and he would use an impact wrench to tighten the nuts. I finally left Ft. Polk at 1600 hrs - 3 hours after arrival, and was recovering from heat exhaustion. I had a 180 mile trip ahead of me.
The trailer pulled great, but was heavy. It took longer to come up to speed, but I was still cruising on the open flat roads at about 49-50 mph and 2000 rpm. The truck was just purring along, and I was driving with a smile on my face and feeling good about making it through several small towns without destroying buildings and smashing parked cars. I was about 8 miles east of Opelousas LA (birthplace of Jim Bowie), and at about 110 miles into my return trip, the engine sounded like someone was kicking a steel drum with some cobblestones inside. I pulled over as far as I could, killed the engine and turned on the flashers. 
I think I threw a rod or lost a piston, but there was no oil leak and no holes in the side of the engine. So there I am, the temperature is still in the mid-80s, it's getting dark, the fog and mosquitoes are coming out of the swamp next to the road, and I'm a couple of hours from home. Traffic on US 190 is passing by at 65 mph, and the truck is only 1 foot from the slow lane edge. Now what do I do?
I checked my GPS which can search for local food/gas and such, and find a truckstop a couple of miles back. I called them to see if they had a number for a wrecker. The several phone calls later, explaining to each what I was driving, I finally was waiting for the largest wrecker in a 50-mile radius.
When the driver arrived, we had a problem since the lift that went under the front axle couldn't fit due to the differential, and the off-center location of the spring brackets. He called his boss, who had never towed one of these trucks, and was no help. I finally convinced the driver to hook the boom cable hooks to the lift shackles, and chain the lift to the front of the bumper and around the frame. It took about an hour to figure it out. I also had to explain that we couldn't hook up to the air/hydraulic brakes on the truck, but could run an air line to the trailer. Fortunately, the M871 and M870 trailers are set up for 24v and 12v lights, and we ran the light cable to the 7-pin(?) connector. He lifted the front of the M818 about 2 feet off the ground, and we headed out in the biggest wrecker I've ever seen towing both the M818 tractor and M871 trailer, leaving hundreds of full mosquitoes to digest their meals. I also left behind $247 for the towing fee to drop the truck and trailer off at a truck stop on I49. I was headed to the wrecker yard, when the driver said I could leave it at a truck stop to avoid storage fees. I had my wife make a 4 hour round trip to pick me up, and I finally got to bed at 0200 on Thurs.
So here I sit trying to figure out what to do. I am trying to contact a diesel mechanic to see if he can work on it, or to find out if it is worth it. I'll take a camera with me for photos when I go to visit it in the truck stop. I'm sure it's getting a lot of attention while it's there.
Just to explore options, does anyone have a M818 in south LA that can tow my M818 home? It will take two trips to get both the tractor and trailer. I'll pay all your expenses, and you can take all the pictures and laugh at me the entire time
.
Truck is fixed - Update on bottom of page 6
What started out as a great trip to pick up my M871 flatbed trailer left me stranded on the side of the road at dark 85 miles from home.
I left home on Wed. at 0730 to reach Ft. Polk by 1300 to pick up the trailer. Aside from an occasional shower, the M818 was cruising happily along at 49-50 mph and 2000 rpm and I took my time.
I had to go to three gates to find the truck entrance, since the others were restricted to 2-ton vehicles or smaller. When I got to the GL lot on time, had to wait since there was only one GL employee there, and the trailer was located at North Fort Polk. After about 1/2 hour, we went to the other yard, but couldn't find the trailer as it had been moved since I had previewed it to another storage yard. (BTW, there are probably over 100 M870 and M871 trailers that may be excessed, since the folks working there said they were not really suitable for the 900 series tractors due to the higher hitch height). The M870 is too heavy for the M818, and the M871 is probably too heavy fully loaded for the M818 to pull easily.After about 20 min searching, we finally found it, but I saw someone had poked a hole in one of the brand new Goodyear 286 tires.
The trailer has been totally reworked with new brake system, bearings, tires, wood, paint, wiring and lights. Thankfully, I only bid on the trailers with spare tires and the sideboards that you can put on the flat bed. The ruined tire was noted on the invoice by the GL rep, and I'll have to go through the damage claim process again. The worst part was I had to change the tire by myself in 90 degree heat with 70 % humidity. By the time I got the new tire in place, I had to rest a few minutes after hand starting each nut. That job just whipped my butt - those tires are HEAVY. At that point, one of the workers stopped by and said I could pull the trailer into one of their shops and he would use an impact wrench to tighten the nuts. I finally left Ft. Polk at 1600 hrs - 3 hours after arrival, and was recovering from heat exhaustion. I had a 180 mile trip ahead of me.The trailer pulled great, but was heavy. It took longer to come up to speed, but I was still cruising on the open flat roads at about 49-50 mph and 2000 rpm. The truck was just purring along, and I was driving with a smile on my face and feeling good about making it through several small towns without destroying buildings and smashing parked cars.
I was about 8 miles east of Opelousas LA (birthplace of Jim Bowie), and at about 110 miles into my return trip, the engine sounded like someone was kicking a steel drum with some cobblestones inside. I pulled over as far as I could, killed the engine and turned on the flashers. I think I threw a rod or lost a piston, but there was no oil leak and no holes in the side of the engine. So there I am, the temperature is still in the mid-80s, it's getting dark, the fog and mosquitoes are coming out of the swamp next to the road, and I'm a couple of hours from home. Traffic on US 190 is passing by at 65 mph, and the truck is only 1 foot from the slow lane edge. Now what do I do?
I checked my GPS which can search for local food/gas and such, and find a truckstop a couple of miles back. I called them to see if they had a number for a wrecker. The several phone calls later, explaining to each what I was driving, I finally was waiting for the largest wrecker in a 50-mile radius. When the driver arrived, we had a problem since the lift that went under the front axle couldn't fit due to the differential, and the off-center location of the spring brackets. He called his boss, who had never towed one of these trucks, and was no help. I finally convinced the driver to hook the boom cable hooks to the lift shackles, and chain the lift to the front of the bumper and around the frame. It took about an hour to figure it out. I also had to explain that we couldn't hook up to the air/hydraulic brakes on the truck, but could run an air line to the trailer. Fortunately, the M871 and M870 trailers are set up for 24v and 12v lights, and we ran the light cable to the 7-pin(?) connector. He lifted the front of the M818 about 2 feet off the ground, and we headed out in the biggest wrecker I've ever seen towing both the M818 tractor and M871 trailer, leaving hundreds of full mosquitoes to digest their meals. I also left behind $247 for the towing fee to drop the truck and trailer off at a truck stop on I49. I was headed to the wrecker yard, when the driver said I could leave it at a truck stop to avoid storage fees. I had my wife make a 4 hour round trip to pick me up, and I finally got to bed at 0200 on Thurs.
So here I sit trying to figure out what to do. I am trying to contact a diesel mechanic to see if he can work on it, or to find out if it is worth it. I'll take a camera with me for photos when I go to visit it in the truck stop. I'm sure it's getting a lot of attention while it's there.
Just to explore options, does anyone have a M818 in south LA that can tow my M818 home? It will take two trips to get both the tractor and trailer. I'll pay all your expenses, and you can take all the pictures and laugh at me the entire time
.
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