some new pictures of the deuce

[nickd]

had the camera out

 

[rizzo]

cool, can you take some close ups of the tow bar mounts?

 

[Hookin1]

 

[nickd]

some tow bar mounting close ups

 

[wallew]

nickd,
That's ONE SWEET RIDE! And excellent pix btw!!

jim

 

[marksgarage2]

Why did you put that towbar on your truck? Why would you ever need it?

 

[wallew]

MG2,

OOH! OOH! OOH!

Can I guess this one?

Because he might be able to tow a vehicle back to where it needed to go with the towbar instead of the hook?

Hey, it's just a theory!

jim

 

[jld66]

Great set-up for securing the towbar!

 

[nickd]

Mark, I put the tow bar on the bumper to keep from tripping over it on the garage floor!!

 

[Armada]

I put the tow bar on the bumper to keep from tripping over it on the garage floor!!

Amen! They do not budge when you slam your foot into it!
Great pics, and good mounting idea. Mine is going up front eventually too.
I've got a winch up front also, so that in itself makes the front end heavy, but did you notice any difference in handling, etc., by adding the extra weight of the tow bar?

 

[Recovry4x4]

The towbar on the front bumper might not be much good but in some views, but its a much better place than at home when the need arises.

 

[cranetruck]

Handling differences with more weight on the front is an affirmative.
I can "park" the K-boom behind the cab in a figure 4 position or drive with the boom extended over the bed.
Parked in the figure 4 position it adds 650 lb to the load on the front axle for a total of 7,900 lb. When it's extended over the back, the load on the front axle is 7,250 lb. Numbers confirmed on a scale with my old bed.
Steering is harder, particularily off-road, so I keep the boom over the bed most of the time. With cargo, which sometimes overhangs the bed in the rear, the folded boom can act as a counterweight.
For extra traction for the front tires, I swing the boom forward over the bumper.
Lots of options, but if I can notice 650 lb of extra weight up front, the towbar plus winch will have a greater effect for sure. Tire wear will be worse too.
At highway speeds, the loading of the front tires must be considered (1100 tires is an advantage here).

My two cents.

 

[nickd]

The added weight is not a factor for me as this truck is a play toy. I do not use it for work or as a primary driver. Trail rides and shows. I did replace the front shocks when I went over the truck. The 165 pounds added to the front is not as much as the weight added by the ring mount. Besides, the truck is designed to carry heavy loads over unimproved roads and the springs are stronger than all of the commercial trucks I have compared it to. I certainly would not add 165 lbs to the front of my '01 Dodge 1500 pick up. I wanted the tow bar to travel with the truck and decided the best place for it would be out of the way on the front bumper. The duals mounted in the back will also allow for me to give up a spare to a buddy and still have 2 for my long ride home from a trail ride. The tow bar proved itself indespensable on my last trail ride where Marksgarage2 flat towed me 15 miles on trails after I broke the steering box, the subject of an upcomming article in Military Vehicles Magazine. Yes, we could have used a chain but the tow bar made the job easy. It needs to be with the vehicle if you want to do this stuff. Thanks again for the pictures Mark!

 

[wallew]

nickd & MG2,
Do I get a prize for my guess??

See, I thought it would be a good idea to have those handy. And while I have two spares for my truck, carrying a spare for someone else just didn't occur to me.

As I run 22.5" bud wheels, I can't just 'loan' them one of mine. With the Michelins that are 42 (ish) inches tall, they don't match anyone else's set up. But I got ALL SORTS of tires/wheels I could carry one extra in case some one broke down on a MV run...

WAY KEWL IDEA!! I'm stealin it!

thx

jim

 

[nickd]

Jim, I carry the extra spares cause they are cheap and if I blow a tire on a trail run it wont ruin the day for me or another deuce buddy since we try to travel together.

 

[cranetruck]

Nickd, don't get me wrong, I think it's a cool idea, I was only addressing the added weight effect on the steering.

 

[rmgill]

I carried 4 extra spares up to Pennsylvania and back. Two really good tires and one ok tire plus the spare under the truck bed.

 

[Tony]

nickd,
Looking at the gun mount, I have one on my M-135..The bracket for carrin gtrhe ammo box inmpesses me. Did it come with your unit? or did you make an addon...Could you tack closer pics so I can do the same,,Tanks

 

[Djfreema]

I too carry my towbar in the truck however it is chained up in the bed. It will come in handy if I ever need to be towed or stumble across the smoking deal of a duece sitting in someones back 40!

 

[nickd]

About guns or tow bars, there is no substitute when you need one.