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Tow capacity

wreckerman893

Possum Connoisseur
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Akenback acres near Gadsden, AL
M816? M819? M936? M543?

On the pintle? On the 5th wheel? On the hook?
How fast? How far? What terrain?

Most military trucks were under rated. I've pulled over 100k with a M818 tractor but it didn't like it, I never got out of low range and the Motor Sergeant was not amused or impressed. Less than ten miles with an MP escort.

Pulling usually isn't the problem. It's stopping and not blowing out tires or tearing up a driveline.
 

oboyjohn

Active member
340
120
43
Location
Quebec , Canada
Up here in Canada, we have HLVW 10 ton wreckers designed by Steyr. With this truck I have pulled a Leopard 1 engineering vehicle, on cement, about 500 meters with 2 90 degree turns. The wrecker weighs about 18-20 tons kitted out and the Leopard Badger another 46 tons. The wrecker has an in line 6 turboed diesel with a 8 speed ZF manual transmission. What is really nice with this transmission is that besides the clutch, there is also a torque converter. This makes for very easy starts under load.
HLwrecker1.jpg recovery 22.jpg
 

simp5782

Feo, Fuerte y Formal
Supporting Vendor
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Mason, TN
How much will a 5 ton wrecker tow? 30 ton trailer?
A m936 can towbar a m936 but it will get pushed around by the rear truck.

My m923 tows a 12,000lb trailer and up to 25,000lbs of trucks/equipment at 55 to 58 mph averaging 5.2mpg. At 32k of cargo my speed drops to 51mph avg

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk
 

tatra813

Member
523
25
18
Location
Washougal Wa
Looking to tow a triple axle tilt trailer on pindle hitch
Prob a 50 k load with the dozer on it

I want a wrecker truck. Which on would best suit this application ?

Driving on city roads

Is 5 ton truck enough with only 5 gears?

What's next step up for wrecker and where can I get one

Thanks
 

simp5782

Feo, Fuerte y Formal
Supporting Vendor
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Mason, TN
It will pull it. It may not like it. You would want an A2 truck and turn the pump up along with some injectors and intercooler and some other nick nacks to give it some down low guts but it would be better suited for down the highway. The 5 ton pintle is rated at 50 tons so you are safe on that. a Tilt deck trailer is going to be low to the ground so you would need to have the upper pintle mount used. Then again if you try to come out of a inclined area onto flat land it is going to drag the trailer rear cause the pintle is going to have to sit at 34 to 36 inches off the ground. Wrecker would be better since it has the heavier springs on it.

other option would be an M819. so that you could haul a step deck or a RGN behind it.

Or the 3rd option is to acquire a single or double axle dolly to hook a lowboy, RGN or step deck and tow it behind the wrecker. It would be better suited since it has the weight on the back axles to keep the dolly from trying to push underneath it. Just don't try backing up too much if it is a double axle dolly.

The setup in the picture is a 915 cut down into a dolly. That entire load is 72,000lbs and it pulled great unexpectedly.

With a M936 and a 50,000lb load you are well over 80,000lbs.
 

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Floridianson

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Interlachen Fl.
My .02 nothing 809 series nothing 939 series. Think 20k trucks and not military. Sounds like you are going to be working the rigs so spend the money up front and be done with it with a civi truck that will handle what you need to do for years. If you need a crane of sorts they can be added to any truck. If it's price then don't cheap out and if the cool factor paint the civi truck camo. Thinking about it while typing a M916A3 if you want Military. Remove the winch/5th wheel plate and add a crane maybe a small cut down bed if you need to haul stuff is the only one I might use. Has a good highway speed, plenty of power and big correct brakes /drums plus AC maybe. Low tare weight for a Military 6x6 of it's weight class.
 
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Csm Davis

Well-known member
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83
Location
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
I would think you would need a 819 with a bigger motor and a 16-18 speed transmission or a 920 with a wrecker bed added. But you have Tatras so you might want to get a Hemett wrecker or tractor version or Mk48 with Mk15 wrecker or Mk16 fifthwheel. I think you might be happiest with LVS Mk48 platform with the 48/16/870 setup. I say this because of a couple reasons, you live in the north west so power and traction will be a definite need and you said city use so you will need a tight turning radius which this setup is the smallest turning radius available.
Oh yeah I would love to have this setup!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
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