Value of Wrecker

[JohnnyReb]

Forgive me for this may be more a 5 tonner question, but I know some of you fella's and trust your opinions.


I need a crane to move some heavy equipment and assemble log cabins; I have found a 12 ton crane in Wis. but have also been considering the following truck: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=587&item=6528070177&rd=1



The crane is old but can be bought for 10K.



But will this truck do the job? I know it is normally a wrecker but it seems to have the 270 degree swing, extension, etc. ,the specs. are within my needs.

Secondly, how about the price?



Thanks in advance for your thoughts.....

 

[Elwenil]

I've seen them go for a lot less. You have to watch those trucks with the nice new paint jobs from Wisconsin. I'm sure they are from Oshkosh Equipment Sales in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Not that they don't sell nice trucks, but they seem to be on the high side and the camo patterns look more than a little off from spec. One just like that with a primer paint job and missing most of the military equipment (winch spades, towbars, etc.) just sold for I think $10k near where I live. Personally as far as looks, I prefer the 800 series 5 tons, they are also more plentiful, it seems. Miltrucks.com has a M-816 for sale in Ohio with a few mods done to make it a more conventional wrecker, but the boom is still fully functional and it has most of the military equipment too. Oshkosh Equipment also has a M-816 for $17k and a oddball m-819 wrecker with 5th wheel for $19k. Personally I wouldn't give any more than $12k for any of them, but that just me, and I have no way to make my money back off it. If you are working it, you could pay a little more and probably be ok, especially if you can write it off. There are cheaper boom trucks out there for sure, but the 5 tons are really cool, and do have the added bonus of 6 wheel drive. I'd love to have one, but it's a bit much for a toy, but again, if you can use it in a business it, it might be worth it. Just my .02

 

[Recovry4x4]

I concur with Elwenil. This truck is an M543 but the seller fails to mention if it's an -A1 or-A2. Big difference as far as I'm concerned. The cummins powered 816 would be a good platform as well. The 5 ton wreckers can't rotate at their rated capacity. Outriggers are manual and labor intensive.I you're working alone, you'll spend lots of time and energy climbing up and down on the behemoth. Depending on your capacity there's a much better way all around. A nice M813 cargo truck with a knuckle boom added can do just about anything. Even on a deuce, it's a tool to behold. If you were to do the 813, you could remove the 14' bed and pop a nice 12' dropside from a deuce on there and be set. Almost guarantee this could be accomplished for $20,000 and it will do 10 times the work as the wrecker. Drawback is you don't have that 45,000# winch in the back.

 

[BKubu]

IF you go the M813 route as Kenny suggests, I have a knuckle boom off of an M977 HEMTT. It is complete. It is rated to lift 4500 pounds within 9 feet...2500 pounds out to 19 feet. I paid $5K for the M977 that I WAS going to build. Since I bought a complete M977, I no longer need it. If you want it, let me know.

 

[jasonjc]

The wreker looks nice and all but i think a crane would to a lot better job for what you want the wreker boom is only 18'-20'long and thats from the center of the truck. unless you are makeing SMALL cabins I wouldn't think you cuold reach most of what you will need to. []

jason

 

[JohnnyReb]

Gave me alot to think about and alot of info [^]

Just what I was lookin for........ Don't know that much about the difference in the 5 tonners: 813 v. 543, so I obviously need to do more homework. Thanks again.....this forum is great!

Robb

 

[Recovry4x4]

Quick run down. The M543A1 is powered by the Mack ENDT673 diesel. I like these engines. The M543A2 has the Multifuel. Pretty anemic in a truck that weighs over 30,000#. The M816 has the NHC250 Cummins in it. All the cranes are the same.

 

[JohnnyReb]

Thanks Kenny. Allows me to make a more informed decision...

By the way, I e-mailed the seller with some questions about the truck and was confused by his response...just so I don't misquote, below is a copy of the response:

[2]Hello,[/2]

[2] The 5 ton trucks have an air shift for the front axle when in reverse. There is no lockers in the axles. The 20,000 lb rating is when the boom to chassis or boom to ground supports are in place. Free rotaing capacity is 10,000 lb.[/2]



What confuses me is the statement: "air shift for the front axle when in reverse"....

 

[poppop]

I have a 5 ton wrecker and just posted a question a few days ago about a switch
on the dash. The front axle does not ingage but I discovered a toggle switch behind the steering wheel that says power divider-ingauged or disingauged. I have not checked it out yet to see if it ingauges the front axle but it is not air, it is electric as the ampmeter shows a strong draw when I switch it on. I paid 2500.00 for the truck from someone who brought it from GL. It runs and drives great and the crane works great. It was missing windshield glass, doors, soft top, and both winches. A friend of mine just used it to raise steel for a building. It worked great for that but you could not set trusses that required a long reach.

 

[spicergear]

Uh, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but that eBay wrecker although super sharp looking ONLY has the multifuel engine it NOT the big 250 that, personally, I would want in a truck that massive if it were going to really be used a lot AND have those mammoth tires. Yes, power is stepped up...but you're still down like 80hp and 400 cubic inches from the 250hp diesel.

 

[MVtrucker]

I got rid of my underpowered multifuel wrecker and bought one with a Cummins. Most of you are not familiar with the Delaware Memorial Bridge that connects NJ & DE, but it's a long, high one. Now, instead of limping up it in 3rd gear with the multi, I don't even have to downshift to 4th with the Cummins.

 

[cranetruck]

With a knuckleboom equipped truck you have one big advantage, that of being able to load and unload yourself. I bring logs to the building site and can set them with great precision with the hydraulically operated boom.
If Bruce has a K-boom at a reasonable price, I'd go for it. A 5-ton is ideal, but may give you poor milage.

 

[cranetruck]

Here is an application of the knuckleboom plus deuce in the building of a log cabin. This goes back almost ten years before I switched to singles.

 

[JohnnyReb]

That is a really neat rig!

I could not tell from the photos, but do you have some special type of rig to hold the beam level?

 

[cranetruck]

Not sure what "beam" you are referring to. The truck has hydraulic outriggers to level itself and the boom is adjustable hydraulically in all directions. Here it is used to help get the ridge beam of the cabin roof in place.

 

[JohnnyReb]

Sorry about the confusion, I am referring to the ridge beam. You seem to have it secured at more than one place; not just hanging from a cable.

 

[73m819]

johnny reb, whare are you located, im in gainesville

 

[JohnnyReb]

Hey 73, sent you a PM. JB