WOW - It's hard to believe that this thread had gone dormant for some seven weeks!
Not to toss y'all an excuse, but in that time we've been spending time helping Dianna's mom search for and purchase a retirement home here in San Angelo, (retiring over the next three years from Alamogordo, New Mexico as she transfers her business to her son), and waiting for the weather and other timing considerations.
On short notice once again, the opportunity to run out to Midland and bring the M818 home on Thursday arose. Weather was supposed to be cooperative and timing was looking good too.
Let's pause here for a HUGE not of CAUTION.....
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CAUTION: While there are differing opinions on whether or not it's a good idea to tow a 5-Ton M809 Series truck with a Deuce and a Half, I read all the input I could find on the possibility and decided to try it.... FULLY prepared to ABORT the mission if the towing combination proved unsafe.
CONCLUSION: I will NEVER again tow a 5-Ton with a Deuce unless it is an absolute emergency or simply a local repositioning exercise where in speeds can be kept below 30 mph.
More on this below.
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I've already let the cat out of the bag that we didn't have the truck "hauled" home.
Having confirmed the measurements of the narrow passage and tight turn we would have to make just to get it out of the Sheriff's yard, it was determined that only under its own power or on a short tow bar would such navigation be possible. Hence, it was decided to at least take the Deuce to Midland and extract the Shepherd from it's "cocoon", determine its towability, and proceed as appropriate.
Brother CARNAC was kind enough to loan a Medium Tow Bar for the extraction and recovery.... Carnac, if you're listening... THANK YOU a thousand times over!!!
Well, at 0800hrs on Thursday I rolled out SOLO in the ARK loaded down with tools, tow bar, air hoses, flashing LED lights (for the back of the towed vehicle) and plenty of support parts and equipment. The temperature was 39F and there's NO TOP on the Deuce at this time. I was all bundled up for the 109 mile trip and was estimating a two-hour (three-hours with "warm-up stops") cruise to the Sheriff's yard.
I topped off the fuel tank to verify anticipated fuel consumption, both empty and loaded. The trip out was a predicted 10 MPG! That had been my prior highway mileage, and it hasn't changed in the 4 years since the Deuce's last road trip. (Loaded MPG will be shared later.)
The skies were utterly cloudless and the drive out was EXCELLENT ! By the time I arrived in Midland (with potty/warming stops in Sterling City and Garden City) it was 1045 hrs, and about 40 miles was driven through a construction zone where they are widening the highway to 4-lanes. I pulled over only four times to allow following vehicles to pass. I was blessed with VERY LIGHT traffic ! By the time I arrived the temp had climbed to about 60F. I was pleasantly pleased.
At the Sheriff's yard I waited just a few minutes and my point of contact Deputy and the County Risk Manager showed up to have some fun away from their desks. As soon as the introductions were made, the gate was opened and I pulled the Deuce in and around their warehouse to the M818's location. While I prepped the tow bar and air hoses my two hosts went into the warehouse to "see if there's anything else we can give you." I had already been promised a HEAVY TOW BAR they would no longer be needing since the M113 APC's they used it for were no longer in their possession. (I think that alone is worth as much as I paid for the M818.) When they came back, I was ready to couple the two trucks together, but they said to wait, drive around the building, and we could load some other goodies they had for me.
Driving around the building, I found they had drug out two mounted NDT tires, and they also found a "NEW" condition Boarding Ladder, and a beat up Jerry Can. Fortunately their yard is just across the street from an oilfield company's yard. Seeing the mounted tires, I went across the street and got them to "volunteer" to load the heavy wheelsets with their forklift. Another blessing! Once all that was loaded I rounded the building again and we coupled up the trucks and connected air lines so I'd have functional breaks.
Now came the navigational challenge.... I had about 50 feet to "test tow" the 5-Ton. By then I was hugging a building on my right, getting ready for that TIGHT left turn into a narrow passage between the warehouse building and a 12" chain link perimeter fence. I swung the Deuce almost perfectly the first try, barely making contact with the fence. Creeping along, the M818 followed and tracted nicely... it's rear axle tires clearing the corner of the concrete block warehouse by a mere THREE INCHES !!! I KNOW that a tow truck, nor anything larger than a Deuce could have pulled that off! ....another BLESSING !!!
The next turn around the end of the warehouse was much wider, BUT on softer soil. In first gear, the back end of the Deuce began to drift as the weight of the 5-ton fought with my traction. It was at this time that I fully realized that this trip might, just might be a short one if handling didn't improve drastically on paved roadways.
You may have noticed that I hadn't yet mentioned mounting and activating the flashing LED lights on the M818. Because we were just going about 4 miles to another location to fetch the HEAVY TOW BAR and "some other things", the "boys" suggested I wait since they'd be able to give me a "police escort" through the city streets. Lordy, were they serious about the escort. With a lead car all lit up, towing a 5-Ton with a non-functioning light bar, and a trailing escort also all lit up, they blocked and controlled several major cross streets and intersections such that I never had to stop until we got to their other County Yard and Radio Shack.
It was a good "shake out run" to get a feel for towing the 5-Ton behind a Deuce. I found that on any loose surface such as gravel or dirt the heavier truck wanted to push the lighter one around quite a bit. But on paved surfaces she was controllable up to 30 MPH (The highest speed achieved so far.) I became confident that the whole trip home could happen. My only concern was for the 40 or so miles between Garden City and Sterling City - where the highway was being widened - that I'd have to find places to pull over as often as necessary so as to not be a hazard. I had the forethought to load the various County Sheriff's phone numbers for the route into my phone "just in case" a call for escorts just might be in order. I'd make that judgement call as necessary.
There we loaded the HEAVY TOW BAR (Dang! HEAVY is an understatement!!! I understand it's got a 116,000 Lb Towed Load Capacity.) They also crammed a large cardboard box into the passenger floorboards of the M818. Once home I discovered a SLAVE CABLE in that box. WOW - Another BLESSING !
Well, before I left that yard I mounted my "Flashy-Flashy LED Lights" on the winch frame (square tubing for directional light projection) using lots of duct tape. I secured all the cargo and tools, and started to head out.
It was as I was headed for their gate that I remembered:
, so here y'a go....
As you can see, the afternoon was gorgeous ! The temp was almost 70 F, and it was about 1400 hrs. I put on a hoodie anyway since it would soon be starting to cool down.
This brief stop also gave me an excellent opportunity to test the rig's braking. I honestly believe that she braked better as a combination than the Deuce does on her own. It was straight line stopping, but I would also be cautious if braking in a curve.
I should mention at this point that with this experience I would NOT suggest towing a 5-Ton with a Deuce unless it's absolutely necessary AND you exercise the utmost caution.
I should also state that the ENTIRE 100+ mile trip between Midland and San Angelo, Texas is almost completely FLAT with maximum grades of 2% or less. there are only two overpasses to be climbed to and then descended from. What I experienced in those downhill situations was that if the trailing truck is PUSHING, then it is also largely CONTROLLING YOU instead of you controlling it. My advise is to crest the hill at a LOW SPEED and very gently accelerate in the downhill run so as to keep the trailing truck from pushing, and therefore DOMINATING your tow vehicle's control.
ANYONE attempting such a recovery in an area with hills and valleys, and roads other than VERY STRAIGHT would be urged to RETHINK their judgement. I will NOT do this again.
Other than that learning curve and the need for 100% attention, 100% of the drive home, it was an uneventful trip. I did make a stop at both Garden City and Sterling City again for potty stops and walk-around inspections. I also did a visual check of my fuel consumption. (I refilled in Midland before starting the return leg of the trip.) All told, I got the previously reported 10 MPG on the way out, and right at 7.5 MPG dragging that load ! ! ! I thought that was outstanding! For safety reasons, I never exceeded 42 MPH, and that was only on the best, flattest, 4-lane road segments; and ranged between 30-35 MPH for the majority of the trip. Much like the trip out, I needed to pull over and let following traffic pass through the construction zone only 4 times. This time for short strings of vehicles instead of the previous single cars. Again I was blessed with light traffic!
I presume that there was something about dragging a vehicle with a RED/BLUE/YELLOW Light Bar and FLASHY-FLASHY RED LED's on the back (out of sync) that caused drivers to remain very patient following me. And, once I could let them pass and they could see it was a pair of Former Military Vehicles, no one dared complain.
The whole return trip took a little more than three hours. I arrived in San Angelo just as the sun was getting close to the horizon. And I pulled up to the house with enough daylight to push the M818 back into the front driveway (temporarily), unhook the tow bar from the Deuce, and then stow the Deuce is the backyard where it's normally kept. It then took about two more hours to unload all the goodies and tools, remove and stow CARNAC's borrowed tow bar, and secure the loaded tool boxes on the M818 (It also came with a fair compliment of tools.)
All in all it was a good recovery. I now have the experience of a solo recovery at a fair distance. And most of all I was blessed with safety, beautiful weather and more friends at the Midland County Sheriff's Office.
Some of the last pictures are with the rig parked on the street just before I dropped the 5-Ton in our driveway. The setting sun is a magnificent light!!!
And now the work begins.... Title & Registration, Batteries, a good Dust-Removing hosing off, full functional test, and PMS.
More on this later..... Good night.
Carry on.
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