• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

Wrecker wishlist of mods

red

Active member
1,988
24
38
Location
Eagle Mountain/Utah
Used the m816 to lift tow a bunch of vehicles over the weekend, ranging from little power wagons up to a m915a1. No wood wedges or anything done to the rear suspension to help the pivot issue back there. The extra weight that was moved up front with the 2 storage boxes and 4 snatch blocks helped ALOT. After losing the vice/mounting plate this added about 500 pounds just behind the bumper. Even with the m915a1 on the hook still had good steering both on pavement and on the grass/dirt. I'd say it's a proven upgrade that can be done cheap without adding extra weight, just relocate it to the front.

The front did get lightweight going over some dips in the road at about 20mph with the m915a1 so it's not a complete fix. Will look further into moving the rear axles back when the lower dog bones get replaced and locker installed.

IMG_20170701_113311812.jpgIMG_20170701_121541140.jpgIMG_20170703_144321983.jpgIMG_20170704_174511346.jpgIMG_20170701_201620402.jpg


The gun truck was not towed in, everything else was though.
 
Last edited:

zebedee

conceptualizer at large
Steel Soldiers Supporter
1,628
724
113
Location
Central NY
"No longer camo"

... is not on my wish list of mods!


But that's a tidy paint job though and it does work for you! :p
 

red

Active member
1,988
24
38
Location
Eagle Mountain/Utah
Had a chance to test out a spreader bar idea today. Using one of the travel legs for the boom, 2 shackles, and my 4 chain legs lifting setup. Worked well for a lightweight lift. With a couple mods to the bar allowing for the short chains to be closer to vertical will help for heavier lifts.

IMG_20171105_150319191_HDR.jpg
 

red

Active member
1,988
24
38
Location
Eagle Mountain/Utah
My m62gasserl is stored dry .but i have free access to unleaded fuel " with some diesel added in"..you know they fill wrong at the gas stations..

Any recommendations about using this stuff?






Sent fra min SM-G935F via Tapatalk
Wait until warm weather to run that fuel mix. Gas engine will run on some diesel fuel just smokes alot and is under powered. Dilute it with more gas.



Have an idea for the spreader bar mod to the travel leg. Use a longer pin through the holes on the inner leg as a 'stop' for the chain, so no permanent mods to the inner leg. (Chain wrapped around the inner leg to the outside of the pin, the pin just holds the chain from moving). With the outter leg just weld the stop tabs on it.
 

sandcobra164

Well-known member
2,999
289
83
Location
Leesburg, GA
Wildcard thrown in! I wish my M984A4 did not limit 5th gear to 1,700 rpm! Question though, is there anything specific you would like a picture of? Other than than the cab uprgrades with instrumentation and stuff, the wrecker body is the exact same and my old M984A1. I just have a C15 Cat instead of an 8V92. It also has A/C and it's much quieter.
 

red

Active member
1,988
24
38
Location
Eagle Mountain/Utah
Wildcard thrown in! I wish my M984A4 did not limit 5th gear to 1,700 rpm! Question though, is there anything specific you would like a picture of? Other than than the cab uprgrades with instrumentation and stuff, the wrecker body is the exact same and my old M984A1. I just have a C15 Cat instead of an 8V92. It also has A/C and it's much quieter.
Power, AC, quieter, getting spoiled rotten hahaha.

Pics of everything related to the bed would be great. In particular (for me) the outriggers and the tow bar.
 

zebedee

conceptualizer at large
Steel Soldiers Supporter
1,628
724
113
Location
Central NY
>> is there anything specific you would like a picture of? <<
What adapters are now carried? - inventory of vehicles keeps changing, last manual change I saw was still for the M984E1 included deleting lifting operation for the M911.
 

sandcobra164

Well-known member
2,999
289
83
Location
Leesburg, GA
Same adapters as the original with 1 exception. We now carry MUA's or multi-use adapters. They are used for the LMTV's (flat nose and LTAS variants, front or rear lift). It even comes with the old M35/809/939 1" pin adapters and of course the HMMWV adapters. Finally, we use the same HEMMT/PLS/MRAP adapters. The truck doesn't even come with a towbar anymore. We re-purposed a square tube one from an MK-36 wrecker with the 1 1/2" feet for flat towing heavy trucks long distances. The only thing we don't lift tow is a PLS equipped with an E-CHU or enhanced cargo handling unit. It's used for pickng up a 20 foot ISO container and sits about 8 1/2 feet above the frame rails of the PLS. There's a way to lower it but requires the truck to run. We'd easily hit the first bridge or low hanging powerlines that we come across if we tried that. Having said that, if we had the MKR-15 that the Marine Corps uses, it has the capability to slave hydraulics from the running wrecker to the dead MKR-18 to accomplish the task but that's limited to the LVSR family. Army HEMMT wrecker's don't have that ability and the PLS is not set up to receive the assistance but it is a handy feature. As far as the rear body goes, it's all the same. 60K main drag winch, same grove crane, even the same controls and remote. Still have to flip the hydraulics on in the cab, turn on the rear controls on the passenger rear fender before the crane controls as well as the switches on the passenger side rear of the truck. Main differences are the quiet C-15, air conditioning standard and LED lights all the way around.
 

red

Active member
1,988
24
38
Location
Eagle Mountain/Utah
Did some measuring today under the wrecker in regards to extending the wheelbase and looks like it won't be as simple as hoped. The rear frame would have to be extended about 18" to provide clearance for the middle axle to not make contact with the reinforced crossmember (the one that sits directly over the tandems in stock location). This setup would put the end of the extended frame about even with the rear of the tires and the axles pushed back roughly 31".

Only way to change that would be to relocate the reinforced crossmember. And, that crossmember is also part of the suspension mounts.
 

red

Active member
1,988
24
38
Location
Eagle Mountain/Utah
Hey bobbed wrecker concept with the stock bed........

IMG_20171207_143537172.jpg


Not really. Just in the middle of mods/repairs and have to be able to move the truck around the lot. Stock bed is way too heavy for this
 

red

Active member
1,988
24
38
Location
Eagle Mountain/Utah
Okay I like that but here is what I am going to do. Remove the outriggers completely I never use them. Turn the toolbox lids 180°so they open to the front and the crane will never completely block them from opening. And I am going to do a door on both sides of the truck. And the sides are getting cut so they will fold down 90°. This mod starts in the morning
By the way, removed the outriggers from my m816 as well and took them to scrap today. According to the scale they weigh roughly 240 pounds each.

IMG_20180114_135312241.jpg
 

Rescue101

Member
40
6
8
Location
Bridgton Maine
Suggestion......Make two toggle plates that pin to the outside eye. That way you can have a shackle top and bottom. Makes it more convenient.
 
Last edited:

red

Active member
1,988
24
38
Location
Eagle Mountain/Utah
Suggestion......Make two toggle plates that pin to the outside eye. That way you can have a shackle top and bottom. Makes it more convenient.
With the spreader bar? If there's enough boom height that works but my goal is to make the rigging as short as safely possible to work better with the short booms that are on these trucks.
 

Rescue101

Member
40
6
8
Location
Bridgton Maine
Ya Red,Made a Custom one for mine.If I can remember long enough,I'll snap a pic tomorrow. The link would only be about 4" just enough to slide over the support bar as pictured ,just gives you an eye up and down. You could use a pin style hook instead of a shackle if you wanted. I just simplified the whole thing with two pieces of square tubing that nestles with 3 lifting eyes. Works mint for my purposes.
 
Top