Memories for us old truckers

Heres another beast of a recovery machine.

Truck Shop said:

I have always thought and found the idea of owning and operating a $750,000 fancy a$$ rotator for recovery work totally asinine. Last year there were two rigs like the ones in the
photos below for sale both went for less than $100,000, Both were 100 ton railroad cranes with not much in the way of hours. One of these on a recovery job would make
a rotator look extremely sad. And I know of a guy named Crane Operator to operate it.

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Funny you should mention those rigs. I have seen several also in the last few years for sale. I think the railroad is selling the ones they owned, and just subcontracting out the work (to outfits like hulcher). I thought about buying one, I do some work at our local senic railroad, but they are just such a limited use machine, I don't know that the numbers would work. But they sure are neat machines. I saw one of them that had a square boom like the pettibone that tugger posted, and they had a boom extension you could bolt into it for a little more stick.

Our local heavy wrecker guy retired this spring. Sold the trucks and now is just running his repair shop (cars, pickups, tires, lube). We have lots of guys running around with little rollbacks, but I really don't want to do that, I just want a heavy. Not a rotator, just a puller with a wheel lift.

I keep kicking it around and looking at big wreckers, and I think it kind of would fit in with a lot of the other work we do. And I always like a challenge. But, if I have a job tomorrow, with my 100 ton crane doing manbasket work at 200' up, I can't take a wrecker call at 1:00 am and work all night, and then do a good job with the crane the next day. I'd like to think I could, but reality says I can't. I wouldn't mind going out and flipping back up a tipped over dump truck or concrete truck once in a while, but you can't schedule around that kind of work. And if you're not available when the customer calls, pretty soon they don't call.

My friend Rob his boss just bought this General from near Calgary, and plans are to restore and use it for shows. A low millage truck for sure.

WOW!!

Tell him to check the grill fasteners... grill fell right out of mine onto the road and under the drivers. The driver brought a handful back to the yard for inspection. It was the harbinger of things to come.

I have been meaning to take a few images of this 66ish N Series Ford wrecker for a few months on our way to the range Saturday we saw that someone had drug it out of it's tomb.

{Old Rusty} should be it's name. Holmes 600 with X7 booms and military box. Ugh-Minnesota Mag wheels.

Truck Shop said:

{Old Rusty} should be it's name. Holmes 600 with X7 booms and military box. Ugh-Minnesota Mag wheels.

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IIRC Bateman towing in Spokane had a Ford "N" like that with a 534 engine and a 580(?) Holmes with the high mounted booms. It wasn't a bad looking truck in the day.

The N series above has to be 1966 to 1969, 66 was the first year of the raised roof and 69 was the end of the line for the NT850D to NT1000D. Power was NH 230 or NHC 250 Cummins or
Detroit 6-71N's at 238 with 10spds. That model came out in 1963 and never really sold that well.

Wonder what is with eastern trucks and those bumper guide sticks?

Hank R said:

My friend Rob his boss just bought this General from near Calgary, and plans are to restore and use it for shows. A low millage truck for sure.

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Must be the season for low mileage general's. This one is up for auction, says always inside and only 49,000 miles.

8v92 and a 13 speed. The interior is right out of the GM parts bin.

https://www.auctiontime.com/listings/trucks/auctions/online/123543593/1982-gmc-general

Not a bad rig except for the fact it has a Double 00 92- those were turds.

Double O 8V92... bad JUJU. Just an overbored 8V71 for the most part.
Edit... I see Truck Shop beat me to the punch.

OK, I have never heard of a double O 92. What does that mean and what is wrong with it? What are the general specs on that model?

Basically an 8v71 that was bored out for wet liners, the blocks and crankshaft had some weak points that were addressed with the Silver series with a dedicated block, improved crankshaft and main bearings to handle the increased HP.

The Double 00 which is designated by the two zero's at the end of the serial number were as RZ pointed out, a 8-71 block, crank and rods with the 92 pistons and liners. Those engines
were known to break/crack the main bearing caps. Years ago I knew of two that broke in rigs down in Calif and were eased back to home to Ellensburg, 1200 miles. If you had one break
once you knew immediately without looking at the oil pressure gauge that it happened again by the odd vibration it produces when the main cap breaks. A strange high frequency
vibration. A guy I worked for ran through three Double 00's in less than 14 months. At the time Emerson Diesel in Seattle had a pile of them setting out back, all toasted.

We more or less inherited a General with a 92 in it, that one had as I recall a problem with a crack in the top deck near one of the head bolts or some such thing. Recall the boss spending some time talking to Detroit factory saying how big a national company we were and so on, most of which was true if not a little out of character for "Shorty" he had a way of stretching the truth to near the breaking point. Well the final out come was I was told we got a brand new Silver 92 in a crate for something like $5,000.00. And the company as far as I know never bought anything with a 92 in it after that!

Truck Shop said:

Wonder what is with eastern trucks and those bumper guide sticks?

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That's to let the drivers know when to park the trucks, snow over the top of sticks head to coffee shop!

So double 00 92s were different than the silver 92, correct? The silver 92 was a better engine, right. Just making sure I understand y’all correctly.

How many years did they make these achy breaky bored out 71 before they beefed up the 92 properly?