EdsTowing

My grandson had all most of the equipment on display the other day for our company Christmas Party... We had a nice turn out and the kids (and a few adults) had a great time in the bounce house...LoL We had a local restaurant cater the party this year with their food trailer that we positioned right in the shop. Overall, it was a great day.

The dollies look good, haven't used them yet. I had to remove them from the truck so I can modify the mounting brackets... Problem is with these large winches, the winch motors are much bigger. They moved the dolly mounts outward to give clearance for the motors but that put the dolly tires right in line with the mirrors on the truck...You couldn't see anything out the back. I'm going to modify the brackets so the wheels sit strait vertical instead of at an angle. It will make them more difficult to get on & off but it's not like we use them regularly.

A few more feet and it would of been even more interesting...LoL Nice work.

No we got a 5" storm a week or so ago...we got work from it, still getting some, but I could use a little more... 😁

Just a few recent tows for our local Transit Authority... Just cleaning out my phone & haven't posted anything in a while...

Well, we finally got the truck today and everything went well. I'm anxious to start outfitting it in the next couple of weeks. Here are some shots of the current state... Custom touches on the side badging... Full Red "Under Glow" kit installed w/ extensions behind the grill and in the Fender Badges as well... Up-fitted w/ 12,000 lb winches with Synthetic rope... The Hydraulic motors are huge.... We had air free spools, trailer plugs for 7 wire, 4 wire flat & tow lights on the back, along with air service port & Back Up Camera... This chassis has a special Power Inverter option w/ 30 amp service plugs that we installed in the compartment along with a compressor & hose real... Charge port/station for the Tow Light... We had these strobe/puddle lights installed that we use on our rollback. Collins Dollies w/ Positive Arch Axles... Top of the boxes, body side pods and complete rear portion of crane unit is Raptor Lined for durability. I'll update once we start in the boxes. I'll try that Ron, thanks.

They had a few issues with all of the lights, had to get an updated file from Ford to upload in to the Body Control Modules. I think they got everything the way we wanted it. Hopefully we will be picking the truck up tomorrow... These are some still shots captured from video's they sent us. I can't upload the video's to the page though.

Got the plow installed, Magnum Back Rack on the bed and the fuel tank mounted in the bed tray... Fits in there like a glove and you can easily slide the tank to the back of the bed for access/filling. This is waiting for the emergency lighting to be installed, the 2 way radio and then I think we are done....

They sent a couple pics the other day of the truck....supposed to be ready for pick up on Friday so we will see...

Sometimes you get a call and you can just feel that this is going to be a cluster.... The other day we get a call to tow a tractor from a residence in a gated community to an IAA facility about 40 miles away. They didn't have a lot of information...or answers...and I got a negative feeling right out of the gate. But we charged accordingly and took a heavy and a rollback to assist since there was a car in the way "that just needed a jump"... Arrive to the address and it's just a wooded lot...no house...no Prostar... I call the guy and he's confused. I told him give me a call when you figure it out. We took half of the money for the bullshit and credited his carb back the rest. So yesterday he calls with the correct address and wants it done. I send a LD to scope it out 1st and find the house with cars blocking the truck. An hour later, the guy says that the cars are moved and he just needs the truck towed so we head up with both trucks anyway. Looking at the driveway, there isn't any way I am fitting the heavy in the driveway and ain't getting back out when hooked up. Get back on scene, and everything is still in the way... Of course the car in the way is a BMW 650 that hasn't run in nearly a year...flat tires, locked in park. We try to jump it but it doesn't crank so we hook it and tow it to the street... Then we tried to jump the truck but that hasn't apparently ran for quite a few months either so no go... Had to air the truck, beat the brakes off to release and pulled it out in to the street as well to hook it. Then move everything else back in to the driveway... Wasted so much time and now we had a better grasp on the situation, there was going to have to be more money so I brought it back to the shop for the night... Dropped at the shop for the night. We got the balance needed for the job this morning and brought it up to Pittston today... In the end it was ok and paid around 1500 for everything so...but I knew it was going to be one of those "Rest of the story" jobs...

Looks like a nice old girl...

That is cool....

Our new chassis is in for a Rollback... This will be a real nice unit with a Steel Bed & a Side Puller. It's a 300hp w/ an Allison, all cab options, duel aluminum tanks. The body isn't scheduled in till February so we should have it some time in March/April. Our 2022 Peterbilt will be up for sale when we get a little closer to the delivery date.

We don't have the time to take this one apart so we had the body shop just shoot the frame & suspension to keep in nice through the winter... Kevin does a nice job with this.

That's nice...and the unit can handle it too. Here is a F550 Diesel 4wd dump I moved in to the garage the other day... Now I couldn't go down the road like this...my steer was skidding all around. But the MPL40 is so strong.

Probably half of them have wreckers on them...

Nice, The best of luck with them. That wrecker can be printing press for money if used correctly, it should make an awesome truck.

I'll start... Auction Item #4 Original Holmes Fiberglass Emblems for $100.00 Auction Item # 8 Worlds Greatest Tow Truck Limited Edition for $200.00

Yes I counter weighted the front due to the weight deficiency between a Power Stroke & my 7.3 gasser. The difference is nearly 1000 lbs on the steer. I got this weight from our Miller dealer which was 400lbs. Mounted up under the rad support, it adds a little over 600lbs to the steer weight which helps. That image is looking in the wheel well opening. You have to look for it to see it which is what I wanted. It helped a lot...would be even better if it had a tunnel box as well but this truck was done for a specific reason and it does that good. My son Joe covered this weekend while we were at the show and towed this 20' E450 Uhaul and he said he was impressed how it handled it... Now in rain or snow, you have to be cautious like this because it can get "sketchy" up front...LoL But every man must know his limitations.... Supposedly my unit is sitting at the factory but we are getting a confirmation on that tomorrow. Maybe I could have my 600 together by the Florida Show?... We will see.

So I understand your thought on the straps in the way but there is a reality involved here. The highest towing ability of the unit would be on a old school sling since it would be the closest to the center line of the rear axle. Guys are used to the tow bar attachments on the 408 but in reality, they aren't any real added ability because it's still off the wheel lift. This was their only viable choice sense it isn't set up for a conventional sling. This new unit does have a Tow Bar...it's set up for forks. Put a set of chain forks on it and you could chain sling it off the wheel lift bar, just like the competitors. But the bottom line, till you extend the wheel lift to turn, you will be 8-10" further away from the wrecker back panel so your capacity will be diminished. The one truck down there had the LD sling storage mounted on the boom which adds efficiency for installation but is gaudy to work around. I don't know if I would leave it on or not? I would also like to see what the rating is on that sling compared to the MD sling that was on the older Cougar. As for the L arm placement, I think it's out of the way which is nice. I also think they will sit there without any securement but law says that components have to be secured to the body. I agree, the bungee strap idea is short sighted & looks "hinky"...a better solution needs to be investigated. In my case, I think they can stay there without the straps. The controls are pretty nice. They have been tested for a few years at R&D as well as they are on other lines of bodies and they have been proven to be reliable. I like the option with the cover, mainly for my environment where we have snow piled on it. You'll also notice there is a blank spot for the "Self Loader" option once unveiled.

It does have 1 door on each side? The red truck has double tunnel boxes. The box looks more proportionate to a 550 chassis, it will sit right below the rear window. I'll find out more about the Auto Loader today w/ engineering. I know it's in the works. It will be like the new style on the carrier though that swing the arm all the way back. That is going to be the new standard for the MPL series as well.

What part of it is "goofy" looking? Someone said to me that they thought it was odd how the boom protrudes past the down post but in order to have the 12 ton boom, it needs to be longer. It's still based on a minimum 60"ca chassis. The door openings are unconventional but having owned a previous Cougar, I can appreciate the large openings.

Well it was 2 factors, no way I'm reaching the center of gravity on that truck with mine. A 3 stage 50 ton might of done it for reach (mine is only 2 stage)...but then you would be driving ahead with a 17' box truck hanging at full extension. They informed us they did not want us setting on the bridge which I wouldn't have anyway. It was built from 2X8's stacked sideways which may be pretty strong?...But I wouldn't of trusted it. Certainly not setting the Rotator up on it, I'm sure that truck is around 68-70k for an 1150. Even with the length of the tator boom, it was short from the center line but it came closer as he lifted.

This is one we did 2 weeks ago. Guy was driving back in the State Gamelands and went off the side of a wooden bridge...rolling over in the stream below... Called our friends Milewski's to send a Tator as soon as we heard the situation. While we waited, we started to work on the environmental aspect of the situation... It happened sometime in the night & Hunters found it in the 1st light...truck was cold & nobody around. Penske had it listed as stolen since it was supposed to be a 1 day rental...8 days ago... Reinforcements!...Mike's son Nick came down to help us with the job. I was concerned that there were some large jagged rocks that would of sliced that truck to pieces if I drug it up the embankment...and we didn't need to add to the environmental issues at all. The truck was brand new as well, 1800 miles when it was rented. A little tricky to get rigging under it but it worked out... Then it was just up, up & away... The County Emergency Management contacted their Contract Hazmat company to do the spill work so they will finish it up... We brought equipment to handle the whole job but it is what it is... Hooked it and back to the shop... Towed it to Reading PA yesterday to their Body Shop.

Yea....Me Too! I set my original goals that we would have the new Chevron & the new Jerr-Dan at the show...I just thought that it would be cool...but not happening this year...