EdsTowing

On 10/31/2023 at 6:44 PM, usmc041127 said:

We went with the Mv.

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

2 hours ago, Towman92266 said:

Ed, going back to your original post, is your F550 counterweighted? My truck tows so well with that JerrDan winch bumper I have to be careful I don't go overboard.

My F600 chassis is ordered and is scheduled to arrive Mid April, so I suspect my new truck will debut in Baltimore next year....lol.

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.

On 11/17/2023 at 10:42 AM, ESC said:

Something else Id love as an option is rather than a sling, just a tow bar.  Those sling rubber straps are always the in the way.

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. 

1 hour ago, usmc041127 said:

I think if it had your typical square tunnel box with one door would have been nice.

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.

2 hours ago, Bushwacker said:

Ed why couldn't you get it with your big stick ? The bridge not hold you? I understand them bringing in their on hazmat.

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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.

1 hour ago, dperone said:

Damn, I was looking forward to seeing it in person. 

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...

Came in this morning...still adding "Bling" to the truck...

Chrome grill & a new Valance Panel. Next it gets the plow frame installed...

That MV is really nice...best of luck with it. I really like how they look, no doubt I'll be trying one of them in some form or another...

Chuck the 4300/Cougar combination is one of the best Light/Medium Recovery Truck money can buy. 

This truck has been delayed for over two months now but we are supposed to have it the week after Baltimore... Ticks me off because it was supposed to be IN the show but whatever. Getting a little nervous now because snow is right around the corner.... Hopefully I will have some pics soon to update the build.

I saw this cab & chassis going up for auction a few weeks ago and it caught my eye. The pics were poor at best...and it was hard to tell what shape it was in, but it only had 32,000 mi on it. Advertised with a bad 6.7 engines but I can take care of that. I wasn't able to go to the sale that day and it was pouring so I didn't think they would have too good of a turn out on site anyway so we bid cautiously. I didn't want to get it home and find a POS that i would be buried in. Our original intentions was to build a dump or construction/plow truck out of it to flip...

We won the bid for cheap money and when it got home, I was pleasantly surprised! the body is cherry on it and the chassis is very nice considering it lived in upstate NY...some surface rust but will clean up like new when we are done with it. The truck was owned by a NY municipality and I have to figure that the 1st Gen 6.7 failed early (like many did) and it was out of warranty by time? Someone decided to take the body off and dump it I guess...

We decided to make this our new Dump Truck to replace my Chevy. We have a new 11' body coming and we are installing a new 6.7 from Ford in it. It will get all the necessary upgrades to make it durable & reliable. Some "Bling" and a new dress...we will have a "like new" support truck for 25% of the cost. I'll post updates as we go along...

Installed the revised coolant bottle & battery tray in it the other day so we can have duel batteries...

It also got a full service, tune up and all new coils/wires/plugs ect... Once it goes in to service, I don't want to have any problems.

Got it back from the sign shop with her new dress on...

I'm happy on how it turned out. It's down getting the windows tinted and back up camera installed now. We got the Off Road fuel tank & Pump painted to install in the bed so that will probably go in this week.

Well they finally headed out today to their new home. I'm sure that both of these units will provide them with great service...

Well I have a "Part 2" to this story.... I'm always saying "The irony of Life". And if this isn't ironic I don't know what is.

Like I said, the Hoodlums that stole the 1st two Uhauls were caught and the trucks came back to our shop. The Pick up had to be taken to the main facility to be evaluated but we got the go ahead to fix the 10 Ft'er so Friday I backed it up to our roll off can to empty the debris & garbage out of it. Found the guys credit cards & personal junk that got trashed. Ordered parts and got it in the schedule for next week...figured that was the end of the story...

Saturday we get a call for a box truck that went off the side of a bridge and landed on it's side in the water....Nice wake up call to begin our day....

A hunter found the truck on a State Game Land road back in the woods. Truck was cold so I guess the guy wrecked the previous evening. We recover the unit back to the road and I look in it for paper work & find the rental contract. This truck was rented by the same guy that had the Uhaul truck! He literally rented this the day after we towed the Uhauls... I asked the officer "what kind of Society do we live in that this guy rammed a police car last week and obviously got out so he could do some more sketchy shit"?

Unbelievable.... 

1 hour ago, Stubborn66 said:

She's a rough rider but she is always ready to work.

Oh yea mine rode like a rock....but it towed anything

Two of our trucks are leaving the nest and heading to their new homes in Ohio tomorrow...

Both of these have been good trucks and well cared for so there is no doubt that they will give their new owners great service...

We removed the "Ed's Branding" and had them re-imaged for them through our Vinyl company.

Very nice. that Cougar is the perfect unit for that job. I miss mine...

Looks like a pretty good mess...nice work

I had a 2 car I had to do by myself on Saturday night which was fun...

I didn't get any pics on scene...busier then a 1 armed paper hanger...

Looks in nice shape, good luck with it.

12 hours ago, Bushwacker said:

Ed when you fix them instead of towing do you charge as much or more than a tow? Great job getting them going so fast!

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We charge a 2hr min for the wrecker which is what it would of been to tow it. Then the service van will be extra. So I guess it's more then the tow but I wouldn't be able to tow it any other way. They don't like a rear tow but it would of been dragging up front. Caging the chambers was going to take extra effort due to stuff in the way. I don't have a trailer option readily available but even so, that would be a project since it was so low and brakes locked.

One from the other day...Transit bus broke down, had an air pressure problem. Arrived on scene & found it blocking the travel lane, in the intersection at a light so I called back to the shop to send someone up with the van to keep them from running over me...

Bus wouldn't build air pressure and laying on the ground. These are "Kneeler's" but they require air to operate. I had to force my T head under the bumper to get it up enough to get blocks under the tires.

We stacked cribbing under the engine carriage and lifted the front up so I could get under the coach & check the problem. With no suspension & can't release the brakes, we aren't going anywhere until I can find the issue.

The wonderful engineers mounted ABS valves in front of the Type 36 chambers which inhibit getting cage pins in it...found the leak coming from a disconnected line feeding the relay valve for the parking brakes. It was tucked up over the drive axle and not very accessible. I stuck my camera up there to see what was up, found a hole in the top of the valve...

The threads looked ok? It appeared that the fitting was only threaded in 1 turn based on the undercoating all over it? I got a new fitting and was able to thread it in the valve and re-hooked the plastic line to it. These busses are over 10 years old...hard to believe it lived this long without failing prior? At that point he was fixed and could drive the bus back to their facility.

Hey you guys are going to have to start bringing some equipment out on these calls if you want to make any money...Just sayin...