Some Suburban Wrecker Nostalgia

[Tow411]

Topic Originally Created by wreckmster  in June of 2007:

 

ere are some photos of trucks no longer with us.

Our First wrecker... "HOOK"
GMC with a 30 ton Wreckmaster rig



Our second truck "THE BOSS"
It was a slug. 318 Detroit engine(no turbo) with a 30 ton Wreckmaster rig with extendable booms.


Our third truck. "BEAR"
GMC with 25 ton Wreckmaster rig





Early Fleet photo


That's little ole me on the left with the baseball hat. My brother is next to me, then my father followed by two former employees.



truck 4 Newer cab and chassis on original 30 ton Wreckmaster bed (loud Air starter) LOL



Truck 6 we built for my brother. It was a 1980 brigadier and had a 25 ton wreckmaster rig with custom length booms. they were about 2 ft longer than the standard boom. Great towing unit
Truck 6 is towing my first truck I built and drove.Which I drilled many a hole in the frame to build. Frame drills were heavy back then.
It is also a Brigadier, but had the 30 ton body with the extendable booms from truck 2.

My truck is being towed because I had a severe knee injury and would be out of work for awhile. He was towing it back to the shop.


GMC General 30 ton unit (great truck) I spent most of my time in this unit.




Our most disappointing truck

97 Freightliner with 25 ton Jerrdan unit



I'll see If I can find some other pics

 

FMS Mike said:

Awesome Pics!!! Them are some hosses!!

Michael

------Michael Vibert-------

 

Da Wash Boss said:

Those are some really nice trucks. Were you guys one of wreck masters biggest customers,,,,, Just some really nice units there. That road boss looks good as does the General. I notice in the first picture that "N" model Ford box truck in the background,, thats a nice truck also. Thanks for sharing you guys paid your dues over the years, nice trucks then and some nice ones now as well. Good luck in the future.

Danny Cassello - TRPC - East Hartford, CT

 

OldHolmes460user said:

very nice collection of pics. How old is your family business?

 

underdog said:

Those were all great trucks. Bet you wish you kept at least one of them!
Stay safe, Rich.

 

wreckmster  said:

Thanks for the comments. Our Business was established in 1976. I do wish we still had the GMC General. All around good towing and winching truck. Rode like a brick though with the Hendrickson rears.. (Ouch)

 

Gale25yrs said:

Why was the Freightliner such a disappointment? Too heavy?

 

wreckmster  said:

The Freightliner was just a trouble truck. It was cheaply made. The doors echo'd when you closed them. The visor kept falling off and cracking the roof. For some odd reason it squatted really easy even with increased air ride pressure. It had one of the early style Jerrdan rigs with the older lift cylinders. You know the ones that if you moved the boom under load and it was out of it's channel, the boom would shift and take out the fog light. You could use the winches, but not the boom under load. We had alot of problems with the rear axles. We would go through about 2 axles a year and that was with a good operator. It towed pretty well though, just wasn't very dependable. It struggled with dropped trailers and since the boomed moved, I was hesitant on send it out. I just cut my losses and sold it for a bigger truck. The tandem axle Pete/35 ton Jerrdan we replaced it with has been a good combination so far for the most part.

 

Michael212  said:

Thanks For Sharing! It's always pretty cool to see where you started and see where your at today. Keep up the Good Work!

Michael Myers

 

Heavytowman12 said:

You had nice equipment back then just like you do now. Wreckmaster made a real nice rig.Operated one for a few years on a Autocar.Those Briggaders were real poplar trucks then. Bet you wish you still had one of those. Just for keep sake!

 

fredstowingnj  said:

I remember the old Wreckmaster plant in Cranbury,NJ.

 

Da Wash Boss said:

Hey Fred, I never knew thats where the wreck master plant was. If I remember correctly I think Roadmasters Towing had some dodges or gmcs with wreck master units on them. I am not sure thought maybe you would know if not I bet Steve or Bob remembers. They were nice trucks.

Danny Cassello - TRPC - East Hartford, CT

 

geartow said:

now if i could find parts for a wreckmaster 25 ton id love it

 

FredsTowingnj  said:

Don't really know much about RoadMasters Steve or Bob would know more then me.But yes Wreckmaster's plant was on Cranbury South River Road in Cranbury,NJ

 

Auto Rescue  said:

Worse yet I remember when they built it

 

Recovery Inc  said:

Those wreckmasters looked alot like Holmes were they close in competition. Great pics thanks for showing.

Chris Fontaine
Interstate Towing

 

Da Wash Boss said:

QUOTE: "Those wreckmasters looked alot like Holmes were they close in competition."

They may have looked close and they were great units but,,,,, There is nothing that comes close to a holmes. How many agree with me on that about Holmes.

Danny Cassello - TRPC - East Hartford, CT

 

wreckmster  said:

not much of a difference between the two really. The Wreckmaster winches were backwards.....basically they were practically duplicates. I wouldn't say Holmes was any better or worst.. I personally put my Wreckmasters to the test. They faired very well..

 

wstowing11 said:

Bringing back memories of riding with Dad and the other guys when I was a little kid. When we sold them old trucks we really wanted to get the newer ones at the time, but it sure would be nice to have a few of them around to remember the good ol days !!