Our Tru-Hitch earning its keep...

[Tow411]

Topic Originally Created by njhook on Tow411 in July of 2007:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few shots of our Tru-Hitch at work. A few are some old ones I found and the car trailer shots are of a job today. As usual, I started un-hooking before I took the pics, so the air lines and light wiring have already been removed. Thanks for looking and stay safe!

Sean Koonz, WM001772 Level 6/7A
Top Ten Wreckmaster 2005
Engel Towing, Inc.
Hope, NJ 07844

 

@njhook

 

Mr Waialae Chevron said:

Wow...never seen one jack knifed like that logger.

I have a question...when you go over bumps, does the trailing end move up and down, or does it stay tight? Could the chains come loose? Do you have to pay attention to it?

These hitches have their place and time in our biz...
Thanks

 

njhook said:

The towed unit behaves exactly like a trailer. When you go over bumps, the rear suspension absorbs the bumps like it normaly would. Those rear chains are pulling down on the trucks' frame. If we were to back up an incline (or go over something that the suspension could not compensate for) the Tru-Hitch would pivot on the 5th wheel of my tractor - still keeping the rear chains tight. The only way those rear chains will loosen is if I were to tilt those lower booms up. When you tow with a Tru-Hitch, you manually lock both the lift and tilt cylinders, so any movement at the pivot points is eliminated. As for the jack knife pic, I was in the process of parking that truck in the lot - 77,000 lbs on the logger in that pic.

Sean Koonz, WM001772 Level 6/7A
Top Ten Wreckmaster 2005
Engel Towing, Inc.
Hope, NJ 07844

 

Joe Cummings said:

Looks like that True Hitch does a pretty nice job. What do you chain the back end to? I would guess frame rails if possible.

By the way I have one of those Aeromax tractors I have been stripping for parts. Not sure if you need anything or not, but if so send me a pm.

 

Mr Waialae Chevron said:

Thanks Sean...I think you and Blkwill are the only ones posting Tru-hitch pics...

 

njhook said:

That's correct, Joe. The booms are chained to the frame. Usually I go over the frame rail and back to the Tru-Hitch booms, however the Tru-Hitch comes with "C-Clamps" that attach to the bottom flange of the frame as well. These are helpful when towing box trucks or other trucks with bodies mounted to the frame preventing the chain from being routed over the frame rail.

Good to know about the parts truck too. I'll keep you in mind if I need anything - thanks!

Sean Koonz, WM001772 Level 6/7A
Top Ten Wreckmaster 2005
Engel Towing, Inc.
Hope, NJ 07844

 

In Memory of DNDTOWINGCOM who said:

So how long on average does it take you to load a tractor? Then unload it? I had a trucking company come to pick up one of their units that blew the motor and I swear it took the guy two hours to get it loaded.

Dann 
Vegas Heavy Haul Inc.
dba. Big Valley Towing
Las Vegas, NV. 

 

Blkwill said:

Dann It doesn't take that much more time to hook up then a under reach. There are so that are pains just the same as forking, but after a few its about a 10 min job to hook a basic tractor. Drive line and air are the same.

 

 

njhook said:

Dann - I agree with Blkwill, it doesn't take much more time to hookup than forking with a standard under-reach. It's like anything else, the more you use it and practice the more efficient you become. I think you may have been watching someone who was not familiar with operating a Tru-Hitch and they might have made it look harder than it is. Think about the first time you uprighted a passenger vehicle at an MVA...45 minutes after dragging mine around on its roof - it finally landed on it's wheels! Now, it's up and loaded in about 10. Same thing with the Tru-Hitch - the more you work with it, the better an operator you'll be. Thanks for looking at our pics and stay safe!

Sean Koonz, WM001772 Level 6/7A
Top Ten Wreckmaster 2005
Engel Towing, Inc.
Hope, NJ 07844

 

Scooby said:

god bless you gentlemen running those

I never personally got a liking to them