The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Identify the manufacturer of this wrecker setup?

I got some pictures of my wrecker setup, and it is in really rough shape. It looks like it has been involved in at least one catastrophic failure. I am just learning about wreckers so I may not be using the right terms for the right pieces or parts.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnoman/sets/72157625125368907/show/

There are braces on both sides that are broken off, sheared at the welds. One of the wheels/gears that has been stripped. A chain is holding up the boom, I'm assuming its missing an assembly to directly mount the main pulley to the boom. The setup of the boom is weird in that the rear end of it is encroaching the area where the cable should be being spooled. It looks as though the boom may have been able to be extended at some point, but it's now welded so it can't. The cable is well rusted and fraying in places.

While I'd like to keep the truck as authentic as possible; this wrecker bed has definitely seen better days. It may be that I ultimately take this wrecker bed off and try to find another wrecker bed for it.

Do you recognize the setup?

Other Images of the wrecker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnoman/collections/72157625095864205/

Hy donnoman, I'm no expert on tow trucks, but I think at least part of it was Holmes at some time. The booms and center tube have been added/heavily modified. Spanky is our resident expert on tow trucks, I'm sure he will be along soon to set us all straight on what it is/was. Good luck with your project

I would agree that it has been quite modified at some time. The two side arms should swing out to the sides to become outriggers to lift/pull at an angle.

This being said I would still try to fix what is there unless you really want a fully functioning, as manufactured unit. The bent arm could be straightened, the broken welds replaced and a bracket made up to replace the chain to hold the boom up. The teeth that are broken off would not really worry me too much either, they are catches to keep the spool from turning. If you are confident of your welding you could build the teeth back up and file to shape, if not you could find a welder to build the teeth back up for I would think not too much and then file your self. They don't need to be perfect as they are not drive teeth on a gear that need to mesh perfectly.

I have an old wrecker that is completely homemade and was used by a heavy wrecking company for quite some time and I think it looks great. Most people probably wouldn't even notice that yours is not original anymore, as it definitely looks factory....mine does not.

I would say though that if you keep the set up mostly as is that I would find a double pulley block for out at the end of the boom and run the cables back in to the front framework and anchor them. This would give you 4 strands holding the boom up instead of the two as it is set up now. It may well be strong enough as is...but by changing you cut the load on each strand in half. Due to the angles involved there is a much higher load on the cables than what is actually being picked up.

If you do decide to get another wrecker I would try to see if anyone is interested first before just scraping it. If you weren't 2500mi away and the price was right I might be interested. But then I'm all about getting things cheap and fixing them so that they are nice.....for some reason I like the challenge/punishment.

Tad

I'll be honest with you. I've been around,
& seen alot of old wreckers, but never seen one quite like that one. If I could see it in person, I might be able to help you figure it out. Looks almost like it was made from several different units. The service body reminds me of a Hubbard Wrecker, the booms look like a Stringfellow, & the mast portion looks like an old Ashton unit. If it were me. & wanted a Wrecker, i'd look for a period correct Holmes unit. They were more plentiful, & parts aren't too impossible to find for them.

It sounds like spanky is about right. There are parts that look like Holmes and then there's so many mods or add ons it gets confusing.
I worked mostly with Holmes wreckers starting in the 60's and we had some rigs we called Chicago pipe rigs.
In the pics there are a lot of things that don't add up or make sense, except to maybe the guy who made them.

It's a unique looking rig. Unless you need a wrecker that works good this one has character.

FYI, I'm the guy who came up with the idea of putting turn/brake lights on the mast of a wrecker.
Certainly not had to do, but when the rep from Holmes seen what I had done he took the idea back to Tenn. and soon after that they were putting them out the door equipped that way.

Dan

I'd like to restore it to working condition; but I don't require a functional wrecker. Getting the truck road ready is my first concern; tow ready will be the second phase.

What I don't understand is why the center boom is over the spool of the main winch; it would seem to me if the boom touches the cable that would be a bad thing.

http://skitch.com/donnoman/d6yc1/all-sizes-mg-5534-flickr-photo-sharing

If the boom is recessed further than it should be then maybe the boom should be extendable.

http://skitch.com/donnoman/d6ypi/all-sizes-mg-5529-flickr-photo-sharing

then that means the boom should probably extend outward, what mechanical piece would be responsible for extending the boom? Of the remaining winches I don't see a mechanical way to control the extension of the boom.

http://skitch.com/donnoman/d6ypf/all-sizes-mg-5527-flickr-photo-sharing

I would definitely say that the cable should not rub on anything. Even more so the boom would keep the cable from evenly spooling on the drum.

It looks like the end of the boom may be upside down as well. From the last picture it looks like the cable rubs along the bolt at the top.

In one of the first pictures there is a pin with a cotter clip on it on running vertically on the center square boom. It's hard to tell but it looks like this may be what holds the boom in place when it is extended. It probably has to be manually pulled out and pinned in place.

The cab end of the center boom is grossly under supported...as I'm sure you've seen as well. There wouldn't be much load when the boom is all the way in because of the long lever arm, but as the boom is extended it would become very weak very quickly. I would guess the welds broke when the boom was extended and they dropped it back in (too far in so it interferes with the main cable) and it never got fixed.

Just think of the bragging rights you will have with your custom wrecker set up where you can show off what you designed to fix what the other guys did poorly

I would try these guys they are experts in anything to do with the towing industry

http://www.internationaltowingmuseum.org/

they would know and might be able to offer some assistance with locating some components or photos of how it should look to restore it to original

I think the mechanical means for extending the boom is YOU, not that I can figure out what an extended boom would be good for as a wrecker.
Many times in operating a wrecker I raised and lowered the booms, the booms could be split on our unit also, but I can't think of much value in having the ability to extend the boom unless I was wanting to pick something up and needed it to act like a cherry picker.
What ever the guy had in mind for this unit he did not do it right cause to have the cable rub anything is just WRONG.

I'd cut that portion of the center boom off and eliminate the problem. It's not like your going to change a factory design, you'd just correct a problem.

Dan