Posted by Robert Kosusnik on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 at 2:04PM :
In Reply to: Towing/trailering/dolly...answers posted by Clint Dixon on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 at 7:45AM :
Having worked vehicle recovery while I was Regular Army I guess it's time I chipped in my .02 cents worth. I'm in agreement with Clint and the others who say to use a trailer. I think that anyone who has worked recovery will agree with me that trailering a vehicle is safer then towing or using a dolly. Back when I was working recovery in the Army I have towed and trailered a lot of equipment using 5 ton wreckers, 5 ton tractor/trailers, and HET's (Heavy Equipment Transporters). When given the option as to tow or trailer a piece of equipment, it has always been my preference to trailer the load. Yes, I know there are times when towing is more appropriate then trailering. Like when moving something around on the farm or out of the garage and across the yard. But if you are going across town or across the country, trailering is the way to go. Along with this means having the appropriate equipment to do the trailering, ie, a truck with sufficient drive train power and brakes to handle the load, and a trailer of sufficient size to carry the load. In the case of our Power Wagons (and M37's) a trailer in good shape with good brakes, that's rated at 10000 lbs or better hooked behind a one ton truck or better. What it all boils down to is giving some thought to what you want to do and do you have the means to do it safely. After all, if we are going to go through the time and effort to work on these old trucks, we don't want to wreck them in the process. Robert
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