Tow Bar

[dr deuce]

Was the tow bar only used with a Diamont T wrecker etc or a CCKW with a #7 wrecker set?

Seems it would be dangerous to flat tow a CCKW that would have to have a driver in it to steer but would have no brakes....


Thanks
Steve AKA Dr Deuce

[joel gopan]

The One piece Tow Bar seen stowed on 4 Ton DT was also issued to Motor Pools for towing Disabled vehicles. Gotta remember, the army was still primitive. You will note that by 1950 the M-series famoly ofTrucks appeared with Universal size lifting Lifting Shackle Pins on the bumpers, and Tow Bars that were of a better design with 4 point hitching.
Joel

[dr deuce]

So did they ever use them with the wreckerset #7 with a CCKW?

Thanks
Steve

[joel gopan]

I do not have the list of equipment used with the set#7. But normally the best way to use the Tow Bar is to use it as a spacer to hold the two vehicles apart, and lift the front wheels off the ground using the wrecker boom. I bet Vintage Video has films for sale that show the WWII Tow Bar in use.
Joel

[armydriver]

That is an interesting question and inciteful answer from Joel. How hard is it to flat tow a CCKW without a driver in the towed truck?

[dr deuce]

I have done that with a towbar I made that is triangular. It works quite
well for keeping the towed CCKW out there and following correctly.

The problem is that you cannot stop the combo! The 1st time I did it, it
tracked perfectly and pulled easily. Sometimes when you flat tow something, if everything is not perfect, on a hard corner, the towed vehicles front wheels will go completely in the wrong direction and you will grind to a halt! Mine did not do that. What happened is that when I went to stop, I came down on the brake harder and harder without much happening. Then all of a sudden, all 10 wheels locked on the towing CCKW. The towed CCKW (chassis and cab) continued to push me down the street! Scary!!!!! Without weight in the back of the tow vehicle, you are riding on 10 very small patches of rubber....

When I bring the Kompressor CCKW from my storage barn to here, I will probably load the GPW in the back for some ballast...


Steve AKA Dr Deuce

[joel gopan]

Towing WWII MVs can be dangerous, and the job is best left to wreckers, as I said, the M-Series Trucks were designed with standard brackets that were common to the towbars designed to be used with them. WWII Trucks did not share common fittings, and the methods used to tow them were quite primitive. Towing a combination involving a Military 6X6 requires a Class A CDL , the fact that it is an "antique" vehicle does not exempt the CDL requirement. Been there done that and have carried it all the way to the committee that is responsible for the CDL.
Joel

[dr deuce]

We are lucky here in NH:

266:64 Tow Bars Required. – Except for duly registered wrecking vehicles and transporters or motor vehicles towing with a chain or cable for no more than one mile another motor vehicle which is disabled and unable to proceed under its own power, no motor vehicle shall be used to tow another motor vehicle upon any way unless the 2 vehicles shall be connected by a tow bar of sufficient strength to control the movement of the vehicle being towed without manual steering of said towed vehicle.
Source. RSA 263:91. 1967, 232:1. 1981, 146:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982.


Steve AKA Dr Deuce

[armydriver]

Thanks for the ino guys.