Boosted shows how wreckers are built

boosted to 26ps

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I figured this would be a neat addition to CC. Since all of us at one point in time has had to get either their car towed or carried away. I work for a company in heavy diesel repair shop in south west wisconsin (shullsburg, WI.) and the only thing I do is build/repair tow trucks, car carriers and heavy duty 25 - 50 ton wreckers. Yes, I have built and repaired wreckers and carriers from all over the country and Canada. Some of my builds (at least twice a year) got to tow truck shows all through out the country. I have had 2 of my builds go to well known NASCAR tracks (Charlotte Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway).

So I came to the conclusion that I would start this thread to show builds that I do from start to finish. I know I will have a 35 ton wrecker to build in the next couple of months.

Jerr-Dan
6-ton low profile car carrier

Here is the start.... Freightliner M206 Business Class Chassis


Removed take off tail lights, cut wiring loose from rear of chassis


Measured and cut rear of frame off


Ground the cut-off and beveled



Cleaned the rear of the frame for welding


Played in the crane for a bit then brought the subframe in to the shop


Set the subframe on to the chassis and then welded



Had to move the air tank and the bracket forward



That was the end of my day. Total build hours - 4
 

AlaskaB16

DOING WORK!
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That's something you don't see every day. Cool!
 


boosted to 26ps

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Ok here comes day #2

installed the tilt cylinders, pins and saddles



connected hydraulics


adjusted cylinders, installed shims and secured pins



removed dextronics (def controller) marked frame and drilled for brackets



installed hydraulic tank and fittings




installed tool box


installed deck hold down and secondary slide pads


wired in remote winch receiver


ran and modified wiring from chassis to subframe




started running hydraulic lines (return line, pressure and suction)




view from the crane picking up the deck



TOTAL BUILD TIME - 10 HOURS.

were probably going to be snowed in tonight, so no update till approx friday
 

stcopley

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Subscribed. Hmmm not too far away from me either. Time for snow =).

Looks good
 

boosted to 26ps

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Subscribed. Hmmm not too far away from me either. Time for snow =).

Looks good
hmmm noticed your from Minnesota. if you are close....i built a sweet ass wrecker for rochester towing on a ford f450 chassis.....i think i did that last fall
 

boosted to 26ps

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snowed in thursday... so here is friday. picture quality kinda sucks

unpacked the pto


installed the studs on to the transmission


installed pto on to transmission, checked backlash


installed fittings on to pump


installed pump on to pto, installed suction line on to pump.


filled hydraulic tank with 78 quarts of fluid and ran hydraulics.




installed fuse block, wired in to factory chassis harnes, drilled hole in to floor of cab, ran wiring in to cab



TOTAL BUILD TIME - 16 HOURS
 

stcopley

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hmmm noticed your from Minnesota. if you are close....i built a sweet ass wrecker for rochester towing on a ford f450 chassis.....i think i did that last fall
About 40 mins away, ill look out for it next time im there
 

mymmeryloss

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This is the kind of job i need. I have a buddy who builds firetrucks!
 

anfrey

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i love coming into this thread every day to check on the progress
 

boosted to 26ps

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FINALLY DAY 4!!!

installed and adjusted deck supports, and crossbar (wheel lift)


wired up subframe to chassis wiring, and chassis to deck wiring



installed my mudflaps...you see this on any wrecker....i built it or repaired it. these are my trademark flaps


picked up the deck and installed on to vehicle....sorry could not show steps here. safety reasons while operating the crane.


installed the roll cylinder bracket and adjusted. installed roll cylinder on to bracket....thats a big ass 2 3/4'' nut


had to break out big bertha for that nut....my 1900 ft/lbs of torque 3/4'' impact sitting next to my 1/2'' impact


deck is on and secured...


installed deck hoses and wiring



had to switch out the headboard, installed light bar, work lights and winch cable. .... aaaand done... finished pics tomorrow.....


obviously i left out a lot of steps i would say....but hey if i took pics of every little thing i did i wouldnt make time on my deadlines....and ive only missed one in my time there, and that was my old foremans doing....they fired him and i took his spot. so i would like to keep my track record clean except that one miss
 

mymmeryloss

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Lookin good!

Ill keep an eye out for those mudflaps!
 

ReedMann

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Sweet man! Is that the only model of tow truck you build or will there be more threads for other models :lol:
 

boosted to 26ps

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Oh no....we build different models on different chassis...but since were a jerrdan dealer we only build jerrdan wreckers...ill put different builds in this thread
 

boosted to 26ps

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finally all lights on and working....couldnt get a real good multiple pics



also ordered a new tool box from matco....ill post pics of it when it comes in...not a bad way to spend 9000 dollars..

here is my snap on tool box now





also have a new build going on right now.'



putting something different on
 


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