Been toying with the idea of building one. The problem with buying one is that 99% won't load lowered/modified cars. A detroit wrecker low loader at $30,000+ is out of the question. But i did find this low loader on YT that i find very interesting. What do you guys think of this design with the C-channel and wheel?
Anyone here ever build a rollback tow truck?
- Thread starter ADSR
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Already out there.....garbage truck + box......drive into box and pull it up. That's how contractors here move their tractors and other stuff around.
Might be able to find worn out stuff that is cheap if it is only for occasional use.
Might be able to find worn out stuff that is cheap if it is only for occasional use.
A roll on/roll off trash dumpster truck would be a good place to start.
It would have all the hoist and winches already.
Those assemblies are bolt on additions if the host truck is too far gone.
A roll down platform (vs. the dumpster 'box') would not be too hard to fab.
It would have all the hoist and winches already.
Those assemblies are bolt on additions if the host truck is too far gone.
A roll down platform (vs. the dumpster 'box') would not be too hard to fab.
tonydanzah
Well-known member
i have seen wreckers in the usa with that roll style
The only one i've seen come close is the detroit. But the vid i posted above goes way lower. Also, look at the price of the detroit. I'm sure it's worth the money tho.
http://www.detroitwrecker.com/servlet/the-487/Low-Loader-Car-Carrier/Detail
ishiboo
Well-known member
Parts of one... I worked at a company that made the Up-n-Atom Retriever (not Up-n-Atom, it was a contract). I would grab a used Jerr-Dan bed (disclaimer: I own Oshkosh stock) and design a method to drop it on the ground.
ishiboo
Well-known member
kbs/lil red have a great idea. Here's a PLS at work:
The cool thing about these is that the "pallet" itself is "hooked", so you can theoretically build another one in the future and use them as needed. You could have one for example that was a dump container
The cool thing about these is that the "pallet" itself is "hooked", so you can theoretically build another one in the future and use them as needed. You could have one for example that was a dump container
Lippyp
Well-known member
The original vid posted is a fairly standard style of wrecker over here in the UK. Most of the big recovery companies like the AA and RAC (UK equivalent of AAA) use them
rslaback
Well-known member
My only concern with the original vid is that with the single roll point on the front, if you used it on sloped ground that the deck might want to slide sideways. Then when you put a car on it and used the winch to try to pull it back straight it would have a lot of stress.
kerrynzl
Well-known member
This is a problem. with the type in the vid.
My Brother came up with a solution 20 years ago.
With a rollback truck you still need distance behind the truck for the deck to slide out.
So what my brother did was build a "ramp truck" with a hydraulic tilt deck.
He used a 2-way hydraulic ram.
Then under the deck he installed quite long roll out ramps.
When the ramps were fully extended ,they could pivot up or down [for uneven ground ]
Because the tilt deck had some overhang behind the rear of the truck frame, when he lifted [tilted] the deck up at the front, it lowered the rear until the ramps were almost flat on the ground.
The lowered car is winched as far forward on the ramps as possible , then the deck was lowered at the front and also lifted the ramps .
He stopped lowering the deck when the ramps were straight with the deck, then winched the car fully on.
Then the deck is fully lowered ,and he manually lifted and slid the ramps back in under the deck.
He sold the truck 20 years ago when our salvage laws required govt licensed operators.
Since then he has now built a recovery trailer using a similar principle [except pivot up ramps ]
tonydanzah
Well-known member
im from michigan a go to detroit often so it might have been there. But it might have been in chicago
Iroc-Z
Well-known member
Not sure why people have problems with lowered vehicles and flat beds. I ran a Kodiak LoPro with aluminum bed. Could get race cars with about 2-3 inches of ground clearance off and on no problem. I used a high tech piece of equipment. Its called a board........ Run 2x8x8. With bed manipulation and the 2x8's I could get anything on the truck.
volleyball
Well-known member
The only one i've seen come close is the detroit. But the vid i posted above goes way lower. Also, look at the price of the detroit. I'm sure it's worth the money tho.
http://www.detroitwrecker.com/servlet/the-487/Low-Loader-Car-Carrier/Detail
I wonder if anyone at OSHA has seen this example of shop safety?
tonydanzah
Well-known member
probably, it functions no different then the trucks that load and unload dumpsters.
macgyver37
Well-known member
The truck in the first linked video looks pretty interesting, I would think that it would not roll on the ground unless it was paved, concrete, etc. Probably could drive out from under it while it is coming down though to get the bed fully extended on dirt and such.
I had an old rollback for app 5 wks until it was stolen. That was the biggest fault with it, it didn't roll back far enough to get a low angle on the bed like the newer generations do. Mine was built in the 60's, so alot has changed since then.
I had an old rollback for app 5 wks until it was stolen. That was the biggest fault with it, it didn't roll back far enough to get a low angle on the bed like the newer generations do. Mine was built in the 60's, so alot has changed since then.
racingtadpole
Well-known member
I saw a video of one some time ago that had four rams that served as legs and lifted the tray off the truck, truck drove out, deck went to ground. Installation was the reverse of removal. The deck was held to the truck with container locks.
Ive also seen side lift container loaders used as car carriers. Drive the car onto a container base, attach rigging from truck, lift and secure. Interesting idea.
Ive also seen side lift container loaders used as car carriers. Drive the car onto a container base, attach rigging from truck, lift and secure. Interesting idea.
zkdiesel
Well-known member
Ditto. Most new rollbacks can load anything....
I'd look at the old front wheel drive Caddy's or 4wd trucks that had the rear replaced with a ramp. Less moving parts = less to go wrong.
Why don't you just use a trailer? They've them designed for low clearances cars.
volleyball
Well-known member
Not the truck, the workers.
sean Buick 76
Well-known member
So what are you planning to do after seeing all these options? Sound interesting to me.
I've got some great ideas in my head. I need to sell one of my trucks first. 3 is just too many. My buddy just bought a 05 F550 crewcab 176 wheelbase with 160km on it with a dead engine out of AB for 5K. He's waiting on parts for a cummins swap. I'm looking for a dead F550 with a 186 to 201 wheelbase for my rollback conversion.
The plan is to build an 05+ F550 extended cab with a 12 valve cummins and NV4500 5 speed. Looking for a 20' long deck. If i can't find the setup i'm looking for, i'll build it. Here is a pic of the setup i want to build, only on a crewcab. Mine will be extended cab. But i want to be able to tow 3 cars at a shot.
sberry
Banned
That is really a pretty good idea.
That Detroit Low Loader is absolutely unnecessary now days. A Century LCG bed can load about 99.8% of the vehicles on the road today..... especially one with a "right approach" bed. The other .2% of the vehicles can easily be loaded with a couple pieces of 2x4.
-25 years in the towing industry!
-25 years in the towing industry!
I'd be interested to see what this setup weighs on a scale.....
Im pretty positive thats over gross by alot, a full size medium duty flatbed with 21ft bed is usually about 25k or so, anything over 26001 you need a CDL for. F550 like that aint gonna cut it, you need a medium duty truck for 3 cars.
F550's are rated at 19,500 GVWR. I know where i live, you can get it rated higher with spring changes and such.
That Detroit Low Loader is absolutely unnecessary now days. A Century LCG bed can load about 99.8% of the vehicles on the road today..... especially one with a "right approach" bed. The other .2% of the vehicles can easily be loaded with a couple pieces of 2x4.
-25 years in the towing industry!
Thanks for the info. I'm going to be getting my feet wet pretty soon i hope!
I will admit that I know absolutely nothing about the commercial vehicle laws in Canada..... However, I am very familiar with the laws here in the USA. 19,500 GVWR is what the manufacturer of that truck (Ford) says that it can safely and legally weigh, truck and load total combined weight. In the USA, it doesn't matter if you put leaf springs in that truck that can physically support 100,000 pounds, it's still only legally rated for 19,500. Not to mention the load rating on the tires, which they will also write you a ticket for if exceeded...
The Ford truck pictured in this thread is rated at 19,500 GVWR. My guess is that it probably weighs in the neighborhood of 16,000 pounds empty, before any cars are loaded. That only leaves on the high side about 3500 pounds of load before it's legally over weight.
I recently weighed a truck very similar to this one. (pictured below) It came in at 14,780 pounds, empty. (aluminum bed and all) Now add a 4 door cab, extra large fuel tanks full of fuel, and that extra rack for the third car and you can see where I came up with my estimate of 16K.
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volleyball
Well-known member
It does seem 1 on back and 2 on a trailer may be better.
Nor'Easter
Well-known member
This is very wrong.
Manufacturer GVWR is a suggested rating that holds no precedence over or under state and federal laws. The laws a DOT officer follows are strictly surrounding axle rating and tire rating, along with whether or not you are over 26,000lbs. and if you have the proper license.
Numerous states allow trucks to be plated as high as the owner wants them to be, as the state assumes the owner will insure his truck(s) are equipped with adequate axles and tires.
I would dare someone to find a DOT officer who cares what the GVWR of a pickup is.
No, its not wrong..... and it depends if that pickup is considered a commercial vehicle or not. (Involved in commerce) A 3/4 ton pickup with a plow can be considered a commercial vehicle if you charge money to plow for customers.
A friend of mine is a state commercial vehicle inspector.
Yes, but should you pull into a weigh station (and believe me those staties will make you if they want to!) and it doesnt match you are SOL. Also if you get into an accident your SOL if your under or over. GVWR and GCWR theyc are about alot..
IE: Buy an F350 dually diesel, for sake or argument you register at 20,000 GVWR, you now have a trailer and a car on trailer. You are running non commercial plates, no biz (biz oyu absoutely need a dot number, specially if you cross state lines) Staties make you go into weigh station, slap you for running non commercial plates, slap you with fines as the truck is over gross, slap you with fines b/c you lack the proper license, insurance and tags, you dont have alog, etc.
Here: http://www.worktruckonline.com/chan...t-mandates-may-apply-when-using-trailers.aspx
https://fullerisford.wordpress.com/...for-vehicles-with-gvwr-of-10001-to-26000-lbs/
if your not towing a trailer dot might not care, but drive that rollback setup pictured you will get the staties and dot all over you. Also no insurance company is gonna allow you to insure that rollback setup for your own personal use. Biz insurance, but not personal automobile. They arent stupid.
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Hephaestus29
Well-known member
I like the drop deck trailers that drop
all the way to the ground. There's
a guy on youtube that designed one that uses
airbags. The trailer is very stable and the
vehicle doesn't bounce around on it at all.
all the way to the ground. There's
a guy on youtube that designed one that uses
airbags. The trailer is very stable and the
vehicle doesn't bounce around on it at all.
Strouty
Well-known member
How much over were you? The last time that I had any info from a Federal DOT inspector, they use a bridge formula:
Federal Bridge formula: W = 500 ((LxN / N-1) + 12N + 36)
• W = the overall gross weight on any group of two or more consecutive axles to the nearest five hundred pounds.
• L = distance in feet from the center of the foremost axle to the center of the rearmost axle of any group of two or
more consecutive axles.
• N = the number of axles in any group under consideration
o Except that two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry a gross load of thirty-four thousand pounds each, providing the overall distance between the first and last axles of such consecutive sets of tandem axles is thirty-six feet or more.
Federal Bridge formula Example: 5 axle combination vehicle with a 50 foot overall wheelbase ( L=50, N=5)
W = 500 x (50x5) / 5-1) + 12x5 + 36 W = 500 x (250 / 4) + 60 + 36
W = 500 x (62.5 + 60 + 36)
W = 500 x 1,096
W = 79,250
• Per Federal Bridge policy, 79,250 would be rounded down to 79,000 pounds.
• 79,000 Pounds would then be used for your Legal Maximum registered weight