Well we had a triaxle get stuck on our job this week and we didn't dump it out since it didn't look that stuck. It had 12yds or so on it and I barely pulled on it with a 30ton hoe. Broke the front spring hanger and twisted the cross beam which supports the front of the engine. Lookls like we may have damaged the engine since there is a little fresh oil coming from the front of the oil pan now. Now yep we made a bad choice, but in the past I have pulled on the front of overloaded Macks so hard to pick the ass end of a 30 tone hoe up and never broke anything but chains and axles. So was this a fluke? There where no existing cracks in the hanger. The boss's new rule is he will shoot the next person the hooks or pushes on his trucks.
I would have expected an RD to be tougher than that but then again a VW bug totaled my F350.
That's not good, sometimes they don't have to be real stuck to be a dead pull and cause that. We have had to pull them loaded often years ago with sometimes the same results, glad the big boss made the choice when it hit the fan and ended like that.
That's bad deal Dozerboy . Those tow hooks are good for slightly stuck situations . When in doubt we rig off the frame & bring the chain under the axil . Have even wedged lumber between the frame edges to keep the loop in the chain from bending the top edge of the c channel frame .Sometimes I even haul a truck rigged like that , just feel more comfortable with it running 55 mph down the road . This picture is a Mack hanging on the sling rigged to the frame . Oh yeah ... Generally have to shovel a bit to get the chain under the axil when they are stuck in the mud
Should always try to use both hooks and pull straight, all that stone and dirt on the axle, it seems it was deep.
Thanks for the pics TD25. Is there much of a risk of damaging anything from axle movement? Steering components/ springs? We where rigged up to both hooks, but I couldn't get a straight pull due to the position it got stuck. We doubled up the chain and it bound up so it wasn't pulling on both sides equally. We have been using the truck on a site with soft ground and have been plowing through deep ruts. Really its pretty impressive we haven't had more issues with getting stuck.
Sometimes a simple thing can wrong, we just have to shake off the dust and climb back on.
Yeah Dozerboy with a loaded truck stuck bad there is always some risk of damage . Best thing to do is empty the truck but that's not always possible . All trucks are a little different , some will have air , power steering lines , ect in the area where the chain needs to be so have to be careful about that . Make sure the chain is not making contact with anything but the frame & axil . Another thing I like about going under the axil is it also has a lifting effect when pulling at an upward angle . As far as axil movement it's under tension with the load & chain under it , only thing it might do is bottom out on the frame stops but that can be cured with some wood cribbing between the frame & axil stop . My guess is the truck frame would bend before anything else failed . But like I said all trucks are a little different , kind of have to feel each one out to minimize possibility of damage . It's a pretty solid hook up . If you notice in this picture the steering axil has tension on it , ( not sagging down hanging low ) . Remove front bumper , Hook up both chains to the sling , then slide a 4 foot long 1/2 inch thick 4" x 6" aluminum angle between the front of the truck frame & chain & lift her up & go . Here is an example of the wood between the frame rail to prevent kinking the flange with the chain loop . I just do that for a hard pulls .
Found a photo of a better shot from the front . This is typical old school hook up . I guess you could do the same procedure for pulling the truck out with a dozer or excavator . Need two high grade 5/8 chains & angle to go across the truck frame . Pull slow & lift a little at the same time .
I'm no truck expert but that's a crappy design for a tow point. The ring loop is roughly a foot below the frame rail. That equals a huge amount of leverage on the spring hanger. The pull needs to be in a straight line with the frame rail, The engineers must have been able to have seen this one coming & probably have seen it! Tow hooks or rings need to come thru the bumper & attach to the frame rail so the force required to pull the truck out is in a straight line. Not your fault Dozerboy, just a complete POS design...
Agree 61G . Or make the ring loop lighter so it will fail before doing massive damage to the truck . They just don't build stuff as tough as they used to .
But they do sell the parts to fix it.
Thanks for the extra details TD25c very helpful. I would of thought the hook point would of broken long before the the hanger. Talked to the boss a little more today. It sounds like he wants the tailgate off the truck and it dug out. The truck is to be pushed and pulled. Thats not real feasible, but we will cross that bridge. Not sure what the goal is with the tailgate off. I normally dump the load then cut the dirt out from behind the truck with a 6way dozer or a hoe. 2 of our trucks have pretty stout "shoots" that I have pushed the truck out by or I would go low and easy on the gate. We pulled the balancer loose when we tweaked the cross beam. Not sure yet if there is anymore damage or not.
Yeah Dozerboy , I just noticed something interesting between the picture you posted of the RD Mack with the drop style loop tow hook and if you look close at the Mack CH hanging on the wrecker it has a totally different tow hook . More like a pocket design with a pin in the center . Looks like tougher set up more in line with the frame . I want to say that truck is a 2005 model . Digging out the load is the safest approach . Takes a little longer but sure lessens the risk of damage to the truck . Best of luck with it Dozerboy .
The '90s CH Macks had a shackle through a reinforced hole in the end of the frame rail. It didn't look like much, but sure was tough.