5 ton military wrecker stuck. Winch operation 

Since you own a 17 ton wrecker and getting it stuck i guess you can imagine some of the predicaments i was challenged with being in the army and Vietnam for only six months. One morning we are standing at reveille Sargeant Willey comes up to me and says go get my wrecker and recover a duce in a ditch by the mess hall. I've been in country only for about a month and still getting my feel of the wrecker . Our base camp in chu chi (25th infantry division) had high crowned roads for drainage so when the monsoons came they would shed the rain water. In the dry season they would spray diesel fuel on the roads to keep the dust down and when it rained the roads were slick as ice . I go down a side road to the mess hall in reverse to where the duce is stuck, and Willey hooks up a chain and i pull the duce out of the drainage ditch onto the road. Now i pull onto the main road in front of company headquarters and the company is standing at ease. The next thing i know my wrecker (A35) is sliding into a ditch with Willey and with me driving in the cab. So i punch the throttle and turn into the slide and the wrecker is on top of the road sliding into the ditch on the other side of the road. I turn into that slide and give it a little throttle and now I'm going straight down the middle of the road . SGt. willey is saying something but i have my hands full of wrecker wanting to bury itself in a ditch. With nothing around to winch on they would have to get the M88 recovery tank to get me out. I did this in front of the company and i bet they would of liked to see the new recruit (PFC) go into the ditch. I don't know if i told you but i was nineteen years old and had only had two months of army book schooling and previously drove a1900 pound Saab for a year. I can tell you how my recovery and evacuation came about if you are interested. My neighbor gave me a couple tequila shots and a beer and couldn't shut me up the other night. hahaha

Reminds me of when I’m trying to do stuff. I never have help either. Everything always goes wrong.

A 20k winch will easily pull a 40k vehicle. You're not picking it up off of the ground, you're moving probably 40 percent of the weight (the other 60% is resting on the wheels) unless you are winching up a steep incline. With one snatch block you can do almost anything.

take care of this equipment and it will take better care of you.

Operator needs to do his PMCS, cables should be maintained properly , but you know that. Grrat Video . Retired Battalion Motor Sergeant here. Have Fun

I just rewatched this looking for some other info. With the front tilting hood, I d9nt think you could fit a cable winder onto that winch.

You need the brake override kit, NSN 2530-01-302-7607. It will allow you to use your wrecker for self-recovery purposes, just as god intended. Did mine on my wrecker late last year, and it's made a world of difference. I think there are a few on Ebay in the 60ish dollar range.

When you get a truck stuck, you do a good job of it, holy cow! Glad you got it out and hope all is well down south.

I just ran across your video again and i have another story of going out to field. Spec five Mitchel says go and meet the MPS at the main gate there's another job to be done. I go and get my M16 , helmet,and flak jacket and magazines for the M16.I follow their jeep to a open field and come upon a battery of twin forty MM Duster tanks.I,m told i have to pull a power pack and replace it with another one at that site. I pulled the old pack out and in the process of putting in the new pack when i see dust kicking up beside me about twenty feet away. I here somebody yell snipper and I,m under A35 in a split second. The tree line was about a quarter of a mile away and a 5 ton gun truck stationed nearby goes charging towards it and stops about halfway to the trees. He opens up with a Quad fifty anti aircraft gun and takes down the front row of trees. After about 25 minutes he comes back and says its all clear and the sniper isn't coming back, are you sure I ask. He,s gone was the answer i got and i finished up the job creating the smallest profile i could be. I was escorted back to base camp and happy i made another day of my tour of duty.

Brings back some memories

Don't mean to be a jerk, but I bet the service requirements are a lot tighter than your service actions...sorry BTW they would have replaced the front drive line

You are not the babysitter for there stuff

I had a m543 stuck like that in nam after a heavy rain fall one nite. i was in a rice paddy and tried leaving in the morning . the front wheels went over a berm and that was it , down 2 the axels. a m88 came in 2 pull me out and he was burying himself also he got into the commo wire between each 155 mm guns . the 88 had 2 back out 2 the road on dry ground & winch me out. one of my experiences of my tour of duty.

you should do a winch operation video on the m35 as well. i always have trouble with mine when i mess with it. can u just cut the cable short enough so that cable doesnt get pinched?

What does the Yellow "Warning" switch do? My truck had it but I never messed with it.

Why don’t you maintain your trucks more?

i have the m35a2 with the winch what oil goes in the winch and how do i check the oil level in to know if it needs more and drain it to change it when needed

Thanks for your "real life" videos. Do you know what size tap and where I could get one for 1969 5 ton multi fuel crank bolt? I picked up one w a broken crank pulley and the 1" bolt that holds it on worked loose and rounded the threads inside the crankshaft. I got replacement parts from big Mike. Now I need to clean up the threads before I can put the replacement bolt in. You know how working on these things go...

No one just jumps in a 5 t army truck and steals it. There's a chain on the floorboard the wraps around the steering wheel that prevents that. And the fact that not everyone knows what they're doing.

You sure the problem wasn't that anything was seized, but instead that you put the truck in neutral to engage the pto, then reverse to use it the first time?

You were naughty 😂

I just bought an M5 43 from my father. I love watching your videos. Will the M5 43 engage the front winch and be able to drive at the same time?

I have an M939 A2. I was using my PTO to dump some soil and now the truck will not move when put into gear. It's an automatic transmision. My PTO still works but the transmission does nothing when put into any gear. When I put the truck into gear I can see the drive shaft coming off the transmission spining but the transfer case seems like it's locked out. The truck was working fine and now it will not move. It does not seem like something broke, it seems like I am missing a switch, circuit, or part went out like a solenoid. Denver Larry Anything helps

Hey man! thanks the video! any idea on what kind of oil goes in the side reservoirs on the main feed wheel of the winch? gear oil / motor oil? I appear to have the same kind of binding going on and these two reservoirs are bone dry. my winch is not working so I'm going to start by filling these reservoirs.

Going to look at my first m35a2 this weekend. Owner says it won’t pull in second gear. what could be the cause? He says all other gears work fine.

Can you explain why you can’t use front winch and drive at the same time?

That clay is a killer

Looking like you need to give the deuce a break and give the wrecker some tlc

Do you know those diesel engines backwards?? well they do. I was sent out to the front gate at chu chi 25 th infantry division and lined up with a convoy going out for some sort of operation . I get off the main road and come upon a intersection with a M578 (light recovery tank 25 - 30 tons) stuck in a mud hole. They ask me if i can pull it out with my 17 ton wrecker ,No way was my answer plus it had a thrown track . Ok i,ll give it a try, I hook up a chain and give it a tug and nothing moved plus my engine was making a weird noise. I put the truck in reverse and its going forward, oboy now what, so i put it in first gear and she slackens the chain and i kill the engine immediately. I restart the engine and everything is running fine as far as i can see. How they retrieved the tank was by hooking up three APC,S in a row and pulling it out. In the mean time it was getting dark & they set up a 105 mm howitzer along side of me and sent out some good ole boys (infantry) on the rice patty dykes for security. I had been in country for 5-6 months at that time and i put a magazine in my M16 just on case there was some fireworks that nite since i spent it in the cab of my wrecker . There's a part 2 to this story if u r interested and read this one.

Have similar prob 1965 duce... will not go into reverse.... any tips?

My 65 winches in but will not reverse

In California how or where can i boy a deuce

You have a 5t with no front drive shaft. You removed it and never replaced it. The vehicle is old and needs plenty of TLC. It really helps if you know what you are doing. I've dealt with these vehicles for a good long time on active duty. They're great vehicle.

U ready to sale that tow truck.

I watched the video to see how you got out and you did not video it what a disappointment

This is a really sad situation. Hope you learned something. So much you don't know. I'd suggest either educating your self are sell it. You have no idea what you are doing.

I want a duce....