A Light Recovery Trailer from Downunder

[Sam Scholz]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for that. I have seen Darians thread, about the 969 and LRT. Similar combination to what I am aiming at. Of note are the wheels on his LRT which look like low-loader 15" spider rims with a disc welded into them. That will get the center-of-gravity down a bit, but it sure looks under-shod.
Whereas mine, with 12.00x20 wheels is well and truly over-shod. I expect the original (I think) 10.50/11.00x18 tyres to be non-existent, except for some DUKW tyres that are a tiny 8 ply.
I suspect that the front tyres were 7.50x18, but am not sure. I expect to shod this with 7.50x18 wheels all around just because it is possible to get them, I hope.

I also watched the training film on youtube linked from, um . . , can't remember, about the cranes 7 1/2ton LRT. It briefly showed the clamp you mentioned and the chains tied down over the ramps. I have even found the stump of the tie-down bolt on mine.
I had a chuckle when watching the video as three men handled the ramps. They must have been very strong men as those ramps, the Australian ones at least, are very very heavy!

I'm still cutting up the grain bin, which is liberating lots of useful steel. But it is a slow job which has to be done as it is taking up space at a friend place.

Two other parts that have been removed from my LRT are the rear handbrake mechanism and the spare wheel carrier. Yes, I can see them in the pictures, but still lots of questions.

One more question for this post. The Cranes (=British) LRT is referred to as a 7 1/2ton, whereas the Australian one as an 8ton. Clearly, they are very different in the suspension. Does anyone have any period/official documentation to confirm that the Australian LRT is, indeed, rated at 8ton payload?

Anyway, have a nice day.

Sam.

[Richard Farrant]

Sam,
The British Cranes trailer had 10.50-13 tyres on 8 stud wheels. Looking at the front hub caps on yours, they look the same as a Blitz truck, wonder if that is what the hubs came from.

regards, Richard

[Matthew P]

This is a fascinating thread. I had not seen one of these trailers before. Very interesting. I'll be following along as you restore this.

Matt

[Mike Cecil]

Sam,

The 'Trailer, 6 wheel, 8 ton, Recovery, Aust No.1' was shod with 10.50-18 wheel assemblies all round and yes, it is rated for 8 tons.

Tools and equipment supplied with the trailer were:
(1) block, stop. 4 of
(2) covers,pneumatic, spare 10.50x18, -1 of
(3) Chains, Iron crane, 5/8 inch short link, - 4 of
(4) shackles,steel 3/4 galvanised steel, large D type, SWL 1 3/4 tons - 4 of
(5)Ramps, loading, - 2 of
(6) Scotches, wheel, lorry, steel, - 2 of
(7) tubes inner pneumatic spare, 10.50x18 - 1 of
(8)wheels, spare 18 inch - 1 of
(9) wrench, wheel nut & hub - 1 of.

Items (2), (7)and (8) make up the spare wheel assembly.

MVFS number was 1782, Census no was 6169.

Weight unladen was 4.25 tons. Ground clearance unladen 9 inches.

Nice find, quite unusual.

Mike

[lynx42]

I downloaded these from Mr.Roo years ago. Thanks Cliff.

TRAILER 6WH 8TON A.jpg TRAILER 6WH 8TON B.jpg TRAILER 6WH 8TON C.jpg TRAILER 6WH 8TON D.jpg

Good Luck with it.
Regards Rick.

[Sam Scholz]

Hi all,
Thank you for the replies. Gradually, the information is coming to light. Some responses and clarifications:

Richard,
the front wheels are 20"CMP that have had a disk welded into them and the original, unusual 6 stud pattern drilled. Pretty agricultural. The rear wheels are regular 10 stud Budd type commercial wheels fitted to an adapter plate that is reasonably well made.
Hugh Davis tells me that these trailers were made by Ford in Geelong, they even pressed the 18" wheels themselves. I wonder how many Australian ones were made?

Mike,
Thank you so much for that very welcome information.

1) The stop block is a very simple item, Dave M may have one that I can use as a pattern. They are about 8"x8"x16". What I don't know is the securing spring(?) to hold the latches in the locked position, the video shows it briefly and indistinctly.
3) Now I know the size of the chain, easy and cheap to get. How long were they, anyone? I'll be able to rough out a guessimate from pictures either way.
4) And the size of the shackles. I wonder if they are the same as the ones used on the Australian ground anchour ("Holdfast") which is thread-less, the pin retained with a split pin/small bolt?
5) I have a set of ramps .
6) Scotches? I have no clue, haven't see them. Any pictures, anyone?
8) Wrench for wheel nuts? No clue. Pictures anyone?

No jack???

I don't know what the significance of MVFS or census is.
Would I find a chassis number somewhere?

Rick,
I have these pictures, but thanks for marking sure. When I zoom in, they pixelate out before I see the detail I'm looking for. The two lower pictures appear to be from the same photo shoot as the pictures of this trailer coupled to a DT969 hard cab truck.


I have found a lathe big enough to swing a 20" CMP rim, if I choose to go that way. The 10.50x18 tyres are non-existent here, so I'll be going to, maybe, 9.00x20(same as DT969) or 7.50x18(original rim but lower profile) or 8.25x15(modern low-loader/float). Dunno.

And nothing significant is going to happen anytime soon, my time is taken up preparing for BTTT2020 in the DT969, with, possibly, a 3ton G.S. cargo trailer in tow. We'll see.

Have a nice day.
Sam.

[Mike Cecil]

MVFS: the Military Vehicle Field Specification. It is the Aust Army document that provides the basics about the vehicle, and a list of the equipment issued with the vehicle/trailer. There is no jack listed in the MVFS, which would seem to be a deficiency but it is assumed the jack from the towing vehicle is available for any spare tyre changes. It needs a wheel brace because the wheel nut size on the Aust 18 inch hub is quite large, so the brace from a towing vehicle like an DT 969A won't fit.

Census Code: the code number used in any inventory reports, request for parts, etc. All MVs have an assigned Census Code number. It becomes important in research when you encounter archive documents that only list vehicles by the CC, such as field returns and write off/disposal lists.

Mike