Recovery of "dead" vehicles...

I'm a newer member and have only recovered an M105 trailer a couple years ago, which went very well. I'm now looking at getting an M915A1 for the farm and was wondering how people handle picking up/recovering potentially dead vehicles.

I'm looking at getting it shipped home and would potentially not be present for the loading. Do shippers have capabilities to winch trucks onto trailers. I know that this is complicated by having a tractor with air brakes, but I guess you would just drag it on?

If you simply cannot get it started, does GL have resources to tow/push onto a trailer. I know they say "buyer load", probably for insurance purposes as much as labor.

What have people run into?

I love this site by the way and am in awe of all your toys!!

Dont rely on GL for anything. If your lucky they may jump you but the odds are not favorable. But the times I've seen inoperable vehicles being loaded onto a trailer of sorts is either jumping it (mostly by the driver) or pulling it with a winch on the trailer. I'd heard stories of them being pushed onto a trailer but cant verify how it went.

Rolling a truck with air brakes but no air, isn't that difficult. All you need to do is cage the brakes. Which means manually taking the pressure off by use of a special bolt.

If the truck driver that picks it up knows what he is doing you can charge the airtanks by hooking an airhose to one of the
gladhands on the M915. They had gladhands on the front so they could be towed without caging the brakes.
Once the system is charged you can push the truck on the trailer or winch it up.
Depending on where you buy it GL may or may not slave it off for you.
If you buy one at Redstone, AL I can assist with recovery.

A good trucker with the right equipment can load it no problem. They will usually cost more than your "run of the mill" trucking company though. Make sure the truck has a winch on the trailer.

I've seen GL loading trucks before and they are awfully rough. I once come-a-longed a truck onto a trailer at Redstone (in 100deg AL heat) while a GL forklift driver was begging me to let him push it onto the trailer. I said thanks but no thanks. They had already done enough damage to the truck just moving it around on the lot before the sale.