Need info on wrecker 543 or 816

I need some help, I want to buy a wrecker but don't know which to buy the M 543 or the the M 816. My biggest concern is the engine. Can I get some feedback as to the reliability of the engines and especially the availability of parts. Is there something in particular that I should check prior to buying the vehicle (i.e. hydraulics, boom etc). Is there a big price difference between the 2 types of wrecker? I am going to use the wrecker to work on our fleet of trucks and to show it off at rallies and car and truck shows. There nothing I like more than watching the old car buffs turns green with envy when we show off the big green machines.

Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the M543 and the M816 have the same Garwood bed so the only difference is the engine choice.

The M543 is a Continental gas engine, the A1 is a (rare) Mack ENDT 673 and the A2 is the more common LDS multi fuel engine.

The M816 has the NHC 250 Cummins engine which is "newer" than the others but still outdated by todays standards.

Most M543's I have seen for sale are the A2 multi fuel versions. There are also a lot of M816's coming out on GL lately.

I think parts for all of the engines are available, the Mack might be a little hard to find.

You can probably get a M543 for less than a M816 just because more people prefer the Cummins over the rest of the engines (except the Mack which is very hard to find) and the M816 is newer.

Good luck on the search!

That sounds correct to me.

i can get parts most places for the m816 250 engine. so i vote on the newer model

I vote for the M543A2 since you can get parts cheaper.Burn any fuel you want.Smokes like a tar kettle.Has that sweet turbo whistle.But they are kinda gutless when you consider 175-200HP in a 36,000lb truck but not like your gonna go fast in a 250 cummingsrazz powered truck.

Oh yea,The Cummins has an Achilles Heal.The injector O rings.If one fails you have a major problem on your hands.Either starts dumping fuel into a cylinder or out the top into the oil passages.

Of course with that being said about Macks being rare, there is one in the classifieds!

Thanks for the info, it was really helpful. I guess I will go with the 543A2. I will be buying it from a MV dealer, I can't buy from GL. Thanks everyone for the info. I hope to join the ranks of the 5Ton club soon. In our area 5 ton wreckers are scarcer then hen's theeth.

Thanks again for all your help.

Don't limit yourself to a M543A2, the M62 wreckers are 5 ton and have the same winches, just different crane (Austin-Western??). Rated the same as the M543 and I have seen more of the M62's than the 543's. (But they were gas engines).

Edit: the engine choices are the same as the M543 - i.e. gas, Mack and multi fuel

got one of each of them here. Either way they are all good trucks