anybody ever see a M936 wrecker body - put on a M920 truck ?

seems like this would be the Ultimate wrecker

you would loose the front recovery winch, also is the 920 frame double,triple, and spring lockouts would be needed for the rear suspension so it take the working load when not on out riggers

thank you 73M819....im not copying your transmission - could you please LONGHAND what you mean? - cause i was thinking the M920 is a 75,000 gvw truck


you said- "also is the 920 frame double,triple, and spring lockouts would be needed for the rear suspension so it take the working load when not on out riggers ".........WHAT?

466Navastar said:

thank you 73M819....im not copying your transmission - could you please LONGHAND what you mean? - cause i was thinking the M920 is a 75,000 gvw truck


you said- "also is the 920 frame double,triple, and spring lockouts would be needed for the rear suspension so it take the working load when not on out riggers ".........WHAT?

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A wrecker puts a totally DIFFERENT loading on a truck frame then a trailer

a wrecker puts a LOT of side stress, twist, bend on a frame, that is why the frames are double/triple. and a lot have extra cross members

It has nothing to with a GVW, but a working load, when you work off the side or the rear, ALL the load goes on the springs, a 920 has heavy duty road springs, these are not designed for this type of load, thay will loose there arc, crack, break, this is why the 5t wreckers have a walking beam suspension to take the load off the leaf springs, the 920 does NOT have this type of suspension, so a spring lockout set up is needed when heavy work with out outriggers is done.

WHEN the load is hanging off the hook, 5' off the rear, the rear springs are taking almost the total load, not spreading the weight to the front axle as a trailer does on the fifth wheel

i dont beleave what i just read i have a m920 an it will out do any 5 ton any day of the week pulling or haulin an if you have a 5 ton an want to lose some money bring it on .an it has a double frame an full lockers - detroit an they do not hop around like a 5 ton . a m920 is built to handle 20tons up down or side ways .

Mack 121472 said:

i dont beleave what i just read i have a m920 an it will out do any 5 ton any day of the week pulling or haulin an if you have a 5 ton an want to lose some money bring it on .an it has a double frame an full lockers - detroit an they do not hop around like a 5 ton . a m920 is built to handle 20tons up down or side ways .

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Your comparison regarding "pulling or haulin" is well noted, but that is what not what 73M819 mentions. If you read the thread again, you might learn something from the 4 Star.

ok - so there are two guys with totally different opinions -

anybody else ?

since there is a m920 variant that is a heavy dump truck - I would be lead to believe that it CAN take heavy loads on the rear springs and side loads on the frame - when the loaded truck dumps and isnt on perfectly level ground

doesnt the m920 have hendrickson rear suspension ? - I cant seem to find a pic that clearly shows

I am pretty sure my truck is the only crane on a 920 you will find, I think it is safe to say that with the relatively "new" nature of this truck that it most likely has not been done yet. Links below show the build.

eldgenb said:

I am pretty sure my truck is the only crane on a 920 you will find, I think it is safe to say that with the relatively "new" nature of this truck that it most likely has not been done yet. Links below show the build.

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The crane while very useful puts a totaly different and a lot less stress on the truck then a wrecker does

I have pictures of an AM General wrecker of the M915 vintage. It has a front winch. It was military. I am not sure if it was a prototype, but it came out on GL a while back. I have pictures at work that I can post on Monday (hopefully, I'll remember to do so).

any pics of the M920 rear suspension?....I cant imagine it not being a hendrickson design --

---because of my inexperience with these trucks I am asking questions that might seem basic to those that know and use these trucks ----I mean no disrespect by asking again when Im not clear HOW the M936 wrecker rear suspension is different from M920....

maybe if one of you guys have a pic or two of both m920 and m936 rear suspension - might help me put my arms around what 73m819 so generously explained....and I didnt totally grasp.

I am somewhat clear on the frame being doubled/tripled on m936 and heavily braced.....but I thought a M920 is doubled full length and must be pretty well braced to handle dragging machines onto low boy trailers on rough grades as well as handling the huge loads over uneven ground hauling .....

the reason I asked is ....while I like the looks of the m936.......looking at the m920 - I like the looks better , the extra power of the 400 hp cummins and the idea of having many more transmission speeds than the m936.....also the tag axle would seem to be of benefit when towing heavy......

if its not a good choice - well then I guess Im just trying to catch up with you guys knowledge wise and KNOW (understand) why - rather than casually accepting that it wont work...

a 920/936 combo would be a great setup if the wrecker stresses can be addressed ( side, rear loading, twist, ect.)

I have pulled some decent loads with my M920 and will tell you , You would not believe how much its frame will twist under load. I have had friends beside me that have seen the the front wheels dance in the air a bit. I do believe the frame will more than handle it ( I also have a m816 and have moved some rather large logs with it, its frame twists as well ) I would recommend using the outriggers of the wrecker bed as you should anyways on the m920. I would think it would be a very interesting combo. The 1 thing about the m936 / m816 is the wrecker beds transer the load over a much larger area of the frame in comparison to the 5th wheel on the m920 . The wrecker bed in my opinion would only stiffen the massive double frame of the m920 . just my 2 cents

On a side note. Being the m920 has a very nice size hydraulic pump It could drive the wrecker. it would also be very easy to move the 45K winch to the rear by lengthening the hydraulic lines and reattaching it to the frame.

If someone will donate a m920 and a wrecker bed I'll gladly be the guinea pig and build the first one.

Here are the pictures that I promised.

I should also say that I saved the pictures as an M920. I am not sure if that is the chassis that was used here, but that is what it said in the listing. I realize there is no pusher axle showing. Perhaps, they modified the truck by removing the pusher axle.

WOW and that sold on GL ?? Were the heck was I ?? LOL . do you remember were it went out of ?

BKubu said:

Here are the pictures that I promised.

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Without question...That is the ultimate 'wheeled' recovery vehicle!

So, you think this is a prototype? A one off?
I would love to know some more details and specs from this rig.

Wow, Wow a beauty ,SAME here, sure wish we had some frame pics, along with the suspension, there has got to be more INFO onm this rig