Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[California]

After posting above about raising the railroad track to clear a taller undercrossing, I went to look for some specifics.

Trains Magazine has an article on this. It says rise/drop exceeding 1%, 1 ft per 100 ft, is rare on main lines.

And "...for each percent of ascending grade, there is an additional resistance to constant-speed movement of 20 lbs. per ton of train. This compares with a resistance on level, straight track of about 5 lbs. per ton of train. A given locomotive, then, can haul only half the tonnage up a .25-percent grade..." compared to level. [And the RR won't like that].

If the overpass is to be raised using that quarter-percent slope specification then that's 400 ft of rail line raised for each ft of rise at the overpass. For 400 ft on either side of the overpass. Times the number of feet raised.

Railroads don't want their route to be taken out of service for as long as that rebuild would take.

Looks like replacing the undercrossing with one far deeper, is the only solution that the railroad would accept. Cost to the local taxpayers would also include whatever modification the adjacent roads, and drainage, are needed to do the project to modern standards.

 

[goeduck]

Elderly neighbor was going to donate this 2003 GMC 2500HD to charity. Supposedly not that many miles. His wife asked him to give it to me for free since I so a lot of work and look out for them. 8.1 gasser. I will crack the hood tommorow and see what I am dealing with (squirrels, whatever). Anyone have opinions on these? A good tow truck? Specs show some good grunt.

 

[California]

Wow! Do it! Restoring that to running condition shouldn't cost too much.

Maybe crank it with the spark plugs out the first time, in case water has somehow gotten into a cylinder. And to get some oil circulated before its under load.

If you decide its hopeless then it would sell for quite a bit, that you could share with the neighbor.

 

[rocketfish]

Yes that 8.1 is a really strong motor! My brother in law had one of those with an Allison tranny and it would really go.

 

[Diggin It]

What is holding the front of this tanker up? Is there something not visible in this picture? Or is it just the way the balance point worked out with the rear axles?

 

[Xfaxman]

What is holding the front of this tanker up? Is there something not visible in this picture? Yes.

It is held up by a strap on this other winch cable:

 

[BigBlue1]

Or possibly the landing gear. Maybe they lowered the landing gear before starting to tip it.

 

[Jstpssng]

Elderly neighbor was going to donate this 2003 GMC 2500HD to charity. Supposedly not that many miles. His wife asked him to give it to me for free since I so a lot of work and look out for them. 8.1 gasser. I will crack the hood tommorow and see what I am dealing with (squirrels, whatever). Anyone have opinions on these? A good tow truck? Specs show some good grunt.
View attachment 762852

How long has it been sitting there?
I would be checking the frame and other parts underneath first. After setting outside it's highly likely that brakes, brake lines, and a lot of other parts are in worse shape than if it had been used all along.

 

[duramaxsky]

Elderly neighbor was going to donate this 2003 GMC 2500HD to charity. Supposedly not that many miles. His wife asked him to give it to me for free since I so a lot of work and look out for them. 8.1 gasser. I will crack the hood tommorow and see what I am dealing with (squirrels, whatever). Anyone have opinions on these? A good tow truck? Specs show some good grunt.
View attachment 762852

I had a hard time deciding in 2003 between the Duramax and the 8.1. I chose the Duramax but was never sure it was the best choice. Both have the Allison transmission and a lot of power. The additional maintenance and initial cost of the diesel was more than the fuel savings. So I am still not sure I made the right choice. How is the interior? Those trucks are not known to be leakers. Mine doesn't leak into the cab at all and it's an extended cab like that. So hopefully the interior is good. The metal brakes lines were bad on those and rusted. There are several stainless kits that include braided stainless flex hoses. I put one on mine before they went bad. I don't drive mine much anymore but I still have it. I bought a 2020 1500 Trail Boss with a 6.2 for a daily driver. It gets about the same fuel mileage empty and premium fuel it takes is still cheaper than diesel. We use the old truck for towing our RV because it gets much better mileage towing although there is no noticeable power difference towing. Both pull it effortlessly. The 1500 just uses a lot more fuel. Also I have a canopy I put on the Duramax for all our stuff when we travel. Other than that we just use it to haul heavy stuff or pull trailers with loads that exceed the wimpy hitch rating on the 1500. Also I drive it when it snows so the little lady can drive the 1500 instead of her car. The 1500 is great in snow because it has the auto 4WD. That works much better than normal 4WD on snow and ice. As long as it's in auto not 4WD anyway. Plus she can just leave it in auto when on clear roads where the old truck needs to be switched in and out of 4WD. So I have good reasons to keep the old truck but I would have anyway because I have always really liked that truck. If you fix that truck up I think you will really like it. The one other thing you might want to change is the trailer hitch. They were really weak and the same hitch as the 1500s had. I put a draw time class 5 2" on mine so it can tow to capacity with a bumper pull. The stock hitch is not rated even close to the trucks rated towing capacity and the pin hole elongated in it anyway.

 

[cqaigy2]

Clean a small hole in the windshield, so you can see while you're driving.