Scotches

This is from the Matador drivers handbook, and shows I think most of what has already been written - the hawser needs to be tight when the wheel is on the scotch to stop everything moving, and that the scotches are intended to be used both ways up, depending on the surface they are used on.

Nick

Ah, thank you both, I think I understand better what is happening now!

Basically it is using the vehicles weight to both hold the scotches in place and to prevent it from riding over the scotches?

This is all much more advanced than when I used to help drag in cars with our Landrover or C8, and absolutely fascinating.

trevor

Have been off line fora while but it has given me time to think about scotches. Firstly you learnsomething every day I have never seen the picture of the C.E.S before I suspectthis was equipment cobbled together here in the UK the Ts where never shippedfrom the states with them as no provision for anchoring them was fitted. Yesthey have a hard ground soft ground way up but from experience forget usingthem flat side down it creates less resistance then a locked rubber tyre ontarmac/ concrete. The Uk scotches also can do a lot of damage on twin wheel setups if use between the wheels as they have insufficient width and even whenwinching straight out the back they can flip and wedge between the tyres. Ihave had it happen to me on a civilian scammell crusader on the A1 one nightcost me a new tyre as well.

Just found these pictures thought i would put them on to show how effective scotch blocks are if you are on good ground or tarmac I tried to find these pics many posts ago when i was trying to explain how to max out on holding power try it out on a pioneer it will make a big differance if you put scotch blocks on rear axle as i described

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hi cosrec, the attachments you have put on are invalid, perhaps a problem, all diamond ts coming from the states had a standard tool kit which was expanded as the war went on. the photo shows the kit minus the scotch blocks, the tractors were never alone normally coupled to a m9 trailer, these trailers came with four scotch blocks and two snatch blocks, the complete outfit was designated the m19, as an aside the tractor unit m20 came into britain as flat packs and assembled by such companies as l.e.p. you will clearly see the trailer kit and tractor kit, hope of interest, tony g.

Thanks for the pictures Tony the scotches on the trailer I believe are standard trailer scotches admittedly more heavy duty than normal used for parking not chaining back to body. the tool kit looks identical to that in CES with omission of scotches hence my thinking the scotches were an after thought by UK mod.

To explain above picture first pic shows a good substitute for scotches and works with single or twin rear wheel just let vehicle roll back until axles try climbing over one another before applying handbrake.

pic 2 is something I came up with about 30 years ago after I bent rear body work on a daf 3300 double drive wrecker I built it works brilliant but needs 4 scotches but you can use on any twin rear axle even modern ones with modern mudguards.

pic 3 was something else I tried a lot of years ago when I was sharing a heavy pull of to an eight wheel on a mucky sloppy site again worked brilliant but took a little initial setting up when it worked took 8 wheeler loaded down in to ground past centre line of axles

Just for the sake of collecting all "Scotch" info under this one thread, I found these pics recently on the US Government Liquidation auction site "GL". Two Navistar wreckers (Navy) up for grabs in California. They carry the double wide "Holmes" type Scotches.

I am told that the wider Scotch was supplied as standard with the Holmes 750 gear.

Spent a couple of nights looking on net re 750s. In the states scotches where an optional extra as was the tow hitch rear pintal hoolk and various light package. by the way the first 750 was built in 1964, Most where fitted at the chattanoga factory along with what be came the holmes style body and a trawl through pictures on the net show a lot of the earlier ones didn't have the keyhole slots for scotches of rear pintal hook. All holmes 750s supplied to UK came to dial Holmes to start with the early ones having ash frame bodies clad with aluminium some kits were sold on and bodied by bus companies who did there own thing with bodies I have seen these without the tow hitch but just a pintle hook/ tow jaw. then about 1969 dial holmes adopted the Holmes style body and these where built with key hole slots for scotches. But the actual scotches where still optional and I believe added £18 to the £2,200 crane