paulob1

me too, it will go into a plastic sheet and be attached to all my vehicles with a winch..etc thanks Steve, that is real useful, for us techno addicts its good to have the technical info...

will get to it...have to sort out payment collection and then will get photos done...so much to sort on stuff at the moment...

seat belts and helmets next time though...its scary without them...and maybe a roll over bar as it wont be long before its off and over...

go read my post the drive to end all drives, in MV Chatter it was not easy at all...and whilst i am sure the UAZ will be fixed it was a real pain it dying on us.,..

Return of the star 266m

I left a small village in Poland on the morning of Saturday, after what can only be described as a lively night at a wedding party, drinking so many shots of vodka I lost count after 30...anyway...we were in bed at 4 so had at least 4 hours sleep...then drove the 220 kms to collect my tyres trucks and UAZ...

Arrived at Moto at about 2.30, long hard drive through the back roads...anyway picked up the truck, water..ominous and Brake fluid? this is supposed to be a top dollar, fully sorted truck..Hmm suspicion up...no one about to talk to but the engineers...got the low down on the controls after the first time to drive it and away we went...IO should have driven this truck BEFORE, i JUST BELIEVED jANUSZ WAS SELLING ME A GOOD TRUCK, THEY KNOW THESE TRUCKS VERY WELL BEING A MAIN DEALER. MOTTO...dont trust MOTO again.

First thing, ten km and the UAZ fails, we spent three hours trying to get her to run and no luck, managed to find a local mechanic and he failed too, left it at his address to be delivered back to Pa Ko for them to remedy it...not happy no 1.

Anyway 45 kms down the road the star and she starts to falter...slowing to a crawl, no choice but to try and remedy her or take her back...decide to return her, but she is going so slow if can only be fuel or something major...we remove the fuel filters, they look good but one is clearly old...we replace them and bang, she runs beautifully...yippee..this is good news...

We were just entering Berlin and things are running sweetly, she is a bit smoky but not too bad...she is not massively powerful but is a nice drive...I leave the boys and head off, they are supposed to be following but had fallen asleep, they were so tired...I get a complete blow out tread off the rim etc etc...bugger...I had hit a cerb some 40 or 50 kms earlier and suspect this was the problem.

Ok, we change the tyre, luckily we had a jack, supplied and tools but the wheel wrench broke, so we had to use our own tools...no problem...couldnt get enough lift with the jack so had to use a small hydraulic one we had with us...good tyre on and everything fine...LUCKILY WE HAD ENOUGH BODIES...EVEN IF THEY ARE GETTING MORE AND MORE TIRED..its taken out the back light so we have to jury rig a fix at the next service station...

HERE IS A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE. STOMIL TYRES ARE HANDED, IE THEY GO ONE WAY ONLY...HOWEVER IF YOU HAVE ONLY ONE SPARE YOU HAVE TO FIT IT AS IT IS...THEY DO NOT LIKE GOING BACKWARDS AND THIS TYRE IS NO LIKELY COMPLETELY KNACKERED.

It is now drive and drive and drive, the rear tyre we have just fitted is wobbling like a good un. We drive to Hamm in Deutschland near to Dortmund...about half way to Calais, I get 10 minutes sleep in the back of the ford and then a knock from my son...dad I have buggered the new tyre? he had been trying to put a bit of air in it and had bent the tyre valve brass part and split it...now we really are buggerd...calls to everyone i think can help, but since big trucks dont run on Sundays no one is about to help...Luckily Brad feeling a fool jury rigs a fix, with jubilee clips, old water pipe and a bit of hope... we dont believe it will work but to be fair it travelled the remaining 500 miles without problems...well done that man. This of course put us another 4 hours late...we first travel really sheepishly expecting this tyre to fail at any time...

Now its drive at 30mph, 500 miles of it, oh joy...but the as it got further in i did increase speed to 40 and 45...and sometimes 50...

we are about 10 miles from the German Dutch border when the police turn up... Germans... couldn't fault our paperwork, except Brad had forgotten his licence, and there was a loose water bottle in the back of the truck...73 euro fine...and another 2 hours delayed...I also now see that my nearside (abroad) lights at the back have failed, looks like a loose wire but cant fix it...annoying...we are getting incredibly tired...its now late 3 oclock sunday.. we drive to Antwerp and stop for something to eat...we are all getting very very grumpy...good news we have free meals because they have closed the till and the food is free.

Wind screen wiper fell off, easy fix, hammered it back on...

Oh forgot to mention the truck is losing water throughout and in danger of overheating so we have to keep filling her with water, every hundred kms about 1 litre of water...spot on truck indeed.

Anyway the rest of the journey is trouble free, we arrive at 4.30 back in good old Alton and ready for a good nights sleep. i am now back at work and have a weeks worth of problems to solve, easy peasey compared to driving a polish truck from Poland after it has been serviced by a Polish engineer...now that is one tough task...

I don't recommend anyone does this without considerable preparation, I needed to have that truck for 2 days worth of preliminary work before I drove off, it was foolish to believe Motodemonte would have done the work to a satisfactory standard...they are basically bodgers. Simple as that. But I am back, I will fix up the truck and have her running a treat in the next few weeks...I am basically happy now...

okay bought myself a star 266 1974...lovely truck, been tarted up byu moto, but she has everything on her, jack, crow bar, winch, tow ropes emergency lights everything and a lovely plastic tarp sheet over the cargo hold...it has a dual exhaust and diff locks on all axles....unique as they normally only have a diff lock on the back four wheels...not difficult to fit a diff lock to the front but still it all done...and painted in a lovely Polish camo effect...

the UAZ has been treated and painted, looks good, and drives fine, the gearbox linkage is a bit iffy and thrid is a bit tricky to locate if your in a rush....but otherwise she is fine, even have the spotters periscope...it was an Spotting FOP for the artillery.

800 miles in a vehicle we have so far done just about 20 miles in...she will do 70 miles tomorrow and hopefully if anything goes wrong it can be sorted then...I will have tow ropes and may just may buy a 5 ton trailer to put her on the back just in case it does break down...

agree entirely...shackles scare me when used...

Found the picture.

On the other side of the transmission which you cannot see in the picture is a "full power" PTO propshaft drive for the water pump on the fire engine.

if Oily doesnt want it john I will have it please...this will be just about perfect for my plans...off roader stolly with auto box, big tyres off a ural and everything that isnt needed removed to reduce weight to less than 5 tons...not sure of the latter bit but thats the plan...

always welcome neil...

I recovered my stolly with its recovery winch out of a very steep hole, it was a ramp but very steep, i would giuess it was about 35 degrees, the bank was very slippery and the stolly was scrabbling for grip, she ws upto her gunnels in water but not floating...I tied the winch to the tree ahead, there was not enough cable to put a block on and at that time i didnt have a block strong enough, the winch along with the girl in first managed to haul her out...perfrect just as she was designed. However given what i have learned recently it would have been very close to the winches limit, and only becuase i had drive in the old girl that she extricated herself...I doubt the winch could have done it solo.....we were all driving and there was no damage...my stolly is between 9 and 11 tons...

Know it wont probably interest anyone but heres the maths for this recovery

 

Damage resistance 0

 

Gradient Resistance 30 degrees ? = 6.5 tons

 

Rolling resistance Grass bank ? 7 = 1.85 tons

 

Ihave guessed wt of Scammell 13 tons

 

So should move at 8.35 ton say 9 tons allowing for bits rubbing on grass bank.

 

Bit of a suprise for size of vehicle compared to figures for stalwart. All together lot more workman like thought out job or least thats the way it looks on vidio

i am aeriously interested, if its a slide rule type device like Richard showed us then its very interesting indeed, these must be very rare as i have neve seen one, IS it possible to do the calculations on paper or are those calcualtions too complex. Do we all need one of these slide rules..I for sure want one as recovery is a big part of my fun...I have used in the past some of the MVT recovery forms that help to give advice....but never heard of the calculations you mention...and no I am not going to call you names or make any snide comments I would genuinely like to understand the information...

thats the one...

I personnaly use only rated stuff...the army field use stuff that is clearly over sized is okay as long as you dont try to do anything serious with them...If you dont know the rating it can be really awkward using it as you just dont know what it will take...for instance no use using a 1 ton shackle to haul a stolly out of a river...but it would pull it happily along the track for a short while as long as it was flat and there was no load etc...but still not ideal...using a 25 ton unmarked shackle for anything other than field emergency recovery is okay, but it will bend well before it will break, once its bent it wont undo and you have another problem then...

Knock as much as you want a little thought could have made all the difference and more important reduced the danger to all involved. EG instead of trying to winch it through the bank a recovery vehicle with ample capacity was on scene why not try try backing up a bit so winching upwards more instead of through. Or try using those round wooden rollers to winch over that are carried on milatry vehcles (forget what they are called now) either method would have reduced strain on equipment by half. Get all non essential personal out of way that includes driver and passengers of stalwart they were only adding to problems and dangers

I said this some time ago...

its all right giving genuine helpful advice from a position of knowledge, but call someone an idiot, with no brains and that his whole operation was a balls up and just check how much respect you will get from that point.

If people had come on here and said, well done boys you had a lot of fun but just for the future there are a few things that could have been done a bit better...(even finding out the true facts would have been helpful prior to having a go), I think you would have had a great deal more respect from the outset.

Its not the content of what one says its how one or two of you approached it...just like the Arran, he could have done it better, why dont those who were rude and downright offensive also listen..you could have approached it better...Arran has taken it on the chin and listened and learned and is doing something about it...you are still saying it was a balls up...great technical term, and having a hard time getting people to believe you. I wonder why.

I think the truth here is some people do learn, some have open minds and are willing to take up good advice, and its especailly the ones who were called idiots and without brains......some people use their knowledge as a battering ram and dont learn anything especailly the ones who keep saying their rude comments are helpful...grow up and learn that the abuse approach may have been useful in the army but it doesnt work here.....

Some of you do have some really important knowledge and some like me depend upon you to help us..

I am still waiting for someone to actually serialise this excellent event and come up with either better or safer or more reasoned arguments for a different approach. The breaking of the winch rope to me is the only thing that actually went wrong...I dont think that was the fault of the brain dead, or the balls up operation or was it...

come on dont hide it tell us what should have been done..

these events teach us much...I think its fair to say even though some use extravagent words and some others use rather basic ones the freedom of expression on here is gratifying, long may it reign...

That says it all in a nutshell.

I rest my case:-D

two wrongs dont make one right,

given the information we now have it is clear that the operation was not a 'balls up' it could have been performed a bit better I say but a balls up...typical army speak for I dont know what I am talking about, or if I do I dont want to tell you why...... just because the tow rope was not fit for the job, not entirely his fault and to be fair there were enough knowledgeable people about to have been able to see that, if it was visibly not...its typical of a hemp rope, once its past its due date they simply break...you have little chance of knowing when, although I find with age they are best thrown away or kept in a sealed box away from sun and dirt...dont look as cool then...

constructive criticism I can understand.,..'balls up and no brains' comments are more a reflection on the person who writes those words than a reflection on the people they purport to understand.

I think it's appalling to call someone brain dead or say they have "no Brains" If someone said that about me i would be highly offended. Sometimes i really wonder about this forum.

It's very easy to sit and watch a video several times then spout off about what they should have done and how not to do it. I watched it and saw a bunch of blokes pulling a truck out of a river and the rope snapped. I thought "bloomin heck" but had no urge to criticize and insult anyone. I have done lots of winching and lifting of big stuff and equipment has failed and cables have snapped.

Only person who had to be in danger was the man driving the stolly sat directly in line with the winch cable. one man to operate the scammell and one man to direct the "operation" (Not sure when dragging a truck from a river becomes an operation but hey ho) all the other people chose to be there. all that needed to be said was to move back or clear the area. If i had been there i would also have stood in the trees and watched the "operation" as it seems the safest place at 90 degrees to the line of pull with lots of solid objects to offer protection.

There rant over i shal now wait to be insulted:-)

 

P.s took me bloomin ages to write this so there might have been a load of new posts since I started:blush:

was my point too but I was not as direct as you were...freedom of speech should be upheld though and having the right to say these things, ie people expressing their opinions, is just as important as the fact that we all (mnost of us) know it is rude and vulgar to say those direct insult sort of things and actually not at all helpful...so better not said really...

hate to do it Degsy but have to agree...in fear of being cut off this country had become obsessed with control, over management and down right interference in everything we do...thank heavens we have no money for that now...

just read about the 80 people 'going' (thats sad to a degree)from the green committe whose main job was to persuade councils to install average speed cameras as they reduce fuel consumption, not for safety but for saving fuel...just how mad is that, thank heavens Labour is gone and we have common sense (maybe) coming back...well we have no money so we cant spend what we dont have...hopefully...

Meaning?

exactly

I thought you said you did not want it...I will back out if you really want it...I can wait, I will just buy myself something else with the cash and get the mili some time in the future...let me know

Words fail me, it's pointless going over everything they did wrong when you take that attitude.

can imagine they do...

Okay, if one were to be considering the purchase of one of these fine machine, just what would one go about checking as a priority, are parts readily available. Should I check the old girl for any particular known weakness...or is she one sound truck and just normal checks needed. This is of course a Wrecker...any special considerations here.

On the road are they good to drive, easy hard, and tips on how to drive one, is the box easy difficult, how many ratios should i expect, etc etc...

Only hypothetically off course...

proves how damn fine the stolly is in all sorts of situations, there may be many people who put themselves in the face of danger but they had fun...and watching a stolly get in the water like that is nothing short of amazing...scary, and maybe a bit dangerous but amazing all the same...

I admire them for having a go and everything working out...would be good to maybe tell them that there are a few better ways of doing things like that, it may help them and people watching in the future, but calling them names doesnt help at all.....

I would say that you entry place was untested...this could have been dangerous, it was cerrtainly too steep for a really safe entry even though one was successfully accomplished...the rive activity was fine, but do be aware that a stolly which is in shallow water can tip over and sink very quickly if one side of its wheels hit a bank under water...it is recommended that the wheels be braked when in the water to stop it riding up onto such banks.

Exiting the water using a second vehicles is a sound idea and likely to be a better option on such a steep bank than the self recovery winch fitted...but it is always a good idea to have access to the fixed points prior to entry to facilitate attachment of said cables when needed.....and i am sure there is a good deal more that could be said that is helpful...hope they post on here...

i will be bringing one back this week, a nice one just out of the Polish army...very very good condition...

bought myself a nice MTLB....just for fun it wont ever be more than a play thing, it wont be getting any serious CES gear or any fancy paint jobs but it will be used to play with on a regular basis...also have a spare engine, may fit this into something else...