cosrec Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Is the "Donaldson reactor" still used on recovery vehicles to overcome this problem? That third photo is great - two of my most favourite MVs in the same photo! Intersting that the Unipower has an STGO plate on it as well. I am sure you're right that photo 3 and the last photo are the same place and time. Think I'd better go and lie down for a bit! I have never seen a Donaldson reactor in the flesh and i dont no of one ever been used in the civilian recovery industry except of course those who have used ex mod AECs in civillian roles. I have read about them and understand how they work. The reason they were not adopted for civillian use was the mucking about rigging them up. They were designed originally to overcome the lack of lifting ability of the AEC militant MK3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosrec Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 (edited) Another method of raising the lifting ability on suspend tows of a recovery vehicle is to use the bogie blocking system. This is great and sure does the trick. But and this is a big But it is still a bodge. It gets the job done and satisfies MOD specs but it dont make up for for not using the right equipment chassis specs to start with. Edited November 6, 2011 by cosrec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosrec Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) Really feel i must qualify my last post and use the opurtunity to put a picture on for reccymech66 who i know is interested in the development of this recovery vehicle. This truck was developed here in the UK for use by armed forces (not UK) who have decided to use the right length chassis and off the shelf recovery equipment that i would suggest could knock the spots of any thing the uk has at half the price (recovery equipment wise) Edited November 6, 2011 by cosrec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recymech66 Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Nice pic cheers Cosrec, The British SVR crane slews all the way round to the front to give us a limited lift capability over the cab. I see this variant can also use it for self recovery were we have an independent front winch mounted. Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Really feel i must qualify my last post and use the opurtunity to put a picture on for reccymech66 who i know is interested in the development of this recovery vehicle. This truck was developed here in the UK for use by armed forces (not UK) who have decided to use the right length chassis and off the shelf recovery equipment that i would suggest could knock the spots of any thing the uk has at half the price (recovery equipment wise) Is that supposedly a demonstration of self recovery? One would assume the vehicle is up to its axles in mud yet half the available pull is from a high level which would drag it downwards. Would it not be better to route the cable round a snatch block on the front towing eye and a low level return via a snatch block on the anchor if necessary? Also I can only see a single winch fitted to the boom, would a twin not make the recovery far more useful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosrec Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) Is that supposedly a demonstration of self recovery? One would assume the vehicle is up to its axles in mud yet half the available pull is from a high level which would drag it downwards. Would it not be better to route the cable round a snatch block on the front towing eye and a low level return via a snatch block on the anchor if necessary? Also I can only see a single winch fitted to the boom, would a twin not make the recovery far more useful? No if you look it has twin winches. Also the fairleads they exit out of are 360% which combined with the multitude of tie back eyes makes for really versatile winching lifting rigging. Unlike UK types which are limited to straight up and down lifting. I dont know for sure but that recovery boom usually has twin 30,000lbs or 40,000lbs capacity winches. The booms are designed from the begining for recovery/winching forces being imposed on them and a by product is they also have excellent lifting capability. The uk booms start life as straight forward cranes with single winch with multiple reeving on it and this is all they can be used for. That boom by the way is currently the industry standard and there are many thousand in use in north america so all the teething problems have been ironed out. The truck also has a 50ton constant line pull winch to the rear plus conventional independant underlift with a rating of 20 ton. I dont know if its supposed to show a self recovery or the elevated winching recovery of another vehicle what ever it does show it has versatility to do things that wouldnt be an option with a UK version Edited November 6, 2011 by cosrec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extrogg Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 "2. Rollover. This happened to 2 good buddies of mine. Negotiated a bend too fast and flipped the vehicle. They were carrying a water bean can which shifted the centre of gravity". I mentioned this incident in an earlier post. Ive just been sent a pic of the truck that was involved. It smashed through a wall and plunged 30 feet down an embankment. They walked away..only just! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 I mentioned this incident in an earlier post. Ive just been sent a pic of the truck that was involved. That could be one of the DROPS we had back for rebuilding, there were a fair number that we done, some worse than that, and they were all sent back out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy FV432 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Hello All, Decided that this might be the best place to post this pic. A shed full of drops, back from Bosnia in the mid nineties I believe, Dougy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallbars Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 L-D DROPS 77-KH-73 Gulf 1991 I'm wondering if one of those three DROPS waggons in the post from Robin may be the truck I drove in the 1991 Gulf war registration number 77 KH 73 - I saw it later at BATUS in 1997 whilst on exercise there. The middle two letters KH are just visible on the rear plate in one of the photos. Couldn't believe my old waggon was still going when I saw it over there but looking a bit the worse for wear parked up in an MT yard. One of these three may be it, minus the original plates and now looking decidedly knackered to when we took delivery of them in the Gulf more or less fresh from the factory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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