M60 Wrecker Finds a Second Life

By Brendan Dooley - AT Editor Anyone who has spent time in the military knows that making the adjustment to civilian life isn't always easy and finding work is even harder. Well this story has a happy ending. The soldier in focus is a military-style wrecker that is now leading a quiet civilian life in Madison County, N.Y., as a show truck for the Highway Department. Unlike most soldiers coming back from a tour of duty, this rig is immaculate. The frame is so clean you could eat off of it and there isn't a scratch or dent in sight. Its once olive-drab exterior has been painted a bright orange and it stands out in the crowd and rolling down the highway. In the military world this truck is an M35A2. The manufacturer could be Kaiser, AM General, Jeep or Mack. The government handed out contracts to a variety of truck builders over the years. Numerous U.S. allies used the M35A2 and the truck is still in production today. The M35 family is in the 2-1/2-ton weight class; it was one of many vehicles in U.S. military service to have been referred to as the "Deuce-and-a-half." While the basic M35 cargo truck is rated to carry 5,000 lbs. off road or 10,000 lbs. on roads, they have been known to haul twice as much as rated. Trucks in this weight class are considered medium duty by the military and Department of Transportation. A wrecker based on the M35 truck was designated the M60. The military lists this as a Truck, Wrecker: Light, 2-1/2-ton, 6x6, M60 (G-742). The M60 (and the very similar Truck, Crane: 2-1/2-ton, 6x6 M108) are part of the G-742 (or M44) series of 2-1/2-ton trucks. The many models of these very successful G-742 trucks were in Army inventory from the mid-1950s into the 1990s. The M60 Wrecker is built on the M45C chassis with a walking beam suspension on the rear axle. The hydraulically operated crane on the rear of the M60 can be traversed through 270 degrees with a maximum elevation angle of 45 degrees. A rear-mounted winch has a capacity of 15,000 lbs. A winch mounted at the front of the vehicle has a maximum capacity of 10,000 lbs. There are two outriggers mounted either side of the crane platform for stabilization. The engine and drive train choices varied greatly over the years. Some variants could run on a variety of fuel sources including gas, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, or heating oil. Basically whatever was available. The M60 was eventually phased out in favor of the M108. The M60 boom is the same as the M108 and the M60 has a rear winch where the M108 does not. The M108 is classified as a wrecker crane while the M60 is a wrecker light. The M60 was intended as a recovery vehicle while the M108 was more of a crane. The M108 came out first and continued production for many years. The M60 was determined to be too light and was phased out in favor of the 5-ton M816 medium wrecker. Show Yours @ TIW Do you have a recovery to share with TIW readers? Send some pics and info to the editor at bdooley@towman.com; your recovery may even be selected for print in American Towman magazine!