The End of an Era: 27 Ton Wrecker Rebuild Ep1

In 1991 our grandfather purchased his very first heavy hydraulic wrecker, an NRC 27 ton Slider. 33 years later, we have made the decision to dismantle it due to the Ohio winters taking such a toll on the steel wrecker body and truck chassis. Our intentions are to put the necessary repairs into the wrecker bed and re-mount it onto a newer and cleaner chassis. It will be a very long process from start to finish, and we are excited to bring our viewers along for the process. When it's completed, it will be a privilege to get the opportunity to operate grandpa's 'workhorse' alongside of our new fleet.
#wrecker #repairs #project
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[@stephenmeeks684]

For the honor of your Grandfather and Father, you are saving and reusing a piece of towing history. I think that is great. Thank you for sharing this experience.

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

We certainly enjoy new equipment, but there's just as much satisfaction getting to restore the old and keep it working for us.

[@doak4886]

Respect that you keep Grandpa’s equipment and find a way to utilize it in ways that make sense.

[@DragonRides75]

really nice seeing your granddads machine getting a new lease of life yes please to future videos on this project

[@Its_me_Jimmer]

Excellent video. Can’t wait to see regular updates on it

[@markrichards2043]

kind of stuff i like to watch

[@georgewest2096]

Great Video.

[@donalddehaven3229]

That has to be satisfying to know you are saving something that meant so much to you and the business your grandfather started.

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Yes, it will be rewarding seeing the finished product. The chassis that we are using is the last truck he ever rode in before he passed away, so it's kind of putting 2 pieces of his story together to live on.

[@jaygraham5407]

@WilcoxGarageRecovery This going on the dump truck chassis?

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

@@jaygraham5407 no, we have kinda played musical trucks... We pulled the old '60s Bucyrus Erie crane (because it's obsolete) off of the '93 International 4900 chassis and made the dump truck. We removed this 27 ton wrecker from a '78 International S series chassis, and then mounted the Bucyrus Erie crane back on the '78 chassis and have since sold it. The 27 ton wrecker is getting mounted on a 2005 International 9400, which has almost double the horsepower.

[@jaygraham5407]

@WilcoxGarageRecovery that is quite an interesting process of trading trucks around. But it worked out great!!

[@steveminton8329]

Awesome seeing something your Grandfather used to start the business being redone to continue in the business

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Our great grandfather started the business in 1937, and this was our grandfather's first heavy wrecker that was hydraulic. He owned multiple 650 and 750 Holmes before that.

[@jaygraham5407]

@WilcoxGarageRecovery I loved the days I worked 750's and an 850. I ran a 25 ton No-Mar a few times. The Holmes 600 would out pull the 25 ton No-Mar any day.

[@thomashall7658]

I drove wreckers most of my life, I’m retired now. I always enjoyed swapping rigs and building new equipment. Keep up the good work it’s good to see older equipment still working!

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Thank you! We love the new equipment for sure, but it's nice to remember our roots by taking care of an older piece of equipment like this and letting it keep working for us.

[@robpeters5204]

Nice little,project. You should cut the back plate off and put a new piece in with newer style lights. You have the opportunity now to do it. Make it a little more modern. Good luck!

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

We thought about that, but kinda like to keep it as original as possible

[@peteraltman6374]

First time listener and I like your channel thanks for taking the time to show us the rebuild of the wrecker looking forward to seeing more of your content 👍

[@scottb02]

It is very cool to watch this process.

[@ukillme]

Grate job

[@jimkavalier2831]

Be a fun build to watch!

[@texasproud3332]

I really enjoy seeing a family business pulling together and growing I am retired and my son and daughter has taken over our Electrical Contractor Business certainly very much smaller than yall but still putting food on the table

[@jd-ll2pb]

Love your videos. Entertaining and informative. Looking forward to seeing more of this series. Some time I would like for you to do a quick tour of the Reo. I love your old trucks .stay safe out there and thanks

[@larryclassen5839]

Your grandfather was a Godsend to me. He helped me keep my little one truck going. The name of Wilcox is a name I owe many thanks to. I love this video and will be looking for more of this build.

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Glad you were fortunate to know him and that he was there to help you. It will be a big project for us, but we're excited to see what the finished piece will be!

[@johnpayne3953]

Sliding the bed back didn’t anyone think of driving the old lorry forward!

[@TowMan127]

So glad to see you’re working on the truck and transplant. Please make this a series of videos!

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Will do brother! 💪

[@TowMan127]

@@WilcoxGarageRecovery awesome! I’m sure there’s a lot of people who are going to want watch a series on this rebuild. Will make great content 💪💪💪

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

@@TowMan127 the response on this video has been great so far, so apparently lots of people want to see this rebuild!

[@TowMan127]

@@WilcoxGarageRecovery heck yeah we do! 😂

[@howardhill9528]

Got to love those Milwaukee cordless tools , especially that 3/4 impact . So wish I had those tools when I was still working on trucks . Just the noise level is less , let alone no need for airlines .

[@glennjukes5581]

I think Milwaukee rules the roost!

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Any of the Milwaukee cordless tools sure make life easier, but this big impact really pays off having it!

[@curvecutter2]

I like watch stuff be rebuilt .

[@DavidGomez-yr7if]

Very interested

[@darringusko8539]

Keep it going. Looking forward to the rest of the build.

[@jeffharvey6768]

Great job.... very meticulous work... tedious but necessary.

[@jackstockley4501]

I think that was the wrecker Tad showed me in the warehouse, he said you had plans for it. Was that a 3/4” or 1” battery powered impact? I always had to use an air powered 1” drive that weighed 15 lbs! How things have changed for the better! Nothing like Plasma torch for cutting rust! It’s looking good so far looking forward to your future videos on this job! Be safe on your trip to pick up your new rotator! Take care everyone at WG!

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Yeah that was probably the wrecker! This was a 1inch impact, and it sure makes life easy just with the mobility that it offers compared to air powered. Plasma cutter is a life saver too! Still have a long road ahead until this a completed project, so should make for several videos. Can't wait to be driving the new rig home in a few days though 👍🏻

[@barryshisler3720]

It's good to see you all are restoring the old iron it's going to be a big job I can't wait to see it finished Keep up the great work

[@harrymock3445]

Cool video I look forward to following the entire project

[@andrewdevene6519]

I'm absolutely not making fun, just an honest suggestion. Throughout your videos, you have come up with a great catchphrase. You should think of merch with your logo on the front of the shirt and" Just a fuzz" on the back. I'd buy one.

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

I honestly am not even aware of consistently saying that, so I may have to go back and rewatch 😂

[@dmac5994]

I found it interesting, thank you.

[@newboyzjerk100]

Love the new wrecker can't wait to see the rebuild of the old Iron

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

We need to get busy working on it again!

[@ashleigh6219]

You can’t beat an only NRC. we have 5 of the 9240 ms units going all day long.

[@rodrobinson3657]

Great video. Looking forward to the series!

[@theopinions47]

Just move it back just a fuzz 😂😂😂😂

[@MarkMiller-nl6ud]

I like it I'm surprised you guy's would refurbish it more videos please.

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

The wrecker unit and the chassis it's getting mounted on carry a sentimental value to it. For 33 years old, it is in excellent shape once some of the bad rust spots get fixed.

[@jaygraham5407]

Looking great

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Thanks!

[@jaygraham5407]

@@WilcoxGarageRecovery I enjoy and appreciate watching you. You are professionals at what you do. Maybe I will make it to Willard someday and check in with you folks.

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

@@jaygraham5407 anytime! We may be a little bit better at running the trucks than rebuilding them though 😂

[@Louie2309]

It would be much better if you restored grandads old S Line to go with the wrecker. Easy enough to get a near new rear cut.

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

The '78 chassis was more than just the rear frame that was bad. Could it have all been fixed, sure....but the cost would not have been feasible.

[@johnbulla8708]

Can you under coat the bottom & chase frame keep it from rusting.keep vedio coming.

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Once were done with the paint/ undercoating it will be sprayed with a rust preventative product made by ZEP

[@timhamrick9498]

Exited to see how it turns out.

[@donaldcampbell5277]

Not using the truck for a long time, is it worth the cost to retruck it?

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

The wrecker and the chassis that we are re-mounting it on are both paid for. Since we are doing most of the project ourselves, the cost to us is time and material cost. Brand new bumper to bumper is over $450k for a comparable truck now. This truck also has a sentimental piece to it as well, so in our minds its worth the effort.

[@glennjukes5581]

Good job there--I was going to suggest a couple of cross braces also-help steady it--but then what happens if you need that dolly on a job??

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

We have another dolly that's in better condition. At first we planned to not necessarily destroy this one, but after looking at it decided we would ultimately run across another one some day.

[@rogerstlaurent8704]

I want to say your Granddad was ahead of his times a 1991 27 ton Slider Very Impressive i bet that wrecker saw a few things back in its days BC do you have any photos of that truck being used .... Any plans in the future for the 47 REO or Reo Speedwagon ???? .. As for how much the Wrecker body weight you should do a fun contest and guess how much the wrecker body does weigh ??? i say 15.200 pounds ... Great Video looking forward to many more videos

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

I believe we have a video of it working a recovery alongside his 20 ton, we will try to get the video put up at some point. The REO, we currently don't have any plans for, just a show/heirloom piece. Interesting concept for guessing the wrecker bed weight...we may just have to do that!

[@kingtut5923]

So just drive ahead

[@arlisspropertyservicesllc5943]

So a 27 ton is a medium duty truck then?

[@jaygraham5407]

I would say heavy duty. Holmes 750 was 25 ton classified as heavy duty. Holmes 600 was classified Heavy Duty with 16 ton rating.

[@stevewood3170]

We still don't know how much it weighed, lol. I sure dont miss ohio salt session

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Once we get our new rotator we will be able to get a weight on the bed when it gets mounted on the newer chassis. New rotator will have a scale, current one doesn't lol

[@thepubliceye]

You see the shortcomings of that bed so why not change it? Keep the mechanicals but make a new better bed.

[@jamesbroome1815]

Eye, that is what I would have done. That wrecker is worth keeping and is more than paid for. New body and a good chassis and that would be a whole lot cheaper than a new wrecker .

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

We are fixing the spots of rust that are deteriorated, but most of the steel is still in excellent shape (after new paint of course). The main spots that are bad are pockets that have contained road grime and never got cleaned out. Cut out and weld in new steel where needed, but the majority of the bedside/boxes are fine.

[@jamesbroome1815]

@@WilcoxGarageRecovery You can see better what the rust ate up. . . Great to rebuild an old workhorse. Keep showing the progress. Being from the South, rust is not something we are used to.

[@bankspower29]

Any updates

[@retro_grade]

"End of and Era" precursor in the title = very solid KZbin strategy! Could be a little more clickbait worthy - I think Heavy D's was what - "End of an Era, It's ALL OVER?" ---->>> now THAT really had me clicking away on it. And, it got 3.7M views in 1 year. I think you need to have a highlighted reaction face with "IT'S ALL OVER" or "NEVER AGAIN" in the thumbnail, something like that. Murphy's Diesel would do better than this, and they just got featured on Whistlin Diesel's channel. Think big here Tyler. Nevertheless, solid attempt, nice work! 👍👍👍

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

We can't all be in the big time 😂

[@thepubliceye]

Does anyone make a medium or light-duty rotator?

[@jaygraham5407]

Holmes has a medium duty rotator

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

Yes, Miller makes a 16ton rotator under the Holmes name, then the next jump up from there is a 35ton Century.

[@johnnypelt7471]

Are y’all going to keep the 78?

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

We recently sold it.

[@ashleigh6219]

Why do you want to shorten it? just add another tool box. ours are all 35 and 40ft. they will tow about anything honestly.

[@WilcoxGarageRecovery]

We thought about that, but honestly would rather have it shorter, and I think adding another tunnel box that's somewhere around 27 inches would look strange. Plus, with the Quickswap formerly being on that truck, the tail of the frame is super short and has a taillight box welded in, so moving the axles forward would allow us to cut the tail of the frame at the correct length to meet the tail of the wrecker bed.