Record Wrecker By Wes Wilburn Here are two interesting short news items I found in an old automotive magazine from the late fifties. Notice how the statement is worded "the vehicle has a lifting capacity of 50 tons." I am guessing this statement was made based on the following. Because the unit was so heavy (looking at that front bumper I am guessing it has reasonable front axle weight) and being a single axle it may have a lift capacity of 50 tons using it's rear legs to lengthen the wheelbase. Or maybe that is an extra winch on the front bumper and maybe things got confused when they added up the total winching power. It appears to be a Holmes 850 wrecker and I believe the capacity on those units was never greater than 40 tons. As I understand it, this unit was introduced in the late forties and advertised with a boom capacity of 15 tons and a winching capacity of 35 tons. I wonder why the wrecker manufactures moved away from a dual rating system. When you think about it they are two completely different functions. Of course Mr. Lawhorn's challenge could not go unmet! A very proud wrecker owner from Florida came forward with a very large wrecker. Mr. Dallas Bower of Winter Park must have had one heck of a truck if each boom had a lifting capacity of over 50 tons and was 9 and 1/2 feet wide. When you look at the size of the structure of the mast compared to the men standing beside it, it appears the mast is as wide as the shoulders of the man in the white shirt. I am guessing because of the comment about the width that this must have been an off road truck of some sort maybe coming from the oil fields of the mid-west. Does anyone have any information on either one of these trucks? If so please share it with us! Wes Wilburn is a safety and team-building consultant with 20 years experience in and around the towing industry. He is AT's Tow History Editor. He can be reached at weswilburn@aol.com or 910 486 8928 or visit his web site www.automemories.net.