Vintage Tow Trucks from OkTOWberfest

As many of you may (or may not) know, my position as a district representative for an import truck distributor allows time to take in events that I normally would not attend otherwise. This is one such event, and it happened during the second weekend of October. The one thing I remember most was how cold the air was, as this was the first weekend that the thermometer dipped below the freezing mark this year. Anyway, I have several dealers in Massachusetts that display finished versions of UD Trucks set up for towing and recovery, and this is the reason why I was there.

The Massachusetts Statewide Towing Association wanted to put together a show that brought out most of the tow operators within Western Massachusetts, along with vintage tow trucks, and demonstrations.  Below are some of the vintage trucks that were in attendance, including a 1955 Chevy, several Fords, and a fully functioning Model T.

Contine reading after the jump.

For the fans of some very sick artwork, this “warrior princess” mural graces the hood of a 70’s era GMC “C” series Tow Truck, and I have first hand information that the rollback on this particular truck is less than a year old.

For those of you that admire something a little more rugged, how about this sweet, sanitary Unomog. It’s top speed is 50 MPH, but the company that owns it (Petty Cash Towing, how’s that for a name?) made some improvements, like welding five (yes five) trailer hitch receivers! You can see two on the front bumper in the following shot, and there are three more in the back…

One last sequence of shots. This is a demonstration of a Brand New Crane type of recovery truck, and while everyone was looking on, the operator lifted an Oshkosh rear engine mixer. I have no idea what this truck weighs, but according to the Oshkosh web site, the axles are rated for 70,000 pounds, so it must weigh quite a bit.