AMT Peterbilt wrecker, the real thing!!

[78KW]

This unit is owned by Decker Truck Line of Iowa. These pix were taken at the Iowa 80 Trucker's Jamboree. It has the addition of under-reach equipment(I hope that's the correct term). I hope you enjoy this nice looking rig ;D. and are able to use these pix 4 ideas. This is the same wrecker body for sure.

Now here's a pretty face!


Up close to the rear of the body.






Winch




:)I hope you enjoyed these, and that they help with a project.

[plastictrucker]

In all my years of watching trucks and reading about them(35+),I've only seen 3or4 pictures of that kind of unit till now.Thanks for posting yours. Great angles,really shows the details.I don't think it would be that hard improving the amt kit.does anyone know when they started using under lifts?,is it when trucks started using pieces for aerodynamics?I saw one picture of an Astro recently(don't know where)it stated that this body style is called a Bakersfield.

[78KW]

According to a reliable source, this unit is from Bakersfield Body Works. As to the under-lift, I think it was in the 1980s when they first came to being. Not sure though. I've never seen one of these in person. Someone else took these and was gracious enough to send them 2 me, and I just had to share them.

[b s express]

I have got to go to this truck show. Man those babys are NICE !!!!! JULY 10-11...2008..........

My Chevy 6500 went into the Missouri scales with NO BRAKE LIGHTS........ and a wrecker out of Hayti Mo. like the yellow one gave me a lift to the shop for a new brake light switch. That one had so many miles and rattles I think MOSES once drove it.

[Red Oval]

The company that build these wreckers was South Union Body Works Co., of Bakersfield California. They got the nickname "Bakersfield boom."

Each wrecker was custom built. Some with big fat booms, some skinny, but most of them were fat booms.

The AMT kit was based on a Peterbilt 359 with a longer wheelbase than the kit has, so AMT shortened the body. This wrecker body looks best with a longer wheelbase and the fat boom.

I've seen photos of the wrecker body on a KW K123 COE, a W925 conventional, several 359s, 352s, a 350 COE (just the boom, not the fancy sides) and a couple of others.

Tim

[78KW]

Tim, how much longer of a wheelbase was it?

[Red Oval]

I don't know what the wheelbase was, I suspect each truck was different - custom.