We ran
out of daylight and stayed at a very nice RV park that was close
to IH-45. It was starting to get cold at night, but we
were relatively comfortable inside the camper. Next
morning we continued north to Irving, TX to visit our friend
Vince at his shop.
The photos below are what we saw.
It was
not clear why this fellow pulled over onto the shoulder, but it
was clear that he has a big problem in addition to whatever
caused him to pull over. Note the angle of lean of the
truck.
His
tires dug deep into the clay-based mud and he is quite
stuck. Even if the truck was actually functional, he is
going nowhere. The photo above was shot through a
bug-splattered windshield, thus the discolorations at the right
of the photo.
As the
highway approached Dallas, we got our first view of the skyline.
The
bridge system is a monument to the automobile.
This
bridge was quite beautiful.
We
traveled to Irving, TX to meet our friend Vince at his
shop. Recently, Vince purchased an ex-mil 5-ton cargo
truck and has been doing some restoration. Above is the
spare tire mount.
The
14.00R20 tires were replaced with new 16.00R20 rubber.
These are big tires, around 500 pounds per wheel (mounted).
The
front bumper was removed and replaced with a custom aluminum
plate. The winch fairlead, attachment points and tow bar
were bead-blasted and powder coated.
The tow
bar is very, very heavy and requires some beefy turnbuckles to
secure it during travel.
Kathleen's
face graces an otherwise (olive) drab cab.
Vince
also has a U500 Unimog with custom shelter.
The rear
of the U500 also has a custom aluminum plate bumper.
The
inside of the shelter uses ProTech tool boxes as cabinets.
The
kitchen counter has a butcher block wood surface. The
counter assembly is a rolling tool chest from Sam's Club
modified to host the sink.
Additional
"industrial strength" drawers were available within the shelter.
Vince loves his stickers.
After a
very pleasant evening in Irving that included dinner and a
movie, we headed north toward La Junta. Texas is a big
state and it took us 2.5 days to get from Irving to La
Junta. The photo above shows the access stairs of one of
the rigs that were parked at the Terry Lee Enterprises
facility. The vehicle at the left of the photo above is
the sister truck to Thor: it is also a 1017A but has a very
large Global Expedition Vehicles (GXV) shelter.
Since
our last visit to Terry Lee Enterprises there has been a big
influx of U500-based rigs. TLE is one of the few places
that services this class of vehicle. Above is another GXV
truck in for service.
TLE has
a number of U500 and standard Unimogs for sale.
The U500
at the right has power take off shafts. The green U1550
has large winches front and back.
The rear
view of both trucks. Note the 3-point hitch on the U500.
Inside
the facility were more U500s. Another GXV truck being
serviced.
The
owner of this U500 wanted to add CTIS (central tire inflation)
to his truck. This addition required a nearly complete
disassembly of each corner of the vehicle.
An older
404 Unimog for sale.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.