Moran Iron purchases ?truck of trucks’

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Moran Iron Works (MIW) has gone with the might of the military to transport some of their bigger-than-life products.

The Onaway-based metal fabricating firm has purchased an Oshkosh M911. In the 1970s, the Army found its tanks were getting heavier and they needed something with a little more muscle for transporting the M1 main battle tank, the Bradley fighting vehicle, or other heavy armored vehicles.

Morans purchased it from a military vehicle collector in Spooner, Wisconsin, who used it to take a Sherman tank to different shows. The collector operates a cranberry farm. Now, it?s going to be seen making frequent trips across Presque Isle County?s hi-wire corridor from the MIW complex to the Port of Calcite in Rogers City.

?We needed something that was more than just four-wheel drive, this is six-wheel drive,? said Randy Kramer. ?It actually has an air-lift axle, so it carries mo

re weight. There were some hills we had issues with, especially in the winter. Now we shouldn?t have any trouble.?

THE M911 is equipped with a V-8 Detroit engine and a pair of 45,000 pound Braden winches, mounted behind the cab, and will pull 40,000 pounds each. The truck and trailer were designed to recover broken-down vehicles in the field. Morans lengthened the trailer 15-feet and repainted it.

In the cab, the newest piece of equipment is a CB. ?When you are hauling, you have to be able to talk to your escorts,? said Kramer. There is no radio. ?It has a heater,? he was quick to point out.

Kramer?s not sure about the fuel millage, but believes ?it?s not good, because it?s wide open all the time.? He believes the M911 burned about 75 gallons of diesel transporting the first load Monday to the Port of Calcite. He said it takes two hours to travel one way. The M911?s top speed is 44 m.p.h. The next load (pictured) went over Thursday.