Myth Busters On Discovery Channel

[Dick815th]

Last weekend, The Discovery Channel was running re-runs of their popular Myth Busters show......

Someone had contacted them saying that he'd heard that concrete that had set up in the drum of mixer trucks is sometimes removed with explosives. Myth Busters set out to see if that was possible. A local concrete company donated what was described as an old mixer truck that had seen better days and was in need of repairs. It turned out to be an R Model Mack and it didn't look too bad on the surface. It had to be moved with a wrecker but was able to turn the mixer drum on an intermittent basis so I think maybe it had a driveline droblem. I caught a glimpse of the model number plate, I think it said RS600L. Could that be right?

Anyway, the guys set out to prove or disprove the myth. It turns out they got a little carried away with the bang stuff. They set the charge off from what seemed about a mile away, and that Mack disintegrated into a thousand pieces. I remember seeing the seperated transmission and engine lying on the ground close the where the truck was sitting at the moment of detonation. Seems like a big waste to me, but I like Macks. Too bad they couldn't have scrounged up an old Louisville Ford or a Binder.

All this Myth Busters activity reminded me of something that did happen 36 years ago in Vietnam. Upon arrival in Vietnam in 1967, my old unit took possesion of a number of pieces of civilian equipment that had been used by a US gov't contracted construction company in the area. Euclid scrapers, a Gallion motor grader and some civilian trucks.... One of them White 4x4 straight truck that my unit set up as a lube truck. It had a Detroit motor in it. Another acquired truck was a concrete mixer. For one reason or another, the mixer was pulled off the civilian truck and set on a short, M52A2 5 ton 6x6 tractor chassis. Don't cringe at the 5 ton capacity rating, that was the truck's conservative off-road capacity. Double that figure for paved road carrying capacity. And really, the 20,000 lbs paved road capcity was inaccurate 'cause those things had 44,000 rear suspensions that were similar to Mack camelbacks.

Handy for little jobs, the 5 ton mixer was used in the '68 and '69 construction seasons. In the '70 season, somebody didn't get it cleaned out in time and the guys did what was then the normal clean out procedure:

little chunks of C4 explosive set off inside the drum. But they too got a little carried away, one C4 chunk was a little too big and they split the mixer's drum open like a tin can with a cherry bomb inside it. That was the end of our batch truck and the Colonel was really POed.

[rsmartyn]

Couldn't agree with you more Dick, but it would have been nice for us Mack guys to see one of those ugly older Volvos blown up instead.

[mudslut28]

Do you guys remember the DM800 tractor being destroyed in the Seagal movie? Now that one made me sick as well. Think the name of it was Fire Down Below......that was a shame. They should have used one of the inferior off-brands that the junkyards are full of.

[greg]

Couldn't agree with you more Dick, but it would have been nice for us Mack guys to see one of those ugly older Volvos blown up instead.

Just goes to show you the only way you can kill a mack is with explosives! lol!

[bulldog man]

Im w/ you guys why blow up a bulldog when ya could blow up a cornbinder ,Volvo ,or a Sterling

Ya WV It was fire down below i bout cried like a baby on that movie when they blew the dog up sound like 318 (8V71)or12V71 Detroit in the DM800SX In fire down below also it hurt to watch the Rmodel get blown in millons of pieces on mythbusters

SOME OLD DOGS DIE HARD THE OTHER OLD DOGS GET REBUILT FOR ANOTHER LIFE

Have a goodone

Bulldog