Old Autocar Earns Its Keep

Now owned by the Rohrich Family of Batavia, Ohio, this 1959 Autocar DC75 wrecker came from the Carolinas where the frame was stretched and the wrecker body from an older truck was installed by a previous owner.  The Autocar worked hard for that owner until he passed away, and then it was purchased by a company in Xenia, Ohio, where it sat unused and neglected until Batavia truck mechanic Dick Wolfer bought it.  Dick gave the Autocar a new paint job and put the truck to work towing and winching for a number of years.  When he had gotten all the use he needed from the Autocar, Dick offered it to Tom Rohrich, who then purchased the truck.  Tom parked the old wrecker with about 25 of its near and distant cousins of all makes at the family farm, also known as the Old Truck Rest Home.  The Autocar is powered by a 250 Cummins engine with a Roadranger transmission, and is equipped with a 50-ton drag winch and a W-45 military Holmes boom wrecker body.  The Rohrichs still work the Autocar when the need arises, using it to pull salt trucks and sunken D8 Caterpillars, as well as other pieces of farm equipment, that get stuck.  Tom said, “If you meet the old girl on the road, give her a salute, because she is still earning her keep!”