New member?

[otter]

Hello,
I am new to the forums. I use my truck for extended trips into the Sierra Nevada mountains (expedition?), usually for more than 14 days. Planning on the southwest soon, to be followed by the Pacific northwest. Would like to do the AlCan highway to AK. but that is down the road. The truck has a sleeping platform with a mattress, 3 way 'fridge, 3 burner stove, and 15kBTU heater.
The Box is heavy guage steel and I am currently equipped with 50 usgals of diesel(@13mpg), planning to add another OEM 50 gal tank, 60lbs of propane hard mounted and plumbed. Water is usually carried in jerry type cans. Offroad navigation is usually performed with USGS topo maps along with a ex-military Trimble trimpak mounted and equipped with an external antenna.
I also use the truck as a base for dirtbike trips and have a 2 1/2T trailer for those ends.
Fun site
eric
P.S. The truck is ex-marine corps M109A3 2 1/2T with 10k PTO bumper mounted winch. Engine is 465ci turbo diesel, 5speed manual all wheel drive, and a bunch of other details I could list but won't.

[Scott Brady]

Great Truck Otter :jumping:

Those 2.5tons are just awesome for payload and space. Is that the original radio box or did you fabricate that yourself?

Have you ever driven it back to Laurel Lakes? One of my favorite campsites of all time.

[Brian McVickers]

WOW! :Wow1: You're not messing around, that's a sweet rig!
Welcome to the site :wavey:
Can't wait to see more pictures of your truck.

[The BN Guy]

Welcome Otter! It's gonna take a lot to stop that duece and a half! There's one in San Antonio for sale that a buddy wants to buy. Even a trailer to match right next to it.

[flyingwil]

:wavey: Welcome Otter! Nice ex-Mil Vehicle you got there! Sounds like you got it pretty well set up to suit your needs for now. What part of the globe you staying at right now?

Looks good, man! I look forward to reading your input and words of wisdom in the near future. :luxhello:

Wil

[lionsbreath]

Sweet :arabia: Always a good knock down your own trail rig. :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[otter]

Great Truck Otter :jumping:

Those 2.5tons are just awesome for payload and space. Is that the original radio box or did you fabricate that yourself?

Have you ever driven it back to Laurel Lakes? One of my favorite campsites of all time.
Hello,
I will try to answer the questions one at a time. The "box" is the original box as built by the manufacturer,orf the truck-unit, Kaiser/Jeep. The nomenclature M109A3 describes a M-35 chassis with the "shop van" box mounted. The box has 6 opening(7 if you count the forward one) windows, the doors to the rear open to aprox 5' wide. The floor of the truck is about 4' off the ground, a set of steps are removeable and stored on the back of the body. The body is about 7 1/2' wide x 12 deep(inside measurments), and is supposed to be waterproof to the windows. That is deeper than the service fording depth. Lat/Long to locate Laurel Lakes? I mostly spend time near Sonora pass west of Kennedy Meadows and Clear Creek near King City.
eric

[otter]

:wavey: Welcome Otter! Nice ex-Mil Vehicle you got there! Sounds like you got it pretty well set up to suit your needs for now. What part of the globe you staying at right now?

Looks good, man! I look forward to reading your input and words of wisdom in the near future. :luxhello:

Wil
Hello,
We live in Boulder Creek, CA near Santa Cruz CA.

[otter]

Welcome Otter! It's gonna take a lot to stop that duece and a half! There's one in San Antonio for sale that a buddy wants to buy. Even a trailer to match right next to it.
Hey,
Luckily the brake system, when adjusted properly will stop the truck(at reasonable speeds less than 60MPH) quite well, air over hydraulics is a good system. If your buddy wants to buy a truck have him subscribe to Military Vehicles Magazine, the info is invaluable and quite informative. The learning curve for the 'deuce series is steep but short, military manuals are readily available and are written for the high school grad who has his own set of hammers. I also have 2 trailers one 3/4 ton and a 2 1/2ton which is a 2 1/2 ton generator trailer chassis with a 2 1/2 ton cargo bed mounted to it, 8'wX12'l by 1 1/2' h.
eric

[BajaTaco]

Up this point...


The truck has a sleeping platform with a mattress, 3 way 'fridge, 3 burner stove, and 15kBTU heater.
The Box is heavy guage steel and I am currently equipped with 50 usgals of diesel(@13mpg), planning to add another OEM 50 gal tank, 60lbs of propane hard mounted and plumbed. Water is usually carried in jerry type cans...


... I was going :Wow1: :Wow1: imagining a typical 1-ton truck and imagining it way past GVWR and wondering about the mileage figure... :xxrotflma

Luckily you added the "P.S." part :D

Cool truck! So how long have you had it and what has your experience been with the reliability/maintenance factor?

[otter]

Hello,
Reliability has been fantastic, I have only had one problem and that was due to my own lack of preventative maintenence. The military has a service schedule that pretty much insures that the truck runs until its service life is reached. The problem that happened to me was a front wheel bearing failure. I was driving around home after servicing the left front wheel bearing, I thought the right will wait for awhile, wrong I waited too long and the bearing was dry, the rest of the story is obvious, the bearing seized and destroyed the spindle and hub, I was able to limp home with horrible noises and smells.
The good news was due to the military surplusing of the 2.5 ton M-35 parts are cheap only slightly more costly than scrap metal, and that was for N.O.S. parts, the total cost for the spindle, hub, bearings and seals was about $200.00. I have been buying trailers and spare parts at scrap prices, tires and wheels cost me about $35.00 each, and the trailer they were attached to was free, I got 2 master cylinders, brake drums, shoes, backing plates and tons of hardware, misc parts for future projects all for the price of a surplus trailer, which was new, the tires still had the casting flash on the center of the tread.
I am currently fabricating disc driveline brakes for the front and rear axles of my truck. The additional braking system will be actuated by the trucks service air brake line, feeding the trailer master cylinder for a whole separate supplimental braking system. This mod will cost less than $300.00 for new discs and loaded calipers. This truck is very inexpensive to operate and maintain as long as one can do the maintenence themselves. Shipping seems to be the most expensive part of parts procurement. The maintenence manuals are readily available and very easy to read. They were written for the enlisted private in mind , so they are very easy to follow. I guess the short answer to the reliability question is excellent, I currently keep the truck ready for the road so I can go at a moments notice. It is a truck, so 5 gallons of oil and coolant at each change are manditory as well as 2 oil filters(Napa), 3 fuel filters(napa too), 2 Gallons of trans 90 wt, each third member holds about 3 quarts also, xfer case about a gallon too. It's big, about 13000lbs empty, so everything is scaled up, hand tools are 1/2" drive for small stuff and big stuff is 1" drive. The electrical system is 24v, so I use 2 12v batteries in series and tap 12v for the fridge and heater blower off of the batteries. I also use a solar cell for topping a nicad bank that I use for camp electricity.
I could go on for hours, but I won't. As you can tell this is a hobby for me and I can ramble on forever. Ask and I will answer if I can.
eric :camping:

[BajaTaco]

Thanks for the detailed reply. My knowledge on military vehicles is very limited, so this is a great opportunity to learn a bit. I can get sore working on my little Tacoma - I can't imagine working on that beast... hehehe. 1" drive??

Can you please tell us a little more about the nicad bank and solar setup? I am curious about that. Also, you mentioned you are running two 12v batteries in series, so how is it that you tap for 12v?

[otter]

Thanks for the detailed reply. My knowledge on military vehicles is very limited, so this is a great opportunity to learn a bit. I can get sore working on my little Tacoma - I can't imagine working on that beast... hehehe. 1" drive??

Can you please tell us a little more about the nicad bank and solar setup? I am curious about that. Also, you mentioned you are running two 12v batteries in series, so how is it that you tap for 12v?
Yup,
1" drive sockets, 14" crescent wrench, 4' long breaker bars, flame wrench and all the big gun tools for farm style equipment. It is actually quite easy to work on, when I added the turbo from another truck, the turbo weighed about 50 lbs, I removed the whole front clip from the waterpump foreward, the disassembly took about 2 hrs. I was then able to retime the injection pump for the turbo addition. All of the figgering was done through the maintenence and parts manuals, a stack of books about 6" high, with excellent detail.
Ahhha,
The NiCad setup were salvaged from a portable xray machine, I assembled a bank to make a 24v battery. The charger is a military nicad charger, which is constant current charger, powered off of the truck 24v electrical system when running. When in camp I remove a jumper and hook the batteries in parallel and keep it topped with the solar panel which is 35watts. The 12v/24v solution, The truck originally came with 2 24v batteries in a large slide out battery box. I replaced the batteries with military 12v aproximately the same size and wired them in series vs the original parallel method. This allows 12v to be tapped off of the battery that is closest to the negative ground. The batteries don' know the difference, I imagine that there might be some theoritical issue but I cannot tell the difference in the battery life between the two. I have swapped the batteries to offset any uneven loading, but it seems the battery life is equal so it is a non-event. :o

[otter]

Hello,
Here are a couple of flicks of the truck/trailer combo, on the road, after a riding trip.
I will be adding canvas and bows to the trailer this spring.
Eric:coffee:

[cruiseroutfit]

VERY cool :cool:

[CLynn85]

Very nice setup. We have a duece and a half out back at work that we picked up from DRMO and has sat pretty much ever since. Fires up and runs like a champ but the brakes are out on it and with all the current projects no one's had a chance to tackle it yet.

Very impressive machines with an awesome history of support for our armed forces. Cool to see one being used as you do. There are a couple here in my hometown that have been restored and I love the site of one passing by my house.

[otter]

Very nice setup. We have a duece and a half out back at work that we picked up from DRMO and has sat pretty much ever since. Fires up and runs like a champ but the brakes are out on it and with all the current projects no one's had a chance to tackle it yet.

Very impressive machines with an awesome history of support for our armed forces. Cool to see one being used as you do. There are a couple here in my hometown that have been restored and I love the site of one passing by my house.
Hello,
The brake system is actually pretty simple, the most difficult item is the airpack, these are usually what goes out first, rebuild kits are available from Memphis Equipment Company (MECO), they are located in Memphis and have a website. Ebay also has lots of parts listed under "military vehicles", wheel cylinders are easily available also. The only funny thing is the later vehicles use silicone brake fluid, which throws some of the D.O.T. 3 guys off, they dont mix well! I buy my fluid at meets, I bought a gallon and that has lasted for 7-8 years, multiple wheel cylinder replacements, and repairs to different axle brakes. Take the challenge, despite the size it is quite fun and satisfying to work on.
eric:wavey:

[calamaridog]

Eric,

That is one of the coolest RV's I've ever seen:bowdown:


My hat is off to you, thanks for sharing this information with us:jumping:

-Bryan

[gjackson]

Very sweet rig! thanks for all the info!

cheers

[UncleChris]

Hey Otter, That is really cool.

Bet you blend in with the Marines around Sonora Pass!

The Sonora pass area is great. We found a forest road this year that climbs back on the ridge and comes out behind the USMC base. Where do you go around there?

[otter]

Hey,
We usually hang around near Eagle Meadows or Martins Cow Camp, with trips up to Relief Reservoir as well as the local F.S. roads. We haven't seen the Marines, and I am pretty sure they haven't seen us, it must be the camo thing we both got going on. Looking foreward to the snow melt this year though, hope to get a couple of trips up there.
later
eric:)

[otter]

Hey,
Here a couple of flicks from the last Sierra campout:

[otter]

Oh No,
This is what can happen if you drive into the soft spot in the back yard, sunk the front axle to the punkin. I had cleared the berries from a spot, I thought I could use this new found area to manuver the truck for a departure. Wrong idea, it took 2 4000lb come-alongs, pulling on 2 20k tug straps wrapped around a handy oak tree. 5 hours of shovel work, tighten the come-alongs until they are scary tight and back the truck out 6" and retension until free. Notice that this was the only place on the property that I couldn't get a pull angle for the front mounted 10,000lb winch. Recovery is a serious consideration, think you can get your buddies F-250 to pull this boat anchor free? This was a case of de ja vu, I had done the same thing in the high sierras a few years prior, thats what prompted me to get the front winch. Oh well thats the fun I guess.
eric

[91xlt]

what...no little 48" hi-lift:hehe: :hehe:
that is one SERIOS STUCK!!!

thanks for pics..nice rig

[otter]

Hey,
I have a 48" hilift, when I placed it under the bumper, it just bowed and started looking like it was gonna snap. 13,500lbs empty aprox. I guess the hilift will stay in the landcruiser.:camping:

[otter]

Hello,
I just fabricated the mounting "can" for my new/old Isspro 3" pyrometer.http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i135/otteravbuthed/DSC00950.jpg
eric

[BajaTaco]

That is sweet! Looks very good. Nice to see you checkin' in.

[tamangel]

Here's a link to the (IMHO) definitive Military Vehicle discussion group:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=index&sid=5bdd1640fb953bb02dc784d435bd05a2

any vehicle you want plus classifieds..

using 'camper' as a search word, this is what I came up with:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=search&mode=results

enjoy..

Mike W

[Bella PSD]

Hello,
I just fabricated the mounting "can" for my new/old Isspro 3" pyrometer.http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i135/otteravbuthed/DSC00950.jpg
eric

I have got to get one of those for my IH diesel! Love it!
Louie

[ckkone]

Your rig is just plain awesome!

[otter]

Hello,
Just saddling up for one of the extended '09 campfest runs. Made a mount for the solar panel, now it goes on an old transit tripod, now I can swivel it to follow the sun. Will post some flicks from this years trip after we return!
Hola
eric