Stewart & stevenson tactical platform

[Incusus]

Spotted a new S&S tactical truck at my local gas station in rural Ohio, very cool. Talked to the guys driving it and they said they just started getting these. Looks remarkably like a MAN or Uni, so it makes one wonder what the future ExPo applications of these could be. Sorry for the phone cam photos :(

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/Stumpjumper/img128.jpg

[Lynn]

I occasionally drive past the plant in Katy, TX (south of Houston) where these are made. There has been one sitting under their sign for several years. Each time I drive past it I want hop in and drive it home...

I'm curious, though. Was it actually marked S&S? Reason I ask is that the sign over the truck I've been drooling over originally showed Stewart & Stevenson, then changed to Something Tactical Something, and now reads BAE. The Stewart & Stevenson name went away maybe three years ago.

[Lynn]

By the way, here's (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12698&highlight=Stewart+Stevenson)an older thread with some good discussion.

[transientmechanic]

Very cool trucks- the technical specs on them are amazing. I would love to pick one up in 25 or so years when (if) they are decommissioned. Who knows, they might be destroyed or recycled before reaching civilians :(

[Incusus]

I occasionally drive past the plant in Katy, TX (south of Houston) where these are made. There has been one sitting under their sign for several years. Each time I drive past it I want hop in and drive it home...

I'm curious, though. Was it actually marked S&S? Reason I ask is that the sign over the truck I've been drooling over originally showed Stewart & Stevenson, then changed to Something Tactical Something, and now reads BAE. The Stewart & Stevenson name went away maybe three years ago.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/Stumpjumper/img129.jpg

The plate on the dash with the plant of origin stamped on it indeed said Katy Tx. The driver was less enthusiastic about letting me take pictures inside the cab. Plate was located on the drivers side lower portion of the dash.

I wonder if they underwent a name change, or if they sold off the military arm of the company? I couldn't find anything but mining and drilling rigs on their webpage.

Sorry if this is old news, I've never seen one before. Tres cool!

[Incusus]

[QUOTE=transientmechanic;327705]Who knows, they might be destroyed or recycled before reaching civilians [QUOTE]

thats a trend I've noticed recently, destroying surplus goods rather than stripping and selling them. Too bad, because legit civilian buyers would put alot of the recent vehicles to good use, whereas the black market folks will probably be able to get them anyway :(

[Incusus]

from Wikipedia:

"... The Tactical Vehicle Systems division of the company was bought in 2006 for $755 million in cash by Armor Holdings, Inc., who in turn were bought by BAE Systems in 2007. They now operate as a division of that company."

[ntsqd]

[QUOTE=transientmechanic;327705]Who knows, they might be destroyed or recycled before reaching civilians [QUOTE]

thats a trend I've noticed recently, destroying surplus goods rather than stripping and selling them. Too bad, because legit civilian buyers would put alot of the recent vehicles to good use, whereas the black market folks will probably be able to get them anyway :(
The excuse that I've seen given is that those trucks were not built to DOT standards. How much of that is hooey and much is real I've no idea. Seems to me that Mil-Std's would exceed DOT std's.

[Lynn]

I couldn't find anything but mining and drilling rigs on their webpage.

Irrelevant trivia: They have a facility in Houston that still flies the Stewart and Stevensons banner. I think that's where they do the mining and drilling rigs.

[mhiscox]

Very cool trucks- the technical specs on them are amazing. I would love to pick one up in 25 or so years when (if) they are decommissioned. Who knows, they might be destroyed or recycled before reaching civilians :(
If you want to get on this right now (carpe truckum, so to speak ;) ), Creative Mobile Interiors has this on offer:

http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp283/mhiscox01/HBBExtDS.jpg.

Remarkably, at the $285K asking price, it's at a steep discount given its ability to survive chemical attacks, etc.

Go here for more pictures and details:

http://creativemobileinteriors.com/sections/sale/BadBoy/BadBoyindex.asp

Let us know if you buy it. :drool:

[DH2002]

got to drive one when I was still in the army LMTV's are fun to drive and can go anywhere

[haven]

A Texas company called Homeland Defense Vehicles managed to get their hands on one Stewart and Stevenson vehicle in 2004. They sent it to Creative Mobile Interiors in Ohio to be "civilized" for commercial sale under the name "Bad Boy Heavy Muscle Truck." CMI completed their work in late 2004, and announcements about the project appeared in many magazines and web pages in January 2005.

I don't know for certain, but I have the impression that Stewart and Stevenson was not happy with the idea of a civilian version, perhaps because of Department of Transportation rules. Or maybe the Defense Department got wind of the project, and said no to sales of a tactical truck to civilians. For whatever reason, the original Bad Boy truck never sold.

Homeland Defense Vehicles is no longer in business. Again, a guess, but I think CMI has the vehicle because they were never paid for their work back in 2004.

Seems to me that CMI might be willing to work a deal to sell this one-of-a-kind vehicle. Good luck getting a license plate for it!

Chip Haven

[charlieaarons]

Avi Meyers tried to obtain one in the summer of 2006, since they'd be perfect for a Unicat. S&S (or BAE or whatever) declined, citing "insurance blah blah blah". It's sad that we have a near perfect chassis for large expedition trucks made in this country but our rat's nest of federal regulations and perhaps the lawyer industry makes it impossible for the public to obtain one.
It honestly amazes me (pleasantly) that I was allowed the privilege of buying a new US-legal Unimog in 2005.
Although, I have mentioned that one could have a US legal 4WD or 6WD forward control HD truck by converting a Chevy T8500 to AWD at Tulsa Truck Mfg.

Charlie

[roninjiro]

these trucks are truely amazing. I am a contract military heavy wheel mechanic and have worked on these exclusively up until last year. for what they are put through they are nearly bullet proof. the only problems that they have are normal wear and tear and the rare but deadly electrical problems. these trucks from the fmtv class are the one of the most electronically advanced trucks i have seen while working with the army. the civilian truck version is really cheap considering how much it costs to build them. also parts for them are some what hard to obtain due to the fact stewart and stevenson custom manufacture quite a percentage of the truck. but once you get past the cost, it would make one of the best expo vehicles in the heavier truck class in my opinion. if i had the opportunity to work with these things again, i would do it in a heartbeat.... by the way they drive awsome too, i had the opportunity to drive the 2 1/2 ton (lmtv) 5 ton (mtv), wrecker, cargo version, dump truck, bob tail, air drop version, van version also. :victory: awsome vehicles

[tamangel]

here's a thread on Steel Soldiers re: the FMTV...mixed reviews..these guys are pro deuce and a half folks so may be biased...a little.. :)

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?t=23186&highlight=FMTV

Mike

[Incusus]

*snip* by the way they drive awsome too, i had the opportunity to drive the 2 1/2 ton (lmtv) 5 ton (mtv), wrecker, cargo version, dump truck, bob tail, air drop version, van version also. awsome vehicles

Lucky! I used to work for a producer of technical manuals and we would get all sorts of cool stuff from Cummins and Oshkosh Truck. Never saw anything small and useful like this though, and I NEVER got to drive anything :(

I wonder what the "van version" looks like? (*googles*)

[gjackson]

Is it still for sale? I'd assume so if it's on a used lot, but being there for that long may mean something different.

cheers

[David_in_TX]

Another variant of this chassis is the HIMARS:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Mobility_Artillery_rocket_system

I work with these on the job...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/3330136999_d4d49a78ef_b.jpg

[mhiscox]

The truth of the fact is CMI has nothing to do with this truck . . . [snip] . . . and additional BOGUS statements.

I've just come across post, otherwise I assure you I would have responded more quickly . . .

We have no clue about this person, Skratch, who posted this; apparently this attack is his sole posting to our forum. More to the point, it's hard to imagine what possible axe he has to grind with Owen Connaughton and Creative Mobile Interiors.

I do know that his statements are incorrect. My Sprinter expedition camper, built to my specifications and inarguably constructed to a very high standard by CMI, was being built at CMI's facilities at the same time as the S&S truck. Because CMI staff knew of my Unimog camper, I was also kept informed of the S&S truck's ongoing development with pictures and e-mails from CMI as work progressed. And perhaps most significantly, I personally sat in the cab of this truck at CMI's plant while it was being customized.

I had never heard of Farber RV until Skratch's post, but their website is here for your inspection:

http://www.farber-rv.com/.

They appear to be a straightforward dealer of production motorhomes and trailers and I do not see so much as a hint of their capability to do custom work. From what I reviewed, I find it hard to imagine their facilities, staff or experience would be one-tenth as impressive as CMI's when it came to custom vehicle construction.

While CMI isn't mentioned much on this forum, they are the country's premier custom converter of Sprinter vans and are one of the principal places Fortune 500 companies go for extensive customizations of all types of vehicles, including million-dollar-plus bus conversions. As I recall, large projects for HP and CNN were going on at the time I was working with them. In short, CMI has a positive national reputation and no reason to claim the work of what seems an ordinary dealer of stock recreational vehicles.

I'm left completely baffled by who this poster is, what he is hoping to accomplish, and what is to be gained by making statements that I personally and unequivocally know to be false.

And in case you are wondering, outside of being a client of CMI's four years ago, I have no connection with them at all and no reason to defend them against competent opinions. I am, however, astonished and disappointed at this forum being used to present "facts" which can so easily and conclusively be shown to be false.

[isaac]

The India military uses vehicles much like this. Built at (or at least badged as) "Vehicle Factory Jabalpur" or Ashok-Leyland. I think it's called the Stallion, comes in 4x4 or 6x6 variants. I've seen approx a dozen variants/eras/interpretations of the same design. All look extremely capable, well designed and constructed, and would seem an ideal platform...

http://image14.webshots.com/15/2/82/52/2272282520082425388HHITVp_ph.jpg

http://defstand.gov.in/search/generallinks/cells/admin/JABALPUR/00016.JPG

http://defstand.gov.in/search/generallinks/cells/admin/JABALPUR/00017.JPG


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UR6_hWgyQjQ/R8I_20ievmI/AAAAAAAAANg/MzBPWmoR9cQ/s400/Stallion.JPG

http://www.acig.org/artman/uploads/stallion2.jpg



See also, Ashok-Leyland Stallion:

http://www.ashokleyland.com/images/rapid_large.jpg

http://www.ashokleyland.com/images/lightbig.jpg

http://www.ashokleyland.com/images/Yak-4x4big.jpg

http://www.ashokleyland.com/subproductsdyn.jsp?CATId=4&subcat_id=18&product_id=127

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/3236/truck1cv7.jpg

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/2417/truck3mv3.jpg

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlnwg0XCks4 & Ashok-Leyland background (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashok_Leyland)

- Isaac

p.s. Related tidbits:

http://ofbindia.gov.in/units/index.php?unit=vfj&page=about&lang=en

http://ofbindia.gov.in/units/index.php?unit=vfj&page=products&lang=en

http://www.automonitor.co.in/article/Vehicle-Factory-Jabalpur-striving-for-relevance-in-a-competitive-market/page1.html