My Cummins powered 5-ton 6x6's

[CStansbury]

I am going to watch the one in Hill. I am not bidding. I just like to watch Don't worry about the pallet. It is standard issue for DRMO trucks. They usually have an oil pan sitting under them or an oil-dry blanket. It already has a heater kit installed (pic below in bottow left corner). The 939-series have good heat and defrost. It looks really clean and complete. I figure the bidding will go somewhere between $8-12k based on past sales. Course those were east coast sales and they tend to go higher.



My 818 has a standard 5th wheel. It is the M123 10-tons that take the larger pin.

 

[bnbrown]

Makes sense on the king pin sizing I guess.
I am used to seeing the box with blower and engine coolant lines going to it for the cab heat, I am not really sure which compenent you are referencing in this pic. I guess it looks like the engine coolant flows through that canister? What is the open pipe just in front of the horn?
Do these have intake grid heaters on them?
Sorry for all the questions, trying to get as much figured out as possible before the time comes to actually choose one
Have been cruising through some of the info on steel soldiers also. thanks for all the info

 

[CStansbury]

Check the 4th pic in post number 3 for a good side shot of the heater. The M809-series mounts to the inner-fender just like the deuce, except on the passenger side. The 939-series mounts directly to the firewall. There is an intake hose for the heater that draws air from the grill and then it enters the heater from above. The pic above shows the open intake with the flapper open right in front of the horn.



The 809-series with the NHC-250 use a big glow plug in the intake. The 939/A1 trucks with the NHC-250 and the 939A2 trucks with the 8. 3CTA have an ether-start system.



A shot of the 818 dash is below with the pre-heat switch circled in red.



No problem on the questions. I enjoy talking about them. I'm glad you like SteelSoldiers. It has been a lot of fun over the last 8 years. There are a great bunch of folks on there.

 

[bnbrown]

There is quite a bit of info on your site there. My buddies M813 has the intake heater, but coldest it gets at his place is 40 I have not personally owned any of the ether start systems, but have been around when gen-sets are fired with them... kind of distinct. How well does the glow system work in cold weather? where I am the truck would have to be outside and started in weather below 0. Currently we dont have the power capacity to use block heaters either (hopefully getting utility power one of these days). Looks like someone is making a signal fire when I start up the dodge ctd's.
I think i am on the right track of finding the cab heater on there now, can see the engine coolant lines down below there...
Kinda curious on filters, are the majority of the filters (engine oil, fuel, etc) available at say your local Napa?
Have been keeping an eye on the southern CA auctions too, brother in law is stationed at 29palms, and my buddy usually hits all the auctions down there. Nothing too promising there yet.

 

[CStansbury]

I know some guys that start their 809-series down in the teens and below using the pre-heater. The most important thing is having 4 well-charged batteries! It takes a lot of juice to get those 855 CI turning over! I recommend getting a solargizer, which will help maintain the batteries in top condition. The ether start on the 923 would be an easy way to kick it over on those extra cold days. All of the filters can be found at NAPA except the air filter. There is no civilian equivalent for it and it has to be purchased through a MV parts dealer.

 

[bnbrown]

Would have to stock up on air filters then go through them out on these dirt roads. Even the dodge CTDs give a pretty hard pull on the batteries when it is cold like it is... I assume the solargizer is 24v? How accurate are the "more info" pages on the GL listings? There is an M818 listed, says engine model/mfr unkown but the more info shows it as an NHC-250. Thinking when I win the lotto this week would like to get a tractor too for pulling our gooseneck trailers in and out of here in the less optimal weather.

 

[David Trantham]

I want a 5 ton badly.



But right now Im just stuck with some small deuces, if only I had more space.

 

[CStansbury]

I assume the solargizer is 24v? How accurate are the "more info" pages on the GL listings? There is an M818 listed, says engine model/mfr unkown but the more info shows it as an NHC-250.

There are 12v and 24v solargizers. I will probably use 2 24v sets. One for each pair of 6-TL batteries.



The GL listings are questionable in their accuracy. Most recently, the GL employees find it easier to put unknown rather than take a chance on writing down something incorrectly. Your best bet is to preview the item you are bidding on. If that's not feasible, then get someone you trust to go preview it for you. All 809-series trucks came with the Cummins NHC-250 engine. All 939/939A1-series had the NHC-250 as well and all 939A2 trucks came with the 8. 3 CTA.





David, keep holding out for a 5-ton. I started out with deuces and they are fun, but to me, there is nothing like a 5-ton. I love the size, the power and most importantly for off-road, the power-steering



I am getting ready to restore a M756A2 deuce pipeline maintenance truck with my brother. My Dad bought it about 4 years ago and hasn't had the time to restore it. He is entrusting it to us. We are going to redo it for him and then give it back

 

[David Trantham]

I'll get one eventually, it'll just be a matter of importance if the other stuff on my much needed list.



I really want to build a gun truck.

 

[bnbrown]

What kind of wattage do the solargizers produce, used to use a solar panel on a car we almost never drove, but the thing only produced a watt or two, wasnt even enough to counteract the normal loss...
I was looking at the details on the M923 on GL, shows rated HP at only 240, lower rating due to the auto transmission? I am assuming it is an A1. Was reading through the 809 series operators manual last night, gotta learn how to use it before you get in it right I think if I went with an 809 series would have to reroute the exhaust to behind the cab, wife loves the sound of a cummins, but not for the hours (or days) we wind up spending in our trucks (atleast not that up close and personal).
I have every intention of looking at any vehicle I plan to buy, anymore anything under a 12 hour drive is a weekend getaway, will probably stop by Hill on my next run out that way, just in case the timing and finances are right.
On those tractors are the frames treated (as far as you can not weld/drill them) or could say a hitch be added on, like a GN hitch for instance...

 

[CStansbury]

Solargizers are not chargers. They are designed to prevent the nominal charge losses from sitting, but are not designed to charge dead or low batteries. I don't know the actual output, but they work great. The military uses a ton of them and a lot of MV collectors swear by them too.



The NHC-250 engine is listed at 240 HP in both the 5-spd manual M809 trucks and the 5-spd auto M939 trucks so it wasn't "de-tuned" for the auto. The military purposely uses lower power rated engines to protect the rest of the drive-train. If they powered the trucks with 400 HP big-cam Cummins engines, there would be twisted drive-shafts, broken u-joints, blown t-cases, etc... and that's not good on the front line.



If you want a "quiet" MV, then the M939A2 series is for you. I could easily stand beside my 8. 3 CTA powered 923A2 and have a normal conversation. The same goes for the cab at 60 MPH.



I don't know about the frames on the tractors being treated. There aren't any warning stickers like you see on the big-rigs. The goose-neck would have to really high in the air. It's not like hooking up to a pick-up. That may limit the trailers you can use. If you did want to use a GN hitch, then you could un-bolt the 5-th wheel hitch and bolt the frame for the GN to the truck frame using the same holes.

 

[bnbrown]

I figured the solargizers were maintainers, would take a serious panel set to actually charge all four of those batteries. If they are enough to just keep the batteries charged while it rests that would be plenty.
The under-powering thing makes perfect sense, better to be able to move slowly (and reliably) than not at all.
Not really concerned with the decibel factor on the trucks, just would have to route the exhaust behind the cab... prevent a headache coming from the passenger seat
I am sure the tractors sit quite a bit higher than my pickups, would have to do something a little different to make a GN work on one, would really only be using it to get in and out of our road/driveway (3 miles of unplowed/unmaintained road). I would want to keep the 5th plate on there for the possibility of getting a shorter semi trailer. I wouldnt want to remove the pintle either, but might add an adjustable height hitch somehow, for our tight corners it might be handy to have the GN hitch all the way to the rear instead of over the axles for my purpose.
I am going to try and stay away from electronic controls as much as possible, the 2 24v CTDs are enough computer control for me.
I see the preview days are only the two that bidding is open?
My buddies got the spot all cleared off for his new M35A3, looking forward to hearing it is on the road. I imagine it will take a couple days to make the trip.

 

[bnbrown]

Have been reading up on putting a turbo on the Cummins NHC-250, was thinking about that to compensate for altitude (we are at 7300') but looks like more hassle than it would be worth. Slow is just fine with me... most of the time The idea of melting a piston for a couple extra HP isn't too appealing.

 

[WDixon27]

unless you overfuel it to make use of the turbo's airflow i suspect that the egt's would go down at the current fueling level, especially if it smokes a good bit in the thin air, the hairdryer should cool it down

Have been reading up on putting a turbo on the Cummins NHC-250, was thinking about that to compensate for altitude (we are at 7300') but looks like more hassle than it would be worth. Slow is just fine with me... most of the time The idea of melting a piston for a couple extra HP isn't too appealing.

 

[bnbrown]

I guess that would be true, less unburned fuel... I wonder how much boost it would take to compensate for the altitude. I would of course add the usual gauges...

 

[WDixon27]

i am sure it could be figured out on a technical way but id put boost and egt gauges on it and crank it up till either clutch slip (and back off a little) or about 1000 - 1100* under a full load, she'd probably fly at sea level with that tune and the extra o2, but i am a hp fiend

I guess that would be true, less unburned fuel... I wonder how much boost it would take to compensate for the altitude. I would of course add the usual gauges...

 

[CStansbury]

There have been a lot of folks that have looked into putting a turbo on the NA engine, but I haven't run into someone that has done it successfully. The biggest problem would probably be heat. I'm not sure where you could put the after-cooler. The CTA engine in my 923A2 had a water-to-air after-cooler on top of the engine. That's the engine to have if you want to tweak it. With the P-pump, you could do just about anything. The nose of the 809-series trucks was already lengthened to compensate for the longer NHC-250 engine. The radiator is right behind the bumper so there's not really a good place for an air-to-air inter-cooler. It's really a stout engine in stock trim. Once you start putting a lot more power in there, you soon outrun the gearing and brakes. There is a little room to turn the fuel up on those engines. There are a couple of guys on SteelSoldiers that pull heavy with their 818 tractors and run extra fuel, but they don't live at the altitude you do!

 

[WDixon27]

hmmm, wonder how one would do with a centrifigal charger like a paxton, they don't push much boost compared to what diesels normally run and that a pretty big motor but it's spinning at half the speed, maybe get 5-10 pounds out of it which may help a little

 

[CStansbury]

Did you get you a truck yet, bnbrown? You get a chance to preview that truck at Hill?

 

[bnbrown]

not yet... and not yet
The preview on the 923 is only the 28th and 29th (atleast that is what it said before... now it just shows appt. only), will try to take a look at it if I can swing being in the area on the right days. In any case my 99 still isnt back up and running so still have to make the trip through there.
also keeping an eye out for 813s but not really any that catch my eye at the moment. may wind up getting an 818 first due to $$ being a little tighter than I had hoped. planning on getting my CDL in the near future too. How is that tractor working for you? ever get the sprag resolved? Spent a few hours going through the steel soldiers forum there (few hours tonight... few the other night... few the night before that... you get the idea)... lots of info to take in.
I am really waiting for some auctions a little closer to me, the shipping is a killer, estimate of $3k to haul an M35 from Dave in PA to out here...
Would consider Hill AFB also, not too far from here and might look into if that MV place (forget their name) would pick up the truck and get it road ready (for a fee of course) then I would just drive home from there. Mentioned to one of my neighbors I am looking into getting an 813 or 923 with a plow setup, lol now they are looking forward to it too. Got the fever though, so will definately get something as soon as possible. . lol and as many as possible before the wife starts counting :-{} (so far she likes the idea or a 5-ton and an 818)
Actually GL just listed a second 923 at Hill... set for feb 4th. both fronts flat and no bumper... but other than that looks good.
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My buddy got his M35A3 the other day too... sweet looking truck, was mfg in 1999. said it fired right up on its own batteries and all fluids clean and full (changing most just for good measure).
Here is a pic, I am sure he wont mind: