Old army trucks

[willy1947]

Has anyone ever bought one the older army trucks? I think they are 5 tons or duece and 1/2?



I see them for about $4000 all the time. Just wondering if you have to have a special liscense to drive them, if they are hard to work on, if parts are hard to find, etc... Thinking one might make a cool tow vehicle, wood hauler, etc. .



Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with them.



Thanks,

Dave

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

A buddy of mine has a deuce and a 1/2. Not too difficult to work on. They are a simple vehicle, kind of like your Willys, only a bigger version. He has a class B CDL to drive it, but I'm not sure if he really needs it. Had problems finding someone to insure it, when he first got it. Parts aren't real difficult to find for it, and not too expensive, if you know where to look. They will haul a lot of stuff, but not very fast.



Jim

 

[AfterBurner]

Our Fire Dept, runs a duece and half and a 5 ton. They make great brush trucks, you can get that thing almost any where. Most of the Fire Depts around us also run these trucks. They are cheap, can haul a heck of a load, and can get anywhere. If one gets burned, no big deal, replacement cost is low (hopefully no one is in it at the time).

The only thing is that they are SLOW. If you manage to top 63 on a downhill, the front end will start bouncing and really not want to turn, this is bad. What really makes it interesting is when we have to go to a fire that is 20 miles away, and we're running down the highway with the lights and sirens going, and having to drive on the shoulder and wave people by so we don't slow up the traffic

Yes, slow response time, but that is what our 550 (6. 0) is for, to make intial attack until the bigger units arrive; then we jump on the bumper get the pump going and start fightin fire! Oo.

 

[michigandon]

seems to me as though the M35-series trucks offer at lot of bang for your buck. I have seen some very nice examples selling on eBay, govliquidation, and other MV collector sites for less than $5K. I think one of those M109 shop vans would make a *****in' go anywhere camper!



The more I listen to this, The more I want to run out and get one ASAP!



Don

 

[AfterBurner]

cool!

that is awesome! that's exactly what they sound like, even has the buzzer going on startup.