Well I have been absent for a while on the forum- life has a habit of taking different spins. In the past year I aquired a new big brother for my mini- Its a 1984 M923 cargo truck. Its been a blast to play with, but I need to get some ramps so I can park my mini in the back.
I love it !! I have a thing for these trucks. Years ago I had a 2.5 ton truck, don't remember what year it was. It was a blast off road. What are your plans for the Big brother?? I kinda did the same thing this last summer. I have needed a way to get my Jeep and the 5th wheel to Moab to do some crawling around on the rock's. I used it to get my junk to the Book Cliffs on the Antelope hunt this year. It's a 1988 KW with a 8.3 Cummings / 6 speed trans. It has been getting about 8 to 9 mpg loaded. It has good power and it rides like a truck. :frustration: I have done a lot of work on this thing. Oil & filter, trans oil, rear axle oil change. Fix the A/C, Bigger fuel tank{ 75 gal. }, flat bed & ramp's. Fuel tank and pump { gas for the diggers, 50 gal}. Fab a Air ride 5th wheel , Newer tires, and I found some wheel covers too. Let's here some spec's on your truck. Some 53" tires would look so cool . Bob Tail ??op:op:
A number of years ago when this forum first started, we used to have a very helpful member who used to sell some kei trucks but his real business was in military surplus. One of his main products was doing "Bobbed Duece and a halfs" Let's see if I still have his link... His mini truck site was www.libertyminimog.com but I can't find his main web page now. Anyhow, it's pretty cool stuff. Edit - Ah, here it is! http://www.100dollarman.com/trucks.html
My plans? Run over crap with it, just kidding.... well maybe... I did drive it in the Ogden City veterans day parade this year with my wife and kid, that was a blast! I will just have it as a toy, take it wheeling and camping, just enjoy it. Going to leave it mostly stock, it has a 250 Cummins in it, non- turbo, power steering, air brakes, 5 speed automatic tranny, the tires are about 43" tall, it is rated for hauling 20,000 lbs in the back on the highway-and 10,000 pounds in the bed off highway or cross country and has a towing capacity of 30,000lbs. I want to add a second fuel tank to the passenger side, the drivers side tank holds 81 gallons. It is 307" long, 98 inches wide, and 116" tall. It is a 6x6 (and 6 wheel drive is just a flip of a switch) and has hi/lo range. It can ford 78" of water with the kit "installed"- (moving a plug for the flywheel housing drain plug, tightening the battery caps, fuel tank cap, and tighten the dipsticks). I got around 7 mpg driving it home from California to Utah, and was running about 62 MPH. It only had 14,582 miles on it when I bought it. It is a blast to drive and a dream compared to the older deuce and halfs (which did not have power steering and manual trannsmissions). Not too mention double the hauling capacity. Insurance runs about $350 a year, and I had to get a "commercial policy" because of the weight of the truck. But the nice thing is that I do not have to get a CDL in Utah for it, as long it is "privately owned and operated". I used drive the older tractor version of these in the national guard so atleast I am not completely dangerous. Not going to "bob" it, I like having the longer bed. They do look cool "bobbed" with the super single tires though. I was toying with putting super singles on it like the M923A2 or M923A3's have, but with dual tires in the rear it is like driving with a spare already installed, because I will never get near the actual load capacity of this thing. I heard that 100 dollar man is getting out of the business--- he is out in Lucerne valley in CA, probably because of too much gov regulations/meddling. I also got a M105 trailer for it as well.... it is a 1.5 ton trailer, off road. Rated for 5,500 lbs on highway, the trailer weighs 2600 lbs empty!!! It is beefy! It is 83" wide, 165" long (the inside of the bed is 110" x 74") and about 96" tall to the top of the cargo cover! I am going to add a spare tire carrier to the front of the trailer, and change the tires out to the same size as the trucks.
Sounds like a vary nice truck !! Low miles too. The truck makes the 43's look small. I wish I had it, don't know what I would do with it, maybe run over crap !!
That's sound very nice. Go for a long drive. Just make sure if its comfortable to drive all the way long... Happy driving.
Cool, good to hear from you earo! Hope everything is good for you. I still have mine as well, and will not part with it. It is nice to go deer hunting in October in the snow, wearing a T-shirt! I just need to get some ramps that will allow me to SAFELY load the mini into the 5-ton.
