New Truck/Tree Puller

[gwiley]

I have been drooling over getting an old deuce since I was assigned to one by uncle sam back in the early 90's. My wife refuses to let me park it within sight of the house and refuses to let go of the $8,000 to make the purchase.

I would give my left arm to bring one of those home.

Congrats on the truck - enjoy it for the rest of us.

 

[Junkrunner]

The only big difference I've noticed is; cable won't take a hard jerk, like a good chain, and ropes and straps have big stretch factor... They each have their place....

 

[DangerTree]

The only big difference I've noticed is; cable won't take a hard jerk, like a good chain, and ropes and straps have big stretch factor... They each have their place....

They do, cable is the weapon of choice for dragging and skidding. Chain is best for choking and slinging though it is heavy. Webbing is brutally strong for it's weight, much stronger than cable or chain. take ten feet of 1 inch tubular webbing and compare that to 10 feet of equivalent strength chain or cable and it's obviously clear that tubular webbing is the champ. That being said you are not likely to have 150' of webbing in place of a rope. So webbing is at home in the sling and rigging anchor department. Ropes can be enormously strong. Don't write off ropes in the brute force category. Look at tug boats hauling coal barges and log salvager's ripping huge trees off the beach with them. Hard pulls on big slack enough to take a duece and a half and ripe it it half and not even feel it.
Yep they all have a place. And come in lot's of different sizes and strengths.

 

[Steve NW WI]

You guys must have experiences with the dueces on better ground than me. All the places I drove them were sand pits (Ft Dix NJ, Ft Irwin, CA and Ft McCoy WI). In loose sandy ground, they spin, shake and generally try to self destruct before going anywhere. The 800 series tonners are more of the same. I think the old bar tread mil tire has a lot to do with this.

The dueces converted to -A3 spec and 900 series tonners are a much better animal on soft ground. Big single tires and central tire inflation makes a huge difference. Auto trans in the newer rigs don't hurt either.

Gwiley, you might consider a road trip if you really want a duece. Prices up here are about 1/2 of what you mention. Here's a place out of Owatonna MN with a quite a few for sale, $4k and up. $9K will get ya a long box A3 with a 3116 Kitty Cat and Allison auto and the aforementioned super singles w/CTIS. If the wife still objects, ya can leave it here and come play with it any time ya want!

http://www.army6x6.net/p/trucks.html

 

[dingeryote]

You guys must have experiences with the dueces on better ground than me. All the places I drove them were sand pits (Ft Dix NJ, Ft Irwin, CA and Ft McCoy WI). In loose sandy ground, they spin, shake and generally try to self destruct before going anywhere. The 800 series tonners are more of the same. I think the old bar tread mil tire has a lot to do with this.

The dueces converted to -A3 spec and 900 series tonners are a much better animal on soft ground. Big single tires and central tire inflation makes a huge difference. Auto trans in the newer rigs don't hurt either.

Gwiley, you might consider a road trip if you really want a duece. Prices up here are about 1/2 of what you mention. Here's a place out of Owatonna MN with a quite a few for sale, $4k and up. $9K will get ya a long box A3 with a 3116 Kitty Cat and Allison auto and the aforementioned super singles w/CTIS. If the wife still objects, ya can leave it here and come play with it any time ya want!

ARMY 6X6: TRUCKS

Nice link!!!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[EXCALIBER]

You guys must have experiences with the dueces on better ground than me. All the places I drove them were sand pits (Ft Dix NJ, Ft Irwin, CA and Ft McCoy WI). In loose sandy ground, they spin, shake and generally try to self destruct before going anywhere. The 800 series tonners are more of the same. I think the old bar tread mil tire has a lot to do with this.





Gwiley, you might consider a road trip if you really want a duece. Prices up here are about 1/2 of what you mention. Here's a place out of Owatonna MN with a quite a few for sale, $4k and up. $9K will get ya a long box A3 with a 3116 Kitty Cat and Allison auto and the aforementioned super singles w/CTIS. If the wife still objects, ya can leave it here and come play with it any time ya want!


ARMY 6X6: TRUCKS

Well I live in Nebraska and live in an area called the sand hills. Every time the wind blows your ear fills with sand, enough sand to plant a potato in! Haven't had any traction problems yet maybe just not big enough trees?


I agree you can get a duece much cheaper than 8k. I paid 4K for mine with updated suspension seats, troop seats, bows and canvas, extra fuel and oil filters, cold weather kit, personnel heater, M16 mounts in cab, an M105 ton and half antenna trailer with new canvas, two spare tires (one brand new), and more stuff. Should be able to find one around 4k or under that would be a good truck. Need help finding one PM me. I would say stay away from the cat powered A-3's with the Allison auto, price of truck is what you could buy two dueces with, parts are harder to find for some things, and there is a reason the military only made a few A-3's then quit and went with 5 tons. Only thing I can say is the truck may need some maintenance so you better have your own wrenches and know how to turn them, as well as be expected for some fluid costs. Gallon of senthetic dot 5 brake fluid 135$ at Napa, 5 gal of 90w gear oil just for changing the three differentials 50$, and a simple oil change 45$ for filters and 90$ for 22 quarts of 15w40 oil. Getting a sh#t eating grin every time you drive it, PRICELESS!!!!:msp_smile:

 

[DangerTree]

Well I live in Nebraska and live in an area called the sand hills. Every time the wind blows your ear fills with sand, enough sand to plant a potato in! Haven't had any traction problems yet maybe just not big enough trees?


I agree you can get a duece much cheaper than 8k. I paid 4K for mine with updated suspension seats, troop seats, bows and canvas, extra fuel and oil filters, cold weather kit, personnel heater, M16 mounts in cab, an M105 ton and half antenna trailer with new canvas, two spare tires (one brand new), and more stuff. Should be able to find one around 4k or under that would be a good truck. Need help finding one PM me. I would say stay away from the cat powered A-3's with the Allison auto, price of truck is what you could buy two dueces with, parts are harder to find for some things, and there is a reason the military only made a few A-3's then quit and went with 5 tons. Only thing I can say is the truck may need some maintenance so you better have your own wrenches and know how to turn them, as well as be expected for some fluid costs. Gallon of senthetic dot 5 brake fluid 135$ at Napa, 5 gal of 90w gear oil just for changing the three differentials 50$, and a simple oil change 45$ for filters and 90$ for 22 quarts of 15w40 oil. Getting a sh#t eating grin every time you drive it, PRICELESS!!!!:msp_smile:

That's a fine lookin' truck you have there. I remember back in 89', while in the Canadian Army, I had to take a duece up north to pick up some troops in the bush. I signed the truck out and while I was driving away I noticed a vibration coming from the steering wheel. Thinking maybe I'll just hop over to motor pool to have them check it out. I drive the truck into the hangar and tell em' whats up they said park it over there. So I throw the truck into reverse and as I started to back up the front left tire fell off! Imagine my surprise. Good thing it didn't happen on the highway with a load of dudes in the back.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Looking good rig - hard top and all. What's that can on the exhaust Seriously, does it do any good compared to the old straight pipe?

Got any plans for a dump hoist install?

Dunno much about the A3, other than it's just a depot rebuild with updated powertrain and CTIS. I'd rather have a 900 series tonner with the 8.3 Cummins and bigger Allison trans personally.

 

[arlen]

Surplus cainf from the Air Force

I do not know the availability of this chain. The Air Force tosses it in the scrap bins in the recycle yard on a regular basis. They replace it with new chain possibly it is decertifed after a certain period. I had about ten chains they were I believe 1/4" diameter and rated at 10,000 lbs and about 10, long also the grab hooks are on an angle so that you pull straight when you shorten the chain. The use was to tie down pallets in cargo planes. If you have any buddies in the Air Force or other branches possibly you could try some of this chain. There is also a 1/2" diameter chain rated at 40,000 lbs same as the 1/4" David

 

[EXCALIBER]

Looking good rig - hard top and all. What's that can on the exhaust Seriously, does it do any good compared to the old straight pipe?

Got any plans for a dump hoist install?

Dunno much about the A3, other than it's just a depot rebuild with updated powertrain and CTIS. I'd rather have a 900 series tonner with the 8.3 Cummins and bigger Allison trans personally.

Yes the muffler that the military didn't use was an add on, good eye. Yes it makes the noise little enough you can talk in the cab without yelling at moderate speeds, and most the time you can go without ear protection. Highway speeds its time to break out the ear muffs!

Dump hoist is a no, gonna keep most the truck original. The truck is a drop side so unloading it just drop the side you want to unload, then put a block of wood under the other side, and drive forward, gravity will do the rest. Have an old ford 2 ton with hydraulic dump on it with some thoughts of making it a trailer but IDK yet.

The A-3's were made by taking two good A-2's to make one A-3. They updated some things like making it an auto so city kids can drive them (auto's overheat offroad as well as under pressure that the trucks put out they explode leaving red blood everywhere). The CTIS was a good idea but they half as$ed it and it always had problems, and most were disconnected. They also tried push button switches and they too were a bust and actually started the trucks on fire so were forced to go back to the 1950's era designs. Basically they allowed college geeks with no real world experience to design the truck. They even put the headlights on the front fenders so the first time you go through some brush, the lights get bashed in and your navigating with a flashlight in your mouth. :bang:You want a truck to last buy a duece or a newer five ton. The five ton is just a duece on steroids built the old way, so its reliable and will last forever, not to mention take huge amounts of abuse. The downside to a five ton is its weight. You get stuck your on your own don't call me (unless its as a spectator). opcorn:The five ton will haul double the duece's payload so 20,000lbs in the bed, and its double the weight at the curb, weighing in at 26,000lbs plus!

 

[Steve NW WI]

The five ton is just a duece on steroids built the old way, so its reliable and will last forever, not to mention take huge amounts of abuse. The downside to a five ton is its weight. You get stuck your on your own don't call me (unless its as a spectator). opcorn:The five ton will haul double the duece's payload so 20,000lbs in the bed, and its double the weight at the curb, weighing in at 26,000lbs plus!

Naw, the duece is the tonner's scrawny little kid brother, always taggin along and wanting to help with the work, give him an empty feed pail to carry and he's happy

J/K - but after I got out of active duty, I spent 8 years in the Guard driving tonners, 813s and 925s. Kinda fun splitting the transfer case to get a couple extra gears sometimes!

The CTIS could be trouble like ya said, but our mechs had a pretty good handle on em and kept em working 99% of the time. 750 Ally trans in the tonners was bulletproof, but don't know about the one in the A3 dueces.

Here's a bad pic of an old polaroid of me with my tonner. I had it home for the night before going on a recruiting mission to a car show in my town:

 

[DangerTree]

Naw, the duece is the tonner's scrawny little kid brother, always taggin along and wanting to help with the work, give him an empty feed pail to carry and he's happy

J/K - but after I got out of active duty, I spent 8 years in the Guard driving tonners, 813s and 925s. Kinda fun splitting the transfer case to get a couple extra gears sometimes!

The CTIS could be trouble like ya said, but our mechs had a pretty good handle on em and kept em working 99% of the time. 750 Ally trans in the tonners was bulletproof, but don't know about the one in the A3 dueces.

Here's a bad pic of an old polaroid of me with my tonner. I had it home for the night before going on a recruiting mission to a car show in my town:

Nice truck! What model is it and are there any for sale that are in good condition? What would I expect to pay for a similar unit? That would make a great chip dump conversion and you could rip trees right out of the ground. I would get a 10 ton marine tow rope. Put a versa lift system on the back so you could change from box to deck. And mount a high speed winch with a capstan and roller that can be mounted on front or back of the truck. Then you could use it for recovery too!
Oh maybe just a dream, but if you look in my yard my other dreams have come true.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Nice truck! What model is it and are there any for sale that are in good condition? What would I expect to pay for a similar unit? That would make a great chip dump conversion and you could rip trees right out of the ground. I would get a 10 ton marine tow rope. Put a versa lift system on the back so you could change from box to deck. And mount a high speed winch with a capstan and roller that can be mounted on front or back of the truck. Then you could use it for recovery too!
Oh maybe just a dream, but if you look in my yard my other dreams have come true.

That's an M925A2. I'd expect you could find one on govliquidation.com auction site or private resellers. M925s will already have a bigazz winch mounted on the front, M923 is the same rig minus the winch.

Note that they are HIGH centered, and drive like it. When I got out of the guard, they were doing an ABS brake refit to them to help with rollovers, but the real answer, of course is to take it easy.

Box height is about chest high, so have a plan for loading and unloading!