M35A2 Camper Questions / General info

[billharrison]

First of all I would like to say hi to all in the forum. This is a first post. I have seen a pretty slick example of one of these with a truck camper in the bed. I am very interested in doing this myself, but have poked around the forums a bit and have some questions before I take the dive.

Personal opinions are welcome, I realize these are 30 year old military trucks, so I know we are not talking about a cadillac here. But can one of these be made to be reasonably "Creature comfortable"? Obviously sound deadening materials, etc. Hard top and heater. Driveability wise?

Here is projected usage:

Purchase truck. I don't have a huge budget, so I am shopping in the 2k area, but have seen a few for that price on craigslist. I am a mechanic, so doing some basic repairs / maintenance are well within my abilities. Get truck cleaned up and road worthy.

Purchase slide in truck camper. Looks like size is not an issue here, anything should fit the bed of a Deuce. Work out a securing method, should be quite doable.

I work for a rather large car dealership, we fill 200 gallon tanks with used oil about once a week. I am welcome to as much as I like. We are Porsche, Audi, Mazda, and Subaru. So the mix is some high end synthetic some basic motor oil. Will be running WMO for sure.

I would like something that can be driven safely on a freeway, top speed is not that important but doing 50 would be a minimum goal. My current class C on a ford E350 chassis will do more but its best driven at that speed anyways for fuel economy and safety. So I don't think I will be losing much there.


I do plan some longish trips, up to a few thousand miles.

Anyways, any opinions? Seem doable?

Anyone have a "Fixer Upper" in the 2000 dollar range?

Let me know!

 

[quickfarms]

Welcome

Use the search and there is a lot of info here

 

[RodUSMC1962]

WELCOME TO THE SITE!!YOU ARE FORTUNATE YOU CAN REPAIR AND DO BACIC MAINTENECE,BIG HEAD START FOR YOU. YOUCAN LEARN AS YOU GO,GOOD LUCK.

 

[59apache]

Hi and welcome!

The M35 is loud, it's hot in he cab, you have no Servo, no AC, nothing. With a lot of work and money you can improve it. But it will never ride as good as your E350.

If you plan trips up to a few thousand miles, most will done on paved roads - no need for a 6X6.

The M35 with a slide in camper will be pretty high, can be a problem.

Trial to find someone with a deuce and drive a long distance with him. (to a rally, show, whatever).

It's great truck, just love it. But not a long distance camper.

 

[mobileauto2000]

It is what it is.
Took mine on a 200 mile one way trip last summer and found out i could drive it standing up in the cab. At the very least you will need to pad the seats.

I would drive it anywhere but my wife is not so inclined.

In stock form two hours is about the max time a average person can take it. Muffler helps a lot around town but at speed the drive train noise is unbelievable.

I love everything about it. I love driving it, I love the attention it gets in the campgrounds. And I love that I hardly ever buy fuel. I do pay my road tax on the WMO, your a fool if you don't.

 

[Heath_h49008]

Welcome to the madhouse.

This thread is on Pirate 4x4... but the guy is also on SteelSoldiers... the links and build detailed here is one of the best sources of information you will find anywhere. His links are 90% functional, the pictures detailed, and workmanship and design excellent.


mah deuce - Pirate4x4.Com

You'll see stuff by Gringletaube, and others here who not only have been there-done-that... they have taken pictures, designed and built solutions.

Good luck, and whatever you do TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES!!!!

 

[billharrison]

Thanks for the great info guys. I am still looking for the truck but the links are great, I followed yours completely mobileauto2000, and its just what I am looking to do. Love the doors with storage taking up the extra space around the truck camper. Perfect! Did you ever work out a mount / removal system for the camper?

 

[swbradley1]

Welcome aboard and there are a lot of members up around you.

 

[billharrison]

Great now Anyone have a 2000 dollar fixer upper?

 

[Heath_h49008]

The days of the $2000 deuce worth fixing up are pretty long past.

You might get lucky at $3000. You might hear of one on the other side of the country or a lucky win on GL for less... but these have gotten too popular, and steel is too valuable.

$3000 is considered a very good deal right now.

 

[unclemikey]

Welcome Aboard,

My friend, are you about to get into a real fun project! First off, do what you want to do. It's your project, go the way you want to. The Deuce is an outstanding plateform for whatever direction you decide to go. Don't think outside the box. Think that there is no box! If it is to noisy, quite it down. If it is not comfortable on a long drive, than make it comfortable. Your going to have so much fun with this.

A few pics of my old rig to inspire. The camper has now been removed and a hole new project is now on the way. And yes, I am having a ball, you will too.

 

[RodUSMC1962]

Great looking truck unclemikey,I dont know what you could do to improve it!

 

[Heath_h49008]

Great looking truck unclemikey,I dont know what you could do to improve it!

Amen! That truck is beautiful... I hope to do half as well with mine.

 

[mobileauto2000]

Thanks for the great info guys. I am still looking for the truck but the links are great, I followed yours completely mobileauto2000, and its just what I am looking to do. Love the doors with storage taking up the extra space around the truck camper. Perfect! Did you ever work out a mount / removal system for the camper?

Yes but I will probably not use it.

It cost $500 dollars a year for registration.

But in Oregon if a camper is permanently attached it must be registered as a motor home.

That is about $250 dollars for two years. So I won't be taking it off.

But this is what I was gonna do.

Build a steel frame that would attach to the camper jack mounts on camper. This frame would extend past the bed sides and extend down far enough for the jacks to reach the ground.

Attached is a third grade drawing of how it would look.

The blue is camper jacks, red frame and black camper of course.
It would of course need some more bracing fore and aft but this is the basic idea

 

[mobileauto2000]

Welcome Aboard,

A few pics of my old rig to inspire. The camper has now been removed and a hole new project is now on the way. And yes, I am having a ball, you will too.

What have you started Mr Unclemikey?

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

I see M35s on craigslist here in California for $3000 to $5000 all the time. The one I'm getting with the winch and an M105 trailer was advertised for $4000 and I'm trading my custom Harley Davidson rat chopper straight across for it. I'm losing dollar-wise, but I'll be able to build the truck of my dreams! Besides, a chopped Harley makes kindof a sad excuse for a bug out vehicle! When the zombie apocolypse happens, all I gotta do is hose the zombie gunk off my bumper and winch! LMAO!

 

[Awesome Possum]

I do plan some longish trips, up to a few thousand miles.

I did such a trip in '04 from central Texas to Ft Eustis in Virginia, via Kentucky and S.C. coast. probably 1800 miles and I'll NEVER do that again! Was very rough. I did put an A/C in it, running it with a 24VDC motor/110 VAC dynamo (or some such) unit. Was a 5200 BTU A/C window unit and, being summer (and an all black truck), it'd only keep me a little cool when I pointed the air directly at my head (duct tape and cardboard are your friends). I guess it depends on how tough you are. I guess I've gotten soft with age.

BTW, registering it as a motor home will greatly reduce insurance costs as well.

 

[billharrison]

Well I don't think I've ever owned a vehicle with ac or power steering lol. It seems like a blank canvas otherwise.

I am in negotiations with a unit in Kentucky missing 5th gear that runs and drives well otherwise. Hard top also. Asking 2800 and comes with extra trans. I'm hoping to drive it home it's 6 hours on the freeway but missing 4th I'm planning to drive back roads so I will take 2 days and split it up.

It's been sitting 2 years I plan to take fluids and filters and new batteries for the pickup and changing them all out before I leave. Any other suggestions? Whats a rough top speed safely in 4th?

 

[billharrison]

Well I don't think I've ever owned a vehicle with ac or power steering lol. It seems like a blank canvas otherwise.

I am in negotiations with a unit in Kentucky missing 5th gear that runs and drives well otherwise. Hard top also. Asking 2800 and comes with extra trans. I'm hoping to drive it home it's 6 hours on the freeway but missing 4th I'm planning to drive back roads so I will take 2 days and split it up.

It's been sitting 2 years I plan to take fluids and filters and new batteries for the pickup and changing them all out before I leave. Any other suggestions? Whats a rough top speed safely in 4th?

 

[Awesome Possum]

Well I don't think I've ever owned a vehicle with ac or power steering lol. It seems like a blank canvas otherwise.

I am in negotiations with a unit in Kentucky missing 5th gear that runs and drives well otherwise. Hard top also. Asking 2800 and comes with extra trans. I'm hoping to drive it home it's 6 hours on the freeway but missing 4th I'm planning to drive back roads so I will take 2 days and split it up.

It's been sitting 2 years I plan to take fluids and filters and new batteries for the pickup and changing them all out before I leave. Any other suggestions? Whats a rough top speed safely in 4th?

Is there a safe top speed for 4th gear on a highway? I'd go with no, given the disparity between highway speeds and probably about 40MPH. Why not consider changing the tranny out in Kentucky as part of the deal? I'm really poor on mechanical skills and I managed to do it alone on my last deuce, just using the tech manuals, hand and air tools, a steel bar, some chain, and a come-along (though I don't recommend doing it alone). Two guys should be able to do it in an afternoon.

This thing must be really good for that kind of price given the bad tranny. Sure you don't want to wait for the right truck to come along? Two years ago I won a nice looking deuce in Cali on eBay for $3500, flew out there, and discovered none of the lights worked, despite our best efforts. (The guy felt bad and reimbursed me for airfare both ways, and put me up in the Airport Mariott to boot.) A few weeks later, at a farm auction, I paid $3500 for a 1985 AM General, depot rebuilt in '95, with hard top, super single michelins, and air-o-matic steering, all within 10 miles of home.

The point is to have some patience and make sure the deal is right, and don't put yourself and others in danger by driving a truck that slow on even the back highways if you don't have too. At the very least buy some of the slow vehicle triangles to bring with. Good luck with whatever you decide.