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Picking up LMTV Monday in Colorado

radbad

Member
40
3
8
Location
Utah
Hey guys - just got home (salt Lake city). Truck's in good condition. Made the trip without any issues! Story and some pics later. Need to sleep now.
 

radbad

Member
40
3
8
Location
Utah
OK - haven't found time to write up much off a recap, but I'll give you the basic details in a stream-of-consciousness format :)

We arrived in Colorado the night before. Tim and I had all the tools we owned that we thought would be useful: wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, prybar, sledgehammer(!), tow straps, duct tape, electrical tape, drill and drill bits, etc. We had all the manuals for the truck - the operators manual printed and the rest on two computers with full batteries. We made a list of items to buy at the store - coolant, oil for trans and engine, steering fluid, diff oil, funnel, rags, bucket, gladhand covers, gladhand grommet, etc. We got most of the things at walmart, and went to the NAPA store locally with heavy diesel supplies for the rest.

I couldn't sleep, so I read through almost all of this forum the night before. Thank god I did - so many helpful tips and so much good info!

Our timeslot for pickup was 9-10AM, so we got up at 6 to get organized and get the last things we needed. We called the GP site contact and let him know we were on our way. We waited in line for about 20 minutes at the military base entry line and then drove to meet him. Took a few circles to actually find him, but we did and he had the truck pulled into the middle of the lot for us. We ended up arriving about 5 minutes late, which didn't bother the guy, but he did try to rush us the entire time we were there. It was annoying to have someone constantly reminding us that we needed to leave as soon as possible when we were doing basic check to make sure the thing wasn't going to sieze up on the way out the gate!

We checked:
Engine Oil Level
Trans Oil Level
Coolant Level
Steering Fluid Level
Diff Oil level - F & R
Battery condition - they looked pretty new. no corrosion.
We raised the cab and looked at hoses and wiring. It all looked good.
It was very helpful that I had seen one before locally (the one marked Dirt Everyday that was sold in Utah a few weeks ago), so I knew my way around a little bit.
We checked out the tires - they looked good.
We fired it up - the buzzer went off as expected due to low air pressure, but it built pressure in a few minutes and quieted down.
We did a brake system check - basic, not full. At full pressure, I turned the truck off and pressed the brake about 30 times to bleed enough pressure to see the Emergency brake engage. We did a simple pull test - put it in drive with the brakes on (didn't move). same thing with emerg brake engages (didn't move).
We checked that the warning lights worked in the cab - using the check switch

The CTIS was flashing all 5 lights. Tires were low, but not flat, so we ignored it for now. They weren't actively losing air.

We drove forward, too a couple turns and stops, and then drove out the gate. Drove slow - tires turned out to be at about 20 psi in the rear. Went to a gas station since it was low on fuel, then we went to a tire store and they let us pump the back tires up. Once at full pressure, CTIS lights stopped flashing.

While driving, I was constantly monitoring brake pressure (F&R), engine temp, battery voltage, and any other gauges on the dash - I can't remember the other gauges right now. We drive about 0.5 miles to the gas station, less to the tire plce, and then progressively longer listening and watching for the thing to fall apart. 2 miles, then 4 miles, then 5 miles, then 20 miles.

Shifting was harsh until warm, as expected, due to the 15w40.

The air dryer worked - at one of the Stops, Tim said he saw it puff out mist every once in a while. After several puffs, the puffs became clear (he could only see dirt on the road get pushed around, not mist). Great news!

I hopped onto the freeway, but it was really loud, so I pulled off the next exit. Tim drove on the left side and right side next time I got onto the freeway to make sure the noise was just tires and didn't sound like a bearing going out. We weren't sure in the end, but it didn't seem to be bearing noises.

Thank god I saw the note about the radiator fan. I almost crapped my pants when that thing came on!

We drove up to Denver from Colorado Springs, and then up 70 and into the mountains. The truck drove like a dream - no issues at all the whole way. Stopped for diesel every once in a while. Got some strange looks. Just kept on driving.

Didn't have any issues driving it back w/o plates or registration. We had insurance on it and the bill of sale with us, but no title (still no title from GP)

Made it home about 2AM, parked it, and went to bed.

Hope that's useful for someone out there!

Cheers,
Brian
 

paradeduty

New member
727
28
0
Location
Chelsea, Michigan, U.S.A.
Very good Synopsis! (I know - it's probably spelled wrong) A lot of guys should read this and use it as a guideline - especially the items that, in hindsight, you say you are really glad you did. Also that all of the comments about people checking all of these things are not just that - people actually do them and it probably saves them huge aggravation in the end. Good job!
 

dalej

Member
94
5
8
Location
Blue Hill Nebraska
I just love it!!! My wife and I just got back on Tuesday, Aug 4th with our LMTV. We rode our Harley Road King out to Colorado Springs and loaded it up in the back of the truck and off we went. A lot of what radbad had wrote we had to smile about. When he was saying about the fan clutch engaging, we felt the same. I'll post some more when I get time.
 

wuudchuck

New member
24
0
0
Location
Austin, TX
Didn't have any issues driving it back w/o plates or registration. We had insurance on it and the bill of sale with us, but no title (still no title from GP)
Be sure to email them, they don't automatically send it out. They'll send you an SR97 or a Florida title.

I requested they send me a Florida RV Title, waiting for that to arrive in the mail now from my purchase back in June.

Great read, makes me even more excited to see mine (still waiting to see it, 20 days until I do)
 

MaiNiaK

Member
196
5
18
Location
Maine
My SF-97 took 58 days. I had taken out a personal loan to purchase my truck, that was to come due (in full) in 60 days. (I made sure I did it for 60 days, not trusting that the SF-97 would be here in the 30 days they claim) I was waiting on the SF-97 so I could roll the personal loan into a vehicle loan. At 45 days I started calling asking about the form, and kept getting the same response week after week. "It's in our titling department and should be out to you by Friday." On day 57 I called and got a female, explained my situation (as I had the previous 2 times) and she put me on hold while she called the titling department to track my SF-97 down. She was great, she found my SF-97 and had it sent to me Overnight Express.
I finally have my truck registered and the wife and I are having a blast driving it. We registered our truck as a Farm Truck and Saturday we went and filled the back with chicken and pig food. It's nice to finnaly have a truck capable of getting our feed grain in bulk.
 

dalej

Member
94
5
8
Location
Blue Hill Nebraska
While my wife and I were in Idaho last week heading back from a Harley ride of the Canadian Rockies, She seen a LMTV at the Subway sandwich shop. I quickly rode over and seen what was going on. He had just bought it and was taking it back home. I said, we had just picked up ours at Fort Carson, in Colorado. We could have talked for hours but he had to get back on the road. It sure is fun hearing the stories from new owners. Can't wait to get into this forum more, I just joined and need a lot of info on these great trucks!
 
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