New Deuce Owner in SoCal

[Penny Dreadnought]

Hi, everyone! Glad to be here!

I just bought a pretty well-loved 1972 M35A2 with the shop van body. She's largely original, or at least largely surplus, but I have plans for some quality of life upgrades and turning her into a very basic little camper.

She currently is living in Las Vegas, but I can't bring her over the mountains to LA until I get a little work done!

First up--rewiring the tail lights because someone did them in 12v, not 24v... Oops! I'm sure I'll be here quite often as I dig into this project!

Any tips from the vertically challenged folks here would be appreciated, since, as you can see... Even standing far enough in front of her to get the shot, I'm not tall enough to see over the hood! I can just barely reach the back door latch and peek over the edge of the bed.

Anyways, glad to meet y'all!

 

[WillWagner]

M109?

 

[Penny Dreadnought]

M109?

Looks to be! I was told M35A2, which isn't wrong per se... but sure confused the heck out of me when I went looking for more information. Admittedly, this is my first foray into trucks so there's lots to learn.

 

[18operator]

Welcome from Northern Ohio! You came to the right place for information on your machine. Lots of things to learn here.

 

[M35fan]

Welcome, from Alabama! Congratulations on your new to you truck. When you have questions, don't hesitate to ask. There are lots of great folks here that are happy to help. Hope you get to enjoy your truck soon.

 

[SCM35A2]

Welcome to the site!

 

[M37M35]

Should be an M109, unless someone has done some swapping. The plates on the dash should tell the tail.

Welcome from Oklahoma!

 

[Mullaney]

Hi, everyone! Glad to be here!

I just bought a pretty well-loved 1972 M35A2 with the shop van body. She's largely original, or at least largely surplus, but I have plans for some quality of life upgrades and turning her into a very basic little camper.

She currently is living in Las Vegas, but I can't bring her over the mountains to LA until I get a little work done!

First up--rewiring the tail lights because someone did them in 12v, not 24v... Oops! I'm sure I'll be here quite often as I dig into this project!

Any tips from the vertically challenged folks here would be appreciated, since, as you can see... Even standing far enough in front of her to get the shot, I'm not tall enough to see over the hood! I can just barely reach the back door latch and peek over the edge of the bed.

Anyways, glad to meet y'all!

Welcome from all the way on the side of the country! All the way out here in North Carolina...

Nice to meet you too. Get yourself a pillow to throw behind you in the seat and HAMMER DOWN!

There are tons of posts about these trucks. That van body idea keeps on growing on me. Having a house behind the drivers seat when you get tired is pretty darn cool. Be sure to snap a few more pictures. That will get your history started and let the rest of us "oooh and ahhh" over your new toy!

Again, happy to have you here!

Tim
.

 

[WillWagner]

You don't NEED to come over the mountains! You could go to Nipton Rd. head south to Cima and then back toward the hwy and hang a left on Akin Mine Rd. All dirt to Afton Canyon just north of Barstow. Then just a couple small grades up to Cajon, then down hill from there! You do have a camper on the back. Just kidding, not wise to go it alone if you don't know your truck yet, but not kidding on the route, awesome scenery, nice easy drive. After Akin Mine, you would be on Mojave Trail until Afton and, there are trails that will lead you to old Rt66 and take you through Helendale then dump out at D street in Victorville. That gets rid of the big rollers from Barstow to D street.

 

[Karl kostman]

Congrats on the new purchase these are great trucks to cut your teeth on pretty straight forward in almost all ways! You can down load the TMs on this site and that would be the first place I would look at when getting into your wiring issues its all fairly easy when you see it all in one picture. If you dont have any tool yet for the truck just do some reading here and you will find lots of info but the TMs that you can down load here will be very valuable in learning your truck and how things all work. Look had at the maintenance parts if the previous owner buggered up the tail lights wiring there is probably a lot of stuff that was not done to the truck from the maintenance side. Besides the TM you will also se LOs which stands for Lube orders this tells you everywhere that needs grease and on your truck there are like 27 different grease zirks that will need periodic attention, then come differential lube which you should look at not only to make sure they are up to level but to make sure they are not contaminated with water. I would suggest doing a pretty good going over the truck BEFORE you head it over to CA. If this is your first truck you will have a very good learning experience with it and the TMs (technical manuals) are absolutely wonderful reading! I spend a couple weeks reading them with every new truck I buy! Congrats once again and post questions, get the TMs and LOs down loaded or printed and get your new adventure under way!
Karl

 

[fasttruck]

Post 10 is the straight skinny. Don't make a move without reading the pubs, all of which are available in the TM section on this site. There are actually about 41 grease points on a M109, 4 on the handbrake alone. Neglect them at your own peril. As these trucks have manual steering careful attention to the kingpins, drag link and tie rod will make it easier to steer. Grease is cheap. Parts cost money. Be guided accordingly . And don't forget to check the air pressure in all 11 tires. The Army has been using DOT 5 brake fluid for at least 20 years Don't mix and match DOT 3 and 5.

 

[dmetalmiki]

Welcome to the site, the hobby, and the fascination. ( I would add And the events to come ,, (but there will not be any events to attend until this coro business i over)).
Your truck will make a way better than ( a ), 'Basic Camper'.
Kitted out to your satisfaction it can / could be, ( a ), 'Home from home'.
Good luck with your intentended projects, and keep posting progress with pictures.
I mean, Don't we all just LOVE 'Army truck Campers.?.

 

[Penny Dreadnought]

You don't NEED to come over the mountains! You could go to Nipton Rd. head south to Cima and then back toward the hwy and hang a left on Akin Mine Rd. All dirt to Afton Canyon just north of Barstow. Then just a couple small grades up to Cajon, then down hill from there! You do have a camper on the back. Just kidding, not wise to go it alone if you don't know your truck yet, but not kidding on the route, awesome scenery, nice easy drive. After Akin Mine, you would be on Mojave Trail until Afton and, there are trails that will lead you to old Rt66 and take you through Helendale then dump out at D street in Victorville. That gets rid of the big rollers from Barstow to D street.

Honestly, that sounds like a fabulous trip to make! Maybe once I get used to her and get her ready to go, that's how I'll plan the drive. I wouldn't be opposed to avoiding the 15 and taking the 95 out to Nipton Rd, either. I'm more afraid of the idiots on the road hanging out in my blind spots than I am the desert I grew up in!

 

[Penny Dreadnought]

Congrats on the new purchase these are great trucks to cut your teeth on pretty straight forward in almost all ways! You can down load the TMs on this site and that would be the first place I would look at when getting into your wiring issues its all fairly easy when you see it all in one picture. If you dont have any tool yet for the truck just do some reading here and you will find lots of info but the TMs that you can down load here will be very valuable in learning your truck and how things all work. Look had at the maintenance parts if the previous owner buggered up the tail lights wiring there is probably a lot of stuff that was not done to the truck from the maintenance side. Besides the TM you will also se LOs which stands for Lube orders this tells you everywhere that needs grease and on your truck there are like 27 different grease zirks that will need periodic attention, then come differential lube which you should look at not only to make sure they are up to level but to make sure they are not contaminated with water. I would suggest doing a pretty good going over the truck BEFORE you head it over to CA. If this is your first truck you will have a very good learning experience with it and the TMs (technical manuals) are absolutely wonderful reading! I spend a couple weeks reading them with every new truck I buy! Congrats once again and post questions, get the TMs and LOs down loaded or printed and get your new adventure under way!
Karl

Thank you! I've been working my way through the TMs while I wait for the chance to go back to Vegas and work on her. I'm in no rush to get her back since she is living rent-free right now and I want to give her a good once over before I find myself on the side of the road

Fortunately (maybe unfortunately?), this particular truck belonged to my boyfriend for about 6 years before he sold it to a mechanic who didn't end up having time for it, and they had it for 8 months til I bought it. So currently, she lives with and I'll be working on her with someone who has 6 years of experience with her quirks. But he also was the one who paid for her electrical work that wasn't done right!

At least when I find something wrong... Like the missing spare tire that was abandoned on the side of the 40 in AZ because the winch cable snapped because it wasn't secured right... I know who to blame. Once I can visit for a weekend and make my to-do list, I will definitely be back here with questions and to hunt through the TMs!

 

[WillWagner]

Honestly, that sounds like a fabulous trip to make! Maybe once I get used to her and get her ready to go, that's how I'll plan the drive. I wouldn't be opposed to avoiding the 15 and taking the 95 out to Nipton Rd, either. I'm more afraid of the idiots on the road hanging out in my blind spots than I am the desert I grew up in!

There is a pipeline road that runs parallel to 95 too