I too am planning to take a leap of faith!

[Mt Doom Field Owner]

I own and operate a paintball field in N. central Alabama and have the opportunity to buy a 1967 M35A2 that was decommissioned in 1990 and has been basically sitting in a field ever since. It has 3000 hours on it (don't yet know the mileage), tires are all good, has the bows but not the canvas. Lights and signals all working, batteries good. I has the Continental engine. A friend of mine who is a diesel mechanic went to see it already and says it is in great condition, cranks right up and runs smoothly. Said if I didn't buy it he would! I am planning on using it to transport kids (adults count as kids when they are playing paintball you know! My field is about a 1000 yards long (see it at www.mtdoompaintball.com - map page) and I want to use the deuce and a half instead of a tractor and trailer to haul everyone back to the back areas. Also where I live there are miles of logging roads so I may give scenic rides to family and guests. I can get this M35 for around $2500.00 which seems reasonable. Is there anything I should be aware of or look for before investing in this vehicle? Any tips or suggestions before I buy or to do just after buying? I have no clue as to who would service a vehicle like this or where I would get a mechanic if needed but I do have a lot of National Guard and X-service men that play paintball at Mt Doom so they may be of some help. Thanks for any reply and looking forward to watching and participatin in this forum. When I buy this monster I will post some photos.

Doug Arnold (field owner) Mt Doom Paintball mtdoom@hiwaay.net

 

[atankersdad]

Sounds like a good deuce that i would buy. Good luck with the insurance issues when you tell your insurer that you plan on using it as a tour bus. Most companies have clauses about riding people in the back. You also may fall into the commercial vehicle classification which opens up a bigger can of worms. Now if you do not tell your insurer, and someone gets hurt, prepare to be the ex-owner of a paintball course, with all of the ambulance chasing lawyers out there.. Now after I have spread this doom and gloom you have very good and noble intentions. I love paintball, have 3 spiders and a scuba tank for refilling the compressed air cylinders and loved playing with my sons and their friends. Great sport and loads of fun. No matter what course you take, buy the deuce for you and if the insurance works out, spread the fun to kids. good luck...

 

[Mt Doom Field Owner]

I have field insurance that will allow the use of the M35 as long as I use reasonable safety precautions plus everyone signs a waiver before coming into the field. I would have an adult ref riding in back with any kids and we don't plan on doing any wild antics. I have a 23 year history running a field so the addition of a big truck won't really upset anyone here.

 

[littlebob]

Sounds like a good deuce that i would buy. Good luck with the insurance issues when you tell your insurer that you plan on using it as a tour bus. Most companies have clauses about riding people in the back. You also may fall into the commercial vehicle classification which opens up a bigger can of worms. Now if you do not tell your insurer, and someone gets hurt, prepare to be the ex-owner of a paintball course, with all of the ambulance chasing lawyers out there.. Now after I have spread this doom and gloom you have very good and noble intentions. I love paintball, have 3 spiders and a scuba tank for refilling the compressed air cylinders and loved playing with my sons and their friends. Great sport and loads of fun. No matter what course you take, buy the deuce for you and if the insurance works out, spread the fun to kids. good luck...

Wouldn't do it here in Louisiana because of the lawyers also. As far as maintaing the truck, figuire it out beforehand. Having free labor doesn't solve all your problems. Maintaing one needs to be in your budget for it to work. The parts are availble, but they can add up and regular Maint would be a must with paying passengers.

 

[roscoe]

It fits your business, buy it. Worse case ,you have a really cool ornamental feature in the field.

 

[Mt Doom Field Owner]

My field has been allowing motorized paintball "tanks" for years. These are usually old lawn mowers, golf carts or quad-runners with some armor around them and netting and a turret mounted pair of machine guns (full auto paintball markers with electronic triggers) or air powered "nerf" shell canons. I would like to find a turret gun mount for the deuce if possible or at least a post mounted gun bracket. There are several manufacturers who make exact replica .50 cal Browning paintball markers that are legal to fire (paintballs) and would look great on the truck. I hope to take a look and test drive the M35A2 tomorrow and drive it home on Saturday. The county road department says just drive it if the lights are working and if not get an escort car. I have a police officer who plays at my field who volunteered to drive it to my field (about 20 miles) and he'll take his badge with him and hope to talk us out of a ticket should state highway patrol give chase. Will keep everyone posted and I will take some photos tomorrow.

 

[Mt Doom Field Owner]

One more question for someone... I read that the turning radius for the Deuce is LARGE... was compared to that of the "Lusitiania" and my field has a lot of hairpin turns on it. Can I expect the Deuce to "plow" a new turn or two through the woods? I bet three point turns are a bit--h with no power steering. Anyone know the radius or is it in one of the MV manuals? Thanks! I am blindly going where no sane person would go but we can easily afford to buy and probably to maintain one of these monsters so as Rosco says, "It will make a darn good ornament!" I will put a sign on it and park it out by the entrance!

 

[gunboy1656]

Think I saw in the manual something like 38 feet for turning.

 

[50shooter]

Go for it. That would be a great addition to a paintball course. As far as ins. goes you mentioned that you are good to go already but if you weld in a roll bar in the front and rear and install lap belts the issue goes away. Your next obsticle would be who would wear the lap belts? That becomes their issue. I doubt anyone would fall out if you drive normal and have the adult head knocker in the back.

This country is not having any fun anymore becuase of the what if's.

We were founded by rebel criminals so lets have fun.

 

[roscoe]

You definatly have to plan for your turns early. As far as turning radiius, I think gunboy is about right with 38 ft. It won't make the culdesac turn in one sweep in a standard subdivision. My f350 will just barely though.

 

[roscoe]

I like it without power steering though. As long as your rolling some its not that hard to turn. Watch how you hold the steering wheel because it is pretty unforgiving if you hit a ditch the right way.

 

[jrou111]

I think it sounds like an awesome idea! You're not too far from me. If that truck doesn't work out, I have a couple for sale as well.

 

[roscoe]

Jrou111, He can't possibly be satisfied with just one anyway and I saw you had yours priced very reasonalbly. The people in the Duece will be crushing the ones that get stuck in the golf carts.

 

[FM5332FF]

Your gonna get one... Then another, and another and another and so on... A new addict.

 

[actionpaintball]

Its perfect for a paintball field =)

Also handy for transporting equipment-and if its covered-then you have some portable storage. You also now have a portable 120 psi air compressor for small to medium sized air tools. Add a PTO generator and you have electricity.

 

[Mt Doom Field Owner]

Jrou111 - please tell me what you have because the one I am going to look at today will be the first I ever crawled up into. My dad bought several 2.5 ton deuces and a pair of half-tracks after returning from WWII and they used these for years and years at his lumberyard. I recall playing in them as a kid and the half-track later was turned into a logging turck with big boom winch installed. Anyway, this is my first and the guy I am buying it from is just another used car sales owner so I doubt he knows all that much about them. I would like to know I was getting something that had been checked out by a knowledgable owner of similar vehicles. My diesel mechanic friend probably knows that the engine sounded ok but I doubt he has ever seen a LDT-465 engine, let alone knowing to look at air-lines, brakes, lights and the dozen or so other things that might be about to fall off this old deuce. Thanks for your input and I will hold off buying for a few days. Exactly where are your trucks located. I know a couple of truckers needing work so it may be practical to haul them. I also know most all the back roads between Brimingham and Hanceville as well.

 

[drgreg]

The Deuce that your father had was probably a CCKW, the father of the M35.

 

[Parker2]

Get it!! Its a good idea. I have been playing paintball since the '80s and havent seen a military truck yet.

 

[Sneaker]

Turn it on let it warm up. Check the guages for normal operating ranges (volts, air, temp, RPM, etc..) then depress the brake pedal (does it feel stiff, soft, etc..). When your test driving, check to make sure the front axle engages and disengages properly. How does it shift while driving. Do you feel vibrations when at 50mph or while braking? Does the engine have a knock or does it "purr". Now go under the truck look for leaking fluids near the axles, brakes, and engine make sure you do this after you have test driven it. Look at the hoses and belts on the engine are they cracked? Take a volt meter check to see if there is a current draw on the batteries when the truck is turned off. And remember these are 40+ year old trucks that have been well used!!

P.S. In your field waiver I would specifically add a section devoted to waiving transportation liability if you don't already have it. A good lawyer might be able to argue that the person signing the waiver only believed he or she waived liability during play and not the transportation. Just food for thought.

 

[Mt Doom Field Owner]

I can ammend the waiver any way I like so I will get with my legal team and come up with adequate wording. Using common safety sense and good staff how the heck is anyone going to get hurt sitting down in the back of a solid steel truck creeping along at maybe 5 mph on flat roadways???? I will fix it so the only way anyone can fall out would be off the back so they'd only fall 5 feet to the ground. Ok... I will put a rope across the back even! Around here people have hay-rides at Halloween on tractors pulling hay wagons... horse drawn wagons carry people through the old German Town areas during Fall Festival... people ride in open trucks and carol at Christmas... in the history of the city no one has ever fallen off or been run over at these attractions and they don't even bother with waivers! ... so I am pretty solidly convinced the odds are in my favor and we can pull this off!