After Months of Research and Looking... We Finally bought an M35A3 Deuce

[Commander5993]

Hey Commander, the sticker is the official Steel Soldiers Membership sticker!! There's a thread on here with how to order from Recovry4X4 (Kenny). I believe the thread is "Steel Soldiers Sticker Order Info Thread". Post one on your MV and when another member sees it he/she will recognize it right off the bat, and those who don't recognize it will inquire and you can answer with something like," I'm a member of an outstanding, world wide, and very informative military vehicle enthusiast group that you should check out called Steel Soldiers"
Jimmy

Thanks Jimmy! I thought it may have been. Might have to contact Kenny and get one of those

 

[Rustygears]

Congrats.

Check the tire date codes before driving. If they're the stock michelins and date back to 1995 or 1996 - beware! These tires, when aged, are notorious for rotting both internally and externally and blowing while underway. A front wheel blowout is a serious hazard and has caused truck roll-over. Search the posts and heed the warnings.

 

[Commander5993]

Congrats.

Check the tire date codes before driving. If they're the stock michelins and date back to 1995 or 1996 - beware! These tires, when aged, are notorious for rotting both internally and externally and blowing while underway. A front wheel blowout is a serious hazard and has caused truck roll-over. Search the posts and heed the warnings.

Wow...
And here I thought I had at least read most of the "major" maintenance and "stuff to check first" threads. But I haven't read the first thing about the michelin tires being prone to blowout. I hope they're not in that date category, I have to drive it about 150 miles to get it home.
At some point, I was planning to do some research here on SS about what is the best stock size replacement tire.
I hope to at least get it here first... Hummmm....

Thanks for the Info Rustygears!
That is something that is really worth knowing about!

 

[martinwcox]

Next time you talk with Brett, ask him about the truck he sold that the husband sent the wife and son to pick up, they drove to Alaska, 4,200 miles , the only problem they had was, yes a blowout. I did not get the details, worth asking.

4,200 miles - gotta love that woman!, my wife would have killed me on arrival back home - truck is to be used for Moose Hunting.

 

[Commander5993]

Next time you talk with Brett, ask him about the truck he sold that the husband sent the wife and son to pick up, they drove to Alaska, 4,200 miles , the only problem they had was, yes a blowout. I did not get the details, worth asking.

4,200 miles - gotta love that woman!, my wife would have killed me on arrival back home - truck is to be used for Moose Hunting.

Wow, that's a long way. Have to ask him about that. I do remember him mentioning that he had sold a truck that was taken to Alaska.
So maybe these tires will at least make it the 150 miles from his place back home... I would hate to have a blow out... especially a front tire!

I've begun doing so reading about the tires... Seems like they are big $$$$ and evidently a pain to find something that will fit stock rims. When I replace the tires, I need something new, not something that's been sitting around for years and dry rotted on the shelf.

Anyone know of any reasonable price New Tires that fit the stock A3 rims??

Research continues...

 

[Rustygears]

Read the parallel thread. New replacement tires are at least $600 each. Lots cheaper than a day in ICU or for a funeral. If you replace fronts, you must do the pair. It's really bad to mix tires on the steering axle.

 

[mckeeranger]

(I might need to start this in a new thread...)

Ok, I've done some searching here on the forums, and I'm now considering putting in some things to make it "slightly harder" to steal, or at least to keep people from messing with the deuce.

I have read about the battery kill switches. But having seen the basic run-of-the-mill battery disconnect "switches" not work properly, and cause more trouble then they are worth. I want something that works better, and I would rather have it in the cab some where.

The batt switch for a Caterpillar (Dozer, loader, grader, etc.) disconnects 24v and uses a key. They're not very expensive, around $30, I think.

 

[Commander5993]

Read the parallel thread. New replacement tires are at least $600 each. Lots cheaper than a day in ICU or for a funeral. If you replace fronts, you must do the pair. It's really bad to mix tires on the steering axle.

Well... was hoping to get by for less than $3600 just for tires. But like you said, its cheaper than ICU or funeral.... and not worth the risk to me or anyone else. And even if nothing else happened, I don't want to break down on the side of the road someplace when it can be prevented.

Been reading several of the tire threads. Guess I'm going to try to find a local place that can order something and mount them too. When I do new tires, I'll probably just do the whole set, that way I don't have to worry about them. But if I do only partial, I would do at least both tires on each axle, as I know you don't want to mix them.

Thanks for the post and info

 

[Commander5993]

The batt switch for a Caterpillar (Dozer, loader, grader, etc.) disconnects 24v and uses a key. They're not very expensive, around $30, I think.

Now that is something I didn't know. I'll try to look one up.
Thanks for the tip mckeeranger!

 

[jaxsof]

The batt switch for a Caterpillar (Dozer, loader, grader, etc.) disconnects 24v and uses a key. They're not very expensive, around $30, I think.

I got one from the auction site for about $13. PM me if you have trouble finding them

 

[Commander5993]

I got one from the auction site for about $13. PM me if you have trouble finding them

Thanks, but I did find a battery cut off switch. I actually went ahead and bought two, one for the 24 volt truck system, and one for my 12 volt add-on system.

 

[Commander5993]

Leaving to go pick up the A3 in the morning
Take about 3 hours according to google to get there, shows it is about 150 miles.

Also, can anyone tell me if the deuce's air line connection will accept a standard air compressor hose fitting???

Thanks All!!

 

[SPCWarning]

Leaving to go pick up the A3 in the morning
Take about 3 hours according to google to get there, shows it is about 150 miles.

Also, can anyone tell me if the deuce's air line connection will accept a standard air compressor hose fitting???

Thanks All!!

Praying for a safe and uneventful trip.

 

[Maverick1701]

congrats on the new rig! that is one sharp looking truck.....Im very jealous sir

 

[JOEDEUCE]

Have a safe trip !

 

[Commander5993]

Well.... I said I would post and update, so I will:

We all have heard "Don't judge a book by its cover"

And we all know you can't judge a deuce by its photos...

My Dad, my brother and I went to pick up the deuce today, took about 2 1/2 hours to get there. Once there, looked at the truck. Looked "ok", wasn't a great paint job though, but I really didn't care about the paint much in the first place. I was more concerned with mechanical and such, which the dealer had said was zero problems, and he had fixed anything that was wrong.

My dad went with the dealer on a test ride, the dealer drove. My brother and I waited in the driveway. They got back a few minuets later. The dealer got out and said he had forgotten hook the speedometer cable back up. Ok, no big deal...

After my dad got out, he pulled me off to the side. He then told me that the truck had a major vibration in the front end, and he even thought the dealer was going to loose control of it at one point when he went to make a turn.

The vibration continued the entire time they were driving, and was a much worse than the "normal" amount of vibration that we knew the A3 had, and had experienced before in several other deuce's we had looked at a few months ago. But the dealer insisted this is how all deuces drove. But this vibration was far beyond the "normal" cold tire/ctis weight vibration which we had seen first hand in the other A2's or A3's that he had test rode in before.

While we were standing there talking, I happened to look at the front drivers tire, and realized it was missing the ctis counter weight on the rim. This could have been part of the problem, but I doubt it was all of the problem. The dealer had switched that front tire with the spare. But I didn't see a weight on the spare either. So either it had been missing from GL, or he didn't put back on when he changed the tire. I couldn't tell if it had been there, as the rims had been painted gloss black, so any marks were covered. We started thinking if this was forgotten, what else was forgotten...

So in the end we decided it was to much money to spend on a truck with an unknown problem. The dealer got mad about it, but its not like we were pleased either. He had told us it was a fully complete truck, with which he had gone through and fixed any and all problems he had found. And on that info, we drove 300 miles round trip, wasted the gas and the entire day, and still ended up with nothing. We still have to cancel the insurance, after spending so much time trying to find insurance in the first place, and we have to take the cashiers check back to the bank and get that taken care of.

In any case, maybe it is something that the dealer can easily fix, but I hope he does fix it before someone buys it. As I wouldn't have wanted to drive it 150 miles with a vibration that bad.

Thanks guys for all the help and the answers you gave to all my questions and such.
I don't know if I'm going to need the info now, as we're not sure what we're going to do from here. I guess we'll just wait and see.

Thanks Again Guys!

 

[SPCWarning]

Commander,
Man I'm sorry to hear it was a raw deal........but at least you didn't MAKE a deal, then find out about the problem(s) later on. Good move, not buying it! Sure, there's a chance it could've been an inexpensive repair, but a very slim chance.

I sure hope you will continue your search and find a GREAT deal on a Deuce! (and I hope it's Butterbean green). I've followed your thread here, and I know you were excited about the deal but so glad you learned the truth before it was too late.

Hats off to your Dad for catching the problems and not making a deal.

Keep us posted, I got a feeling yall aren't thru searching yet.

Jimmy

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Sorry to hear it. If at first you don't succeed, try try again. Good for you in going with your gut. It usually turns out to be right.

 

[steelandcanvas]

I'm curious as to why the speedo cable was disconnected, and a missing counter weight too?? Tough s*** he was mad about the deal not going through, especially after your 300 mile trek, and a day lost in the process. Maybe folks in your neck of the woods should contact you before buying from this individual. I wish you well on your new search to find the truck that's right for you.

 

[hilber]

Bummer, but glad you came out ok in the end.