Attention!! Please use caution when driving vehicles home from auction!

[reb87]

There isnt a way to get tags in Nebraska until you have the vehicle inspected by the sherrif and you have a title. You have 30 days to get plates and there are no temp or intransit tags here so I dont have plates on my recovered vehicles until the title gets here. They are automatically "in transit" for 30 days.

 

[BKubu]

I have mentioned this previously in other threads and many guys have basically told me to mind my own business...that it is none of my business to comment on another guy driving without tags and/or insurance. I know that is BS and most of the posters on this thread know that is BS. I agree with Chris completely and am very happy to have read this post.

A lot of the guys on this list are gun owners...not all, but many. If they heard of someone using a firearm in an irresponsible manner that was bringing negative attention to their world, they would not be happy. This is exactly why it bothers me when people are so cavalier with their multiple hundred mile road trips in trucks they really don't know and probably did not fully inspect and often without tags and/or insurance. Heck, it is almost impossible to do a real safety check in the GL lot or even outside (e.g., how many guys have pulled wheels off to inspect brakes?).

 

[Ferroequinologist]

The DRMO building at Ft Jackson comes to mind.

All I was doing was going to the water hose to fill up the radiator.

It happened to me, but I posted it as a lesson. I sure got blasted by some people about the mistake I made. I was trying to help/remind others with my post. Don't get excited, don't move the truck until you have checked EVERYTHING!!!!!

Every other truck I have ever gotten for myself or others I have pulled off the lot with a fully operational, insured and taged deuce.

I will never plan a recovery involving driving said truck hundreds of miles, even if I got to inspect it pretty good when I bid. You just never know. But that's just my

If anything, there are lots of members near most GL locations, ask them to help you by pulling it off and looking it over, either with you or before you come to recover it. I have done this for many SS and it works out very well. One member was thinking of driving his first deuce to LA from VA, until I got it towed to my house and looked it over and said no way.

 

[emr]

Excelent post, I have cringed many times about people bragging about getting away with driving trucks homme with nothing but a green shirt, that in my opinion is bad for the hobby and bad for this site, I am no angel, but bragging about this on a world wide connection is just crazy, and when some one does it and gets hammered, and says, well these guys do it all the time,wait and see how hard it gets to get a truck off the bases then , worse yet more ammo for the "why should they be able to own an Army truck people" I am just adding this is private info, if someone wants to risk so much for so little, please keep it to them selves..... this is my opinion and like I said , i am no angel but would never encourage someone else to do these things, timly post from still the best site around, keep up the good work, and with more people come more things to make rules about, its just the way it is...Randy

 

[dk8019]

Excellent points guys, I've always made sure to have insurance required for the two trucks I've picked up. The BMV is more or less the same in Ohio as Nebraska, no way to get any form of a tag until an inspection is made, so I've typically been told to take another tag with me just in case that has a current registration but not on the road.

Inspections are only as good as the one doing them. Take a look at my latest rocovery post. I missed something that I should have caught, and it seemed at the time to pass all the items I could think of, yet still missed something that was pretty darn important! My job is about details, and I shouldn't have missed this but did.

The last thing anyone here wants to do, I hope, is to bring a negative light to our hobby. As mentioned before, gun owners cringe everytime someone does something ignorant or down right criminal with a firearm. The same should apply here.

 

[Michael]

Mississippi doesn't have temp tags either. All you need is a signed bill of sale, which you won't get from GL at some sites unless you bring an extra copy yourself and ask them to sign it. There is nothing unsafe about driving a truck without a tag, but it is illegal to take a tag off something else, impersonate the military or any number of other things I have seen mentioned on here.

 

[BKubu]

One of the most frequently overlooked expenses to buying a truck is shipping. Most guys never factor that in. If they did, they probably would not even bid on the truck that they won. The reason...most guys don't figure that is a real cost to buying a truck and, if they factored in, their budget or their wife would not let them make their purchase. Because of this, they are left with one option...driving the truck home. This is where the problem starts in my opinion. I've said it before. Trucking/shipping is one of the costs that you must factor in just like you plan on paying the 10% bidder's fee and tax. I said this previously and it was not popular. If you can't afford the shipping, you can't afford the truck. Obviously, the trucking costs are removed if you are able to get tags and insurance (or have other plans like Michael stated).

 

[jatonka]

Thank you Chris for presenting this to the membership. Our hobby is on "Thin Ice" with manycongressmen and senators in state and federal gov't. The only publicity we need is about diasaster aid like the MTA-NJ did a couple years ago for Katrina and earlier for 9/11. We can offer our assistance to local groups, historical events and many many veterans functions through out the whole Copuntry.
I can't understand any of us publishing things that are illegal, and irresposible on the most viewed fofum on military hobby vehicles in the world. Please use some restraint in the recovery stories.
Side note. The only way you will legally move a privately owned historic military vehicle in New York State is with valid insurnace card and license plates for that vehicle. Not fun, but very true.
I believe that a surplused military vehicle ought to be towed to where it can be inspected and serviced before being driven on highways with innocent civilian motorists all around you. Towing in my mind is on a trailer. Period. John Tennis

 

[dittle]

Chris,

Thanks for bringing this up. It is very disturbing reading some of the posts put on here by first time buyers. One of the most disturbing is "Hey I just purchased this truck, now can someone tell me about it and how it works and how I should drive it"..........etc.

 

[BKubu]

Or, "I drove my truck home 400 miles. How do I check the brake fluid?" That was a real post!!! I am not kidding.

 

[reb87]

Ive had some shipped and driven most home. Im a farmer and have good mechanical skills and read the tm manuals for most of the trucks before Ive driven them home. I have one or two of my five boys on each trip and have really enjoyed the process. Ive had insurance coverage on each one as well. I hate to hear people here discouraging the driving off the base of trucks. Ross

 

[toddm]

My son is 16 and has his temporary driving permit. He wants to drive my Duece in the worst way. He always helps me fixing or modifying the truck and I am getting him to understand that this truck weighs over 13,000 lbs and is to be respected always. He has never driven stick before, so we went on a very quiet section of road and he did pretty well for his first time driving the Duece. The power steering does help alot and he had trouble shifting from first to second ( he kept on ending up going from 1st to 5th) After awhile he got the hang of it. Hill starts were another problem at first but eventually worked out fine (no rolling backwards on a start) I don't feel he will be ready to drive it in traffic for awhile, but he will just have to keep practicing. I can't stress to him enough that if you hit someone or something someone is going to get hurt and to always drive defensively. Thanks Todd

 

[steelsoldiers]

I hate to hear people here discouraging the driving off the base of trucks. Ross

There is nothing wrong with driving a truck home if you do a thorough inspection, know how to drive said truck, bring along tools, spare parts, and help, have proper documentation and insurance as required for your state, and have a back-up plan in case something goes wrong on the trip home.

Please err on the side of caution people. When in doubt, tow it out.

I purchased a 1008 CUCV not more than 45 miles from here. I did a thorough preview and knew it would run and drive. I probably could have driven it home easily. Instead, I drove it up on a trailer and towed it home. Good thing too because the brake light switch was broken so I could have caused an accident on the way home.

I bought an 818 about 4 hours from here. I had a fellow SS member tow it off the base to his lot about 10 minutes away. I was then able to inspect and PM it at my leisure so the trip home was uneventful. Good thing too because it had a leaky wheel cylinder, which caused the brake fluid to be very low and the system needed a ton of air bled out of it. The sprag was also stuck so the front drive shaft needed pulled.

Those are the kind of things you won't pick up on a preview or by looking at the auction pics and you will be in for a nasty surprise if you show up at the base with a limited amount of time to get it out from behind the fence.

So again, I am not saying you can't drive one home, but please prepare, prepare, prepare, and think twice about driving an un-tested truck whether it is 50 miles or 1500 miles.

 

[emr]

Boy, this should be on a first read note to all nubies, and every body new to the site period, it just gets better and better, i have always said, this hobby brings out the absolute best people in the world, this polite and profesional discussion says it all, I like the one best that says, i just bought and drove 400 miles home, how do I check the brake fluid. yeesh. all the rediculous PM I do and I still never get it all....

 

[m16ty]

One of the most frequently overlooked expenses to buying a truck is shipping. Most guys never factor that in. If they did, they probably would not even bid on the truck that they won. The reason...most guys don't figure that is a real cost to buying a truck and, if they factored in, their budget or their wife would not let them make their purchase. Because of this, they are left with one option...driving the truck home. This is where the problem starts in my opinion. I've said it before. Trucking/shipping is one of the costs that you must factor in just like you plan on paying the 10% bidder's fee and tax. I said this previously and it was not popular. If you can't afford the shipping, you can't afford the truck. Obviously, the trucking costs are removed if you are able to get tags and insurance (or have other plans like Michael stated).

I always factor in the cost of recovery when I bid. I have hauled all the trucks I have got partly because I have the means to do so and also because you never can tell what could happen on a 40 year old truck that you know almost nothing about. Nothing wrong with driving them home with due care but I haven't wanted to to take the risk as of yet. You have to factor in the recovery cost however you get it home. I wouldn't take a truck in CA if you gave it to me. The cost of recovery alone would be far more than I could buy a truck for close to home.

 

[jeep-Jeep]

I traded a deuce to a buddy to take his 18 wheeler low boy to pickup my 5 ton .
I did this in order to not risk the safety of others with a 20k truck that may have been siting 10 years .
since then I have read many posts of people taking 1000 mile plus trips in a unknown truck and making it but felt that was a blind leap of faith on a 40 year old mechanical item .
I have wondered if I was the stupid one to be concerned about it enough to pay a price just to get a truck home .

 

[m16ty]

I have wondered if I was the stupid one to be concerned about it enough to pay a price just to get a truck home .

I don't think so at all.

 

[maybefixit]

I certainly agree with the posts to date, there are examples of other hobbies that are very cautious about safety (railroad speeders) because they worry about being one accident away from extinct.

One point I would make is that insurance and tag requirements vary by company and state. My insurance company insures any vehicle I buy for 30 days since all my vehicles are covered with them. Of course I'd have to call, but it does work that way for regular vehicles.

As some have mentioned, some states don't have temp tags etc, so some slack is in order while we remember that an action that is legal in one state might not be in another.

Again, I agree with the posts listed, as there are vehicles the Gov't has stopped selling due to perceived safety issues (jeeps and mutts).

I hesitate to point out that a local man apparently stepped out in front of a semi on the freeway recently - evidence suggests it was a suicide. Horrible to think that accidents aren't the only thing to be on guard against when driving, but it's out there.

 

[steelsoldiers]

Bump, for those who haven't seen this yet. Thank you to everyone who has posted their feelings about this very important issue.

 

[frodobaggins]

I am so glad Chris posted this. I have thought it but I didn't feel it was my place to bring it up.

Safety is everyone's concern/business/place !