Converting M818 to M813

[Lorax]

Well, it's started. The 5th wheel and ramps are ready to come off, the bed has been bought.

Slowly, things have been added to the 818 to improve it's usability. A winch was added (not finished yet), and now it's time to add a cargo bed. A trip to Winslow's provided some goodies. Cargo bed, tires, and something that should make a 5 ton cargo bed fit, instead of using a deuce bed.

A fellow with a wrecker is coming over tomorrow to remove the 5th wheel from the truck, and to remove the cargo bed from the trailer. Before installing the cargo bed, the back 1/2 of the truck is going to have a good going over.

Here are some pictures.

 

[CUCVFAN]

Cool, but why did you not opt for the deuce bed? Just curious if you had some advantage/disadvantage in mind?

 

[Lorax]

Now some explanations of the pictures.

1. Pictures 1 and 2 are of the 818 with the new 90% tires ready to mount.

2. The bed has been sand blasted and reCARCed. It has some rust here and there, but is in quite good condition. The missing troop seat was removed so I could unload the tires from the bed.

3. The thing sitting in the bed is the back foot and a half off a 900 series truck. This will get welded onto the back of the 818 to extend the frame enough for the 5 ton cargo bed.

4. Last but not least are the two supervisors.

It will take some time to finish this, but updates will show progress.

 

[Lorax]

I almost went with a deuce bed, for simplicity. Matter of fact, I had decided to use a deuce bed until finding out that Winslow had the 900 series frame section available. Seeing some pictures of 818s with deuce beds, they look very nice. Looks like they came from the factory that way.

The cross member that holds the pintle hitch wasn't going to be fun to remove when extending the frame for a 5 ton bed. That was the biggest reason to go with a deuce bed, since that cross member wouldn't need to be removed. For a 5 ton bed, the cross member would need to be removed, the frame lengthened, then the cross member reinstalled again. The frame section sitting in the bed in the above pictures was laying around at Winslow's, so I figured what the heck, thats about the perfect length needed for the 5 ton bed, and Winslow had a freshly painted 5 ton drop side available. It's still going to be a little more work than using a deuce bed.

Should be a fun project. And a good time to sand and repaint everything correctly.

 

[BKubu]

Maybe the answer to this question should be obvious. If so, I missed it. Why go through all of this trouble to create an M813 when you could just buy one? HEADWIZARD has trucks for sale...or so I was told...and they are in VA. I am not sure what your time is worth, nor do I know what you paid for the parts, but it seems to me buying a truck would have made more sense. Did I miss something?

 

[maddawg308]

Maybe he just likes a challenge, Bruce!

Keep us abreast of how this develops, I think the 813 version will be much more useful to you than a tractor. Also let me know if I can help out in any way - I'm not close, but I can be there in a few hours.

 

[Capt.Marion]

When you add the frame extension on the back, are you going to shift the axles back any? I mean you're going to have a good bunch of bed behind the axles, as opposed to having the axles pretty near the center of the bed as on the M813s... Just a question.

Can't wait to see more pictures, this'll be neat!

 

[AaronHorrocks]

What's going to happen to that 5th wheel? I ask because I'm missing the spring that retains the locking lever into position. Can I have yours?

 

[country]

we recentyl did a similar conversion

see http://www.easternsurplus.net/448.html


Dave
www.easternsurplus.net

 

[Lorax]

BK, at the time the 818 was bought (from GL), 813s were running thousands more $ than the 818s. Plus, whoever was winning the 813s was winning a lot of them (deep pockets). The infamous #8500 bidder. This same thing happened auction after auction. So, after seeing pictures of 818s with deuce beds, like Country's pic above, the decision was to get a good running 818 and put a bed on it.

Of course, the very next auction had 813s going for cheaper, with winches already mounted, etc. Mr. Murphy always gets his laughs in... The EUC process for the 818 was a nightmare of "lost" paperwork. After buying a number of EUC trucks and other stuff from GL, this last one was the worst, and I decided that this 818 will be the last auction truck bought, so if something isn't the way I wanted (like a cargo bed or a winch), it'll be added.

Thanks for the offer Maddawg.

Capt, before deciding on the deuce or 5 ton bed, I checked in the tech manuals for dimensional differences between the 818 and 813. As it turns out, the axle spacing is so close to being the same that it won't make any difference. So the rear axles can stay where they are. If it required moving axles, there'd be a deuce bed in the back yard instead of a 5 ton bed.

Aaron, I'd like to see if anyone wants to buy the 5th wheel before taking parts off it. If it doesn't sell, you can have that part.

Country, that 818 with deuce bed has been a background on my computer ever since running across it on eastern's web site. One of the "rare" short bed cargos with 2 fuel tanks...

Just heard from the fellow with the 816. He's coming over tomorrow to take the bed off the trailer and take the 5th wheel off the 818.

Let the adventure begin.

 

[BKubu]

LORAX: Thanks for the explanation. It sounds like your plan makes sense.

 

[Capt.Marion]

LORAX: Thanks for the explanation. It sounds like your plan makes sense.

Ditto, you got this thing laid out pretty good! Keep us posted.

 

[Lorax]

Update.
The wrecker arrived today to move the 5 ton bed from the trailer onto blocks, remove the 5th wheel and ramps, and load the frame extension onto the back of the 818 for transporting to a welding location.

Everything turned out fine by the end of the day, but it was discovered why a wrecker is called a wrecker. Yeah...at least no one was hurt. Anyhoo, everything was moved to it's new location, and overall was a fun day, watching the wrecker do it's stuff.

The next step is to get the frame extension welded on. Then start the sanding/repainting.

 

[Lorax]

Wimpy wrecker... Easy to tip over.

 

[rizzo]

Wimpy wrecker... Easy to tip over.

hahaha awesome pic

 

[HeadWizard]

Why go through all of this trouble to create an M813 when you could just buy one? HEADWIZARD has trucks for sale...or so I was told...and they are in VA.

BK-
As usual, your intel is correct.
I have two M813's (one hiding fairly close to Tidewater VA in New Kent) for sale.
Also have five M35's and two M1009's that could probably use new homes.
Don

 

[BKubu]

Don, post the pics and prices for the M813s. They are going pretty high on GL right now due to ol' 8500! I don't want to quote prices, but the numbers I heard were very reasonable. Your asking prices sounded near what many are bringing on GL...except you got them home and took the risks!

 

[jeepin]

Kevin, GL guy at Ft. Drum, told me the two 813's he just sold went to Clark Truck in WV, for over $5 grand each.

BK, at the time the 818 was bought (from GL), 813s were running thousands more $ than the 818s. Plus, whoever was winning the 813s was winning a lot of them (deep pockets). The infamous #8500 bidder. This same thing happened auction after auction. So, after seeing pictures of 818s with deuce beds, like Country's pic above, the decision was to get a good running 818 and put a bed on it.

 

[Lorax]

Buying an 813 from the start is certainly the way to go, instead of building one yourself. But where's the fun in that?

 

[HeadWizard]

Don, post the pics and prices for the M813s. They are going pretty high on GL right now due to ol' 8500! I don't want to quote prices, but the numbers I heard were very reasonable. Your asking prices sounded near what many are bringing on GL...except you got them home and took the risks!

Am in Richmond for a funeral for a couple of days. Will get some stuff posted early next week.