CUCV...good idea for college student?

[aebiv]

I just thought of a few other things.

-Do all these trucks have hard miles on them, or not necissarily?
-Are these trucks something you can truely trust as a reliable daily driver? I mean I will be getting rid of my '98 ranger for something 12 years older...I need to know I can trust it.
-Can a heater be added from the same era suburban or something?
-Would I be able to put a CD player (under the dash) and speakers in? OR will the electrical system desigm not allow it?

From what I've heard, some of these were only to drive the Major around, and some of them were beat to death. I would say most of them have mostly idle time on them though, so if you have 50k miles, it might have double or better the hours any other car would at 50k miles.

I trust mine as a daily driver. Third day I had it, I made a trip in the middle of winter 1500 miles. I would say most of them are more reliable than your 12 year old ranger, but some of them will not be, and some just need a bit of TLC to be that reliable. I can't speak for all of them as you well know.

One of the benefits to them, is they are simple, and parts are quite easy to find (the few parts they actually take) so if it were to die on some trip, I'd feel much more certain I would find a new U-joint, or harmonic balancer, etc for it, than I would a newer car.

Why would you want a different heater? The one in my M1009 will fry thanksgiving dinner!

Yes. You will have some wiring and hole drilling etc to do to put speakers in, but it is relatively painless. No more difficult than on any other truck of this age.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

I got mine in 2007, they first day of my senior year of highschool and have used it for a daily driver for a good deal of that time. It's under gone a big transformation from stock and is still nowhere close to being done. It's awesome though, best thing I ever bought and gets the best milage of any of my three trucks. The 6.2 was a good motor, but I love my 6BT! I wheel it, use it to tow, pull a bunch of people out, and otherwise just drive and work on it. Defintely a good investment.

 

[Jblankster]

I just thought of a few other things.

-Do all these trucks have hard miles on them, or not necissarily?
-Are these trucks something you can truely trust as a reliable daily driver? I mean I will be getting rid of my '98 ranger for something 12 years older...I need to know I can trust it.
-Can a heater be added from the same era suburban or something?
-Would I be able to put a CD player (under the dash) and speakers in? OR will the electrical system desigm not allow it?

do you have the I6 or the I4? that will answer your question imo. i DD a 04 wrangler right now. and i havent had a SINGLE problem since i owned it (boght it about 4 years ago). i literally mean NOTHING. not a single CEL, no squeaks, no creeks, LITERALLY nothing. drives like new every day.

the wrangler is small, maneuverable in tight spots, parts are redily avilable, cheap parts, and is a perfect college vehicle. especially up north. 2 inch lift, and 32's you can go anywhere in the biggest snow storms.


do not get me wrong i love the CUCV. its a great truck. but for a future broke ass college kid you might be better saving your money for your already decent jeep. unless it has a I4 or is already a rusty ****box, which the older ones tend to turn into after a long time. the choice is yours.

 

[kassim503]

A CUCV is ideal for college duty, as long as you drive it more than once a week. The winters catch up to you with the batteries with no place to plug in. Tough as nails, you never have to worry about sombody's door "scratching the paint." They are usually reliable as long as you keep up with preventative maintainence. and of course chicks totally dig 'em

 

[Sgt Hulka]

Go for an M1009. Faster, better gas mileage, WAY more maneuverable, better make-out rig...

 

[Midnight Rider]

I just thought of a few other things.

-Do all these trucks have hard miles on them, or not necissarily?
-Are these trucks something you can truely trust as a reliable daily driver? I mean I will be getting rid of my '98 ranger for something 12 years older...I need to know I can trust it.
-Can a heater be added from the same era suburban or something?
-Would I be able to put a CD player (under the dash) and speakers in? OR will the electrical system desigm not allow it?

-Mileage can vary. I would be more concerned with the overall appearance and driveability of the vehicle than with what the odometer says.

-I use my 1009 as a daily driver. I've had it about a little over a year and (knock on wood) nothing major so far.

-They already have heat, why would you want to add another heater. They don't have AC.

-The only thing 24 volt on there is the starter. Everything else is 12volt. You can add a radio and speakers just like in any other vehicle. It will probably have the spaces for speakers in the dash already and the hole for a old style 2 knob radio is there, you'll just have to cut the opening to fit in a modern CD player.

 

[emr]

I drove a M1009 to college for a couple years. Before I went to college I had put a new starter, flywheel, injector pump, injectors, replaced all soft fuel lines, glow plugs, and some other work. It was reliable, I had a couple lift pumps go, as well as one of the rocker support rods come unbolted at one end. Lost compression in one cylinder. I took the valve cover off, bolted it back down, and it ran fine. When properly used and maintained the 6.2 is an OK motor. Not great, but it gets the job done. Be careful when adding a turbo. You see a fair amount of the kits around for sale, as the owner put the kit on, and x miles later it went boom.

just sayin, after all that its"reliable" and oh yea, like said in another post, ' they are chick magnets, If U live on a chicken farm....sorry.....gota admit thats funny....

 

[4x4Junkie]

Do the the M1009's have SFA's or are they IFS? I'm kinda leanin towards the blazer now. I want to be able to fit more people.

 

[91W350]

The have the straight front axle, it is not the Dana 60 that the pickups enjoy, but a corporate GM. It would be the same as the half ton Chevrolet pickups of the period. Glen

 

[L.Gaston]

I started college last fall and took my m1009 up to Purdue with me. It has been very reliable thus far. I dove it around 140 miles home and back about every two weeks, and it did just fine. Did fairly well in the cold, as well. Sure get lots of looks in it.
Lincoln

 

[Hoolio]

My M-1008 had 900 miles on it when purchased from GL..Now has 8200 miles..If you're not real handy, I'd say stay away from an old military truck..Like the old saying goes" With a used truck , you'll get a few used parts"..I've done about everything to it..Seems like more repairs than any other truck I've ever owned..To date: injector pump, transfer pump, rear axle seals, heater blower switch, wiper motor, alternator rebuilds , starter relay in dashboard, flexplate, starter, and the list goes on..I got rid of an '05 Silverado because of a lot more minor stuff than this..

 

[lelant]

must have been a brutal 900 miles or gauge change. Hope things settle down for you as far as repairs go.

 

[TRG87K5]

If you can swing it, I'd go with both, use the axles out of the 1008 and swing enm under the 1009, also you will be able to have just about a complete parts rig (spare doors, front glass front clip engine, trans and Tcase to boot, then you have a 1-1 1/4T 1009) I have a civi version of the 1009 ('87 k5 Blazer) it's got the 14 bolt rear, and the cucv 60 up front, and mine has 44" swampers, with a 4" lift and a whooooole lotta trimming !! and for the era it's real simple to work on. For you question of running 33's yeah they'll fit with stock suspension if you don't mind trimming the fenders just a tad.

 

[Hoolio]

I don't think it's so much being beaten to the ground, but sitting around for 23 years then doing duty as an everyday driver..I really do like the truck , but it's been a never ending "job" to keep it going..I'm really considering selling it to get something not so 24 volt anal....Now , I've got a fuel problem with the filter housing leaking..Really considering a Racor replacement..Anyone doing stainless exhaust for these?? I'll need exhaust before winter..

 

[2deuce]

The good part is they are simple to work on. My 2008 ford just out of warranty, leaking master cyl - $800. The MC itself was $550. I have a M1009, I haven't spent $300 on it in 4 years, I drive it everyday, parts are cheap, but it will require maintenance you can do yourself. If your willing to do your own, get one. If not, buy something with a warranty.