Decisions! What to do with M275A2

[CGarbee]

I still haven't given up on finding an M36 bed and mounting in on a chassis like the M447, M750 and M313 trailers have.

There is a M36 near me that is just sitting in a field... Guy that purchased it has plans for the axles, but not for the rest of the truck. I've pulled a bunch of parts (mostly engine related) off of it, but the bed is just sitting there...

Want me to call him and have him paint your name on it... ?


Or would you rather just purchase my M35A2C so that I can go get a M813??

 

[citizensoldier]

Kenny.. I was going to use the 5th wheel as a pivot point with a king pin on the bottom of the cargo bed. Some pin or bolt on extentions the same height as the fith wheel just in front of the plate. Some U shaped rails on the cargo bed along with fork slots so you pick it up from the end and slide it on. Then some heavy drop down shackles with 1 inch pins like on the front truck shackle mounts.. Wish I had a scanner I could send you my drawing. Hard to explain with words..
It would sit a little bit high but would be ok with the right boarding ladder.. Does this make sense to you at all?

 

[mangus580]

Lane, try taking a digital picture of your drawing.... sometimes that works

 

[Recovry4x4]

Lane, I have much considered something just like that. I would raise the floor of the bed before I put the bed higher than it whould be. I'm seriously considering just swapping back and forth between the bed and 5th wheel. As far as trading trucks, I just can't. This is a most faithful truck and screams besides, I have a semi trailer. I would love to add a cargo truck to the mix but my hobby puts some strain on the wife and I'd rather not add more. Hey Cabell, any idea what that fellow would want for that bed? I'd love to have it for my little semi trailer project.

 

[TacticalTruck]

Kenny
Was there ever a trailer like that? If you ever go to Ft Eustis there's a bunch of Vietnam truck scale models and dioramas which were scratch built by a Vet. One of the dioramas has a trailer like you describe but I think it was on a dolly converter.
Jeff

 

[Recovry4x4]

I don't believe there was Jeff. That's not to say some enterprising GI's didn't whip one out themselves. Both the van body and M36 bed ar 17' so it should be very simple and quite useful. I need to go to Ft Eustis as it's only a half hour from my sisters house. The next time I visit, I'll go there.

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

Kenny:
Would you believe that the FMTV 5 ton tractor with armored cab installed is so front heavy that they had to ban them from traveling anywhere over 5MPH without a trailer because of a number of trucks that flipped up on their noses? What we did for them in the welding shop in SWA was to design a big steel box that was weighted down to balance the truck. It slid right into the fifth wheel and brackets tied into the rear shackles to stabilize it. You could design something like that with sides and use jacks to keep it at hitching level and remove the jacks when you got hoolked up. Want the tractor, attach jacks release fifth wheel and walla one tractor. Sorry I do not have any of the pictures I took of the rig over here in Korea.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Thought about something like that. I really want it to appear like a deuce. I'm pondering my options.

 

[cranetruck]

...... Nothing will be happening anytime soon anyway. Just a walk to the mailbox can make you burst into flames.

I lived in Florida, North Miami, Ft Myers, Melborne for a total of ten years and never had a problem with the heat in the Summer except when being in the open sun. The air temp was never bad. The house in North Miami was shaded by big trees, oak and avocado and I didn't even bother turning on the air, just left the doors open mostly.
Shade is the key word here and let the wind keep you cool. It gets hotter further North, except for the sun exposure. The theory behind my bikini top deuce cab.

Of course the tall pine trees don't give you much shade....

We used to call it "our" not air conditioning.

 

[rizzo]

there is a tractor around here that has a dump box mounted on the 5th wheel. it has legs that come down to the frame on the four corners to keep it from twisting or tilting. looks like it comes off real easy

 

[Ferroequinologist]

What if you got one of those short container chassies that sell some times and put a bed on it? make a little semi trailer, about 20ft long or so with one set of axles? I know you are looking for a cargo truck but with that short a trailer you could get into alot more places- and when you need to haul stuff, no unbolting, craning, lining up anything for an afternoon- just hitch and go.

Just my

 

[Rattlehead]

there is a tractor around here that has a dump box mounted on the 5th wheel. it has legs that come down to the frame on the four corners to keep it from twisting or tilting. looks like it comes off real easy

I wonder how that dump box operates? That would be really cool!

I was thinking that an M105 box would be a close fit for this application as far as length, and am looking to do something similar without modifying the tractor. Dumpability would be an added bonus. I have some camper jacks from a pickup camper that I scrapped some years back, so it is doable.

I also found some commercial apparatus online that is made for tractors to turn them into wreckers, what a cool thing to have if not for their price tag. Imagine, you could have a tractor, wrecker, cargo/dump truck all in one, and only have to maintain/tag/insure one vehicle. Yes you could get a trailer for each of these functions, but with attachments you could still have the maneuverability of a straight truck.