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Deuce driving tips

rustystud

Well-known member
9,254
2,941
113
Location
Woodinville, Washington
I have "fixed" them several times. Taken them off the truck, disassemble, replace o-rings, reset the 'park' button, etc. Test them on a shop compressor, works great, put them on the truck, works great. Use the truck a month later, everything is crap. They wipe to the right once, and then nothing. Sometimes they hiss, and every once in a while 1 will pop and then start wiping. Both never work. The park button seems to be my issue and is like a silly feature.

I like the rain-x idea.

Find some old style wiper motors. Easily rebuilt and work very well. I also don't like the Newer style with the red button. They don't seem to have the same power as the older ones which translates into poor performance at slow speeds. You also need to clean up the air switch. They get clogged with junk from the air system. I have also gone with DOT hose instead of that rubber stuff. I'm able to use compression fittings so I get no leakage from my air lines.
 

daytonatrbo

Member
320
3
18
Location
Tricities, TN
Ideally, if drivers merge with the gas pedal, start looking for that open merge spot early and know that the MV or transport is slowing a little to let them in, it'd make it easier on all of us. Get on the gas, get on the highway and get out of the way.

I now think I got out of that last ticket because I went on and on and on and on
The traffic on the highway has the right of way. They should not be slowing down to accommodate drivers that don't know how to merge.

Driving in the Charlotte, NC metro area will show you what happens when you have overly "polite" drivers in a congested area.

Every time you come up on an on-ramp, the whole highway slows down by 20+ mph with absolutely no need. There there are a number of accidents at each exit, caused only by the poor traffic pattern. Then you have people rubbernecking the accidents, causing more accidents...


Long story short, don't ever drive in Charlotte unless you have to.
 

The King Machine

Active member
396
92
28
Location
Vancouver, British Columbia
I have "fixed" them several times. Taken them off the truck, disassemble, replace o-rings, reset the 'park' button, etc. Test them on a shop compressor, works great, put them on the truck, works great. Use the truck a month later, everything is crap. They wipe to the right once, and then nothing. Sometimes they hiss, and every once in a while 1 will pop and then start wiping. Both never work. The park button seems to be my issue and is like a silly feature.

I like the rain-x idea.

"Find some old style wiper motors. Easily rebuilt and work very well. I also don't like the Newer style with the red button. They don't seem to have the same power as the older ones which translates into poor performance at slow speeds. You also need to clean up the air switch. They get clogged with junk from the air system. I have also gone with DOT hose instead of that rubber stuff. I'm able to use compression fittings so I get no leakage from my air lines. "


^
this


Check the valve on the dash that control the wipers, mine was not opening all the way. It was clogged with debris, some paint, bits of rust. I replaced it and the wipers work pretty good now.
 

camnite

New member
67
0
0
Location
Mobile, AL
as semi trucks go, I've had both front and rear airbags let go. can't tell you how many times a pre-trip saved me from losing a tire a mile or two down the road. check your hubs every chance you can. people tend to forget how hard it was to drive a vehicle when these things were built, and pay less attention to their surroundings, so you have to make up for their lack of situational awareness. a good rule of thumb is plan out what i'm going to do for the next half mile, because the pavement right in front of you has already happened.
 

71DeuceAK

Well-known member
1,513
416
83
Location
Fairbanks, Alaska
A few I recently discovered, helping a friend on their trucks (I don't have my own...yet). Some aren't necessarily driving so much as they are just other advice:
-The bottom of a can of ether/starter fluid works for scraping ice off the cab windows.
-The clutch can take quite a bit of effort to depress.
-The steering is not for the weak-willed
-A propane blowtorch is handy for melting ice off the frozen-shut cab doors in the winter
-you can get more heat in the cab by sticking a piece of plywood in front of some or all of the radiator
-You can that frozen M49 tanker Deuce plumbing by stretching a tarp over the truck then running a weed burner underneath in a piece of stove pipe, aimed where desired
-And the brake lines are chintzy steel...paint them to prevent rusting and eventual blowouts at inopportune times
 

wb1895

Member
876
17
18
Location
Lexington NC
With the air wipers, I remove the air line every 6-8 months and put a few drops of air tool oil directly into the wiper motor, then work it back and forth a few times. I have not had a problem with my wipers yet.

I have used rain-X before, and it works great for the actual rain, but it did not prevent the windows from fogging. ( I guess I am just full of hot air)
 

Another Ahab

Well-known member
17,990
4,534
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
With the air wipers, I remove the air line every 6-8 months and put a few drops of air tool oil directly into the wiper motor, then work it back and forth a few times. I have not had a problem with my wipers yet.

I have used rain-X before, and it works great for the actual rain, but it did not prevent the windows from fogging. ( I guess I am just full of hot air)
Rain-X makes a product for that, I'm pretty sure.

I haven't used it , and It's not here at my fingertips, but if I find the time and run across it, I'll post it here.
 

SCSG-G4

PSVB 3003
Steel Soldiers Supporter
5,360
3,360
113
Location
Lexington, South Carolina
Rain-X makes a product for that, I'm pretty sure.

I haven't used it , and It's not here at my fingertips, but if I find the time and run across it, I'll post it here.
Anti-Fog, but if your windows have dripping water, it does not work as well. Course, it's a lot better than putting Rain-X on the inside - it will fog the windows and the only quick way of clearing them is to hose them down, continuously.
 

Another Ahab

Well-known member
17,990
4,534
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
Rain-X makes a product for that, I'm pretty sure.

I haven't used it , and It's not here at my fingertips, but if I find the time and run across it, I'll post it here.
Anti-Fog, but if your windows have dripping water, it does not work as well. Course, it's a lot better than putting Rain-X on the inside - it will fog the windows and the only quick way of clearing them is to hose them down, continuously.
Thanks, SCSG-G4, that's the stuff:


fog.jpg
 
718
9
18
Location
Springfield Or
I keep a small squeegee inside. I wonder if one could mount a wiper arm and blade on the inside too. I seem to get just as much rain on the inside as the outside at freeway speeds
 

ageregunner

Active member
705
88
28
Location
Breinigsville, PA
I can't believe it took me so long to find and read this great thread. It is the best one I have ever read on driving the deuce safely. Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.
 

fasttruck

Well-known member
1,265
633
113
Location
Mesa, AZ
Don't make a move without reading and understanding the pubs. Numbers are listed on a plate on the right side of the dashboard. 10, -20 and applicible lubrication order are required reading. The grease gun is your friend. Make sure you get all those hard to get fittings that haver been neglected for the last 20 years. The average duece has at least 32 grease points and there are four on the handbrake alone. Army trucks have many features not found on POVs. Got to stay with the program.
 

kml9705

Member
78
0
6
Location
Andover, NJ
Great thread. Here is something I just learned in a CEVO course for Fire Engines. When stopping behind another vehicle at a stop light, stop sign, etc. Make sure you can see the back tires of the vehicle in front of you and a little bit of roadway. This keeps you from getting too close to the vehicle in front of you and hitting them. Easier than putting some sort of pole off the corners of the front bumper to know where it is as suggested in earlier posts.
 

cattlerepairman

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
3,248
3,325
113
Location
NORTH (Canada)
Easier than putting some sort of pole off the corners of the front bumper to know where it is as suggested in earlier posts.
I put the corner poles on to have a clear visual of the corners of my w/w truck. The issue is not distance to the font; it is distance to the bumper corners, especially when maneuvering in tight spaces. The bumper is so far forward that it will hook into, rather than just bump, stuff that you touch while backing up. The poles allow me to see, rather than "gut feel" where the bumper corners are.

The military usually has soldier B jump out and provide guidance; I am often alone and do not have the luxury.
 
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