Deuce goes from Illinois to Rainforest of Panama

[Promise]

In March we decided to take our M35A2 to Panama. We drove from Chicago area to Miami, Florida and then put it on a boat. I picked it up in Colon, Panama and drove it to the interior to the rainforest of Panama where we own a farm. Here's the pics. One shows the truck in Miami outside the hotel. One is in the jungle of Panama, and the other is by the Panamerican Highway. We had no trouble driving it. We got up and down some very steep muddy roads. See the picture of the road and a nice view of the area.

 

[dm22630]

Cool!

 

[chvss65]

more story!!!!!!!!!!!!
way cool

 

[70deuce]

Now that's a road trip!!

 

[roscoe]

Need more photos and story. Sounds like a fun trip.

 

[sirmrtow]

more more

 

[papabear]

OOOOOHH.... Panama!! Always wanted to go back there. It's beautiful.
Went through the Jungle Warfare School at FT Sherman(?) I think it was.

Bet the shipping of the deuce to Panama cost more than the deuce did!

 

[jesusgatos]

Did you leave it there?

 

[Promise]

Our adventure began in Ohio where we picked up the Deuce with a gooseneck trailer and an F350 truck to pull it. We forgot to check the air on the trailer tires and when it was loaded the tires sunk so low we thought they would burst. We put more air and prayed the rest of the trip back to Illinois. When we left Illinois it was freezing rain and I could barely see out the window. I was only 15 minutes from home and I had to stop and knock the ice off. Then the wiper broke but luckily I had a spare. A huge snow storm was following us but we managed to stay ahead of it. People were staring at the truck and some saluted and some took pictures.
When we got to Georgia is was raining so hard we had to stop because we couldn't see.
It was a little embarrassing getting started in the morning and having to start the thing up right in a hotel parking lot. The poor people sleeping there probably wondered what that noise was at 4 AM. Thinking back, we should have parked in a lot farther away. Oh well.
When we got to Miami we were told the truck couldn't carry anything and I had 11 spare tires in the back. I had to unload the tires and send them separately. It cost 2000 to send the truck on the boat and another 300 to send the tires. The taxes in Panama were about 1200, so it was almost as much as we paid for the Deuce! It is there to stay though.
As soon as I got there, people were asking me if it was for sale. No way, it is much needed in the remote area where our farm is. It has to cross streams and climb steep muddy hills. We hope to use the truck for our own farm and also to help the people that live remotely, get their produce to market. When we bought this Deuce, we got so nervous about all the EUC stuff that we bought another before the paper work was done just in case something went wrong with the first one. Now we are proud owners of two. The second one is scheduled to go to Panama before the year is out. I'm sending some more pictures. I saw a blue M35A2 in Panama and took a picture. These others are the farm, and one that we took in Georgia where we stopped because of the torrential downpour.

 

[poof]

Sweet.

do tell more.
J.P

 

[Pawnshop]

I bet that thing would bring a pretty penny down there, a capable off road vehicle that can haul a load would be in steep demand I expect.

That sure is a beautiful place...

 

[jesusgatos]

Isn't exporting one of these vehicles specifically prohibited by our government though?

 

[Pawnshop]

I think personal use is not considered export (I think), and isn't Panama a US territory?

 

[Desert Deuce]

I believe the blue one you saw in Panama is a Duece Tipper (Dump Truck). Very interesting story. Did you have to get approval from the State Dept. to export it out of the country?

More pics please!!

 

[54reo]

Don't tell Kenny about the tipper, he may try to bring that one home too!

 

[chvss65]

Canal zone used to be US, but I thought we gave it back couple of years ago ??

am
anyway more story

 

[Promise]

The whole export thing was what had us worried. We found out we had to get an export license from the Department of Commerce and it takes over 2 months! But we did put on the EUC our intentions of exporting and then got the license for both Deuces and a generator. It is a lot of paperwork. The Canal Zone in Panama used to be a US territory but it was given back in 2000. Now Panama is fully an independent country. We can't sell the Deuces to anyone that is not a US citizen. We are the end users and we plan to keep it that way. We love our Deuces.

 

[jesusgatos]

I'm glad to hear you were able to get permission to take them out of the country. I'm building an M109 motorhome conversion right now, and I'd like to take it south (further than Mexico) sometime.

 

[hughscpa]

Great story, what do you farm in Panama? It sure looks like a beautiful country!!

 

[Promise]

We are growing coffee, tropical fruits. We also doing some reforestation. This farm is near the atlantic side i also own a sugar cane farm on the pacific side