Driving ?

[scrapman]

Finding a storage lot won't be difficult. Look online or the yellow pages for one that rents out for RVs and boats. Securing the truck is a matter that will require more attention than you may have thought of yet. There is no real security on these trucks. But if you ask and do searches on here you can make it virtually theft proof. Fuel and electrical shut offs, chains and locks for the steering and shift levers, are some of the ideas that abound here. Advice and pictures are given on this site to help you along. There are the purists who abhor any deviation from the OEM product. Then at the other end of the spectrum you have the cut, bend, grind, and weld crowd. Somewhere in this mix you will find answers to most of your questions and maybe a spark to ignite your own ideas.

 

[DJones]

I live in the country so parking it beside the house in a 6' privacy fenced area makes it hard to see unless your looking for it .

 

[gunboy1656]

I rent a house that belongs to a church, and I get to use their parking lot. where my truck sits you would never see it from the road if you didn't know it was there. As it sits there is only 2 houses that can see it.

 

[Katahdin]

My house is on the old family farm and it sits 400 feet from the road but it does get noticed. One guy approached my Mom about it and she lives on the other side of town! Since it's so gosh darn loud and has the whistling turbo I'm pretty self conscious about driving it past the neighbors houses, some of which are close to the road. I anticipate adding a muffler in the future. No neighbor complaints but I only drive it once a week if that.

My wife is amused with it and gets a lot of mileage bragging about it with her clients (wastewater municipalities and Maine DOT). She thinks its a good deterrence to unwanted individuals just by letting it sit in the yard.

 

[war on heating costs]

If you have the funds, space and will use a deuce, get one.
It will take a bit to get used to to drive with the manual steering on a 13,000 pound vehicle, but shifting is so simple. The deuces have a tranny much the same as a my semi. These are synchronized and you just match your engine rpm to your road speed and shift. No clutch (except at a dead stop), and with their high compression ratio (20-24:1) you can keep off the brake for the most part by utilizing your engine.
They are very simple and relatively inexpensive to fix, and parts are abundant.
My personal suggestion is research and know what you are looking for in a deuce. From the number of engines you could find in them, tire configuration, hours on vehicle, miles since rebuild... I had never put so much research into a purchase as did I for mine and it sure paid off. I am still amazed at how great my truck runs and on 85% oil no less.

 

[HummerRecovery]

What are y'alls opinion on buying a deuce from GL ? Do they have reliable products or would i be better off buying from a private owner ? Does the year matter much? ( is there a year that is better or are they all pretty similar ), Thank y'all so much.

 

[m16ty]

Bottom line is GL is a crap shoot. Unless you inspect the truck pretty good before bidding, you could end up with anything. Seeing as how you have very limited knowlege of the deuce I would steer clear of GL unless you can find a knowlegable person to check it out for you before you bid.

 

[ATC]

Park it in your driveway. Unless you live in a HOA, as long as it's registered and insured, there is nothing anyone can do about it. That goes for my county anyways...

And I will disagree with most peoples responses that a Deuce is not that expensive.
It is.
$100+ oil changes, 10 tires to replace....not just tires, but tubes as well. And they are split-rim so unless you have balls of steel, you'll want a truck shop to change them for you. Go price an Air-pack, IP, differential, brake shoes (remember, you have 3 axles...not just 2) and heck....a clutch replacement is around $300 for everything (minus flywheel resurfacing). Buy oil and gear oil by the 5-gallon bucket.

You have to decide if the fun-factor is worth the expense. IMO, I think it is for me. My truck needs a pinion seal, rear main seal, top off gear lube in axles, fuel filters, windshields, and I need to check the air filter. I bought it in Jan. '09, sold it in May '09, then bought it back in May '10. After a couple thousand miles in all that time, it's only had an oil change.

 

[clinto]

And I will disagree with most peoples responses that a Deuce is not that expensive.
It is.

I don't think so-see my comparisons below

$100+ oil changes

No argument there, except most people don't drive their deuces enough to do more than one oil change a year, whereas my $30 oil changes in my F-150 are happening 6 times a year.

10 tires to replace....not just tires, but tubes as well.

I just bought 4 new Michelin LT tires for my D250 and it cost more than 10 new NDT 9:00x20's w/tubes and flaps I bought for my dumper. Would have been even worse if I had a dually.

And they are split-rim so unless you have balls of steel, you'll want a truck shop to change them for you.

Not sure I have balls of steel, but I bought a tire cage for $20, built a clip on chuck inflation gauge and some used tire tools off craigslist. At roughly $30 a pop to have shops break down tires, it paid off really quick. The most you might have invested in tire tools is $600, if you buy one of the super nifty hydraulic bead breakers. If you have more than one split ring equipped 6x6, it will pay off pretty quick, especially for as fast as tires wire out on these.

Go price an Air-pack

Just bought a brand new short style on eBay for $152.50. Brand spanking new with the tag still on it from 2009. I am pretty sure if the power brake booster on my D250 or F150 goes it will be more than $152.50.

IP

Only thing that wears out really is the hydraulic head and those are on ebay for $150-$250

differential

The only thing I have seen that goes bad on these is pinion bearings and seals, which can both be had on the cheap on ebay.

brake shoes (remember, you have 3 axles...not just 2)

Most I have ever paid for 12 NOS shoes (complete-not just the linings) was $170 shipped. I bought another complete 12 shoe set for $140-shipped. I did brakes on my F-150 right before the Ga Rally last year and the pads from my local dealer were almost $300.

clutch replacement is around $300 for everything (minus flywheel resurfacing).

Last clutch I bought for my Road Runner was $360.

Centerforce DF269739 - Centerforce Dual Friction Clutches - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Buy oil and gear oil by the 5-gallon bucket.

No argument. Bit again, the low mileage we accrue on our trucks allows far more infrequent fluid changes.

I would also like to make some comparisons. Last instrument cluster I had rebuilt for one of my Mopars was a '69 Road Runner cluster and it was a stripper-no tach, no oil pressure gauge, no clock, etc. Just a speedo, water temp, amps and fuel level. It cost me $900. I bought ALL new gauges for my deuce for less than $400.

Last set of 440 heads I bought cost me $1500. I've bought running deuces for less than that and driven them home from GL.

Last (Mopar passenger car) Dana60 I had, I sold for over $2200.

The paint job on my Hemi Road Runner cost me over $10K and that was several years ago and I took it to them more or less ready to paint (already stripped, metalwork 90% done, etc).

So when you say it's an expensive vehicle to own, I say, in comparison to what? A schwinn? Heck, even golf carts are more expensive.

Now, it's definitely a lot more expensive than it used to be. People used to be able to buy running deuces from DRMO for $400. A lot of new people in the hobby and a lot of guys who simply don't know when to stop bidding (that goes for GL and ebay).




Not trying to be argumentative, just putting a different outlook out there.

 

[Marlboro]

If the above is the price of happyness, I will gladly paid it. I can't wait to purchase my second mv.

 

[Capt.Marion]

They are tons of fun, and well worth the $$. Primarily because nothing feels so good as walking out to the parking lot and begin greeted by a sight like this:

 

[Varyag]

I defiantly agree with the warm fuzzy you get leaving work and having a smiling deuce looking over all the cars at you.

I took my wife to lunch in mine today, took my kid to the pond on Sunday and we went for a pick nick after the parade we were in the weekend before. Those family moments are priceless. We have such a good time in ours.

You don't really understand the feeling you get from it till you are driving your own.

 

[DJones]

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

If you're anywhere near San Angelo TX, give me a hollar and I'll fix you up with a test drive.
Mine is practically the most fun vehicle I've ever driven slowly.... and VERY CAREFULLY.

At 13K lbs, you can cause lots of damage in a very short distance.

But.... If you are wise and wary, you'll do just fine

If you're a WEST TEXAN, check out the link below in my signature......

 

[Flyingvan911]

My buddy Stagg let me test drive his. A little different but still a piece of cake. I can't wait to pick mine up from GL!

 

[Unforgiven]

Don't worry about your driving skills. You can easily drive this truck with a few hours practice. It's like a 24' motorhome with a manual transmission.

But the OTHER drivers are what you should worry about. I found out they will creep right up on your bumper (where you can't see them in the mirror) on a hill at a stoplight. So even if you ride the clutch trying to not slip backwards you are always wondering what if ... as in what if I slip backwards 2 inches and touch this guy, is he going to sue me because he's an idiot.

They will cut in front of you on the freeway with ZERO room for a safety cushion. And it seems the smaller the car, the closer to your front bumper they cut in. They will cut around you IN an intersection because they don't want to be caught by the red light behind your truck. They will tailgate at highway speed where you can't see them. They will ride in the blind spots in other travel lanes, both driver's & passenger's sides. When you are trying to back into YOUR house in low gear they will become impatient because you are blocking the street (which just makes you go slower because they crowd your space making the turns more difficult).

Now I know what professional truck drivers go through. People are idiots.

You'll love the truck. You'll hate everyone not in the truck.

 

[Oilleaker1]

Find a local Texas Steel Soldiers member with a deuce and get a driving lesson from him! Beware! You might buy two of them after that!

 

[airmech3839]

parking

Not true. It will fit in 1 spot... when you've got an opening across from where you want to park so you can maneuver in to the spot. With the winch it sticks out about a foot and a half in the front, but it isn't bad at all.

Very true... although some spots are narrower than others... Have seen a few that people just avoided parking next to me... I have manuvered it through a fully loaded outlet mall and lived to tell about it... wife on the otherhand had trouble breathing...hehehehe



I drive mine everyday and love it... it is a breeze to drive especially after you have a couple of trips around the block under your belt.... I now do more thinking about where and how I am going to locations thinking of access to parking lots and intersections avoiding U-turns and enjoying the ride... you may have to go the long way to get somewhere in order to just pull in and pull out with minimal effort and aggrivation.... try also to remember the other drivers on the road and be careful..

 

[Billy Bobbed]

Driving a deuce is like driving any full sized pickup truck from the 1960's with a manual transmission, and manual steering. The deuce's steering is generally manual, but the steering wheel is huge to give you extra leverage. They are slow, lumbering beasts. It sometimes seems like it takes the entire duration of a traffic light to get across the intersection. Making a sharp right hand turn at a stop sign will take a lot of revolutions of the steering wheel, and if you let the deuce get going too fast, you will end up in the oncoming lane before you have fully made your turn. You won't be able to turn the wheel if the truck is stopped. It isn't good for the truck to even try. You will learn to like Low range 1st/Reverse gear for maneuvering.

The transmissions are truck transmissions at their very heavy best. You don't just slam them into gear, you have to move the shift lever very deliberately. To go from first to second, you press in the clutch, press the lever straight up to neutral, and pause, slide it over to the second gear slot, and apply pressure straight up, and when it wants to, it will go up into second... release the clutch... None of this diagonal shifting stuff you can get away with on passenger car transmissions. The clutch, and brake pedals, push down to the floor, not back to the firewall. You will have to train new muscles.

Like most large trucks of the era, turn signals don't automatically cancel. They do have a very bright green light that flashes in your face as they blink, so you should notice if you leave them on.

From the driver's seat, deuces feel like a full sized pickup truck. Because the cab is narrow, and you are up high looking over the fenders, they seem much smaller than they really are. And they are much shorter than most any commercial cargo truck you will find... dump truck sized.

Although they are slow, 45MPH is comfortable, highway driving is a breeze! They just go and go and go!

You MUST wear hearing protection. If you don't you will end up stone deaf. They are painfully loud inside. The toll booth operators put their hands over their ears when I pull up.... but not to worry, they get their revenge by charging you for 3 axles.

Repairs are simple. Everything weighs 2x what it does on a pickup truck. About the only part you won't be fixing generally is the injection pump. It is not that it is complicated, but rather that it requires special test equipment to set it up. The manuals are excessively detailed. They only thing they don't tell you is why things are done the way they are... that isn't something you are supposed to know, I guess.

Parts are difficult. You won't be finding them at your local NAPA, for the most part. You will learn to love/hate ODIron, Spruce Mt. Surplus, Saturn Surplus, TMJ Murray, ...

-Chuck

Very well written stumps.Poetry at its best.

 

[Mongoose1]

Don't have one yet so I can't discuss the maintenance. As far as learning to drive one, a friend let me drive his. He took me to a new neighborhood under construction that had empty streets. I drove for about 15 minutes and then took it through in-town traffic to Bass Pro. Drove through their parking lot and then did some offroading on a hill behind Bass Pro. It was much easier than I expected and I've never driven anything larger than a GMC 1500.