How to get it home?

[Countryboy21]

thanks that was a great eye opener. i haven't read anything on the batteries on the truck. it 24V but will any 2 batteries work to try to start it?

 

[gimpyrobb]

I would try to stick with 750cca or higher each.

 

[Ruppster]

thanks that was a great eye opener. i haven't read anything on the batteries on the truck. it 24V but will any 2 batteries work to try to start it?

Yes, two 12 volt batteries. That's what the truck has already. The higher the CCA the better as this will give you more cranking time if you need to prime the lines with fuel. Might be able to score a couple of the correct type if you hit the swap meet at the rally this weekend. A couple of 5 gallon fuel cans full of diesel to add to the fuel tank of the M35 would also be a good idea.


Ruppster

 

[eldgenb]

group 31 top post batteries are ideal. cost about $90 each fit perfect high CCA

 

[paulfarber]

"A 13,000lbs truck with single circuit brakes is not the same as a 4000lbs car"

They are not different. You either stop or you hit something. Whats the big difference?

QUOTE]

The difference is being prepared for the "what if". There are ways to stop an un-braked vehicle without hitting something. Losing brakes in a 4000lbs car does not have the momentum of a 13,000lbs truck. You can stop or slow a car with the hand brake or the parking brake with your foot if you are prepared to hold the hand release while using your foot on the brake. In deuce that brake is not going to do anything at 40 mph with that kind of wight behind it.

If the OP (or anyone else) is not ready for that situation then its better for them to have it towed till they get a little seat time at home in a controled enviroment rather than out on the hiway.

So NOW its NOT the brakes, but the driver and if he's 'got his head in the game'?

A small 4,000lb car at 55-60 (not uncommon on even back roads) has MORE potential energy than a 10,000lb truck at 35.. so your maths are not adding up. You don't destroy things with size, but the whole F=MA thing. A blimp ain't doing much damage no matter how hard you run into stuff with it.

About the only thing I will concede is turn radius. Sharp right turns can bite you (trailer or not).

Unless you are going to do a bolt by bolt strip down and rebuild your truck is going to be the same ball of fiery death as it was on the GL lot. Just now you are out $500-1000 towing. Nothing in the PMs will prevent a brake failure (brake lines rot from the inside.. even with silicon fluid).

 

[KsM715]

So NOW its NOT the brakes, but the driver and if he's 'got his head in the game'?

Yes, you finally figured it out. Guys ask newbies if they've ever driven a truck this size (the reason you and I are discussing this in the first place) to see if they are prepared for what might happen.


Despite what you might think, Im still going to say that driving a truck this size with no power steering and marginal brakes in traffic (in the city with tight right hand turns) could become an issue to someone that has never drive one before and I think most here would agree that its just not a good idea for soomeone new to the hobby to just hop in and go.

 

[porkysplace]

Unfortunately some people perfer to save a few dollars and have a total disregard for safety or what there negligentece can do in making the whole MV community look bad .

 

[Unforgiven]

On a side note, I've seen a bunch of "the brakes are dangerous" replies to this guy.



Eastern Surplus is now selling M35A3 dual-circuit master cylinders.

I haven't checked yet, but I suspect it's a direct bolt on replacement for the A2 single-circuit master cylinder.

 

[porkysplace]

On a side note, I've seen a bunch of "the brakes are dangerous" replies to this guy.



Eastern Surplus is now selling M35A3 dual-circuit master cylinders.

I haven't checked yet, but I suspect it's a direct bolt on replacement for the A2 single-circuit master cylinder.

do they have a built in proportioning valve ? if not that would also needed .

 

[KsM715]

I wouldnt say the brakes are dangerous, just important. When properly maintained and not over worked they do their job and do it well, you just have to be prepared for when they give up the ghost.

 

[rlwm211]

It is not as easy as bolting in a new master cylinder to make
your truck a dual circuit braking sytem.​

You have to install a second airpack to utilize a dual circuit master cylinder.
Airpacks are single circuit and if I am not mistaken the M35A3 is no exception to this rule.​

Brakes are important and since we as owners do not have the deep pockets of
Uncle Sam to pay for accidents and such we need to be vigilent as far as
making sure they are absolutely up to snuff.​

Realistically, someone's confidence should never be substituted for wisdom and caution when recovering a deuce, or any other MV for that matter. As was pointed out, momentum, and a lack of driver assistance devices along with a marginal emergency brake operation at speed make a deuce a rolling battering ram if the brakes fail.​

I do not know about any of the rest of you but I do not want the memory of running over a civilian car and maiming or killing the occupants to be seared into my mind for the rest of my life because I was over confident. To me, to not be certain of safety equipment is the worst thing you can do in operating a deuce or any MV.​

There are some who regale us with tales of daring do in their recovery stories and that makes for good reading. Some of those who tell their tales are many years experienced deuice and other mv owners and they do check everything and make absolutely certain that the trucks are fit to be on the road.​

Others talk about how they simply went to the pickup point, put some batteries in, bled the brakes and off they went, and made it home hundreds of miles without a problem. Whether or not these folks are as experienced is unknown and how much real preparation time did they spend, making sure things were good to go is not mentioned and it all seems like it was a novel way to spend an afternoon, or a couple of days picking up a truck. No offense, but that is not the least bit professional and in this litigious society we find outselves in today they risk everything they own everytime they engage in activities such as this. ​

Worse yet are those who pick up their trucks, and drive them home without title or insurance. That is a personal trainwreck waiting to happen and as was mentioned previously, makes us all look bad as MV owners if anything bad happens.​

My last point is that many of us are priviledged to be able to register our trucks as Historic and save a ton of money in doing so. If any of the states that allow this get any notion that these trucks are unsafely maintained or are a hazard to the rest of the motoring public that cheap way to insure and operate a MV will disappear very quickly.

In summary, we have a responsibility to our fellow owners to be sure we operate our trucks in as safe a manner as possible and
nothing less will do in that respect.​

Just my ten cents worth
RL ​

 

[oddshot]

I wouldnt say the brakes are dangerous, just important. When properly maintained and not over worked they do their job and do it well, you just have to be prepared for when they give up the ghost.

+1

As I re-read this thread ... I don't see that anybody said the brakes on the Deuce were DANGEROUS.

BUT ...

I DID read a lot of folks saying that picking up a Deuce from GL ... and just driving it home without checking them brakes COULD BE!!!

And I am NOT safety prude ... but just picking up this truck ... without checking it out OR having adequate experience to deal with things that MIGHT go wrong

... is probably a bad idea.


oddshot

 

[pmramsey]

it is not as easy as bolting in a new master cylinder to make

your truck a dual circuit braking sytem.​

you have to install a second airpack to utilize a dual circuit master cylinder.
airpacks are single circuit and if i am not mistaken the m35a3 is no exception to this rule.​

brakes are important and since we as owners do not have the deep pockets of
uncle sam to pay for accidents and such we need to be vigilent as far as
making sure they are absolutely up to snuff.​

realistically, someone's confidence should never be substituted for wisdom and caution when recovering a deuce, or any other mv for that matter. As was pointed out, momentum, and a lack of driver assistance devices along with a marginal emergency brake operation at speed make a deuce a rolling battering ram if the brakes fail.​

i do not know about any of the rest of you but i do not want the memory of running over a civilian car and maiming or killing the occupants to be seared into my mind for the rest of my life because i was over confident. To me, to not be certain of safety equipment is the worst thing you can do in operating a deuce or any mv.​

there are some who regale us with tales of daring do in their recovery stories and that makes for good reading. Some of those who tell their tales are many years experienced deuice and other mv owners and they do check everything and make absolutely certain that the trucks are fit to be on the road.​

others talk about how they simply went to the pickup point, put some batteries in, bled the brakes and off they went, and made it home hundreds of miles without a problem. Whether or not these folks are as experienced is unknown and how much real preparation time did they spend, making sure things were good to go is not mentioned and it all seems like it was a novel way to spend an afternoon, or a couple of days picking up a truck. No offense, but that is not the least bit professional and in this litigious society we find outselves in today they risk everything they own everytime they engage in activities such as this. ​

worse yet are those who pick up their trucks, and drive them home without title or insurance. That is a personal trainwreck waiting to happen and as was mentioned previously, makes us all look bad as mv owners if anything bad happens.​

my last point is that many of us are priviledged to be able to register our trucks as historic and save a ton of money in doing so. If any of the states that allow this get any notion that these trucks are unsafely maintained or are a hazard to the rest of the motoring public that cheap way to insure and operate a mv will disappear very quickly.​

in summary, we have a responsibility to our fellow owners to be sure we operate our trucks in as safe a manner as possible and
nothing less will do in that respect.​

just my ten cents worth

rl ​

thank you thank you thank you

 

[stud_man50]

I wish I had seen this earlier because I work on that base and have sat in the drivers seat looking around. It sat across from my work building for atleast the 2yrs i've been there and then they towed it to DRMO. Sorry just saw the dates on the last post.

 

[76Z5M]

Check it out, and then decide what to do

I'm assuming that the vehicle will need an EUC. That takes a while to get issued, so you probably have two or three weeks to decide what to do. Have you ever driven a deuce before? If not, then you probably will want to focus on figuring out how to have it towed home. On the other hand, if you feel comfortable driving a 40+ year old truck, without power steering and a manual transmission, you need to gather more information. Your first move would be to travel to the GL site and look the vehicle over. Make sure that it has all of the major components. It is not unheard of to find that a vehicle has been sold which is missing the engine, transmission, tires, driveshafts, or other major components. If everything seems to be there, maybe 1/3 of the battle is over. Make sure that you contact GL before you drive to the storage site. Some locations are not manned full time, and virtually all of them require that you make an appointment to visit. You may be able to get some of your questions answered over the phone, if you are lucky. Don't push it though. You don't want to antagonize the guy who will make the decision as to whether or not you can come and look at your new truck. I have run into some really pleasant and helpful people at the GL locations, but they are usually pretty busy and they only have a limited amount of time available to talk with you on the phone.

I'd plan on bringing along a couple of good batteries. The deuce is a 24 volt electrical system, so you need two. You may get lucky and the GL person may allow you to try starting the truck. If he does, you have probably caught him when he is in a generous mood. Don't blow it by asking him to wait while you drive around to find the best price on a pair of batteries. You do not need 6TL batteries for the deuce. It will start and run fine with regular top post car batteries. You will need to be able to connect the batteries in series in order to produce 24 volts. Make sure that you have the cable that you will need to do this.

Check the oil and coolant level. Open the little cover plate on the floor in front of the drivers seat and unscrew the plug in the top of the brake master cylinder to check the fluid level. Use ONLY silicone brake fluid to top it off, if necessary. The deuce has an air over hydraulic brake system. Check under the truck to make sure that the air tank drains are closed. Push the clutch in, flip the master on, and press the starter. It will either start in the first few seconds of cranking, or there is probably something wrong with the truck. You may get lucky and find that it's only a matter of the fuel pump fuse being blown, or it may be something much more involved.

I have intentionally been a little vague in this reply. I want you to make sure that you obtain copies of the proper technical manuals before you even attempt any of this. The truck weighs 20,000 pounds, and the highways in the state of Florida are not the place to be learning how to operate it. I'm always happy to hear that a new-comer has decided to get involved with military vehicles, but I'm also concerned that every operator understands what he or she is getting into, and the obligation that comes with owning a large, heavy, moving piece of history.

Best of luck.