looking for Line Hauler or HET

[Castle Bravo]

As far as I know, the 4.88s for the SUHD axles are very hard to find sets of.

 

[av8or]

I'm very fond of m916 or m920 trucks, with 1600x20 or 21 the speed is very close to 70 mph, and the m916 equipped with the Allison 4700 7sp (my favorite) is over 70. These will have lockers in both rears, depending on how wet it is these go very well with out chains and with they are monsters.

 

[wreckerman893]

Anybody that wants to use a military vehicle for a line haul truck is a masochist. Especially if your are running the roads on the east coast. I convoyed an M915 from Fort Benning, Ga to Fort Irwin, Ca and it was the most miserable week (yes it took a week) I've ever spent in a vehicle. All of them, no exception, ride like an ox cart. They are built for work, not creature comfort. None of them except the HETT have air ride suspension.
If your coming down here to pick up hay just have them load it on the hardball. If they want to sell it they will work with you.
Get a civilian truck and enjoy the ride. Just my coming from someone who was a Transportation Soldier or over-the-road driver from most of my adult life.

 

[BEEMAC]

All the thoughts are greatly appreciated. I will not be hauling hay. Well if I do haul hay its not the only thing I will be hauling. It is honeybees I will be hauling with it. To get a military tractor for a fraction of the cost of a commercial tractor seems to me the way to go. I can put in an air ride seat for me and well whoever wants to ride shotgun can suffer!

I run 5.13s in an FSuperduty I have and it sounds like it wants to grenade at 70. 60MPH is better for that truck. My 5500 does well with it's 4.88 gears in it so I would think 4.88 gearing would be fine in the tractor.

Why are 4.88 hard to find for these axles? Would this be a special order thru Randy's Ring and Pinion?

 

[hklvette]

All the thoughts are greatly appreciated. I will not be hauling hay. Well if I do haul hay its not the only thing I will be hauling. It is honeybees I will be hauling with it. To get a military tractor for a fraction of the cost of a commercial tractor seems to me the way to go. I can put in an air ride seat for me and well whoever wants to ride shotgun can suffer!

I run 5.13s in an FSuperduty I have and it sounds like it wants to grenade at 70. 60MPH is better for that truck. My 5500 does well with it's 4.88 gears in it so I would think 4.88 gearing would be fine in the tractor.

Why are 4.88 hard to find for these axles? Would this be a special order thru Randy's Ring and Pinion?

Can Randy's even make a ring gear that big?

 

[NDT]

I think after riding a few miles on the Hendrickson walking beam suspension, the bees are going to say "to he11 with this" and buzz out of the hives and you will arrive with empty boxes. All the 915/916/920 have this suspension which I do not think flexes even with a D7 Cat on board. I'm with Wreckerman, buy a $20K 500K Freightliner and ride in comfort.

 

[BEEMAC]

I have looked at FLD120s and found tons of them available with sleepers and such on them. The military trucks have way less use on them. However I do see the merit with air ride suspension as well.

D7s weighs less than a 53' step deck full of bees. Generally I have to stop loading before I have the entire trailer at max height due to overloading.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

I hauled used vegetable oil in a military tanker with a m915 for two years. Did 500 mile trips. I put about 40k miles on the tractor. I do still have it although right now she just sits with no job to do. Bobtail was bad to awful. Empty trailer was ok to bad and loaded trailer was ok. I mounted two of the ussc air ride seats in her which helped A LOT.

If you are in it everyday for hours on end I say go civi tractor. But if it is a few hours only a couple days a week, well from a monitery point they are cheap to buy and maintain is what I have found over the civi counterparts.

 

[Scott88M]

I drove line hail 2 1/2 years in the 101st. M915s will get stuck easily on wet grass, never mind mud. The ride bobtail will definitely bruise your kidneys. If offroad is more important I'd consider a m931, they are harder to get stuck and can do 60-65. Otherwise I'd look more at a m916/m920.

 

[NDT]

I posted in this thread about getting stuck in wet grass and well here we go. Today's little mess.

 

[Jeepsinker]

Probably wouldn't have had that happen if you had some Firestone T831s on there.

 

[ke5eua]

I posted in this thread about getting stuck in wet grass and well here we go. Today's little mess.

Is that air ride on the rear or helper bags?

Probably wouldn't have had that happen if you had some Firestone T831s on there.

Hold my beer I got this, lol

 

[NDT]

Is that air ride on the rear or helper bags?

Air ride? In my dreams. This girl is bone stock, Hendrickson walking beam rear suspension.

 

[ke5eua]

Air ride? In my dreams. This girl is bone stock, Hendrickson walking beam rear suspension.

Must be a filter I'm seeing in the pic.

 

[Castle Bravo]

Must be a filter I'm seeing in the pic.

You're probably looking at the air dryer (black/grey) or the brake chamber. (Green)

 

[BEEMAC]

I drove line hail 2 1/2 years in the 101st. M915s will get stuck easily on wet grass, never mind mud. The ride bobtail will definitely bruise your kidneys. If offroad is more important I'd consider a m931, they are harder to get stuck and can do 60-65. Otherwise I'd look more at a m916/m920.

So this would only be a 20,000 mile a year truck at most. 2 to 3 round trip runs on east coast for long hauls. Other than that, it would be just local putzing around. Do the M931s select in and out of 6*6 mode?

 

[11Echo]

I posted in this thread about getting stuck in wet grass and well here we go. Today's little mess.

Tires I had on my M915A1.

 

[BEEMAC]

11Echo, how do those do in slick grass?

 

[airbornebandsman]

Not to sure about the wet grass but my 915A1 got stuck on some ice in a truck stop in IL earlier this year hauling an M872A1 with an M813 and loaded M105 on the deck. Once I locked the differential she crawled out with no issues. Even had a crowd of OTR truckers watching as they were all stuck in place as well.

 

[VPed]

So this would only be a 20,000 mile a year truck at most. 2 to 3 round trip runs on east coast for long hauls. Other than that, it would be just local putzing around. Do the M931s select in and out of 6*6 mode?

Yes they do, on the fly even.