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Check out Mule Expeditions build of this truck.
ahhhhhh.. didn't realize that was the Mule truck. Thanks for video.
I spoke with Mark a couple of weeks back, he had told me they are booked out doing custom builds for the next 2 years. He said he couldn't even get his own trucks in to get worked on. Reached out to a couple of Caterpillar dealers, Sprinter upfitters, RV shops, but so far people keep saying that a custom job like this is not in their "wheelhouse"
With the proper tools, knowledge, and manuals/schematics plus help from the community they are excellent trucks. The A1 and up trucks are statistically THE MOST RELIABLE vehicles the US military has ever owned. And not by a little bit either - by HUGE amounts. Even the A0 trucks were 4x more reliable than a HMMWV (which admittedly were pretty terrible), and over 2x more reliable than the old M44A3 5 ton. Then the A1R more than doubled that advantage - more than 10 TIMES as reliable as the HMMWV:
Did they by chance have a side by side comparison with the M809, or M939 series 5-tons? Would be interested to see how their tests came back stacked in comparison. Or the old M900 series AM General line-haul tractors, like the M915a1... I cant seem to find much about those in a head to head comparison, think it would be interesting to see the results.With the proper tools, knowledge, and manuals/schematics plus help from the community they are excellent trucks. The A1 and up trucks are statistically THE MOST RELIABLE vehicles the US military has ever owned. And not by a little bit either - by HUGE amounts. Even the A0 trucks were 4x more reliable than a HMMWV (which admittedly were pretty terrible), and over 2x more reliable than the old M44A3 5 ton. Then the A1R more than doubled that advantage - more than 10 TIMES as reliable as the HMMWV:
Yes they have more electrical systems, but all the CAT engines used in these trucks have an excellent reputation as reliable workhorses in trucks, RVs, and school busses. The Allisson transmissions are for lack of a better term - bulletproof. You almost never read of problems on this forum or others.
The electrical that scares people really isn't that bad compared to any consumer vehicle made in the last 20 years. MUCH simpler in fact. And better documented - wiring that has number tags - pretty decent water tight connections - and not nearly as much "intellectual property".
Is it an M35 with a multi-fuel that Cletus can fix with a crowbar and a crescent wrench? No it's not that. And it will do things the M35 can't do - like climb a mountain at more than 20 mph, and do it with comfort and a cab you can hold a conversation in - AC if you want it, really good heat, etc.
The FMTV's are built with a LOT more off-the-shelf heavy duty truck parts than the older trucks. Meaning you can find parts easier and cheaper.
As with anything there is a learning curve - and if you want the advantages of the platform then learning a little bit about electrons and possibly some J1939 interfaces is a requirement IMO. Really the CAT engine computer and the Allison transmission computer are the easy ones. I have the specification and am working on an interface for the voltage regulator..... about the only thing I'm not real sure about would be communicating with the Medallion gauge cluster control but it's the same basic computer that's used on ski boats so I'm guessing there's something out there for it - at any rate if it goes out it won't stop the truck anyway.
Literally ALL the issues I've run into were due to aging rubber, corrosion from sitting, deferred maintenance, and PVT Snuffy. All things you will have EVEN MORE OF with an older platform.
I haven't seen data on those trucks.....
Yeah, that's the nature of these things. I regularly drive my 809 and 939 5-tons, as well as the linehaul tractors, and just find that for the miles I put on them (tens of thousands), I don't really have many issues. In Utah here, I know a few guys with LMTV's, (a0 's and a1's) and even doing PMCS, they are constantly having problems with their trucks, that they need my help fixing, where as I just do my PMCS, and my 5-tons seem to run rings around my LMTV guys, so I always just associated the LMTV with needing lots of constant repairs and maintenance. I was very surprised to see the numbers in your bar graph there. I do feel it is a bit unfair to compare the linehaul tractors, as their drive train is straight out of an over the road truck, with ultimate reliability, and I know a guy who puts about 100,000 miles a year on his M920, hauling across the country.
While we do have a few folks on staff that are mechanically sound and are fairly knowledgable regarding the LMTV. My question was more about finding a shop that we could take the rig to for regular maintenance. We also have several other vehicles that we use for the business...sprinters, various other trucks etc. These vehicles are serviced at local shops- our team doesn't preform the maintenance on them- I would I imagine many other businesses operate the same way. I appreciate your input, but just just wanted to let you what we were looking for.
Respectfully - if that's how you need to operate then the LMTV is probably not for your application. If no one will service it and you need someone to service it.....
You see my point?