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M35a2 Boyce Equipment

J

J-Rod

New member
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British Columbia
New to group... thanks for the add.
Considering purchasing a bobbed duce from boyce equipment. Intend to use the duce as my daily driver to work and back wich is 15km return trip. Main intent of duce is driving logging roads and pulling 31 foot travel trailer on the logging roads. Live in British Columbia Canada.

My long term plan is to do a 4 link air ride rear suspension and a 12 valve cummings swap down the road. Would get air ride seats installed by boyce for both passenger and driver, and air assist power steering.

Never driven or riden in a duce and never seen on in person.

Questions:
Anyone own a boyce bobbed duce? On utube seems that the owners sell their duces within the 1st year to 2nd year?
Why? Do they not hold up? Are they that bad to drive?

How is the acceleration? Heard its poor, thus why onsidering a musings swap in 3 to 5 years after purchase.

Is a bobbed duce that difficult to drive? Uncomfortable? Considering I would get power steering and air ride seats.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I have looked at the treads on the duce. Mainly looking for review/feedback from anyone thT owns a boyce equipment duce as the one I looking to build is around 40k.

Thank you.
 
Mullaney

Mullaney

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J-Rod said:
New to group... thanks for the add.
Considering purchasing a bobbed duce from boyce equipment. Intend to use the duce as my daily driver to work and back wich is 15km return trip. Main intent of duce is driving logging roads and pulling 31 foot travel trailer on the logging roads. Live in British Columbia Canada.

My long term plan is to do a 4 link air ride rear suspension and a 12 valve cummings swap down the road. Would get air ride seats installed by boyce for both passenger and driver, and air assist power steering.

Never driven or riden in a duce and never seen on in person.

Questions:
Anyone own a boyce bobbed duce? On utube seems that the owners sell their duces within the 1st year to 2nd year?
Why? Do they not hold up? Are they that bad to drive?

How is the acceleration? Heard its poor, thus why onsidering a musings swap in 3 to 5 years after purchase.

Is a bobbed duce that difficult to drive? Uncomfortable? Considering I would get power steering and air ride seats.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I have looked at the treads on the duce. Mainly looking for review/feedback from anyone thT owns a boyce equipment duce as the one I looking to build is around 40k.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
.
I can't speak about Boyce Equipment. Not good or bad - I just have had no experience to talk about.

The hard part about these trucks is that they aren't race cars. You can pull your house off the foundation, but going fast just isn't what they do. I imagine some folks are just in continuous build mode. Build one, sell it, build another. Others decide that the creature comforts like air conditioning are more important than having a truck that needs regular maintenance...

There is one on the board that is just absolutely gorgeous (everybody has an opinion - that is mine). Give it a look. This guy did the work and you might get good information from him. He might be able to say it was easy - or painful. His experience might be useful to you.

My Little Black Truck (Deuce ****)

Real fine work.
www.steelsoldiers.com

WELCOME to the group! Definitely ask questions. If you find something and want to ask specific questions from somebody - Use the Private Messaging feature. That is a good way to pass phone numbers that don't end up in the search engines...
 
Last edited:
frank8003

frank8003

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J-Rod said:
New to group... thanks for the add.
Considering purchasing a bobbed duce from boyce equipment. Intend to use the duce as my daily driver to work and back wich is 15km return trip. Main intent of duce is driving logging roads and pulling 31 foot travel trailer on the logging roads. Live in British Columbia Canada.

My long term plan is to do a 4 link air ride rear suspension and a 12 valve cummings swap down the road. Would get air ride seats installed by boyce for both passenger and driver, and air assist power steering.

Never driven or riden in a duce and never seen on in person.

Questions:
Anyone own a boyce bobbed duce? On utube seems that the owners sell their duces within the 1st year to 2nd year?
Why? Do they not hold up? Are they that bad to drive?

How is the acceleration? Heard its poor, thus why onsidering a musings swap in 3 to 5 years after purchase.

Is a bobbed duce that difficult to drive? Uncomfortable? Considering I would get power steering and air ride seats.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I have looked at the treads on the duce. Mainly looking for review/feedback from anyone thT owns a boyce equipment duce as the one I looking to build is around 40k.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
First you gottah spell it right
 
T

topo

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farmington NM
I bought a 1967 M52A2 from Boyce Equipment more then 14 years ago sight unseen and they shipped it to me . I was a running truck not a rebuild they did what was needed to get it running and working as it should and it did I was and still very happy with it . When I got it I still went through the brakes and wheel bearings even though I was told they put in all new wheel cylinders and they did .
 
ldmack3

ldmack3

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Personal opinion. Don't buy a deuce for what you will be doing. My 2015 Tundra towing limit is 9,400 lbs and it accelerates great, decent mileage, etc. A deuce will do the pulling but a lot more maintenance, old technology, parts issues... Buy one for the fun. Not saying to buy a Tundra, just a newer vehicle.
Feel free to agree to disagree.
 
M35fan

M35fan

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Welcome to Steel Soldiers! I can't speak for or against Boyce Equipment. I can say based on my limited experience that owning a Deuce is a labor of love. They are great fun, and very useful, but as others have said they require a lot of maintenance. I would advise you to drive one before you make a purchase. They are big and strong and they look really cool but they are also loud and even with power steering they have a LARGE turning radius. I happen to love my Deuce, but they aren't for everyone. Good luck to you and again, welcome.
 
davidb56

davidb56

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there are better vehicles available for pulling a 31 foot trailer on Logging roads. I drive my old subaru on logging roads. A Deuce turns terrible and backing a trailer would be a PITA. They shine for logging off road, plowing snow, or using it as a camper with a box in the back. BTW Boyce has been excellent to me.
 
cattlerepairman

cattlerepairman

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@J-Rod as others have said, you need to drive a Deuce before you go any further.
I like mine, but there is a big difference between driving one because you feel like it and driving one because you have to (because it is your tow vehicle). I get seat time in modern Internationals and Kenworths and it is always a culture shock to get back into the Deuce and its raw, down to earth, no-frills environment. But would I want to work it for 13 hours a day, every day? Absolutely not.
 
J

J-Rod

New member
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Location
British Columbia
cattlerepairman said:
@J-Rod as others have said, you need to drive a Deuce before you go any further.
I like mine, but there is a big difference between driving one because you feel like it and driving one because you have to (because it is your tow vehicle). I get seat time in modern Internationals and Kenworths and it is always a culture shock to get back into the Deuce and its raw, down to earth, no-frills environment. But would I want to work it for 13 hours a day, every day? Absolutely not.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your knowledge. Great advice... there is a 6x6 in my area for sale. I'll see if I cant test drive that first. Appreciate everyone's feedback on SS. Very helpful. Respect!
 
R

Robin Strong

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Idaho county
J-Rod said:
New to group... thanks for the add.
Considering purchasing a bobbed duce from boyce equipment. Intend to use the duce as my daily driver to work and back wich is 15km return trip. Main intent of duce is driving logging roads and pulling 31 foot travel trailer on the logging roads. Live in British Columbia Canada.

My long term plan is to do a 4 link air ride rear suspension and a 12 valve cummings swap down the road. Would get air ride seats installed by boyce for both passenger and driver, and air assist power steering.

Never driven or riden in a duce and never seen on in person.

Questions:
Anyone own a boyce bobbed duce? On utube seems that the owners sell their duces within the 1st year to 2nd year?
Why? Do they not hold up? Are they that bad to drive?

How is the acceleration? Heard its poor, thus why onsidering a musings swap in 3 to 5 years after purchase.

Is a bobbed duce that difficult to drive? Uncomfortable? Considering I would get power steering and air ride seats.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I have looked at the treads on the duce. Mainly looking for review/feedback from anyone thT owns a boyce equipment duce as the one I looking to build is around 40k.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Welcome to steel soliders.
Hope you enjoy your time here.

As for taking a 31' camper into the woods... Not a good idea. The truck has a notorious bad turning radius. If y get in a tight spot you will not be able to get out. I would not even do it with a tear drop camper.

Hope this helps with your decision 🤠
 
Mullaney

Mullaney

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Robin Strong said:
Welcome to steel soliders.
Hope you enjoy your time here.

As for taking a 31' camper into the woods... Not a good idea. The truck has a notorious bad turning radius. If y get in a tight spot you will not be able to get out. I would not even do it with a tear drop camper.

Hope this helps with your decision 🤠
Click to expand...
.

J-Rod

It could be that Robin Strong is right on the money with his thoughts on taking something that big into the woods.
OR
You might drive 10 miles in on a little tiny path - then have to throw it in reverse and back up to where you started because you can't turn around. That might be a heck of a learning experience and being confident in your equipment will be really important.

No matter what you are doing, something could go wrong. Heck, it might even be good if you could ride the trail on a bike or pickup truck before you drive into the unknown. These trucks will multiply stupidity, so you have to think clearly. You also have to know that if something breaks - a Jeep isn't going to pull you out of a mess. The guys at AAA won't be coming to rescue you either, so you need friends with big green trucks you can call on. It can get really expensive to get a commercial wrecker to drag you home - and a lot of them aren't going to scratch the paint on their half million dollar rig.

NO REFLECTION on you. Just trying to give you food for thought.
 
HDN

HDN

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And what if you get that deuce stuck? Bobbed, the truck probably still weighs about 10000 lbs, and you'll still need someone to help you get unstuck. A modern pickup weighs about half that and can do what you want it to even better and with more comfort!

My opinion: get a decent used modern pickup truck for work and the deuce for play :) That 6x6 that's for sale near you would be a fun 3-axle vehicle to drive around just for fun!
 
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