M920 questions

[NSCoyote]

Sonni's M920 has got me doing some thinking, maybe its time to build a killer commercial hauling truck(not an OTR truck in the sense of lots of highway miles but more of the northernly unpaved hauling roads or nasty weather type truck) .

yes i am familer with cost of maintaining an MV for daily driver duty, also understand that an M920 is exponentially more then my previous expierience with CUCV's, but cant be much more then new OTR haulers LOL. anyway i am a total FNG when it comes to BIG green iron so i appoligize if my questions seem asinine

but before i start commiting any time/funds to this kind of build need to gather some info from you guys the experts

in respect to the truck itself

does the m920 have interior heat and window defrosting abilitys?

can ether start opions be added ?

fording kit available for them?

id like to run it with the 53" super singles on it but anyone know of the hieght in feet at its tallest point with them installed?

also with the super singles does that reduce its weight maximums over the stock tires/wheels?

outside of the known 3.5" fitfh wheel and standard trailer 2"pin issues are there any clearence issues when pinning up to a civvy trailer (van type, or other), with the 53's or the stock tires?

can anyone relay thier m920 expieriences with the 53's in snow?

im sure as time progress's if i choose to go forward with this venture i'll have a ton more questiosn for you guys. if i go forward with this i will be settign it up with a simaler shelter system like Sonni's but with a cutout and accordian joint between the cab and shelter instead of the door facing the rear. and turning it into a sleeper berth, both the cab and shelter will be fitted with creature comforts like heat/sound insulation, carpeting, air ride semi seats, 110v hook ups for powering household items, and some fancy hgih tech gadgets to be announced.

yes i realize that we are talking some serious $$$$ but thankfully i have alot of time, tools and skills to cut down on that and in perspective it probleby gonan be cheaper then buying a new rig LOL.

this is somethign thats gonna be at least a year or 2 before i see completion and likely if i do go forward will involve a very indepth build thread with lots of pics as it unfolds

 

[BBoomerBootCamp]

Welcome aboard, Soni spells his name with one N, Oh, by the way, where has Soni been, why don't he call
There's lots of M920 guys on this site, and lots of info posted, enjoy the ride.

 

[wreckerman893]

Wear your britches with the BIG pockets in them to own and operate the beast.

I drove the M916's in the Army. I love the CAT tranny as long as someone else has to pay the repair bills....they are not a common civy transmission and finding a mechanic to work on them can be a challenge. Soni swapped out his engine and put a manual tranny in his. I think he has higher rear ends in it too.

Your fuel milage will suck and with only one tank you will be stopping a lot on a long haul.

Top speed with the stock rears is around 59 MPH.

Bob tailing will beat your teeth out.

They do have a pretty decent heat/defrost system.....wipers are air operated and suck.

They are a rolling oven in the summer.

Air rides seats are your friend......buy some before you buy anything else.

You will need a CDL to drive it and prob commercial insurance (the insurance on my last M915 was $750.00 a year for a farm policy). If you travel out of state you will need a DOT number and IFTA registration. You will also have to have a valid medical card to go with the CDL.

Good luck and post lots of pics.

 

[eldgenb]

I enjoy mine, I will try to get measurements of the 53's in the next little while, what exact measurements do you want?

 

[Bighurt]

Welcome aboard, Soni spells his name with one N, Oh, by the way, where has Soni been, why don't he call
There's lots of M920 guys on this site, and lots of info posted, enjoy the ride.

Send me a pm I've talked to the formentioned individual recently.

 

[R Racing]

They come with Either assist starting. Heat and defrost work well. The hitch is a mile higher than Civi units Took my 5th wheel off of the block and brought it back 15 inches ( must do for Civi trailers ) and still had to add 10" to the neck of my trailer to make it level. If your Shutterstat goes bad and sticks on it will bake your brains in the summer. But adding AC is very easy ( I did my own) . They according to the book will only ford to 20" I love mine and adding 1600s to it soon for a tad bit more top speed. right now top speed is 64. The stock tires did decent in the snow this past winter.

 

[NDT]

Here is a comparison photo of a stock 5th wheel height for OTR use and the 916/920 height for the 172/870 trailers. The stock tires are 46" tall. 53's will give you 65 mph against the governor. Plan on 4 mpg or more than 50 cents per mile to operate in fuel costs alone. Ditto Wreckerman on insurance costs, mine runs $140/month and is in-state non-commercial use only. No fording kits for 915/916/920. 8x6 M920's and 6x6 M916's make for pitiful commercial OTR trucks in my opinion. They belong in short haul ops.

 

[eldgenb]

I will say that with the 16.00 r 20's on it with 20oz of equals in each tire has made a major improvement in the ride of my truck, yes hot as **** in the summer, poor mileage, I average about 5 mpg although the links below show that I have made a lot of power improvements to my truck. I am adding a sleeper to mine this winter and will use if for regional hauls as far as So Cal from here and I am not worried about it. Almost everything with the exception of the transmission is easily found at any class 8 truck store so parts are not too bad, I would put air ride seats in for sure and add a/c or have a sleeper with a/c built in that you can crank up, the hybrid 24/12 volt system could be a problem if you break down and need service. The trucks are as tough as nails, completely double framed so no worries there, for off road or regional use I think you would be fine, for a living... unless you are Soni not so much. I pay$170 for commercial insurance every 6 and have it licensed as a collector for now so no special permits or anything and once the sleeper is on it I will re register it as an RV so I can tow trailers with MV's on it for "non commercial purposes"

 

[R Racing]

Another thing worth mentioning is that the M920 weights in at over 31000 LBS when you add that to a trailer it only gives you about 30000 Lbs of cargo to be at near the 80000 mark . you can also apply for a over weight permit . the M916 in some cases is a better choice for that reason and a slightly better turning radius. You need 2 Texas football feilds to turn a m920 around in. lol

 

[NSCoyote]

Wear your britches with the BIG pockets in them to own and operate the beast.

I drove the M916's in the Army. I love the CAT tranny as long as someone else has to pay the repair bills....they are not a common civy transmission and finding a mechanic to work on them can be a challenge. Soni swapped out his engine and put a manual tranny in his. I think he has higher rear ends in it too.

Your fuel milage will suck and with only one tank you will be stopping a lot on a long haul.

Top speed with the stock rears is around 59 MPH.

Bob tailing will beat your teeth out.

They do have a pretty decent heat/defrost system.....wipers are air operated and suck.

They are a rolling oven in the summer.

Air rides seats are your friend......buy some before you buy anything else.

You will need a CDL to drive it and prob commercial insurance (the insurance on my last M915 was $750.00 a year for a farm policy). If you travel out of state you will need a DOT number and IFTA registration. You will also have to have a valid medical card to go with the CDL.

Good luck and post lots of pics.

pocket depth for thsi project while isnt unlimited , is sufficinet to manage with a little bit of "ooops" room

thank you for your response im not to concerned about mechanics as i have been wrenching on diesels since i was knee high to a mosquito, my father was a stoker in the Canadian navy so i had lots of exposure. i do plan on a swap much the same as Soni wit ha larger more hp motor and a more common manual trans.

fuel will be an issue so i will look at larger or duel tank upgrade with it as i plan to run in more remote areas

top speed is not an issue as its main AO will be logging/forest service roads, snow/ice laden roads, general places a normal OTR rig cant run in with very little highway use

an a/c unit like Soni has will likely be an investment i make.
i already have a set of air ride seats sitting in my garage from a wrecked western star

i also have my class one d/l wih air brakes (Canadian version of commercial tractor/trailer licence). and all associated med stuff.

I enjoy mine, I will try to get measurements of the 53's in the next little while, what exact measurements do you want?

the measurment i need isthe trucks height at the tallest point with the 53's on i assume the exhuast tip would be its tallest point ( maximum height for vehicles here without over height permit is 13'6")

I will say that with the 16.00 r 20's on it with 20oz of equals in each tire has made a major improvement in the ride of my truck, yes hot as **** in the summer, poor mileage, I average about 5 mpg although the links below show that I have made a lot of power improvements to my truck. I am adding a sleeper to mine this winter and will use if for regional hauls as far as So Cal from here and I am not worried about it. Almost everything with the exception of the transmission is easily found at any class 8 truck store so parts are not too bad, I would put air ride seats in for sure and add a/c or have a sleeper with a/c built in that you can crank up, the hybrid 24/12 volt system could be a problem if you break down and need service. The trucks are as tough as nails, completely double framed so no worries there, for off road or regional use I think you would be fine, for a living... unless you are Soni not so much. I pay$170 for commercial insurance every 6 and have it licensed as a collector for now so no special permits or anything and once the sleeper is on it I will re register it as an RV so I can tow trailers with MV's on it for "non commercial purposes"

as i stated earleir i do my own wrenching and have all the gear to do it, as well i am both famielr wih the 12v civvy, 24v marine and MV, and the hybrid 12/24v systems used in the CUCV so im pretty sure thsi will be a cinch to become comfortable with. as far as fuel costs go and cost to run it it would be built into the per mile rate i charge for using this truck, insurance is nto an issue either as i already run a general commercial policy. as it wont be my main source of income as i own a local courier company for that and i build custom bikes as a second source of income. this is more of a divirsification of revenue streams moving into the field of hauling in or to places normal trucks cant manage

 

[eldgenb]

I can tell you without a measurement that my truck is well under the 13'6" mark, I believe I am right at the 12' 6" height if memory serves.

 

[NSCoyote]

cool that defintly helps, next to find out if with a lowered fifth wheel and ramps will a standard trailer have any plate-tire clearence issues. as well if the S250 shelter can be mounted sideways to give a bit of extra room behind and still be within DOT width regulations

 

[eldgenb]

the fifth wheel with 16's will not support any civi trailer that I have come accross, as Jim pointed out, after removing the spacer and ramps he still had to cut the neck of his trailer and raise the neck 10" just to make it work, and he does not even have the 16.00 r 20's on his yet, you will have to stick with military trailers or modify some civi ones. As for the shelter you will not be able to keep the tag axle if you mount the shelter sideways, they need the recess's in the shelter to make room for the tires.

 

[NSCoyote]

hmmm that presents me with a couple of slight challenges, oh well i love challenges lol. i'll have to get my hands on an m920 and a set of 14's and 395's after swapping the military fifth wheel and spacers to a low profile civvy one n ramps to see how i can make it work with an un modded civvy trailer.

got an e-mail into dave at eastern surplus to see about getting a decent 920 and will go from there

as for the shelter, if the tag axle needs the recess i might be able to cut and seal up the shelter underside to accomodate it. again something i will have to look at when i actully get my hands on the beast

 

[Danger Ranger]

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