New guy... lost in the woods...!

[danbrew]

Howdy, danbrew here, and man do I go overboard on my hobbies...! For a few years now I've thought that I wanted an Army jeep - something along the lines of a M151 or so. It would be relatively easy to store and work on and all that. The storage is the big part for me - I live in a typical suburbia kind of place. 3 car garage that has a few motorcycles in the 3rd part of the garage. I'm planning on getting rid of all but one and thought a nice jeep, and maybe a trailer to go along with it would be cool.

And then, uhhh, I found Steel Soldiers. The thoughts of a jeep have quickly gone by the wayside and now I'm drooling over a deuce and a half. Maybe even an M109A3. How cool would that be? It would be perfect for those wandering camping trips that I like to take - on road and offroad. I try to do 2-3 of those a year on a motorcycle - 10-14 days each. My kids are getting to the age (teenagers) where they want to go with me and motorcycles aren't so good for that.

Now the ideal thing to do would be to stop my intro here and commit to reading posts here and learn more and more over the next year or so. I've spent the last ten minutes or so trying to communicate a whole bunch of information below and, after re-reading it a few times, realize there's just so much I don't know about owning and working on a piece of big iron that I just don't know what I just don't know. Is there a FAQ for the new guys?

In no particular order, here are some of the things that I think I'd have to solve in order to really enjoy owning a deuce or other big truck. Your comments about any/all of these points would be greatly appreciated - or pointers towards interesting posts.

Storage
Yeah, that's a good one. I've been a motorcycle guy my whole life and have three bikes crammed into the 3-car side of a three car garage. I had thought I'd just get rid of two of them and then have room for that nice little jeep and trailer. That idea goes out the window with a deuce. What do you guys do for storage? I'm near Chicago so would want to have a place that would protect the truck from the elements. You guys use barns, commercial garages, stuff like that? Figure that a deuce isn't going to fit in the local you store it place.

Maintenance
What does a typical maintenance routine for the larger trucks look like? I know my way around a garage and can turn a wrench. But I'd bet that there's a whole bunch of specialized equipment that I'd need for the routine stuff. And what about non-routine stuff?

Annual Costs
Anyone have ideas on annual costs? Operating costs per mile? Typically stuff that you'll need to do to keep the truck running? I'm sure it's probably a lot more than I'm thinking... (the old what I don't know part...).

Insurance
I've seen a few threads on this and guess we're talking a few hundred bucks a year.

Drivers License
Can I get away with a standard operators permit? Or do I need a commercial license? I believe the GVW for the M109A3 is around 15,000 lbs. I *think* Illinois requires a CDL for vehicles > 26,000 lbs - so maybe I'm good without a CDL?

Yeah, there's probably lots more questions that I'll think of over time. I do get that one of the biggest issues is storage - and maybe the answer is "yo, danbrew, wait until you have a barn and a lot more land than you have right now before jumping into one of these..."

Thoughts and comments welcome. Many thanks in advance!

danbrew

 

[jets1959]

I am new here as well. Storeage seems to be an issue with M35's and up. You need to check your local regulations on parking even at your own house driveway and street. Also home owner groups have restrictions on parking and storing large trucks. Maintenance seems to cost inline with the condition of the truck you buy. Not many special tools required. Hub sockets and a few others just big tools. Yearly cost depends on how often you drive and how far. Non comercial insurance isn't bad, if you want to make money with your rig you will pay for it. Drivers Licence is a big bucket of worms, again check locally. Hope this helps and welcome to the addiction.

 

[Flyingvan911]

I live in Kansas City and keep mine at a RV storage lot. About $40 a month.

Maintenance isn't too bad but it is more than a normal car. Lots of grease fitting to check and top off, pay close attention to the brake system and fluid level, etc. All wheel bearing are grease packed. Walk around the truck before and after you drive it to look for anything broken or funky. Just a few special tools for big jobs. A 3 inch, 8 sided socket for taking off the hubs and a socket for headbolts, etc. Everything else is standard and easy to get.

Figure annual cost like a normal car plus storage and lots of gear lube and motor oil. Will you get a historic or some type of truck/weighted plate? My 24k plate in MO is about $118 a year but no restrictions on use. Fuel will be extra. I get about 8.5 mpg's with a 195 hp LDS multifuel. 135 hp LDT's can get from 10-14 mpg's depending.

My insurance through Allstate is about $20-25 a month. 100/300 medical and 25,000 liability for property damage.

You should be good without a CDL. Even a M35A2 grosses at 23,500 lbs or so. I happen to have a class a cdl already so that's a bonus.

Read through the deuce forums and download the M35 tech manuals and read through them. There's a wealth of information about deuces here. Check with you local DMV, etc about plates, CDL, etc. Checking out every detail and angle will help your purchase and subsequent paperwork go smoothly (usually). I had no problems.

I love my deuce and like you, I did my homework before buying. It is an investment of money and time but it's worth it if you are willing. Just remember, safety and maintenance first.

 

[porkysplace]

Welcome from michigan. here is a link to the FAQ for deuces ;
Deuce FAQ Article

 

[RodUSMC1962]

Your biggest problem is storage. Any thing else you can learn. Try to keep it covered if at all possible.Read this forum every day and you will learn. Welcome to the green disease.My buddy and I started with a duece and worked our way down.