New M109 owner. Greetings from central Washington!

[functionalsolenoid]

Hi all,

Recently became obsessed with MVs and have been stalking ever since. I finally tracked down and purchased a 1958 REO M109 that I intend to convert into a camper. I build off-grid electrical systems for vans and overland applications for a living - so looking forward to building on a totally new (to me) platform. The truck is about 2k miles away and we're still working out logistics.

The rig has selectable front axle engagement, which I don't think was standard in '58. Pax door states "CARC 04". It's running the multifuel and has been converted to spin-on filters and such by the previous owner. Current owner has had it for 6 years and barely operated it, though it's been kept under cover. The seats have been replaced with regular bucket-style and the box has been stripped of its original contents. Here are a few pictures to tide the thread over.

I appreciate the wealth of knowledge, resources, and comradery that this forum offers. I've already amassed a collection of spare parts, fluids, and TMs for this rig and I've still only seen it via photos and facetime.

 

[Mullaney]

Hi all,

Recently became obsessed with MVs and have been stalking ever since. I finally tracked down and purchased a 1958 REO M109 that I intend to convert into a camper. I build off-grid electrical systems for vans and overland applications for a living - so looking forward to building on a totally new (to me) platform. The truck is about 2k miles away and we're still working out logistics.

The rig has selectable front axle engagement, which I don't think was standard in '58. Pax door states "CARC 04". It's running the multifuel and has been converted to spin-on filters and such by the previous owner. Current owner has had it for 6 years and barely operated it, though it's been kept under cover. The seats have been replaced with regular bucket-style and the box has been stripped of its original contents. Here are a few pictures to tide the thread over.

I appreciate the wealth of knowledge, resources, and comradery that this forum offers. I've already amassed a collection of spare parts, fluids, and TMs for this rig and I've still only seen it via photos and facetime.

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Welcome to the Outfit!

It looks to me like somebody has done some work to the machine. The tires are "new" and not the standard NDT tires. The inside of the box would have been painted in a "mint green" so somebody did a little something to get the build started. I do have to say that traveling 2000 miles on a truck that has been sitting for a while might be a real heart stopper when (or if) it sputters to a stop a hundred miles down the road. I would think that downloading the TM's (Technical Manuals) would be a good place to start. Some reading on your part would be a good thing.

Not sure what you have in mind, or what you may have offered to pay for it. It's a SWAG (Super Wild Asprin Guess) but I would imagine $3 a mile would be the least you would pay somebody to haul it home on a trailer for you. That assumes that somebody has a lowboy that will get overall height (that you can find in the TM's) under 13'6" to be legal.

Driving it home would be an adventure for sure. Fuel cost could easily be three thousand bucks. I wouldn't even think about going without a chase truck loaded with tools, oil, fuel and oil filters, gear oil and anti-freeze. Everything on that truck would need to be check out before you try to hit the road. Brakes: What condition are they in? Gearboxes: Level check, better still drain and replace the gear oil? Motor: Replace the filters, fuel and oil and coolant if it happens to have that + Drain the oil and replace? Belts and Hoses: Old and Tired will make you the same on the side of the road in the dark...? You could easily spend another thousand on parts, spare sets of filters and fluids... What happens when a tire gives up? Does it have a spare and do you have the tools to change one on the side of the road? Those tire service trucks will eat a lot of money if something goes wrong...

Maybe a credit card with a big fat limit too... One thing worth considering is where you are and where to truck is. There are a bunch of folks here scattered across the country - so if you made your route known - there could be extra brains and wrench turning hands available along the way...

So, I hope I didn't bust your bubble because everybody here loves big green trucks. I just want to offer up a sanity check before you hand over your hard earned cash.

 

[Mullaney]

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Oh, and by the way - that garage is pretty wonderful.
You and your truck could have a lot of fun there if the owner would let you spend a week there getting ready for a road trip.

 

[functionalsolenoid]

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Oh, and by the way - that garage is pretty wonderful.
You and your truck could have a lot of fun there if the owner would let you spend a week there getting ready for a road trip.

Just got registration in WA done today. Girlfriend and I decided to make it a road trip with one of our newish camper vans. We both have family within 5 hours of the truck that we’ll be staging at and can receive shipments at. I’ll make a post in the trips forum when the timeline is established.

I talked the owner into letting me do some preventative work there before departing, only for the day. I’ve got SAE 30 ND for trans and transfer case, GL5 for differentials, plenty of T4 for the engine, HD diesel coolant with additives, v-belts, 24v bulbs of a few sizes, oil and fuel filters, DOT5, slow moving vehicle triangles, etc. I have experience with diesels like the 6.9 IH IDI and some smaller Mercedes NA engines so not entirely ignorant. I also have hard copies of the -10 and -20 manuals that I’ve been reviewing.

I’ll have a support van behind me with a collection of tools I’ve put together with help of the forum including budd socket and 1” socket set along with typical stuff, air tools, impacts, etc. I have also put together a set of spare parts including wheel cylinders, brake lines, bulbs. The truck has an 11.00-20 spare but I’m scouring for more spares to pickup along the way.

Thanks for the welcome! We were looking at LMTVs before deciding on the deuce, so budget allows for shipping.. but this sounds like more fun while time permits the adventure!

 

[Mullaney]

Just got registration in WA done today. Girlfriend and I decided to make it a road trip with one of our newish camper vans. We both have family within 5 hours of the truck that we’ll be staging at and can receive shipments at. I’ll make a post in the trips forum when the timeline is established.

I talked the owner into letting me do some preventative work there before departing, only for the day. I’ve got SAE 30 ND for trans and transfer case, GL5 for differentials, plenty of T4 for the engine, HD diesel coolant with additives, v-belts, 24v bulbs of a few sizes, oil and fuel filters, DOT5, slow moving vehicle triangles, etc. I have experience with diesels like the 6.9 IH IDI and some smaller Mercedes NA engines so not entirely ignorant. I also have hard copies of the -10 and -20 manuals that I’ve been reviewing.

I’ll have a support van behind me with a collection of tools I’ve put together with help of the forum including budd socket and 1” socket set along with typical stuff, air tools, impacts, etc. I have also put together a set of spare parts including wheel cylinders, brake lines, bulbs. The truck has an 11.00-20 spare but I’m scouring for more spares to pickup along the way.

Thanks for the welcome! We were looking at LMTVs before deciding on the deuce, so budget allows for shipping.. but this sounds like more fun while time permits the adventure!

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That's Great!!

One of the other books is the LO (Lube Order) that will tell you what and how much fluid each gearbox or the motor components hold. Sounds to me like you are headed off in a good direction.

The LMTV's are good vehicles. The thing to look out for on them are the driveshafts. If they get hit or bumped while being offloaded with a forklift on the auction sites - can cost you. The angles on the shafts are pretty sharp and if they get knocked out of balance it will tear up stuff. Expensive in a hurry is how that translates... I have two. Both were in great shape when I got them and I had them balanced. Cheap insurance in my mind.

Keep us posted and maybe we can talk more as you start to make your driving plan.

 

[kendelrio]

Welcome to the site! Great looking truck and it sounds like you're off to a great start. Couple of more things to bring-

Hearing protection. Unless the truck has a muffler installed, they are loud and 8-10 hours in the truck will WRECK your Hearing and give you headaches.

Pain relievers- I'm not sure how long you'll be driving a day, but the trucks weren't made for comfort, even with aftermarket seats.

Water- hydrate hydrate hydrate. My time in the M35s and M923s have taught me that you WILL lose water even though you may not realize it and a leg stretch break is a great time to rehydrate.

Also, I know you have a schedule and want to get her home asap, plan a day or two cushion in your schedule to allow for rests, repairs or recovery.

Best of luck and keep us informed!

 

[ToddJK]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the truck! Imo, road trips like that are very few and far in between so making a vacation out of it was a great idea! A couple of extra things that may help with the trip, anti fog treatment for the inside of the windows and rain ex for the rain. In a rain storm the windows will fog up fast due to air flow so anti fog treatment helps a lot. The stock wipers usually don't work as good as normal car wipers so the rain ex helps that water bead off much quicker. A small handheld squeegee works awesome to clean the windows on the inside of water,fog,ect. Like Kendelrio stated about hydration, depending on the temperature, you may want a cooler with ice to have some water and drinks in. A couple hand towels would be nice.to have as well,to wipe sweat off your face to wiping the windows down if need be. If it's stupid hot, crack the front windows open a good bit and have the side vents open, this will keep the air in your face and force the heat down and out,works for me, but so does having the rear window open a bit too.

 

[SCM35A2]

Welcome to the site!

 

[functionalsolenoid]

An update - we spent a few hours on maintenance and drove the truck out of Louisiana and made it the approx 2300 miles back. Wouldn't have been as pleasant if not for the previous owner's installation of air ride seats. It's already been converted to spin-on oil and fuel filters... and had a coolant filter added. It has a propensity to overheating but no signs of head gasket issues - IR gun suggests radiator issue. We only had one issue on the road - a steering tire blowout. More to come on the restoration/build in future threads!

 

[ToddJK]

An update - we spent a few hours on maintenance and drove the truck out of Louisiana and made it the approx 2300 miles back. Wouldn't have been as pleasant if not for the previous owner's installation of air ride seats. It's already been converted to spin-on oil and fuel filters... and had a coolant filter added. It has a propensity to overheating but no signs of head gasket issues - IR gun suggests radiator issue. We only had one issue on the road - a steering tire blowout. More to come on the restoration/build in future threads!

Glad to hear you got her home now. If you made it that far and a tire was the biggest issue, sounds like you got a solid truck.