North Texas Recovery. Wish me luck.

[Das_Haifisch]

I have pretty much everything I should need minus whatever I'll need from NAPA after my pre-drive inspection. Looking like we'll be taking the initial drive through an inch or so of snow in the O.K. panhandle very, very slowly. I've got about 900 miles to go to Louisiana. The previous owner sadly passed away two weeks ago, he was a Vietnam Veteran named Jimmie. I talked to him briefly before he entered hospice care.

The truck sat for about a year, at least it's been that long since he went on a convoy with it. I know it runs strong and holds air. Given that the chassis has about 40,000 miles, axle health is somewhat a concern -- I'll be picking up GL-5 as needed and doing what I can to not wear them. I honestly don't plan on taking it over 40 until I've got factory new steering tires and am considering disconnecting the rear-most driveshaft once snow is no longer a concern.

I've got equipment to work on the truck, gas cans, water and coolant. Hoping DOT5 will be available at NAPA as needed. I'll be able to afford a service truck should it be needed I believe, but hopefully a wrecker won't be necessary. We will be passing between Dallas and OK city between the 9th and the 11th, assuming I'm confident in the truck. If anyone in the area doesn't mind being an emergency contact, it would be appreciated and compensated if necessary. A special thank you to this forum, and of course, Jimmie.

 

[M35fan]

Congratulations, and good luck to you! She's a beaut!

 

[Das_Haifisch]

Wish I'd asked him what happened to the roof!

 

[canadacountry]

nice truck, and of course I hope theres no 'false' clearance signs on that 900 miles route but mm you know

anyhow let us eventually know how it goes when the truck is into your own workspace and you're wrenching around with it?

 

[Das_Haifisch]

nice truck, and of course I hope theres no 'false' clearance signs on that 900 miles route but mm you know

anyhow let us eventually know how it goes when the truck is into your own workspace and you're wrenching around with it?

I hadn't even considered clearance! Thank you!

 

[canadacountry]

@Das_Haifisch I've seen too many photos and short clips online to know that I sure as heck won't want to find out that a just-being-rescued-now truck literally crumpled its box onto some a-bit-too-low concrete head somewhere (and to be honest with everyone here its crazy to see the variation in stories where a 13'7" truck doesn't care about driving right under a 13'0" signed bridge and weirdly enough it actually clears the thing, meanwhile someone somewhere else at 12'9" box truck height ends up in a fine mess of a crunch with a 14'0" signed tunnel. now please don't slap your poor forehead too hard, I don't always understand all of this neither!!)

 

[18operator]

Nice looking truck. Good luck and be careful on your ride home!

 

[SCSG-G4]

Just be on the lookout for 'Low Bridge' signs and you should be fine. Now if it were rising on a low boy it would be a different story.

 

[royalflush55]

Where in Texas is truck located?

 

[cattlerepairman]

Best of luck wih the recovery! Please keep us updated!

 

[M813rc]

I saw where you wisely intend to keep your speed down on the old tires.
Unknown how much experience you have with these, you may already know to expect your cruising speed to be about 47-48 when you get your new tires on. They are quite a bit slower than their cargo brethren!

Safe and happy travels to you.

Cheers

 

[cattlerepairman]

I would say that road-tripping a Deuce on 9.00-20 requires a special form of self-hate. I have done it and really appreciate the taller 11.00R20. You'd think it is not "much of a difference", but, yes, it is! I highly recommend doing what the military ended up doing with many of the Deuces, and that is installing taller tires!

 

[Das_Haifisch]

Where in Texas is truck located?

It's in OK but we'll be heading through Texas through Paris on the way to Shreveport

 

[Das_Haifisch]

I would say that road-tripping a Deuce on 9.00-20 requires a special form of self-hate. I have done it and really appreciate the taller 11.00R20. You'd think it is not "much of a difference", but, yes, it is! I highly recommend doing what the military ended up doing with many of the Deuces, and that is installing taller tires!

I'll be considering the 11's if I lose too many 9.00-20's on the way lol. 3 days, good company, and some solid noise canceling headphones... Shouldn't be too bad lol long as we don't throw an axle or some completely new problem I've never heard of before. We are planning on driving mostly at night for traffic and safety of others if anybody's got experience with that -- I hear the lights aren't spectacular. I've got some experience driving much larger trucks and RV's but never one without power steering.

 

[M35fan]

I'll be considering the 11's if I lose too many 9.00-20's on the way lol. 3 days, good company, and some solid noise canceling headphones... Shouldn't be too bad lol long as we don't throw an axle or some completely new problem I've never heard of before. We are planning on driving mostly at night for traffic and safety of others if anybody's got experience with that -- I hear the lights aren't spectacular. I've got some experience driving much larger trucks and RV's but never one without power steering.

I highly recommend adding some reflective tape and even a beacon to the rear end of the truck. A big, dark hunk of steel that is designed to blend in isn't the safest thing to have on the road at night. JMHO

 

[Das_Haifisch]

I highly recommend adding some reflective tape and even a beacon to the rear end of the truck. A big, dark hunk or steel that is designed to blend in isn't the safest thing to have on the road at night. JMHO

Another good point, thankfully I believe this is already covered. The box is lined with reflective tape and the standard reflectors. Hazards will probably be on as well.

 

[M813rc]

Sounds like you have things figured out well.

In addition to extra reflective tape, I run amber beacons on all my big trucks, I want to do what I can to attract folks' attention so they will hopefully notice that they are gaining on me.
You can get good 24v ones with magnetic bases, and run a cable with alligator clips to the battery for vehicles that are not permanently wired for them.
The cheapy auto parts store beacons are useless and almost invisible, in my opinion.

Cheers

 

[biscuitwhistler37]

Beautiful truck. Definitely map your route with clearance in mind, mine has a nice tag inside which reads 13'2, and I don't have a van body. Keep an eye on the coolant temp and oil pressure, and I strongly recommend test driving at night before you try to cover any distance. Maybe it's just mine, but every piece of glass on the cab will act as a mirror, and it can throw you off if you aren't careful. Personally, I like the steering, any miniscule amount of movement will make you forget very quickly you don't have power assist, full stop is a different story. Most importantly, and I stress most, without knowing what the axle life is, CHECK THE WHEEL BEARINGS!!! Last thing you want is one to fail at speed. Other than that, the think tank is here, and we'll be watching. Stay safe

 

[Das_Haifisch]

Beautiful truck. Definitely map your route with clearance in mind, mine has a nice tag inside which reads 13'2, and I don't have a van body. Keep an eye on the coolant temp and oil pressure, and I strongly recommend test driving at night before you try to cover any distance. Maybe it's just mine, but every piece of glass on the cab will act as a mirror, and it can throw you off if you aren't careful. Personally, I like the steering, any miniscule amount of movement will make you forget very quickly you don't have power assist, full stop is a different story. Most importantly, and I stress most, without knowing what the axle life is, CHECK THE WHEEL BEARINGS!!! Last thing you want is one to fail at speed. Other than that, the think tank is here, and we'll be watching. Stay safe

Thank you!! I can look further into it soon, am I correct that a bearing check would involve removing the wheels/knuckles and pulling the axles?

 

[msgjd]

I hadn't even considered clearance! Thank you!

yep. always consider that or you will wind up on youtube's "11foot8 bridge crash compilation"

i realize you are gonna drive yours, clearance can still be an issue in places especially at railroad overpasses... if a RR one gets hit there's a really big "to-do" with those and they aren't gonna let you go along your way anytime soon.. You also won't want to try McD's drive-thru or a car wash anytime soon...

Drop-deck trailered an M109 once. . The pre-trip plan indicated I would be safely under 13-6 with an M109 on this particular trailer.. But halfway out during the empty leg of the trip, I luckily took time to stop to pre-measure a RR overpass I discovered halfway through the 450-mile round trip on a secondary road I had to take... It was signed 13-1 but I measured it anyway due to the fresh coat of blacktop.. Good thing I did, it was actually 12-9 .. Got real lucky since i was able to let enough air out of the M109's tires without them being totally flat , was able to get it just under the target height after I loaded it on the trailer.... When I got to the overpass, let's just say i was creeping and co-pilot was up on the deck watching .. Cleared by a couple inches .. Pucker moments