Picking up our truck next weekend!

[BigWill1985]

I'm sure some of you remember my thread from a few weeks ago requesting information about OD dump trucks. I decided that we would pick up an M817 due to the high weight rating (we're looking to haul logs in the bed for our tree service company) and relatively low price.

Well, I just finished up sealing the deal on this truck:

M817 MILITARY 5 TON 6X6 DUMP TRUCK & TROUP CARRIER in Military Vehicles | eBay Motors

It's located pretty close, and was just serviced not too long ago. It's a hard top 1970 M817 winch truck with a canopy cover and troop seats, which was exactly what we were looking for. The truck has all new fluids and is ready to work. The current owner lives not too far away from me, and has the dump truck on his farm. He had some expenses come up, and accepted my offer on the truck (which was less than the starting price on the truck). We're picking it up this next weekend.

I have already gotten my Class B CDL permit, and have talked with the Virginia State Highway Patrol about driving the truck home. They said I'm 100% legal as long as the truck is unloaded and I have a NOT FOR HIRE sign on the side of the truck. Insurance is already taken care of through our commercial vehicle policy. Once we get it back home, I'm going to title and register it (truck has a free and clear title), and take my Class B CDL driving test with it (last step to get my license). Then, we'll be able to run the truck and make some money!

I have already bought a few things that I considered necessities (20 ton air over hydraulic jack, 3/4" air impact and socket set, and a gladhand air hose for running air tools). I know there's plenty to read up and learn about with this truck, but I think it'll serve our purposes well. Can't wait to get it home and have some fun!

~Will Courtier~

 

[gungearz]

It might be worth while checking out if the truck will be able to pass a DOT inspection before you take it through the driving course... I know here in chicagoland we need all working marker lights and has to have a DOT inspection sheet before the instructor would even let it on the course. Very nice choice in truck to keep going for a business work horse....

 

[BigWill1985]

It might be worth while checking out if the truck will be able to pass a DOT inspection before you take it through the driving course... I know here in chicagoland we need all working marker lights and has to have a DOT inspection sheet before the instructor would even let it on the course. Very nice choice in truck to keep going for a business work horse....

I am not too worried about the truck passing a DMV inspection. We require an inspection in Virginia, and I've never had a problem getting a truck to pass. They passed my 1978 Chevy C50 dump truck which is in no way safe for the average person to operate. The steering has a little play in it, turn signals have wiring gremlins all throughout, it only has one seatbelt (lap belt for the driver only), and some of the marker lights are non-existent anymore. I just drive the truck intelligently, and minimize the miles. We don't do over the road hauling, just hauling logs and wood chips from the job site to either our yard or our dump site. We also use the trucks for pulling around our wood chipper (~5000lbs total), our tractor (~4500lbs on the trailer), our stump grinder (~1,000lbs), and whatever chainsaws and climbing equipment we need for the job at hand. The logs are what kill us on weight. Some types of wood can be insanely heavy, in excess of 500lbs per foot of log we have (and we try to keep them as long as possible, to minimize wear and tear on the saws).

We occasionally work on undeveloped lots, where we need trucks that can get around on dirt/gravel/grass so I wanted something that had at least dual rear axles (that both were driven). Figure this truck will do everything we need it to do!

~Will Courtier~

 

[BigWill1985]

Well, finally got the truck home! Turned out to be quite the eventful day. Was intending on it being a 300 mile cruise but things can never go that easy.

The deal started out a little rough. Got to the truck and found that the passenger side windshield had a big crack across it which wasn't shown in pics and I hadn't been told about. Then the owner told me he'd sell me the replacement windshield and seal he had for $200 if I wanted it. Wound up test driving the truck and was pretty impressed! Ran and drove great. So, we worked out a deal with the truck and the new windshield. The previous owner had just filled up both fuel tanks to the brim so I figured it all equaled out in the end. He had also completely serviced the truck (all new fluids) and had just installed 4 new batteries.

So, the drive began well! Or, as good as it could have been. Was still driving a vehicle that rode like a lumber wagon and was so noisy that we probably should have worn hearing protection. Ran right along and got about an hour away from home out in the middle of nowhere and the truck suddenly lost power. Just as I pulled over, the motor died. When I tried to restart the truck, the starter just clicked. Pulled the battery covers and found 3 or 4 battery cables were loose enough that I could wiggle them by hand. Ran back to our escort vehicle to grab some tools and my employee told me that he pulled all of my hand tools out of the truck when cleaning it out for the drive. So, I used a rock and tapped them back down on the posts as snug as I could so I could at least crank over the motor.

Then, I went to work trying to figure out what happened. The gage indicated about 1/2 tank, but I pulled the cap off of the tank and found it nearly empty. So, we jumped into the escort truck and ran to the nearest gas station. That's where I learned my employee also pulled out the gas cans from the bed of the truck. But, he left many other various jugs and bottles so we managed to gather enough to hold 5 gallons of fuel. Made 3 trips back and forth for a total of 15 gallons in the tank. Then we started priming the fuel system. Fought it for almost 2 hours when a cop pulled up and wanted to see what we were doing along the side of the road. He ran my license, checked my paperwork, and asked if there was anything he could do to help us out. Luckily enough, he had a pair of pliers which we used to tighten the battery cables. He then set out flares and held a flash light to help us bleed the fuel system. Bled the **** out of it, shot some ether down the intake and the truck fired back off!

The remainder of the trip was uneventful. This truck is a blast to drive! It beats the **** out of the driver/passengers and is loud, but it's a fun experience driving such a big truck. Really looking forward to getting some work out of the old truck!

I'll post some pics here tomorrow when it is light.

~Will Courtier~

 

[BigWill1985]

Double post, sorry....

~Will Courtier~

 

[BigWill1985]

Here are the pics! Some of the sheetmetal needs to be resprayed, but it's pretty much ready to run! Just did a little grinding on the pintle hitch to accept our wood chipper, and I need to setup a trailer wiring plug to run the lights. The lights on the chipper have all been converted to 24v LED lights so I can use a normal 7 prong plug and it'll be good to go! The lights I used will also work with a 12v vehicle, although they will be a little dimmer.

I'll toss up a few more pics of the truck working as soon as I can!

~Will Courtier~

 

[Danger Ranger]

Great story, looks like you are doing your reading, and everything is going good. Well done. Now if only we can get you to directly post pics to the site, and not post links.

We like direct pics because there are no links to go bad, and it isn't a pain in the rear to see them. The ebay link will go bad soon. You need to save and load the pics here please.
Thanks.

EDIT: You got them up after I posted, thanks. Much better.

 

[BigWill1985]

Already done! Sorry, this was the first time I've posted pics on here (that I can remember). As soon as I seen what I did I made another post and attached the pics to the post.

I'm a slow learner at times!

~Will Courtier~

 

[jcappeljr]

Military dumps are great trucks,I use them in my excavating business.I sold my m817 and upgraded to a m929.nice truck ,good luck.

 

[BigWill1985]

We put the truck through it's paces today! It functioned perfectly. We completely filled the bed with wood chips from a decent sized pine tree, then 1/2 way dropped the tailgate and loaded the remaining bed with logs. We also used the truck to hold a large piece of concrete from a driveway up so we could grind out roots underneath that were lifting up the driveway. The air system was used to run our 20 ton air over hydraulic jacks to help lift the concrete, and the tractor lifted it up the remainder of the way. Then, fastened it to the truck and backed out the tractor so we could grind out the stump. Worked exactly as expected! Here are some pics!

~Will Courtier~

 

[Danger Ranger]

Looks good to me! Thanks, now keep them coming.

 

[BigWill1985]

Finally got the titlework ironed out, and the beast is now registered and legal! Well, almost. Still need to get it inspected. Already contacted the Virginia State Police asking about the marker lights and licensed plate mounting and lights. A sargeant at the state police said I just need the plates mounted solidly front and rear. I do not need to install any marker lights, as long as there are reflectors or reflector tape at the extreme corners. As for the license plate light, he said it isn't required. He then told me if the inspecting station gives me flak to basically tell them to read their manuals and realize the owner shouldn't have to ever modify the truck with anything permenant to make it pass inspection (as long as it was used on-road by the military. He even took it one step further and said to have the inspection station bring in the state police if they try to fail me. He just said to make sure everything works and I will be good to go.

Good stuff!

~Will Courtier~

 

[rrrr]

Wow, helpful state police. I get nothing but smiles from the local Po Po's. I even had one follow me home to check out my truck.