Steel Soldiers MV of the month 2019 - August VOTE HERE!

[Robo McDuff]

Finally, I was back in the Netherlands with some time to start do vital repairs.




Sitting in my "headquarters" behind the truck trying to figure out how to do things.



New brake lines and hoses. It occasionally can be hot in the Netherlands, and rain 5 minutes later, so some tarp to keep sun and rain away helps, so do friends.

 

[Robo McDuff]

Working on the fifth wheel conversion.




Bringing an EU-certified JOST fifth wheel from the Czech Republic to the Netherlands.





Measuring how the ribbed ground plate of the JOST can be fitted around the rivets on the frame of the M51. Normally, it is not permitted to drill through the top or bottom flanges of the frame. In this case, the DoT gave permission since the holes would be through the strengthening cross-beam/plate as well; not weakening the structure as such.



Drilling the holes through the frame using a powerful magnetic drill. The ground plate is fixed in place to make sure the holes end up in the right place.


Do you know the feeling: we will get her done TODAY. Working deep into the night to get the 5th wheel fitted.

 

[Migginsbros]

There are 2 places for sleep in the cabin. you have to connect the strap to the roof and fold up the backrest.

 

[papabear]

It has a crane !!!! Need I say more View attachment 774069


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Well for me it was a difficult choice between Robo Mcduff, Migginsbros, and Rmtaunton but being that I make my living with a wrecker service....I saw that crane....and....well.

 

[Robo McDuff]

Well for me it was a difficult choice between Robo Mcduff, Migginsbros, and Rmtaunton but being that I make my living with a wrecker service....I saw that crane....and....well.

Fair enough

 

[Robo McDuff]

Procedure for mounting the fifth wheel.

.. .
The fifth wheel is laying on a pallet on the truck, just in front of the hourglass-formed cross beam.
Fifth wheel and ground plate separated.



.. .. .. ..

Ground plate is positioned above the cross beam. One thing I forget: how to get the !@#@#$Z bolts and nuts under the ground plate in the cross beam.


..

After fixing the ground plate on the frame, the fifth wheel assembly is put back onto the ground plate.

Once I had the procedure including all tricks under control, I can now mount the assembly on the truck well within 30 minutes.

With a loader available, switching from a fully operational dump truck M51 to a functional tractor M52 can be done easily within an hour!

 

[Robo McDuff]

Trying to put some new live in the thread after the weekend barrage of new posts.
By a second pre-check for the DoT approval, the biggest problem of the tractor configuration was that the rear wheel are unprotected and without cover.



So in consultation with the DoT, I made a wooden frame with a cheap plastic tarp around it. Problem solved.


Another problem was that the main lights were too much to the center of the truck; in the Netherlands the center of the lights have to be less that 20" from the outside width of the truck.


At the back, I fixed two steel rectangle tubes tot he side of the trailer coupling, with original dutch army truck rear lights. The left side has the electrical plug for the trailer, the right one has brackets for the licenses plate. The plate is fixed below the light armature. The armature has a white light shining downwards, so it provides the obligatory plate light.



At the front, I removed the lollipops above the blinker and replaced them with the head lights of a Deucevaux (Citroen
2 CV, better known as Ugly Duck).

There were some other problems with steering and brakes, but I got that fixed as well just enough to their satisfaction.

 

[Rmtaunton]

Mine has a crane ,, how do you people live without one lol

Seriously though every thing we have is heavy


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[Coffey1]

Yup sold one and had to have one back.

 

[Migginsbros]

. Sorry, no new pics of the MAN KAT, now. We say thank you to all your MV enthusiasts. Thank you for your vote this month.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

August is almost gone!
The polls are still open..... Don't forget to VOTE ! ! !

Carry on.

 

[Migginsbros]

Not easy to upload, but get a new picture from my brother.
They picked up the truck from inspection by law (Tüv, Mot.....)last evening.

 

[Migginsbros]

Some details from the TM about the engine, messurements and winch cable routing.





Messurements are in mm. 25,4 mm = 1inch

 

[Robo McDuff]

Finally back at the main computer with all the pics, so I can finish the Dutch part of the M51 A2 w/w story.


The moment of truth: on the way to the Dutch DoT transport for the final checking of the truck.






IN front of the checking station and inside.






Equipment for measuring individual brake power per wheel and some other measurements. With a permanent 6x6, that machine is good for nothing (and very good for me).

We were out on the road the previous time where they noted some uneven braking and a problem in the steering. Luckily for me, the roads around the station were broken up for repairs, so they trusted me on my blue eyes that I had repaired everything ... and the assurance that the truck would be moved to the Czech Republic on a loader and will not ever be on the Dutch road unless thoroughly checked beforehand.





With that assurance, the officer rebranded the serial number in the frame and made the truck completely street legal with an EU approval certificate!


The M51 A2 Dump Truck is now officially ALSO an M52 A2 Tractor.

The max allowable weight for the vehicle itself (as dump truck) is 43,000 Lbs
The max allowable pulling weight for semi is 69,000 Lbs
The max allowable pulling weight for trailer is 69,000 Lbs

The max allowable Total Train Weight is a staggering 90 500 lbs. Not bad for a "5-ton" truck.

And now get the heck of the road and out of the Netherlands.

 

[Robo McDuff]

I don't have video on you tube but we do have a few pages on the truck and its history on our Czech Emigration Museum website. Halfway through that page, just above the pics is a link to a pdf file on the dump truck - tractor conversion.

On the next page are two video's of the truck, on the way to the DoT with some nice shots of the Dutch landscape and one of trying out the engine and brakes without wheels.

That's it for today, the travel to the Czech Republic and the new Cold War exhibition will come next month, its time to sign off now, its close to midnight.

Don't forget to vote

 

[Rmtaunton]

Cleaning bottom of wild thing before putting on lift for turbo motor swap

And normally it takes a while to remove all 4 tires to work on hmmwv

Wait I have a crane and 10 minutes later




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[Robo McDuff]

Congrats Migginbros.

Probably a first that a non-US vehicle owned by a non-US member wins the MV of the Month.

 

[papabear]

Congradulations Migginsbros on a well deserved win!!

 

[Migginsbros]

Migginsbros says Thank you to all your MV enthusiasts, voters and participants.

 

[Rmtaunton]

Congratulations


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