RGS20inophir
Member
- 90
- 13
- 8
- Location
- Socorro, New Mexico
I have been away from the forum for a while, moving, working 3 jobs, and keeping up with classes have taken priority over reading up on OD iron. Unfortunately, this has also meant that I have neglected the deuce a bit. I have not really taken her out much lately other than the occasional run around town for the **** of it. This weekend changed all that. Hours behind the wheel with ear plugs in really lets a person think. What follows are ramblings / a trip report after 550 miles in my OD Iron over the weekend.
My room mate and I decided that we wanted to get a couple cords of wood for the winter to help heat the house and my girlfriends folks (who heat their house exclusively via a wood stove) mentioned they wanted some wood as well. So, with wood permits in hand, a sharpened chain saw, and the deuce with a 105 behind we took off to the woods in the western part of NM.
Two deuces went (another guy here in town has one, I don't think he is a member yet). We left the house at 6am (much to the neighbors dismay I am willing to bet as a deuce is warming up at 5:45 am on a Friday). As we set off for Pie Town, NM (yes they do sell Pie there... delicious, delicious, pie) I was thinking to myself that I should have snapped the top into place before we left... but I was wearing a jacket... how cold can it get? The answer to that... bloody cold. As we approached the San Austine flats (the location of the NARO Very Large Array) the temperature dropped from teeth chattering to BONE CHILLING. My roomie and I had brought blankets in addition to our jackets... a fleece blanket draped around your neck and over the steering wheel traps the hot air coming up from the floor quite well!
We got to the wood cutting grounds around 9am and set to work. Cut, haul, stack... cut, haul, stack... anyone who has cut their own firewood knows the drill. 3/4 of the way through filling the 105 we managed to dull the chainsaw to the point it was nearly useless. So we started to stack 7' long logs in the back of the deuce. You could tell what time it was in the day because the length of the logs started to increase as we became increasingly frustrated with hauling from the woods (we forgot to bring a wheel barrow).
At the close of the day all we wanted to do was go fishin' so we fired up the deuce and 105 with roughly 3.25 cords on board (the 105 was full, 3/4 of the deuce was full up to the slats, the other quarter was full half way up the slats). We arrived at the fishin' hole hoping to catch a bunch of crawdad and do a craw fry later in the night. After 2 hours of trying to lure them out of the depths we gave up and headed home.
After cutting all day and not catching a single crawdad... and the sunlight quickly fading over the horizon we decided it would be wise to snap the canvas overhead to avoid the grumpy cold ride from ****. With the canvas securely overhead the cab was nice as warm as we cruised through the night towards home.
The next morning I had to gear up to deliver the haul to Santa Fe. The trip up was without significant consequence other than morons on the interstate interchange in Albuquerque. Evidently a deuce with headlights on and a convoy light going is invisible. I have no clue how... but it is. Especially from behind while merging.
I decided to take the two lane highway all the way home from Santa Fe. I had no desire to deal with morons in down town Albuquerque. This was really the best part of the drive. The weather was perfect, the truck still smelled like the woods and fried chicken (I am running on WVO/biodiesel right now). As I cruised down the road I thought back on the reasons I bought the deuce. #1, you can feed it crap. As an engineer and a broke ass student, I am big into using resources around you. A deuce fits just the bill. WVO, WMO, Gas, Diesel, Biodiesel... dump it all in and go. #2, the ability to haul stuff. While i have no where near met the weight limit of the deuce, it can haul anything that I can fathom. I have moved myself, my girlfriend, and my best friend in a single run. It is amazing the sheer amount of stuff you can fit in the back of the bed. #3, I have always wanted one. Even as a little kid I wanted a deuce, they are like that one ugly duckling you can't help but love.
After buying my deuce I had some serious buyer's regret. I thought to myself "now that I have one... I am going to have to care for and FEED it... what did I get myself into?!" Months later... the buyer's regret is gone. It has manged to groan it's way into my life and I am only going to get rid of her if I absolutely have to. I have also realized that the OD Iron addiction can not be satisfied with just one deuce. I want to get another... knowing full well what I am getting myself into... again
. This truck is simply too nice to chop up and do a crew cab conversion on. Someday when money flows like water from the tap (HA!) I will have to get another chassis to do the mods of my dream on.
As I was going through the east mountains near Tijeras I recalled that one of the things I disliked about my deuce at the time of purchase was the lack of a hard top. As I cruised through the mountains with the rag top back I realized just how insane that was. A rag top is WONDERFUL. You get to really experience the country you are driving through. Yes, it leaks in the rain. Yes, it is cold in cold weather... but on that perfect day with the top back and the growl of the exhaust in your right ear... there are really few things better in this world.
As I went up and down the hills I realized just how awesome the turbo sounds as it goes from working to no load. The next time you are out and about, just listen to yours and think about what it is doing. It is really a remarkable piece of engineering, adding power on demand (admittedly very little for our engines) but you can really hear it work and respond to engine load.
As I went across the flats I realized how wonderful that hand throttle is... especially on long drives. Cruise control at your fingertips.
As the miles flew by and I drew closer to home I recalled that when I first bought it how I wanted to swap out tire sizes and hopefully getting a higher top speed. After months of driving her around I have realized just how foolish that desire was. I can not imagine driving a deuce at more than 60MPH. That front axle has a TON of mass on leaf springs with shocks that barely dampen the system. When you hit just the right harmonic around 57 the whole rig will buck like a bronco. I can't imagine what that would feel like at 60+. Those of you young-uns who say they want to super single and do 70... listen to the old hands. This beast at 70 will be unmanageable and extremely hard to stop.
In recap, this hobby is great. Expensive, but great. There are tons of people on the forums who are willing and able to help. The hobby unites people from the past, I have had several vets come up to me and chew the fat, telling me of their experiences and filling me with wisdom, and the future, I have made countless kids days by giving them a ride around. It is amazing how an OD Green truck can really make people smile and wave.
Thank you all for the wisdom and the time. Remember, while driving, keep the rubber side down and the smiles for miles.
My room mate and I decided that we wanted to get a couple cords of wood for the winter to help heat the house and my girlfriends folks (who heat their house exclusively via a wood stove) mentioned they wanted some wood as well. So, with wood permits in hand, a sharpened chain saw, and the deuce with a 105 behind we took off to the woods in the western part of NM.
Two deuces went (another guy here in town has one, I don't think he is a member yet). We left the house at 6am (much to the neighbors dismay I am willing to bet as a deuce is warming up at 5:45 am on a Friday). As we set off for Pie Town, NM (yes they do sell Pie there... delicious, delicious, pie) I was thinking to myself that I should have snapped the top into place before we left... but I was wearing a jacket... how cold can it get? The answer to that... bloody cold. As we approached the San Austine flats (the location of the NARO Very Large Array) the temperature dropped from teeth chattering to BONE CHILLING. My roomie and I had brought blankets in addition to our jackets... a fleece blanket draped around your neck and over the steering wheel traps the hot air coming up from the floor quite well!
We got to the wood cutting grounds around 9am and set to work. Cut, haul, stack... cut, haul, stack... anyone who has cut their own firewood knows the drill. 3/4 of the way through filling the 105 we managed to dull the chainsaw to the point it was nearly useless. So we started to stack 7' long logs in the back of the deuce. You could tell what time it was in the day because the length of the logs started to increase as we became increasingly frustrated with hauling from the woods (we forgot to bring a wheel barrow).
At the close of the day all we wanted to do was go fishin' so we fired up the deuce and 105 with roughly 3.25 cords on board (the 105 was full, 3/4 of the deuce was full up to the slats, the other quarter was full half way up the slats). We arrived at the fishin' hole hoping to catch a bunch of crawdad and do a craw fry later in the night. After 2 hours of trying to lure them out of the depths we gave up and headed home.
After cutting all day and not catching a single crawdad... and the sunlight quickly fading over the horizon we decided it would be wise to snap the canvas overhead to avoid the grumpy cold ride from ****. With the canvas securely overhead the cab was nice as warm as we cruised through the night towards home.
The next morning I had to gear up to deliver the haul to Santa Fe. The trip up was without significant consequence other than morons on the interstate interchange in Albuquerque. Evidently a deuce with headlights on and a convoy light going is invisible. I have no clue how... but it is. Especially from behind while merging.
I decided to take the two lane highway all the way home from Santa Fe. I had no desire to deal with morons in down town Albuquerque. This was really the best part of the drive. The weather was perfect, the truck still smelled like the woods and fried chicken (I am running on WVO/biodiesel right now). As I cruised down the road I thought back on the reasons I bought the deuce. #1, you can feed it crap. As an engineer and a broke ass student, I am big into using resources around you. A deuce fits just the bill. WVO, WMO, Gas, Diesel, Biodiesel... dump it all in and go. #2, the ability to haul stuff. While i have no where near met the weight limit of the deuce, it can haul anything that I can fathom. I have moved myself, my girlfriend, and my best friend in a single run. It is amazing the sheer amount of stuff you can fit in the back of the bed. #3, I have always wanted one. Even as a little kid I wanted a deuce, they are like that one ugly duckling you can't help but love.
After buying my deuce I had some serious buyer's regret. I thought to myself "now that I have one... I am going to have to care for and FEED it... what did I get myself into?!" Months later... the buyer's regret is gone. It has manged to groan it's way into my life and I am only going to get rid of her if I absolutely have to. I have also realized that the OD Iron addiction can not be satisfied with just one deuce. I want to get another... knowing full well what I am getting myself into... again
. This truck is simply too nice to chop up and do a crew cab conversion on. Someday when money flows like water from the tap (HA!) I will have to get another chassis to do the mods of my dream on.As I was going through the east mountains near Tijeras I recalled that one of the things I disliked about my deuce at the time of purchase was the lack of a hard top. As I cruised through the mountains with the rag top back I realized just how insane that was. A rag top is WONDERFUL. You get to really experience the country you are driving through. Yes, it leaks in the rain. Yes, it is cold in cold weather... but on that perfect day with the top back and the growl of the exhaust in your right ear... there are really few things better in this world.
As I went up and down the hills I realized just how awesome the turbo sounds as it goes from working to no load. The next time you are out and about, just listen to yours and think about what it is doing. It is really a remarkable piece of engineering, adding power on demand (admittedly very little for our engines) but you can really hear it work and respond to engine load.
As I went across the flats I realized how wonderful that hand throttle is... especially on long drives. Cruise control at your fingertips.
As the miles flew by and I drew closer to home I recalled that when I first bought it how I wanted to swap out tire sizes and hopefully getting a higher top speed. After months of driving her around I have realized just how foolish that desire was. I can not imagine driving a deuce at more than 60MPH. That front axle has a TON of mass on leaf springs with shocks that barely dampen the system. When you hit just the right harmonic around 57 the whole rig will buck like a bronco. I can't imagine what that would feel like at 60+. Those of you young-uns who say they want to super single and do 70... listen to the old hands. This beast at 70 will be unmanageable and extremely hard to stop.
In recap, this hobby is great. Expensive, but great. There are tons of people on the forums who are willing and able to help. The hobby unites people from the past, I have had several vets come up to me and chew the fat, telling me of their experiences and filling me with wisdom, and the future, I have made countless kids days by giving them a ride around. It is amazing how an OD Green truck can really make people smile and wave.
Thank you all for the wisdom and the time. Remember, while driving, keep the rubber side down and the smiles for miles.
Last edited:
