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Those look like led tail lights if so should have gotten them also.
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What have you done to your HEMTT/PLS/MK48 this week
- Thread starter Coffey1
- Start date
They aren't. I thought about taking them but decided not to worry about them.
Built another remote cable today for a remote I have sold to a HEMTT owner then went ant tested, works great. Built the cable from one pulled out of an M977 that ran from rear to frt. I do believe there is a warehouse in area 51 stacked to the rafters with remote cables for HEMTTs. 
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And that's where they stay with the demill change right beside the ark of the covnet.
JDToumanian
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I thought that cable was already the same? What did you change? The connectors and covers are readily available from Mouser, if we could find the exact spec of the cable itself it would be easy for anyone to make their own brand new cable...
Jon
You have to change one connector on it.
My M985 is going to be used as a stage this weekend at a military benefit car show. I pressure washed the truck then sprayed it down with WD40. I can't believe the difference in the CARC. The chalky look is gone. I will let it dry out before going to the show setup and still have to clean the windows.
Another Ahab
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The rig is looking extra sharp, real nice! ![[thumbzup]](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/images/smilies/icon_smile_thumzup.gif "Thumbs Up [thumbzup]")
Removed the standard spring seats and installed High back/air ride seats with the shoulder harness restraint belts. These were obviously take outs from a PLS as the base that was with them mounted to the floor different than a HEMTT and the lower retractor brackets can't be used in the HEMTT. Just mounted them on the bases that were in the HEMTT and all works fine. These are a nicer and not as bouncy ride as the spring seats. Now I have nice used spring seats to get rid of.
Began the winch installation on the HEMTT today. Got all 4 cable rollers installed with some help from a friend. Next week end I will try to mount the winch and start running hoses. Before I do the actual hydraulic connections I need a clean 55 gal. drum to drain the tank into. I will post more pictures as the work comes along.
snakehunter1964
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HEMTT or MK48. How did you answer that question?
JDToumanian
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I chose a HEMTT because I was a little bit afraid of the MK48's articulation steering after reading about fatal accidents from unintended steering movements at speed. In hindsight, back in 2015 they were selling so cheap I regret not buying a MK48 or two... buying more HEMTTs too, but who could have predicted the demil code was going to change so soon?
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How NOT to start your military vehicle Collection
So this is effectively my first post here and I haven't taken the time yet to document my full story; so I guess I will make this an informal introduction and a starting point for the story. To provide a quick summary, I bought 2, yes 2 HEMTT M1074s back in the beginning of 2017 to start my "collection" of my personally owned military trucks. Yea I know, WOW right? I am sure you are thinking; Couldn't you have started with a little HUMVEE (though in full disclosure I had an H1 until 2002), or maybe a DEUCE (everybody has one), maybe even an 8x8? Nope not me, I had to get the largest wheeled vehicles in the entire US military fleet. Beside, what could possibly go wrong... they are ONLY 55K lbs with 10 wheels, five axles - three of which use a highly complicated hydraulic system for steering, cranes, lift hooks and an engine that no one has worked on in over 25 years.
So to get back to the point - To respond to this thread of, What have done to my HEMMT this week...
This week was like every other week since I bought them, maintenance... Yep, still working on them... I fell like I will be working them for the rest of my life. In fact I feel like I am the sole soldier in a motor pool for a small country. Probably could have signed a deal with OSHKOSH to buy new trucks cheaper than what I have spent on ones that I have... I am talking to more parts guys than I am talking to friends or family; I am on a first name basis with most of them. Seems like all I do is hunt for parts or think about where I am going to hunt for parts. Oh yea and somewhere in there I have to find a few hours to work just to keep the revenue flowing to support the truck/drug habit I now have.
Actually I am kidding, I have really enjoyed buying them and getting "smelly", as my family named the first truck, running well and on the road. I have met many members and other owners and the whole community is really a joy to be involved with. Everyone has been helpful and shared knowledge and tried to help as best they can.
So the adventure for me started with the first truck getting a complete face lift; A new Cab. I believe this truck that I bought didn't move for at least 10 years; so it needed a little extra TLC. I ripped the old cab off and had the new one on in about a day and a half; fought some wiring issues for a few days and eventually got it running.
The 550 mile drive to get truck home was kind of exciting... Now of course there were the typical "Road Side" adventures you have just to getting a truck like this home right? Blew out a fuel line and had to get that fixed; then I got within 100 miles of home and had to replace a tire. Neither of which are a "typical" job for a truck of this size. In the attached picture you will see a 6 foot long 2" square steel bar; that AND the four foot breaker bar AND the torch AND the lubricant were what was needed to get those lug nuts off; and yes both those bars with 9 feet of leverage were flexing a whole lot... Do the math on the torque.
But once I got the truck home the never ending maintenance items that a beast like this requires began... New Hydraulic lines for the crane - ALL 30 of THEM, New Velocity Joints - Did I mention these were 10 ton axles?, Wiring - lots of wiring fixes/replacement, Fuel Lines - because Detroit decided to engineer a nice pool of standing water between the heads, submerging the fuel lines(See drive home above), Rust removal - Because rust removal is such a lot of fun; a great way to spend a weekend, or two; three; four...
So for all of those other military truck owners out there that have these fairy tale stories of buying a military truck and you just went and picked it up and drove it home; and everything has worked as designed from day you got it and your experience has been nothing but fun and worry free... (Or so you lie to us on your blogs) come visit me a few days. I have a few "maintenance items" you can help me with.
So this is effectively my first post here and I haven't taken the time yet to document my full story; so I guess I will make this an informal introduction and a starting point for the story. To provide a quick summary, I bought 2, yes 2 HEMTT M1074s back in the beginning of 2017 to start my "collection" of my personally owned military trucks. Yea I know, WOW right? I am sure you are thinking; Couldn't you have started with a little HUMVEE (though in full disclosure I had an H1 until 2002), or maybe a DEUCE (everybody has one), maybe even an 8x8? Nope not me, I had to get the largest wheeled vehicles in the entire US military fleet. Beside, what could possibly go wrong... they are ONLY 55K lbs with 10 wheels, five axles - three of which use a highly complicated hydraulic system for steering, cranes, lift hooks and an engine that no one has worked on in over 25 years.
So to get back to the point - To respond to this thread of, What have done to my HEMMT this week...
This week was like every other week since I bought them, maintenance... Yep, still working on them... I fell like I will be working them for the rest of my life. In fact I feel like I am the sole soldier in a motor pool for a small country. Probably could have signed a deal with OSHKOSH to buy new trucks cheaper than what I have spent on ones that I have... I am talking to more parts guys than I am talking to friends or family; I am on a first name basis with most of them. Seems like all I do is hunt for parts or think about where I am going to hunt for parts. Oh yea and somewhere in there I have to find a few hours to work just to keep the revenue flowing to support the truck/drug habit I now have.
Actually I am kidding, I have really enjoyed buying them and getting "smelly", as my family named the first truck, running well and on the road. I have met many members and other owners and the whole community is really a joy to be involved with. Everyone has been helpful and shared knowledge and tried to help as best they can.
So the adventure for me started with the first truck getting a complete face lift; A new Cab. I believe this truck that I bought didn't move for at least 10 years; so it needed a little extra TLC. I ripped the old cab off and had the new one on in about a day and a half; fought some wiring issues for a few days and eventually got it running.
The 550 mile drive to get truck home was kind of exciting... Now of course there were the typical "Road Side" adventures you have just to getting a truck like this home right? Blew out a fuel line and had to get that fixed; then I got within 100 miles of home and had to replace a tire. Neither of which are a "typical" job for a truck of this size. In the attached picture you will see a 6 foot long 2" square steel bar; that AND the four foot breaker bar AND the torch AND the lubricant were what was needed to get those lug nuts off; and yes both those bars with 9 feet of leverage were flexing a whole lot... Do the math on the torque.
But once I got the truck home the never ending maintenance items that a beast like this requires began... New Hydraulic lines for the crane - ALL 30 of THEM, New Velocity Joints - Did I mention these were 10 ton axles?, Wiring - lots of wiring fixes/replacement, Fuel Lines - because Detroit decided to engineer a nice pool of standing water between the heads, submerging the fuel lines(See drive home above), Rust removal - Because rust removal is such a lot of fun; a great way to spend a weekend, or two; three; four...
So for all of those other military truck owners out there that have these fairy tale stories of buying a military truck and you just went and picked it up and drove it home; and everything has worked as designed from day you got it and your experience has been nothing but fun and worry free... (Or so you lie to us on your blogs) come visit me a few days. I have a few "maintenance items" you can help me with.
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You are about 20 miles from me, I am in gainesville, I may need to pay a visit.
Got the winch itself mounted a couple weeks ago and last Saturday (11/24) I got all the hydraulics plumbed and installed. Found out I was missing the front control cable bracket and need to make one before I can install the cable, but that is all that is left to do for the winch. I was able to test operation, just had to climb under truck to operate the directional valve and seems to function fine. The only drawback I have found on this winch is the inability to release the drum to free wheel out the cable, it is power in and power out.
HASSON1911
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Sold her. 
but I'm good with that because it went to an SS member that's local to my area (Karl Kostman) and I know he might even take me for a ride in her.
In all honesty though the hemtt is too much for me. And after owning an m35a2, M939's and m977. The m939's are much more suitable for me. Both in cost of maintenance and practicality. The hemtt will not be forgotten and she generously helped pay for my wedding and honeymoon cruise.
I've stared at, worked on, and driven my dream truck, and now it's time for someone else to.
but I'm good with that because it went to an SS member that's local to my area (Karl Kostman) and I know he might even take me for a ride in her.In all honesty though the hemtt is too much for me. And after owning an m35a2, M939's and m977. The m939's are much more suitable for me. Both in cost of maintenance and practicality. The hemtt will not be forgotten and she generously helped pay for my wedding and honeymoon cruise.
I've stared at, worked on, and driven my dream truck, and now it's time for someone else to.
redman333
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What do you guys do with these trucks anyway? Not knocking you just curious really. They are so big!
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Run over cutvees lol.
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question used the crane on my 985 for the first time the other day, everything worked perfect except for the hoist it pays out cable very quickly (almost like it has 2 speeds) but when cable in it moves very slow and as soon as it picks up weight it stops. then i had to use the boom to pick up a motor (about 500lbs) i havent dug into the problem yet but seeing if anyone else has had this problem or anything i should look for right off the bat. thank you.