What to expect-buying a deuce-moving cross country

[SQUIRL]

Hi.

I currently live in Crested Butte CO, but have a house for sale just outside on Philly (home of eastern surplus) & will need to move everything out here when the house sells. -Is anyone interested in a 3bedroom in Morrisville (sorry I have to ask....)

Anyway....From eastern surplus, I can buy a tarp covered duce&1/2 with airshift, turbo, air-ride seats, showing 36,879 miles, 1157 hours for $6500.00 In contrast penske truck rental wants $1800.00 to rent a truck, and uhaul wants 2400.00!

I've been wanting a 4x4 out here in CO, and figure that the Deuce would be perfect for big camping off road trips & or shuttling my mt. bike friends up and down the hills. (assuming I fit on the logging rds.)

In short, does it sound like a sane plan to buy a M35, load your house in it and drive slowly& loudly across country? Any opinions and thoughts about what I can expect? Also, any advice as to what I should plan for would be GREATLY appreciated.


Thanks in advance....

 

[gimpyrobb]

Well, since you don't have one, I would say its not a great idea. If you knew it was cared for, maybe. I would not have a problem moving in mine, but I know whats been done to it and have tools to work on it if something went wrong. If you were to move with one and something went wrong, there are lots of helpful guys here that might lend a hand if you had access to post up, but I hate to volenteer people. Lets see what every one else thinks.

 

[M1075]

Dealing with Eastern Surplus is a good idea. Let me commend you for that one. That is a good place for a first timer to buy a truck. For the move, plan on a real slow adventure. I would recommend you pay Dave to swap out the 900 tires for 1100s to gain some road speed. He might also be able to help you with some lock out hubs to improve fuel mileage for the trip.

For moving, the problem is that a deuce will not have anything close to the capacity of a moving van. The sides are short, so you will want the bows and cargo cover. I would also recommend getting a M105 trailer with bows and cover for additional cargo capacity.

 

[SQUIRL]

Perhaps I should add....

I will have a general set of mechanics tools (3 toolboxes, 2.5ton jack, ect.) that I use for my other cars with me, (although I'm sure that most of my wrenches and sockets are too small to effectively work on the duece). I also have a AAA membership, and would try to secure a repair manual prior to my departure.

I would also be buying from eastern who seems to have a decent reputation. If anyone has any opinions or stories about them I'm all ears....

Also, what type of maintenance should I expect to encounter over the course of 2000miles?

 

[SQUIRL]

M1075..... I would already be towing a trailer with a car and the duece that I'm looking at does have bows and a cover. But how high are the bows and cover? They look to be 8-8 1/2 ft?

Also, Eastern does have a hard box truck (10' high inside) for sale as well, which I could see turning into a bad@#% camper! Unfortunately it looks a but more rough for wear (rust ect) but it was rebuilt in '92, & does have less miles and hrs.

What is a better gauge of use/ lifespan, Mileage or hrs?

thanks

 

[sparkylisle]

AAA will not provide road-side assistance for a duece, I found out last year at midnight in August of last year , 30 miles south of Iowa City when my Bobbed duece had a flat and my jack wasn't tall enough. Oh yea, your 2.5 ton jack is way to small to use on a duece!

 

[BKubu]

Be prepared for your cargo to bounce around if you choose the deuce route. I would not recommend hauling anything too fragile. It would make for a fun and exciting trip. However, if you have any problems, you will have wished you had not been so adventurous.

The BEST gauge of use/lifespan is overall condition. Make sure the motor sounds good and has good oil pressure, the transmission shifts well, the clutch feels good, the brakes feel fine, the tires are fresh looking, etc. I've seen trucks with 200 hours that did not run or look as nice as a truck with 1500 hours. Honestly, while I would choose the truck with the lower mileage/hours all things being equal, I really don't look at those things when inspecting a truck.

 

[area52]

The hard box truck(M109A3 I assume) would be a better fit for moving your stuff across country since you can cram more stuff into it. The top of the bows on a M35A2 are only about 5 1/2 feet tall plus you would have to worry about security at night.

Eastern Surplus is a good place to get a truck from, Dave will set you up right for the trip. I second the motion for 11.00 x 20 tires. Make sure your filters are all new and drive it around town first to get a feel for the truck before taking off on a long haul.

Good luck and get some phone numbers from people on here that can help you out in case of emergencies.

 

[BKubu]

...by the way, the number of hours should roughly correspond to the mileage. For example, 500 hours or so might roughly equate to a truck with 12,000 miles.

 

[WillWagner]

I guess it would depend on a few things.
1- are you mechanicaly inclined? Not saying that it wiil break down on you, but if it did???
2- The deuce will be signifigantly slower...56 mph max. How long do you have set aside to do the physical drive?
3- Will you need to pull a trailer to get all your stuff to your to Co.? M35s are 24vdc and have a lunette. Unless you can fab a class V receiver you won't be able to pull a civi trailer, and is the place you get the trailer from OK with you installing 24 bulbs...not cheap...and adapting the trailer plug to use the receptical on the truck?...guess you could always get magnetic lights.
4- Is your back strong? The floor height on a Ryder truck is mucho lower than a deuce and the Ryder will have a ramp...refridgerators are heavy!
5- Spriner seat or box? You will have a sore butt
Not trying to burst yer bubble, it would be a sweet road trip, but for a time sensitive thing like a move, i'd rent a truck. Moving a whole house is already a stressfull thing.

 

[jasonjc]

The ryder truck will have 5-6 times move room than a deuce.

 

[SQUIRL]

All good advice! Keep it coming.....

1-Yes I am mechanically inclined, but probably won't have the tools on hand to fix it if something goes wrong. Unless it's minor.
2- Slower's fine. My new job comes with 4 weeks of vacation + flex time so if it takes me 1 week or more to drive across it's fine. I figure average speed of 40mph at 1900miles = 50hrs of driving.
3- EXCELLENT POINT! something that I had yet to consider. This will clearly take more investigation. True I could hook up magnetic lights, but I may run into problems with the hitch itself. Is there a typical square receiver that I could plug in a typ. hitch, or just the industrial circular hitch?
4- Another excellent point! I won't be moving any appliances, and the bigest single thing I'm moving is a queen mattress.
5- air ride seat is advertised. But maybe I can tear it out and put my lazyboy in it's place!

6- Are there 24v-12 v converters available, or do I need to wire something up?
7- thanks for the heads up w/ AAA.
8- Please continue to try to bust my bubble.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Just a side note, AAA will work on the deuce if you tell them its an R.V.

 

[bugei]

did anyone mention that not everyone on this site does the "smart thing" all the time? sometimes it's just fun to play with big green trucks, and if you accidently get some real work accomplished that it is a bonus.

i am sure everyone has a real need for all of the toys they have. NOT! but that does not mean we wont keep playing in the sand box until mom calls does it.

i personally believe in cognitive dissonance, as long as me and some of the voices believe i need green trucks, i ignore the other conflicting voices in my head, and get more trucks.

 

[Elwenil]

On a side note, if the "cargo box" Deuce is the old gasser maintenance body, it looks a lot more run down than what I would consider as a cross country trip vehicle. And if a Duece is too small, swap up to a 5 ton.

EDIT: Nevermind, I see the truck they have now is a M109 and looks to be a decent truck.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Bugei, I agree 100%. BUT I can't say it would be a good idea for a move. That is stressfull enough. If he asked for anything else, I would said hell yeah.

 

[rmgill]

The ryder trucks can be clapped out, but the good thing is that you get to give the damned things back when you get done with them.

 

[No.2Diesel]

I would do it if you have time to drive the duece for a couple of weeks before you move. Some shakedown time will build your confidence.

Ditto w/Bugei

 

[WillWagner]

The ryder trucks can be clapped out, but the good thing is that you get to give the damned things back when you get done with them.

And, the rental comes with 24/7 roadside assistance!

 

[SQUIRL]

Again thanks for all the input! This forum is SO much more helpful than some other car forums that I am a member of.

I agree w/ gimpyrobb (thanks for the AAA-RV hint!) that the move will be stressful enough as is, but since the real state market tanked I'm NOT going to make the money that I was counting on making to offset the cost of renting a 2-3 thousand dollar rental truck (which I view as an alternative to feeding bills into a shredder then setting the shreds on fire - would you like the additional insurance with that?!?!). In fact after 4 months of paying rent and a mortgage, I'm looking at loosing money on the deal just so I don't have to start putting mortgage payments on my credit card!

So.... This quest began with me looking into buying a used moving van and selling it for about what I paid for it when I got out to CO, but then I found out about the DEUCE...... My thoughts being that instead of my original plan (selling my sports car & buying a 4x4 (international scout, power wagon, 4runner, ect.)), I'd buy a DEUCE, and use it to move with. Sell the car once I get to CO to offset the cost of buying the burley beast. & use it when my friends and I go on extended Mt. bike / camping trips, amongst other things. I'm sure I'll have friends how would love to borrow it! Plus when Armageddon comes I could have a vehicle that'll burn anything I put in the tank.

Also.... I am a single guy so there's not a TON to move. (a couple of dressers, 1 queen bed, desks & tables, chairs, kitchen stuff tools & the like) OK so it's a fair bit of stuff, but it's not like I've got a family of four to haul along.

Adventurous.... you bet! Concerned that this may be the worst idea EVER.... you BET!

Please keep the input coming!! Especially anything in regards to Eastern Supply and the trailer hitch situation.....

Thanks!