what was your closest call?

[colyork]

have you had a near miss with your deuce? Mine was a woman who wanted to stop at a yard sale trouble was she didn't bother to pull off the road. she didn't leave much room to go around car coming from other direction. I am glad i wasn't too close.

 

[FrankUSMC]

My closest call to being killed with the deuce...those that heart problems or that are squimish, might not want to read on...
It would have to be the day that my beautiful red headed bride found my 2nd deuce. The one I did not tell her I was getting....it was not pretty.
One of the few, Frank
PS, if any one else want to try it, you might want to post your next of kin here on the forum.

 

[OPCOM]

On FTX, sleeping in the barracks. One Troop, a PVT, had ridden with me to the training. After being woke up several times during the night (I thought I was just waking up by myself) I had got no sleep. Seems unbeknownst to me the Troop had thought I was snoring too loud and kept getting up and shoving me.

He got his when on the trip back to the home armory, Driving the M35 on the highway, I fell asleep at the wheel eyes open, and started drifting across the lane right into an 18 wheeler beside me. His horn woke me up just inches away. My passenger the alarm-clock PVT was white as a ghost and looked scared sh*tless. After pulling off at the next exit to go get a large coffee, followed by 3 others in a smaller truck, (a SGT, MSG, and 1LT) I asked him why he didn't say something when I was falling asleep driving. He said he thought I was avoiding a stalled car on the shoulder and he didn't notice the 18 wheeler till the horn blew. I told him I didn't get any sleep the night before and something kept waking up all night. It was then he told me it was him waking me up all night. What happened after that grand revelation is classified.

 

[DDoyle]

One of my deuces had its parking brakes released by neighborhood kids around midnight - rolled downhill, jumped over a a cross-tie reinforced flower bed and into my neighbors conventional frame construction 12 x 24 outbuilding - knocking it off the foundation and destroying it. Had the truck been over six inches further it would have gone into his bedroom. Bent bumper on deuce - which was later straightened. Strangely, the bumper had been bent in the same spot when I bought it.

In the same deuce, I once destroyed a full-sized van with a deuce - the van elected to pass the "old, slow" 6x6 on the shoulder as I executed a right turn.....it wasn't a close call for me....but it was for the occupants of the van. I did notice that the truck was a little hard to steer at the time. Bent the bumper - in the same place again. Replaced it this time.

Had the air-assist fail on the M62 brakes one time while approaching a stop sign to merge onto a major highway. Pushing the brakes then is probably what gave me a hernia!

Older couple ran a red light in front of me while I was driving the same truck later - full service brake application as well as laying on the air horn allowed me to avoid driving over their Caddy.

Lost the air system on a M123A1C while approaching a four way stop at the intersection of two state highways - no brakes, no horn and too much speed to do much creative manuvering. Parking brakes are just that - not emergency brakes. The Lord was looking out for me and everyone else and I rolled through the intersection and coasted to a stop.

And, in July I was crushed during a freak accident in a friend's tank - airlift to trauma center, lot of pain, lot of money - but I'm still here. Details of this incident are classified.

Remember, collecting military vehicles are fun!

Regards,
David Doyle

 

[mangus580]

I agree on the 'classified' part.... we WONT talk about that here David...

I slid through a changed stoplight with mine once... was loaded FULL deuce and 105 of firewood. Pic available of the load if need be...

 

[AMGeneral]

When I brought my M52 home,air compressor line froze up(it was 28 deg and snowing)at the crest of Black mountain in WNC.Lost all my air press and could not stop to cure the problem,a friend was following me down and said I hit 75mph before I got to the bottom(5 miles later),5 tons don't handle well at those speeds,especially tractors.Good thing "Smokey "wasn't there to see.

 

[Towman2277]

I roller through a stop light once with no brake fluid.......my butt bit a chunk outta' the driver seat!! I was screaming like a raped ape "Look out!!", and blowing the horn the whole time!! Thank god I only hit a "highway 43" sign!!

 

[WillWagner]

Arcadia Ca., lokoks like Bejing if you look at the storefronts. A little rice rocket decided the deuce was too slow, passes on the left then immediatly cuts back in front of me...AND STOPS! Lucky for him the deuce handles like a Porsche! My back, arms and neck were sore for a month, didn't hit him. Just lucky I guess.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Mine wasn't while driving a deuce but while flat towing one. Wet roads, coming through Jax FL I95 south. Came up on a little bend in the interstate and the deuce started pushing the crewcab sideways.Luckily, the guy next to me was on his game, saw what was happening and backed off. Gave me just enough room to steer into it, jab the throttle and straighten it out without incident. Stopped at the next exit, changed underwear and moved the outside duals from the deuce to the back of the pickup. Also moved the spare and axle shafts. What a trip!

 

[georgia_deuce]

Mine wasn't me, but my father, johnnyreb, I was following him as he was driving the deuce. This is actually the first time we realized there was a problem with the airpack.... a small passenger car stopped to turn in front of him to turn and he hit the non responsive brakes. I watched our deuce widen the ditch with her bumper at 30mph, luckily causing no damage except scaring a poor ederly lady half to death... fun day...

 

[texas-5-ton]

Back in the late 90's. I had a 71 AM General M35A2 w/w and no canvas (completely topless). Being in my mid 20's, I was 10 feet tall and bullet proof with my big green truck. So one hot summer night, I loaded about 15 of my best friends into the bed of my deuce with an large aluminum tank containing a malty substance. So off we hit the backroads of North Texas, slow rollin. Well, we come up to this old county road bridge that was about 15 miles from nowhere that was located down in the bottom of a valley. Somebody in the back says " BET YOU WONT DRIVE OFF THE SIDE OF THIS BRIDGE EMBANKMENT" and down into the dry creek below. So rule number one for the army truck was if it looked as if any situation was going to go south, EVERYBODY got out before the task at hand was attempted. So everybody piled out and looked on with glee, like a bunch o' kids around a Christmas tree. Rule number 2 was to survey on foot the task and terrain that was to be attempted. So with my handy Ray-O-vac that was nearly drained, we surveyed and I said "NO PROBLEM". So here i go, from the top of the bridge approach turning from the road, headlights pointing straight out into the sky, with shear determination that this was sure to land me on a hot date at a later time with one of the hotties that was watching me lrom the bridge. Well up until now my plan had went all right until I failed to notice,or negotiate the HUGE concrete blocks (covered with six foot Johnson Grass), that the county had dumped off on the bank to prevent erosion and washout. The grade at which I was decending wasn't all that steep UNTIL my drivers side steer tire hit one of the unforseen massive (2'X2') concrete blocks. Well, the first thing to give was the slack in the steering wheel, which I estimated was turning at approximately 2,500 RPM at the time of impact. The next thing to give was my hand, which felt like it had been ripped off at the wrist. (Did I forget to mention that the Large aluminum container containing the malty substance is still in the back?) So at this point, we ( my truck and I ) are descending at a much steeper and faster rate than was so "carefully" predicted. The next thing I knew, I hear the large aluminum tank (still filled with a malty substance), sliding towards the front of the truck at a high rate of speed. Upon final approach to the creek bed, the keg decides that it had rather come up into the cab and ride shotgun instead of staying put in it's strategically located, unsecured riding area. On final impact, the front bumper of the deuce dug down into the creekbed but the keg continued in motion. "SOMETHING" in the cab area punctured a hole into this massive beer containing instrument, but only after it had come into contact with the passenger side windshield and completely demolished it. Brew began to spew. Everything finally stops. The steering wheel, the truck, the keg and all other forward motion. Next thing I hear is "HEY MAN, YOU ARRRIGHT ????" coming from one of the spectators. SO here comes all the drunk b*stards down to take a look. So after surveying the damage, the keg being the most important to everbody but me, we decide how we are going to recover this truck from the bottom of the creek. I had a large snatch block in the tool box to we anchored to the other side of the creek and began to pull in a forward motion to the other side of the dried up creek and up the bank. Fortunate for us, we were able to pull up the other side. After being back on level ground, I got out and surveyed the truck. I was suprised to find that the only damage to the truck was a broken winshield, a puncted tire on the rear (stabbed with a piece of protruding rebar from the concrete blocks), and a puctured keg. It is only by the Grace of God that I didn't kill myself. Since that day on, I have seriously critiqued my driving habits behind the wheel of any of road vehicle. I can honestly say that we had a lot of fun in that old truck but if I were asked to do it again, what would I say???

HELL NO !!!


The moral of this story....

LEAVE THE KEG AT HOME !!!




This is a true story ! Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent..


Good Night..


Chad

 

[Recovry4x4]

Side note, in all my years of guttin (4 wheelin) I've learned one valuable lesson. Parts breakage is directly related to the volume of spirits consumed. Spirits and thrashing are lots of fun but expensive and time consuming.

 

[Jones]

Convoying back over Donner Summit during winter in a 5 ton wrecker; we come around a corner to find a motorist, stopped in the only open traffic lane, checking the tension on his tire chains. With nowhere to go we head for the snow fields and blow by him like... well, he's standing still. And him with a big perplexed, where-did-you-come-from look on his face. When we finally get stopped, we're 40 yards off anything even remotely resembling pavement and about 10 yards from a pretty impressive drop off. It's amazing how far a 5 tonner, fully chained up will slide even though you're only doing 5 or 10 mph. Took us two hours and closure of the freeway by the CHP to get us self-extricated. Motorist/cause of it all has long since departed the scene; no way he's sticking around to help, or even answer questions. Most important thing to pack when traveling; your BRAINS.
RE: Off-roading in heavy iron. It ain't the getting there, it's the getting home. And the heavier the iron, the more important this is.

 

[steelsoldiers]

Not in my deuce, but still a heckofa story. Might have been some spirits involved...

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/Night to Forget.htm

Closest I ever came in the deuce was almost driving right over the back of some hooptie that pulled out in front of me in Memphis. That big old slow moving desert tan truck was going a little faster that that boy realized. There was much skidding and horn-blowing and fist shaking, but I got it stopped.

David, who was the guy on the Mil-Veh list a few years back that t-boned a car that pulled out in front of him? I remember it broke the front spring mount off the deuce as it tried to drive right over the hood of the car.

 

[M543A2]

I was driving my M135 home from work one after-blizzard day. I was on a country road, coming up to where another road came to my road, ending as a "T". A guy in a pickup with a little kid in the passenger side came to the T, slowed, and I said "OH S@#$ because it was one of those times when you just know the other guy is not going to stop. How he could not see the dark color duece against all of the white snow is beyond me. He came out slow and in turning, blocked my road, so I had to avoid him to his rear, going through the ditch, over the road he had approached on, through the ditch on the other side of it, then back up on my road. I stopped, madder than you know what while at the same time scared. He and I got out of our trucks to see if each other was OK. I kind of cooled down, and we shook hands and exchanged names and happiness that all ended well. He said "Hi, my name is Lucky Shepherd" I told him "Buddy, you got that s@#$ right!!!!
Regards Marti

 

[M543A2]

I had an 11' snow plow on my M135. I took it to town one day the evening of a blizzard to get groceries and other essentials. I was on a service road, approaching a curve to my left. There was two cars coming down the road toward me that would be taking the curve at the same time, turning to their right on the inside of the curve and inside of me. The road was packed snow and ice, very slick. I had another of those fateful thoughts like "They are going way too fast". This proved to be true. I had the plow up and angled to my right, which put the lower left corner of the blade about 3' off the road. I saw the young girl in the first car, with a huge smile on her face as she and her friend following her closely in a car behind were playing on the roads after getting off work. Another OH S@#$, and I started lowering the plow so it would not cut off the top of her car. I got it low enough before she hit, with the expression on her face changing rapidly from laughter to terror, that it started cutting at the center of her hood. It twisted the hood, cut the top off the fender and battery, went on at an angle to just go past her body while cutting off the front upper part of the door post and left end of the window. This force spun her around and off the road to the inside of the curve. The friend closely following avoided by steering toward me, hitting my truck in the back of the cab step and pushing the fuel tank off location. The tank was pushed against the frame, where something on the frame cut a slit in it about 2" wide and 12" long. My tandems then ran up over the hood of her car. The tank was not full, luckily. The slit was high enough only about 5 gallons ran out. After all of the cops and ambulance stuff was over (No one was hurt, just badly scared), I stuffed a large rag in the tank slit and drove the truck home. I found bits and pieces of her car in the bed of my truck! In the duece, my wife and young son experienced only some bumps like we would off-road with no bruises or bumps. WE thought, "My, if we had been in our Blazer, what would have happened to us?" Later, at work, I learned a friend of mine knew the girl in the first car. I was told she had to deal with nightmares of the collision for a long time after. I imagine watching the edge of an 11' plow cut your car apart right past your left side is a traumatic experience! I hope they both learned from it.
Regards Marti

 

[steelsoldiers]

Wow Marti, I think that takes the cake. I got a little shook up just reading it. Glad y'all were OK. Those girls got a first hand demonstration of the awesome power that can be unleashed when you combine a small speeding car with a very large truck carrying a very large plow going the opposite direction. I hope they have a whole new respect for life and will exhibit better control behind the wheel from here on.

 

[ReoCharlie]

Another close call story , from one of the new guys.
I was driving my M34 gas up and down the road several years ago on a nice warm
sunny day with the top off and windshield (ac) working, coming down off a bridge just a little fast when I saw the Mazada RX 7 driven by the dark haired girl pass me on the right.I was in the left lane getting ready to make a u-turn down the road in a parking lot of a boat dealership next to the fire department.The lady in the sports car wanted to turn left also but cut right in front of me and applied her brakes to turn in the break in the median before my turn.I found out how well, and the sounds of all six tires braking with great force to stop my empty truck.The local fire department happen to be outside enjoying the sunny day when the sound of my tires screaming and the stench of burning rubber not to mention my newly installed air horn blasting brought them yelling for the lady to move her a**. The truck slid sideways just a little as I slowly stopped with the front bumper and winch came to stop just inches from her rear glass hatch of the RX7. The look in her rear view mirror with her eyes as big as softballs I will never forget.
When I did let up on the air-horn the firemen were yelling at the lady see nearly killed herself, and I yelled to her she nearly scratched my paint job!
She calmly turned(shaking )and went her way and I stopped at the fire station to see how much rubber was left on the tires .

 

[dmetalmiki]

I am WELL pleased to have obtained AN M45 fire truck.(hiiden in barn years) (the guy took my offer) and it is now at my place. It has ALL the manuals. ladders some hoses. siren flasher a blue rotating? top light. painted drab green. (had a yellow stripe along side. starts runs ok. brakes allmost non existant. ONE BAD HAPPNING! BECAUSE OF THE BRAKES.. AND AS I HAVE ALLWAYS CONVAYED MY DEUCE with MY 5 TON KAISER ON TOWBAR PINTLE TO LIFTING EYES (SHACKLES REMOVED) I DID THIS WITH THE FIRETRUCK. ROUNDING A FAIRLY SHARP CURVE THE O/S LIFTING EYE BROKE AS DID ONE LEG OF THE TOW BAR! TRUCK RAN SHORT WAY BEFORE STOPPNG! LUCKY! WE WERE OUT IN COUNTRY ONLY MILE FROM YARD WHERE BOUGHT.(TWO "fuzz" cars went by..craned knecks!! but didnt stop.PHEW!!) THE GUYS AT YARD HAD NO KIT..THOUGHT WE WERE IN STUK! HOWEVER I DETATCHED THE ONE BROKEN LEG AND TOWED IT HOME (70 MILES) WITH the one REMAINING LEG from pintle to the one remaining lifting eye AS A "STRAIGHT TOWBAR!" ..MY YOUNG CUzz STEERING..BRAVE AND VERY MUCH APPRECIATED KID!!!..i WAS NOT GOING TO USE THIS METHOD OF TOW ANIMORE BUT NOTE THE T.M. STATES THIS IS THE ACCEPTED METHOD AND REQUIRES NO STEERSMAN. IN THE TOWED VEHICLE. I ALLWAYS DO this method procceeding TO RALLIES. iether MY SCAMMELL (tank transporter)TOWS 5 TON OR 5 TON TOWS 2 1/2 TON.Though I HAVE MODIFIED MY deuce WITH PALMS for towed braking (fitted at FRONT!) plus A LIGHTS & TURN SIGNAL SOCKET.

 

[M543A2]

Chris:
The other really surprising thing is that no sparks were generated by the gas tank being rubbed so hard along the frame rail that it cut such a gash in it. Don't you suppose the resulting fire or explosion would have been very bad with about 25 gallons of gasoline involved? I was so thankful the whole thing turned out as it did. I had a spare parts truck I used to fix up my damage and only charged their insurance for the parts and modest labor. I thought they had learned hard enough lesson already.
This is a really nice website, thanks for all your hard work.
Regards Marti