Which CUCV is this truck?

[GoBigDTVN]

Hi everybody! First post here, but loooong time lurker.
I purchased this truck about a year ago and cannot for the life of me find anything similar.
I bought it from the USDA Forest Service for $1,500 after winning an auction. The Odometer shows 27k miles, and they claim it's accurate according to their service records since they acquired it in 1998 from a military base in Nebraska. -EDIT - As additional information, when I took possession of the truck, the Title had it registered as a historical vehicle in 2016 and was titled in MO. I've purchased a few vehicles from government auctions and this was among the very few that had been titled to an individual instead of the agency selling it.

This truck is an R30, and was ordered with a stake bed.

Here are a few pictures.





I appreciate any insight anyone can give me as to exactly which model this is? I have seen and owned my fair share of CUCV pickup trucks but this is the only one I've ever seen that's a 2WD Dually with a Stake Bed on it that wasn't installed after it was taken out of service.

 

[98G]

It isnt actually a cucv and doesn't have an M number

 

[m1010plowboy]

Can't offer much on the truck but I like Chevys and can welcome both you and the photos to the knowledge of Steel Soldiers. They'll all come along shortly to sort out what that beautiful 1 ton is. Welcome to the green, military or not.

The only other photo I could dig up of a 1 ton dually was over here but it's a 4x4. https://bangshift.com/general-news/...military-pickup-truck-edition-will-cucv-m880/

 

[chevymike]

Not a CUCV as they were '84-'86 models and all 4WD. This was government purchased but not via the CUCV program. Cool truck.

 

[GoBigDTVN]

Not a CUCV as they were '84-'86 models and all 4WD. This was government purchased but not via the CUCV program. Cool truck.

Thanks! That's why I was asking. The auction listed it as a CUCV, but it being an 88 I know there were some 88's that were leftover 87's. The VIN doesn't agree either. Perhaps the USDA just classifies all requisitioned vehicles as a cucv. I don't know who's in charge of the listings.
Anyways I plan to replace a few things on it and modify the bed to dump and do a 24 to 12-volt change and get rid of the split system. For what I paid I don't think I can find a better truck.

 

[NDT]

The registration number from the data sticker is 88B4273, the 88 is code for 1988, and that format registration number is USAF. The truck entered service in 1988, it’s a type B vehicle, and it’s the 4273th vehicle purchased by the USAF in 1988 more or less.

 

[GoBigDTVN]

The registration number from the data sticker is 88B4273, the 88 is code for 1988, and that format registration number is USAF. The truck entered service in 1988, it’s a type B vehicle, and it’s the 4273th vehicle purchased by the USAF in 1988 more or less.

Thanks NDT! That's more information than I could have possibly found on my own. I wonder why the USAF was ordering stake-bed trucks now.

 

[Mullaney]

Hi everybody! First post here, but loooong time lurker.
I purchased this truck about a year ago and cannot for the life of me find anything similar.
I bought it from the USDA Forest Service for $1,500 after winning an auction. The Odometer shows 27k miles, and they claim it's accurate according to their service records since they acquired it in 1998 from a military base in Nebraska. -EDIT - As additional information, when I took possession of the truck, the Title had it registered as a historical vehicle in 2016 and was titled in MO. I've purchased a few vehicles from government auctions and this was among the very few that had been titled to an individual instead of the agency selling it.

This truck is an R30, and was ordered with a stake bed.

Here are a few pictures.

View attachment 864554View attachment 864556View attachment 864557
View attachment 864558View attachment 864559
View attachment 864560

I appreciate any insight anyone can give me as to exactly which model this is? I have seen and owned my fair share of CUCV pickup trucks but this is the only one I've ever seen that's a 2WD Dually with a Stake Bed on it that wasn't installed after it was taken out of service.

.
Welcome to the Outfit as a MV owner GoBigDTVN !

Nice looking truck - and like you said - for the price you paid, you did really well. The Air Force is a different breed. Might have been that your truck ended up out in the prairie hauling supplies to a silo or control facility.

.

 

[pmramsey]

Auction personnel can be quite clueless. I purchased one of these from the Air Force in 2014 for $1500. It has a Reading 12-foot bed, 2-wheel drive, with a 411 rear. When running, it is far quieter than a CUCV, moves along at a comfortable 60-65 MPH. Restored, they are a work of art.

As you can see, I TOO, at one think was mistakenly told this was a CUCV. The old photos tell the story.

When I purchase my unit out of Pope AFB, it was a real dog looking of a mess. As you can see, it cleaned up quite well. I stripped the interior, replaced some trim, added new tires, resealed the wooden deck on the bed, removed some rust, rebuilt the TH400 transmission, added a new vauum pump, and repainted the cab with the original GM color. It is a great farm truck not to mention a head turner. It also has duel fuel tanks.

 

[M813rc]

"Off-the-shelf" vehicles are common in all the services for non-tactical use.
Stake bed trucks like that are particularly numerous as they are useful for general duty hauling of anything from laundry to chow hall supplies to fuel drums to whatever.

Here's a picture of a newer truck (Ford, I think) getting loaded with stuff from a C-17 on the flightline.




Cheers

 

[WWRD99]

Hi everybody! First post here, but loooong time lurker.
I purchased this truck about a year ago and cannot for the life of me find anything similar.
I bought it from the USDA Forest Service for $1,500 after winning an auction. The Odometer shows 27k miles, and they claim it's accurate according to their service records since they acquired it in 1998 from a military base in Nebraska. -EDIT - As additional information, when I took possession of the truck, the Title had it registered as a historical vehicle in 2016 and was titled in MO. I've purchased a few vehicles from government auctions and this was among the very few that had been titled to an individual instead of the agency selling it.

This truck is an R30, and was ordered with a stake bed.

Here are a few pictures.

View attachment 864554View attachment 864556View attachment 864557
View attachment 864558View attachment 864559
View attachment 864560

I appreciate any insight anyone can give me as to exactly which model this is? I have seen and owned my fair share of CUCV pickup trucks but this is the only one I've ever seen that's a 2WD Dually with a Stake Bed on it that wasn't installed after it was taken out of service.

I like it!! Looks to be in great shape too.

 

[flyfishtrailer]

I bought a service truck from a friend who thought it was military. I went and looked at it. Color was right, it was a Chevy (1993) dually 4wd, but had "contractor operated" on the sides of each door. It wasn't 24 volt but did have two batteries. A little digging through the glove back and we found it had been a service truck at McClellan AFB in the 90s. When the base closed and was purchased by Sacramento County it became their truck. When Sac County sold the base to private group it just sat there until my friend picked it up. I bought it from him for cheap and it runs great. Only had 53,000 miles on it. Yours looks great and will be a fun project to fix up. Mine was.