Following through the posts of this thread it appears your intention is to 'build/modify' an all purpose vehicle to operate throughout the entire range of environmments to be found globally. Expedition vehicles are inevitably a compromise, indeed most things in life are compromise of one form or another. The combined experience/knowledge base, regarding vehicles in particular and also of life, to be found amongst the large membership will always eclipse that of your own.
You may also like to ponder the following thoughts which could clarify many things for you.
Why the Deuce Doesn't Have These I'll Never Know!
Was the starting point of this thread and so I will jump off from this
If you don't like it (the deuce) then make it whatever you do want: If you know what you want and how to do it great so get stuck in and then show us your wonderful invention/creation.
Digressing slightly now, I note that you are working towards a PhD as a 'trick cyclist', whilst some may see this as a useful profession the truth is that there are only 2 classes of people who are of real first order use in this world - they are A) Farmers B) Engineers. Farmers since their knowledge and labour feed the population and Engineers since they create the fabric and means of the manufactured environment and its accessories.
If you are unable to classify yourself in these 2 fields of endeavour (which are essential to survival) it follows that you are probably in the class we often refer to as parasites and/or pests, less likely you may be in a symbiotic relationship though this could be with any of the afore mentioned. Among the parasite/pest class may be found accountants, lawyers, politicians, bureaucrats together with their assorted ranks of paper chasers, enforcers and other similar but endless types of numberless minions.
At this juncture I would like to say, that in places like steelsoldiers, there is for sure a very much higher density of engineers and farmers or those who fulfill both roles than is found in the wider population: This (population) comprised largely of wazzocks wielding a disproportional of sway across the globe (and just look out and see what a mess we are all in as a result of inappropriate people in places of power) whilst at the same time bleeding us all to death agrandising themselves en route.
You have I see been reading the posts of many guys here, you may laugh or act as you wish while pursuing your endeavours.
Good luck and best regards from Dave Gudmunsen
I love a false dichotomy argument that only two groups of useful people are farmers and engineers. Well considering how humanity seems to have existed thousands of years prior to the neolithic revolution I guess farmers are only important if you live in a society that establishes fixed settlements. Secondly, if you don't have a society based on that precept of social organization you don't really need too many engineers. Furthermore engineers owe a lot to us Philosophers, we are the ones that investigated the principles of logic and mathematics that have after all made practical engineering even possible.
Then you have pure research scientists who have discovered so many wonderful things that now engineers take for granted. It was physicists that helped to create the modern age we all love and know. They developed theories that allow engineers to develop practical machines. Furthermore it was the philosophical revolution in modern mathematical logic that has helped make this fantastic machine we conversing on work. After all if Frege, Russell , Godel , Church, Turing , and Taski hadn't developed systems of logic to account for the mathematics required in the machines such as computers it would be pointless to even contemplate the creation of a computer because the logical operations of the system would be impossible.
So it seems Engineers first need to learn from people like Pythogras before they could even figure out how calculate basic forms of geometry. So where you be when attempting to figure out how to tell a computer Hx if only if Fx means if you don't have people like the Stoics and later Frege and Russell to help you out with language?
It seems that if you want your modern world as it is, you need more than just farmers and engineers. After all, how do you expect to teach an engineer to be an engineer, without formal training? How do expect to transfer information between groups of people? It seems your argument is so flawed, that my response to it briefly now is only a formality, since it really only deserves the contempt of silence.
Now if you the M35A2 the way it is fine... There are always compromises in designs. But some of the compromises the US Army took with the design seem to be less than optimal. Air-Lockers , greater horse power , CTIS if all properly developed and tested are not negative features of any truck. In my opinion they only enhance and offer the same truck greater mobility in a greater number of environmental conditions. The only real reason I can see the US military didn't want to add these features to their trucks since all the new trucks have them is purely cash based.
But hey you think whatever you want about any number of topics ranging from philosophy to the art-trick cycling. I just thought other people might find the fact that the US department of defense omitted such useful features given the then strategic plan of containment odd as well. It is not a personal attack on any user of the truck. It is just something, I think odd given the fact that rapid deployment to far flung areas, that might make such things necessary to successful mission.
So have a nice day.