C30 tow vehicle
Below are pictures of what I am working with on the dually. It has the 6.2L NA Detroit, and a TH400 in it at the moment. My dad wants the transmission and I want overdrive, so he is going to trade me a heavy duty/built 700R4 with the proper shift points for a diesel for my TH400 that's in the truck. It only has 95k miles on it, so its not even broke in yet, and the plush seats should take care of the lack of padding I have in my hind-end for the long halls.
I am looking to see what kind of bracing is behind the diamond plating on the rear of the flat bed, what I have in mind is to literally mimic what is on Tonka (I reposted a picture of Tonka's pintle for reference). The idea is to weld in a heavy C-Channel of the same dimensions as the C30's frame, and attach the pintle and D-Rings in the same configuration as the M211's. This should give me some extra height on the trailer tongue. In addition, the lunette would be adjustable, using the lowest setting for the C30, and the highest bolt pattern for Tonka. Of course, this is dependent on how much difference there is between the two patterns, I have the "draw bar" (lunette eye) measurements from the M101/M103/M105 TM to reference for Tonka's pintle height, and I will have the C30 available for those measurements. My hopes are to be able to keep the trailer level no matter what I haul.
I will also be looking to reenforce the standard receiver hitch that is built into the flat bed... just in case. The C30 already has a gooseneck hitch in it recessed below the steel plat you can see in the pictures, this means I can haul pallets and hay, and whatever else needs to lay flat on the bed. I have not yet figured out exactly what benefits fabbing in a tandem "dead axle" would do for the C30 (think of the opening scenes on Fast and Furious 4), but I feel it could be an option down the road if I find that it would be beneficial and economical (e.g. added fuel costs and tires). I'm not going to add a tandem axle to the C30 just to "look cool," it will have to have a noticeable benefit for me to go through that effort.
Anyway, seeing what I have to work with may help you guys envision this project to get my projects home to Illinois while serving the dual purpose of being another transport guy for the forum here and one of the others I belong to. In using the TM's for the M211, it would appear that if I can keep my deck height at about 2' 6" and I am aiming to keep it a flat bed (haven't decided on the beaver tail yet, I'll make that up as I go), I should be able to haul any of the Jimmy's and most likely any of the M35 series...or trailers, pallets, beds, parts, etc. ... no 5 Ton's at this time.
Hope the pictures help.