Anybody bought a retired 6x6 deuce and a half?

[hodge]

I'm like Roy....When I first saw on the internet they were auctioning Deuces , I thought , Yeah...I'll get one for sure they are cheap...Then reason grabbed me...First off I would need to get a CDL, the like someone else mentioned...Insurance, what do you think a set of tires goes for on one of those..8 tires...big...Yikes ! I am not a diesel mech...so there is that...I guess it was about 5 min. and my day dream bubble popped..LOL

I don't know about other states, but Virginia doesn't require a CDL to drive a deuce. Insurance for my neighbor was DIRT cheap. I don't think the military lug tires are too expensive- but the super singles are, if you chose to put those on instead.
All in all, for him, it was a pretty cheap thrill. As far as diesel mechanics, the engines in them are super simple. Nothing like a modern diesel pickup.
But, regardless, they are a want, not an easily justifiable truck.
Man, will they go through snow, though.
Here is a picture of his deuce, the day he brought it home.
http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h205/br549_red/?action=view&current=deuce.jpg

 

[RoyJackson]

As far as diesel mechanics, the engines in them are super simple. Nothing like a modern diesel pickup.
But, regardless, they are a want, not an easily justifiable truck.
Man, will they go through snow, though.

I have read, but no personal experience, that the multi-fuel engines are the most problematic...and the Cummins diesels (in the 5 Ton trucks) are the most reliable.

 

[brin]

I don't know about other states, but Virginia doesn't require a CDL to drive a deuce. Insurance for my neighbor was DIRT cheap. I don't think the military lug tires are too expensive- but the super singles are, if you chose to put those on instead.
All in all, for him, it was a pretty cheap thrill. As far as diesel mechanics, the engines in them are super simple. Nothing like a modern diesel pickup.
But, regardless, they are a want, not an easily justifiable truck.
Man, will they go through snow, though.
Here is a picture of his deuce, the day he brought it home.
deuce.jpg picture by br549_red - Photobucket

Thanks a lot ...Now you make me want one all over again...I have ridden many a mile in the back and front of one of those...brings back some good and some bad memories...depending on where we were going...

 

[nspec]

We had one when I was a kid. Put a dump body on it and used it to haul manure. Unstoppable off road. Terrible on road.

 

[DavesTractor]

I sometimes dream of getting a Unimog 404--but I lie down until that feeling goes away.

However, last year I did splurge on a 2004 Isuzu NPR tilt cab stakebed (8 x 14 ft bed) with the 6.0L GMC LQ4 V-8 engine (gas), 4L80-E 4-speed automatic, 4.777 to 1 rear axle, 12000 lb GVWR, 18000 lb GCWR. Showing 49,500 miles...

That is a really clean NPR, I was impressed with it when you brought it by. As far as a Unimog 404, you don't have to lie down and let the feeling go away...I just put mine up for sale!

Sort of like the duece and a half, it is really slow on the road. Annoyingly so. Think of it as a fast tractor ripping along the road at 45 mph and it seems better. :thumbsup:

 

[Builder]

I don't know about other states, but Virginia doesn't require a CDL to drive a deuce. Insurance for my neighbor was DIRT cheap. I don't think the military lug tires are too expensive- but the super singles are, if you chose to put those on instead.
All in all, for him, it was a pretty cheap thrill. As far as diesel mechanics, the engines in them are super simple. Nothing like a modern diesel pickup.
But, regardless, they are a want, not an easily justifiable truck.
Man, will they go through snow, though.
Here is a picture of his deuce, the day he brought it home.
deuce.jpg picture by br549_red - Photobucket

The Deuce is surprisingly low on GVWR, not really even close to 26,000.
They are a super cheap go most anywhere vehicle. I think they are cool but man they can be loud.
A guy that lived up the road from me when we grew up had one and everyone hated him because he parked it in the front of his house. Most people thought it was ugly, even viloated zoning requirements. :laughing:

 

[DavesTractor]

Here is my Mog, we now have the troop carrier bed on it instead of the mini-flatbed. We actually hauled a 2500 lb compact tractor on it to a local show...sort of a "we can deliver ANYWHERE statement. With the soft coil springs, it really had some body roll with the tractor up there.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Back a few weeks or months they sold some unimogs with backhoes on the rear and FELs on the front. Rebadged I believe as Freightliners or something. went for about $8000 on average.

 

[DIRTROAD]

Here is what the Russian equivalents of a 6x6 are used for:

logging in russia #2 - YouTube

This video is worth watching!!!

 

[Tractor Seabee]

BEWARE!! These things are getting pretty old now. You will know that when you look for parts that are not crossable to a civilian model. Everything is beefed up so little is available except from those outfits that buy stuff at military auctions.The military has not bought them for many years. They were the military work horse for later WW II, Korea, and Vietnam along with the similar looking 5 ton. All military vehicles are 24 volt electrical systems. Check on what the batteries cost! If you tow a trailer you need a voltage compensator to drop to 12 volts or you will blow all the bulbs in an instant. Brakes are air not hydraulic with hose connections for trailers. I forget the tire size but they are big and expensive and you can bet they put the oldest tires in the motor pool on before excessing it. If we were ruuning on pavement most of the time we would put on standard truck tires (they are standard size rims) on them to ease the ride. The old knobbies they came with are rough riding and noisy. We also used to cannibalize the old ones to keep the better ones going. You will never know where it has been or how it has been abused unless you find patched bullet or frag holes. The best ones are the ones issued to reserve units when new. They get little use and are maintained by time not milage. They suck diesel like mad hence the big fuel tanks. In Vietnam we ran them on JP5 AV fuel but it was hard on the engines as JP has less lubrication value. The 2 1/2 Ton was only made in a cargo model. The 5 Ton was made in cargo, dump, wrecker, fifth wheel tractor, fire truck, and several other special purpose uses. I knew a Marine major once who would only drive a Duece and a Half as his personal vehicle, he would not get into a jeep, said they were a death trap.