I imagine parts and maintenance would be the real bitch. But tag out of curiosity

Only a handfull have been released by DRMO and that was a mistake that won't be happening again. Old ones now get torched into many pieces. You can sometimes find one of them for sale.

You can buy a hummve from any Chevrolet lot. A hmmwv im sure you can get at a surplus.

I personally know a guy who has a few stripped down units and has already rebuilt and sold a few. Also just saw one sitting at a local auto repair shop. All are surplus units.

Honda CRV- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGNOi8TLfCo

Those thing looks like toomahs

Because your masters in DC say so, serf! Now get to work, 48% of the US population is counting on you!

That really is the reasoning behind it, BTW. The government will tell you it's because they are not designed to meet Federal Highway Safety Administration standards, but that's just a smokescreen. The reality is that they just don't want you to have it.

LC

Wouldn't part of a buv be to not attract attention to yourself? Seems like that vehicle might make one a target. I'd go with a four wheel drive yugo or something.

There are several vehicles I would rather have than an old ass humvee.

Depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you just want to plow through bodies while hightailing it to your BOL, sure. On the other hand, everyone you didn't run over is going to say "hey, that guy looks like he has a bunch of preps, better follow him", and you're going to very very easy to track down, what with the unique vehicle and all.

Let me guess.

You're one of those guys with a Dodge 2500 Cummins that gets 28 mpg combined?

No. I'm not.

Go find one of the old commercial hummers. Although I would think something like a Toyota Tacoma would be more practical.

I would think you would be better off with a more commonly sold, off road capable, vehicle than a military truck. The military vehicle not only would stand out, but be harder to find shit for if you needed it.
Then again it would depend ont he situation you are using it for.

Ehhh, I hated working on them, they are heavy even striped down, will not survice a frount end collision, and are gutless. Get a Toyota Tacoma, or a south american 4Runner with the diesel. You would be better served, they wheel better, are lighter, get great milage, and are able to get over 55mph.

For that noob who said they get 18mpg, your on crack and forgot the decimil. The 6.5TD would only get about 11mpg in a 3/4 pickup that whieghs in a lot less than that hmmwv, how in the fuck would you get 18mpg in a vehicle with a final drive ratio of 8.9 to one in 4th gear??? It doesnt have an overdrive transmission, it has geared hubs (4 to 1s) and 3.73 ring gears, not a chance in hell. Troll.

And yes I had a Dodge Cummins that got 23mpg freeway and 16mpg in town, only cost me about 6k in machine work and mods.

Just who in the hell is going to stop you if, for example, you are running around in a Deuce? When you are bugging out the military is not gonna be searching for old MV's, they'll be too busy with other things.

You can run over or through lots of shit with a big truck.

LC

A lot of bad information in this thread. A lot.

Part of the confusion is that people aren't usually even talking about the same thing. OP, when you say "Humvee" do you mean an actually military surplus M998 HMMWV or heavier duty one? Or do you mean the Hummer H1, produced between the years of 1992-2004, and then again for a year in 2006?

Some people seem to think that a Hummer H2 or and H3 needs to be a part of this conversation. And it doesn't.

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All that said... it would make a great bug out vehicle under a few conditions. Firstly, it will be VERY difficult to find a heavy duty truck that has the off-road capabilities that the Humvee does. Sure, you see jacked up Super Duties and all that around, but a tall vehicle doesn't necessarily offer off-road prowess. A Hummer (to mean a HMMWV or Hummer H1) paired to an M1101 trailer makes for a hell of a bug out combination strictly speaking of vehicle capability.

Reliability for the vehicles is VERY different between models and model years. For example, HMMWVs use a fuel pump that is much more reliable than the ones found in the newer Hummer H1s. Steering and suspension components were beefed up in the later civilian production models because of failures. Cylinder #8 issues in the 6.5 turbo diesels was a "common" occurrence in engines made before ~2002, etc, etc.

But that's like any vehicle. Maintenance on Humvees won't be as easy as your typical grocery getter, because they weren't designed that way. Gotta change a brake rotor? Get ready for a task, because the brake rotors are tucked up next to the differentials to keep the hoses away from battlefield debris and off road hazards.

Ultimately, it's an AWESOME vehicle. Configured correctly, it'd be hard to find a better BOV on paper. But there are a lot of things to consider, aren't there?

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18 MPG isn't unrealistic. But should be considered an absolute peak for a stock truck in any configuration.

People with Cummins 4BT engines retrofitted to their trucks get 22, 23, 24 reported on the highways. The transfer case addition on the 2006 Alphas to allow the truck to run in 2WD added quite a bit as well.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll answer what I can.

Most BAMF Vehicle ever
I'm not going to go into specifics of what the roles for this vehicle are. But needless to say I would want this mounted with a .30 1919 on top.
Their whole line is amazing, simple awesome. There is a point when man and machine can become close to being one, like when body fluid dynamics flow with harmony with the AR. The gun will sing with the warrior together.

I had a buddy who had one and was friends with guy who worked on it. I guess it was basically a tractor with windows, tons of torque but slow as molasses. Unless you live in a really remote area with no paved roads the low top speed would be a huge downside.

Toyota Tacoma? 65mph is cruising in the slow lane in Northern VA; I regularly run mine 75-85 w/room for MUCH more! Have made the Quantico/CamLej/PISC run many times and have never had problems.

Problem with the ToyTac is lack of space to lug bug out shit, especially in a 4 banger short bed (6ft of space).

ETA: LOL you're talking about the HMMWV! Right?

The Best BOV is the one you know best.

I know Silverado's and Tundra's. But, if you know what breaks and why on Jeeps or whatever, then that is what I would have.

Where in any SHTF scenario would you find a Mil spec-36-1250-165 Wrangler RT, or a hub bearing for a Unimog? Well, any 16.5 tire for that matter.

What parts would a rural Napa / Carquest stock? Hint: Farm Trucks!!! I bet they have GM & Ford, 4WD front hub bearing assemblies, rotors, pads, fuel pumps.

What tires do most tire stores stock?

What would junkyards in BOL's area have in them?

I don't think so.

Something so obscure would be hard to get parts for, expensive to fuel, and make you stick out like a sore thumb.

Since this is all hypothetical, my preference would be for a 4BT converted Wrangler LJ with trailer. Mild lift, set of good ATs (33"-35"), front mounted winch, manual trans (easier to fix on the roadside), and body armor (Currie, Savvy, and others).

Utility trailer would have same size tires and wheels with same bolt pattern as vehicle.


Light, nimble, great degree of offroad capability, great gas mileage with the 4BT, multi-fuel capability, easy to work on.

I'd take either an M35 or an M1009 for a BOV over a military HMMV. Both would be cheaper to buy and maintain.

tacoma/hilux is better in almost every measurable way