aka "deuce and a half"  military vehicle.  should I buy one?  i find them fasinating and within reach, but would a suburban guy with a regular house and a regular driveway bite off more truck than he can chew with one of these babies?  how cool would a Home Depot trip be in one of these?  anybody with one tell me your thoughts- positive or negative.  any one for sale locally also hit me up!  would love to know everyone's thoughts!  thanks

I say do it. Just imagine the look on your neighbours face when you pull into the driveway in one of those big beasts! The looks alone would be worth it.

Multi-Fuel??

I've heard it goes through tires like nothing else, and they sometimes don't come with titles.

But if you have that much cash burning a hole in your pocket go for it.

If it was cheap then why not go for it. But i wouldnt spend a pile of cash for one.

i wanna get one then mod the bed just enough to use it as a car hauler

Quoted: I've heard it goes through tires like nothing else, and they sometimes don't come with titles. But if you have that much cash burning a hole in your pocket go for it.

They like to bust seals on the differentials too, I think every deuce and half I have ever worked around had to have them replaced - OFTEN.

Quoted: Multi-Fuel??

yes, and a turbo.  only for fun i might add, not a work or commuting truck

Quoted: Quoted: Multi-Fuel?? yes, and a turbo.  only for fun i might add, not a work or commuting truck

Get it..Thats how we burned up all our contaminated fuel and oil from changes....

regular house with a regular driveway=biting off more than you can chew


What are you going to do with it, 365 days a year?

i've always wanted one, but i don't have the time or money required for that sort of toy.

More than just differential seals...they have a buggy air over hydraulic braking system, they don't get much over 8 mile per gallon and if you want to run gasoline, you need to add 2-stroke oil otherwise the injection pump will be fried.

Tires wear FAST and they are hard to find.  Then you have the spilt rim issue.  If you EVER have a blowout, it will come apart.  Insurance?  Not as bad as the danger from inflation after assembly.  There aren't too many tire shops that will mount the tires so look at doing it yourself.  It would be best to build a cage out of 4" angle iron to put the wheels in when inflating and have a remote fill hose/chuck.  If one ever blows, and they do, it will sound like a grenade.  New tire and tube, possibly a split ring too.  The cage will also be damaged.

Tools?  Getting a full impact setup would be required.  

The good news?  You can still find most bearings for the axles and trunnions.  You will have problems finding seals and the wiper rings for the trunnion seals.  These wear out and then the grease will not hold up long.  Pulling trunnions is a bitch.

Quoted: If you do, get the power steering and locking hub kits for it, they will make it much more drivable. Take an honest look at the costs involved in maintenance. If you think buying tires for a pickup is expensive, wait until you buy 11 tires, tubes, and flaps to replace all plus the spare on this beast. Also, some parts of the injection system are getting hard to find, so if you plan to keep it long term, buying a spare engine would be a wise investment. They are, however, good trucks that are relatively trouble free. I have a 1968 M35A2 in Afghanistan that was original....it had never been through a rebuild. I am sure it set the record for longest serving military vehicle in a combat zone in orginal configuration.

id convert it over to a newer diesel engine like a duramax, cummins, or cat

I've been looking into getting one too. From what I hear we're in the beginning of a major phasing out. The military is switching over to newer trucks with modern electronics. Now is a good time to be in the market for a M35.  While researching getting one I've come across a few good sites.
Steel Soldiers- Like ARFCOM for military vehicle guys
Truck checklist- these are things you're going to need to "pre-flight" before running one
Insurance- this is a thread about different insurance options.
M35A2 Review- Jeep magazine did an article on the Deuce & a half
These sites should be a good start on the information you'll need. Good luck, and if you find a good deal and decide not to go through with it let me know.

My analysis from when I was debating buying a deuce and a half back in '06:

Deuce Good/Bad:

Good:

- Extreme coolness factor.  Ownership means automatic invitation to any and all parades within a 50 mile radius (slight exaggeration but not much)
- Extremely simple to work on
- Fairly competent on the trails (e.g. Tellico 5 ton dumps trucks)
- Can literally tow a house (the 10 ton versions do exactly that - look at the ads for the Kennedy House Moving Company), although max rated is 10k lbs or so.
- Parts are fairly plentiful and there's a good technical support network (Steel Soldiers.com)
- Designed to run on almost any type of fuel: diesel, veggie oil, JP-8, av gas, commercial gasoline, biodiesel, etc.  I think the max gas ratio is about 50% or so.

Bad:

- Very loud; ear plugs + muffs usually required for highway driving
- Very cold or very hot depending on the weather (like reptiles, they take on the external temps)
- Requires very large tools to work on (10 ton floor jacks, 1" sockets etc.)
- Very heavy parts and equipment; GVW empty is around 13,500 lbs. vs. 8000 for our PSD's; stock wheels and tires weigh +200 lbs, Super Singles typically weigh in the +300 lb. area.
- Slow; typical highway max speed is 55 mph; this can be slightly increased by going to Super Singles with their larger diameter tire plus upping the boost a little


Deuces show up on egay all the time for $2500-$8K all the time.  There's a reason for it.

I miss my duece.  

I put many butt-numbing miles on them over the years.

I've often thought about getting one myself.  In a couple of years my wife can retire, and we're looking at getting a place with some land.  It would come in handy then.  

+1 to the tire cage, I know two people over the years who had their arms broken inflating those bitches.  Luckily that was the best outcome from one those bitches coming apart.

I got very skilled with my duece when I was a supply guy, i could roll over a dime and tell you if it was heads or tails! :) When I did a tire repair without a cage I bolted the flat into the inner spot of the dual it came from and stood aside with my long hose. I never had one pop luckily. 17 flats through the course of Desert Shield/Storm. I was a one man pit-crew I tell ya. :)

Tag for when I get off my wallet and reup my membership

I've got a few, all the ones i have run mufflers and super singles along with a couple other mods like power steering, radio etc.

buy them now, because you won't be able to get anymore after june, the .gov is going to just destroy and canabalize instead of selling them to the public.

If you want something like that,get a WW2 CCKW-much simpler,not so big. Or get a 3/4 ton Dodge-either a WW2 WC, or a postwar M37-cheap parts,and easy to work on. Whatever you get,have somewhere to store it out of the weather.