Yeah, there's a slight gap there,  but you don't really see it unless your looking for it.

PM Sent

This doesn't make any sense, but after painting my rear curtain with Rapco paint, it seems to have shrunk a little bit and is very hard to get all the eyelet to fit over the attachment things.  





Is there an insturction kit for the rhino carrier?  I don't want to mess it up bending pins and whatnot like SOME PEOPLE.

 

Unless you got the carrier new from the factory, I don't know of any installation instructions but you really don't need them.

It's really just a matter of removing 6 bolts from your bumper and reinstalling them.

Having a buddy or balancing the carrier on a jack is the easiest way to get it into place while you install the bolts. Unless you're a beastly man like me and lift it into place while putting the bolts in. But seriously, just put in the 4 bolts for the carrier itself and then install the retainer bracket with two bolts. You can see from mine or Lawman's pics exactly where on the bumper the hardware installs.

That's literally it.

The pin that may have been bent is just a little optional clip pin that keeps the carrier from coming out of the retainer bracket. I think it's DOT required if I remember right from the manufacturer's promo literature. You don't even really need to use it so, you know, you don't forget it's in. the lift mechanism can be tightened down really well so it pushes the swingarm down into the retainer bracket. If you were to bend it, I hear replacements can be found at Lowes and Home Depot in the hardware aisle.

Installing the Rhino carrier was definitely the easiest part of my rear end work.

To operate it, flipping the lever one way on the ratchet mechanism makes it raise, other way makes it lower. The swingarm has a small locking bar by the main pivot pin that will stop the swingarm at 90 degrees open for raising and lowering the tire. You can lift the locking bar and swing it open fully to open your tailgate. It has Zerk fittings to lube everything. Like Lawman said, way over engineered!


Strange about the paint making your curtain shrink! Might not be a bad thing though...

My rear curtain is oversize enough to almost do the job one half time again.

Its hanging off the truck like a XXL Tshirt on Michael J Fox on a 98degree day

As Ryan said - you're not likely to come across a set of instructions. Installation is really straight forward and there are plenty of pictures online. Mine didn't come with a pin to secure the swing-arm to the bumper,  but by adjusting the turnbuckle down - it ain't going anywhere. Ryan -do you have to constantly manipulate the ratcheting mechanism to adjust the turnbuckle? I can where there is a spring in mine, but there isn't any spring action, so I have to constantly manipulate the pawl by hand.

I suppose I'll just cancel the request for Florida title and take my chances with the SF97. I don't like the idea of how IronPlanet provides it to you in their name and offers you an amendment letter. If I can't get an SF97 in my name,  I don't see why I should have to pay for one. They already have the damned thing when they took receipt from the government.

I was a little worried with the SF97 not being in my name, but Texas DMV accepted the notarized re-assignment letter that came with it with no issues. All of the paperwork is a bit screwy when you get some that says Gov Planet and others that say Iron Planet and then trying to explain it all.

Just got done with about a twelve mile drive in mine and the new tires are wearing a bit unevenly, with no wear on the inside 1-1.5". The tires are basically tilted too out a bit. Is this the camber adjustment something a normal alignment shop can deal with?  If not, how much of a pain is it to adjust myself and what special tools will I need?  I presume these were aligned this way so they could be loaded up with heavy armor.

I don't think normal car places can do the alignment as it involves shims. Setting the toe is the same as any other vehicle (just loosen the two clamps and turn the tie rod). However, setting the castor and camber is done by shimming the upper control arm mounting brackets away from the frame. I think in your case removing the shims already there. Add or remove the same thickness shim from both brackets for a given control arm to adjust camber. Add or remove to only the front or only the rear to adjust castor.

Is the procedure outlined in the TM with pics?

Chapters 12-12 and 20-4 in the -34

No, mine still seems to have enough spring left in it it works fine on its own so long as it has some weight on it. With no wheel/tire I'll have to hold the turnbuckle so it doesn't spin back and forth and ratchets correctly.

Then again, my whole carrier needs greased well but I'm holding off on that until I paint the outside. I'm going to give all of the black parts a shot of black CARC and I don't want to have to clean off more grease than I need to.

The thred is a little bit slow today so I figured I would post a picture from yesterday. This was taken on top of a very steep and about 60' tall hill.  My HMMWV made it up the hill with no problems in low gear.   The picture does not capture the steepness, nor the height of the hill.   Climbing the hill with most fun I have had in my Humvee so far!

Nice! Did you find the sections you needed in the TM?

I have not looked yet, but I did see the shims attached.  It looks like it will be a royal pain to remove some of them, so I am going to get the Rhino and spare mounted and see if the additional weight make much difference.  I did notice that they are not as canted when the X Doors are installed, so maybe it doesn't need that much more weight?  I also have considered driving it to a National Guard armory and ask if there is anyone around that knows how to remove shims.  There is not a motor pool nearby, so that is probably out of the question.



 

There were some incredible deals in today's auction.  I saw several runners going for under $6,000.  I would love to get a second, but damn the timing is not good.  

 

In other news, after seeing http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?153367-HMMWV-Grounding-Kit-Install thread, I ordered and installed same.  It was an easy install and gives me some piece of mind knowing that grounding issues shouldn't leave me stranded.

A ground kit was the very first thing that I did to both of my trucks. It's well worth the piece of mind and eliminates a big issue that these trucks are known for - ground problems. I had a buddy of mine over - he's a civvy mechanic at the local reserve center. I had to explain to him what the extra wife was coming off the alternator one afternoon - he thought it was the greatest thing ever and felt all the military trucks could use it. Unfortunately, if it's not in the TM, then it'll never make is way into a mil truck.

Wow! No kidding? I haven't had a chance to look at auction results recently. Has me curious now... Not that I can afford a second with all of the money I've spent on this one.

I wonder if word is getting out about no more FL titles and the growing delays on paperwork.

I was supposed to have my SF97 almost a week ago. Still don't have it or the $100 refund. Jwade is looking into it for me.




I just finished my grounding harness over the weekend when I had a chance to change my engine oil. I had most of it in place except for running a wire to the battery negative and the starter ground from the engine block. Took care of that while I was under the truck. I ordered a 100ft spool of 8 AWG wire from Amazon for $35 and some ring terminals for like $5 from eBay and made my own. I've got more 8 AWG wire than I know what to do with! I even went and ran an extra ground to the PCB from the alternator for extra insurance.



In other news, it looks like we may finally be getting a break in the rainy weather starting Saturday afternoon through Tuesday. I'm really hoping to get started on the Lizard Skin/Monstaliner install.

With all of this rain, my top has started holding tons of water. To the point that it was actually slowly soaking clear through the top (I'm guessing at the stitching) as well as getting between the Velcro seam between the 4 man top and cargo cover. I also noticed it has stretched a little since I first put it on adding to the ponding problem. Decided to do something about it... Using my floor jack and a notched piece of wood, I put a slight upward bend in the middle of the tubular roof bows and installed some new wood pieces like my truck had under the top when I first got it. Took the old ones and  trimmed those for the rear cargo cover area. Now the top has a slight curve to it and is much tighter again. Sits a little higher for more headroom as well. I'll probably paint the wood 383 Green to blend in. It's supposed to rain Friday through Saturday morning so we'll see how well the mods do.





I swear, if someone came out with an awesome, non-leaking and rotting, aftermarket top/half door combo instead of having to do this, I might sell a kidney to buy one.

(A keen observer will note the cargo divider I've installed. I need to take some more pics of that and the mods I've done to it...)

Mine had bad sagging problems as well even after stretching the canvas as tight as I was comfortable with (didn't want to start splitting seams). I used a couple of sheets of .25" plywood and it's been perfect ever since.

I like the cargo divider!  I bought a two man divider and was planning on using it with my four man setup, but I think I have decided against it because it seems weird to me to have the barrier between the front and back seats.  Oh well.
Ryan, do you find that the front passenger seat sits too high with the slider on it?  I had to remove mine because my buddy was close to hitting  his head on the B pillar while driving and I was worried about that that in an accident or while off-roading. I can see why the military requires K-pots to be worn at all times!
Still waiting on my Rhino carrier.  The local fastenal doesn't seem to know how to track it.
I'm down to the end of my budget on this thing and I can't decide whether I want to buy a trailer hitch or four jerry cans.  I suppose I should just get both?



Here is an example of a runner that sold for $5,000 with one bid (its not perfect, but still): http://www.govplanet.com/jsp/s/item/655508?h=6-22
 

Yeah, I don't know that Fastenal can track their freight shipments. I never bothered to check since I knew it would take a while. They aren't the fastest but they're pretty reasonable pricewise.

As for the hitch or cans, that's up to you. Just know that if you go with the civi hitch setup I did, It'll probably run about $525 when you get the hitch, all of the associated brackets, and bolts if you go through Hummer Parts Guy which was the only place I found the full setup. You'll need the hitch itself (6008114, $250), the left and right braces (6007689B5/6007688B5, $65 and $56), the left and right brackets (6007931/6007905, $24 and $18), and another left and right bracket (6018756/6018757, $45 and $43). One of those bracket sets is the body mount brackets, the other is the ones that mount to the frame at the rear A-arms.

There are other hitch options that aren't as heavy duty which are a lot cheaper though. You can find them on eBay and they usually just bolt to the bumper making them comparable in weight rating to what the original pintle hitch is rated at. I figured if I'm going to do it, do it right though and went with the strongest hitch.

I still need to install my A-arm brackets. I've been putting off dealing with those.



Holy cow! That was a steal for whoever bought that!

There were several like that.  I was watching in disgust and envy.  I really want a tan two door model.    I could sell some stuff and buy one, but maybe they will get even cheaper.  



 

First off my apologies as I just found this thread and am jumping in after not having read too much past the OP - which is awesome man thank you for putting the time in !

I have wanted one of these vehicles for some time and have not done the research or legwork as of yet ...

However , yesterday I found two of these sitting in the bushes and was informed this morning that they were acquired a couple of years ago for free by a local town and they have to wait a certain amount of time before reselling - they did not know how much time though and said they would look into it ...

Wondering if anyone might know if that is the case and how long that time might be ?


They both appear to be complete , less a few things .. , and one of them has been confirmed to run while the other 'may' need a head gasket or something ...

Hoping there will be some conversations to be had very soon.



Thanks in advance .

Welcome to the conversation!

I've heard numerous times from people who have heard about local municipalities getting their hands on free Humvees and the same story gets passed around about having to wait a certain amount of time before they can be sold off. It's really a bad rumor that gets passed around. For work, I deal with folks from the DLA pretty regularly and have been told that these vehicles are technically "on-loan" from the federal government. While I'm sure there are municipalities who've sold them off, I'm also aware of several local level auctions getting pulled as a result of selling property that technically doesn't belong to them. I also remember a large Arizona agency making the news because they were selling off DRMO gear to pad their budget - it didn't end well and I wouldn't want to be in possession of something purchased via that method as I'm sure it'll be seized.

It's a shame really because the agencies are responsible for picking them up - and returning them when they're no longer being used. What happens is many agencies see Uncle Sammy-Clause handing out free gear and can't help themselves. They get the free gear and realize that a lot of work is required to get them serviceable, or just to maintain them. Once someone gets tired of dealing with them, they end up in a field with grass growing all around them and are otherwise a nice wasp nest sanctuary. My local sheriff's office is a good example. I originally noted, like you,  3-4 Humvees sitting in a field falling into disrepair. When I spoke to my sheriff about it, it turns out he had 9 more sitting hidden behind the jail. He said he got them for "inclement weather", etc and I guarantee that not a single one would start if needed on demand. So they sit there, they don't want to spend money to return them and they fall apart.

There are plenty of legit ways of getting one, but I'd be hesitant of picking one up from a local government. With that said, if they're just sitting there, they're a great source of parts if they'll let you pick them over, since the serialized body is ultimately all that matters for turn-in.

Good information man - thank you. That does sound like it could head down that road if that is the overall scenario .. unfortunate it will be for sure.

 
As of now I am still awaiting a response from the town so I will see what they say.



I guess if nothing else this has really given me a kick to start this project. My goal has been to refit a duramax into one and the idea of paying upwards of 10k for something that I don't even want all of sucks - I'm sure plenty of others feel the same. When I saw those sitting there I obviously started to daydream with optimism possibly too good to be true ...



Glad I found this thread though and going to read through it while doing more learning on the subject.

If you're looking for a parts or donor truck, they can be had for much less than $10k since you'll be replacing much of the big stuff. I'd make sure the body and frame is straight and go from there. Even if you spend $10k, you're going to be replacing stuff anyway, so it's not like that's a magic number to getting a no effort required truck. Usually for that amount, you're hoping a lot of the big stuff works and know you'll be replacing a lot of small stuff.

I've been in the same daydream mode - my sheriffs office has a nice uparmored truck that I was hoping they'd be ignorant of the rules, but no dice.

I definitely considered using plywood but decided the wood slats would be a lot more manageable and easily storable.

These trucks really are begging for an aftermarket improved soft top and door design.



I missed this on your edit but I checked since I haven't spent much time in the passenger seat and you're right. I'm 6' tall and with everything in place, I've got about 1-1.5" between my head and the top of the B-pillar.

May be worth picking up a foam roll bar cover and putting it on there... Definitely something to consider.



Here's a couple pics of the cargo divider installed:






I got both the brackets and divider from eBay a while back. The brackets are installed with aluminum nutserts and flat head screws but you could just as easily use flat head screws and a nut since they go into the wheel well.

That grey piece on the bottom is another bracket that is supposed to rivet/screw to the floor and help keep water out of the interior with a round gasket. I didn't want to ruin the 100% flat floor by attaching the bracket to the floor (would make it hard to sleep in the bed when camping or carrying lumber) so instead I riveted it to the divider. I had to trim the 90 degree bend on both ends to clear the brackets then all I ended up doing was riveting the bracket to the divider. The whole assembly comes out retaining the flat floor from front to back and should still end up helping keep out most of the water if I've got the cargo cover off.

I did have to take out the rear curtain footman loops on the floor to accommodate the floor bracket but I'll be reinstalling them further back after the Lizard Skin and Monstaliner are in. Also going to remove the brackets when I apply those and put some RTV on the backside of the brackets when I reinstall them to seal everything.

On the divider itself, for some reason I ended up having to grind all of the corner welds flat because the divider would not fit as is in the brackets, even though those are the correct brackets for that divider. Maybe that's why the dividers were sold off as surplus, because they were out of spec and wouldn't fit.

The floor bracket comes in bare aluminum so I had to prime it. Since I had to grind the welds on the divider and the bracket isn't painted, I'm going to paint them all at once with the CARC paint. Might put Monstaliner on it if it ends up getting too beat up.

The bracket (5938789) and gasket (5939988) were $27 and $6 respectively from Hummer Parts Guy.

Almost forgot to mention... Anyone needing to restitch their soft door windows, Harbor Freight has you covered.

$6 will get you this. Half the price I paid for one of these with less thread on eBay.

Nice setup on the rear Divider.   Did the bottom piece that you primered come with the rear divider.  I have not seen that piece sold anywhere, just the large green divider itself.     I have already purchased the side brackets.  I was planning on using a piece of painted lumber for the divider itself.  And maybe run a strip of thick weather striping under that to keep out the water.

No, I had to get it separate. The only place I have seen the floor bracket and round gasket is Hummer Parts Guy.

I don't know how Iron Planet does theres. Govliquidation costs $60. and takes a month or better to arrive....with govliquidation, whatever you put on the application will be put on the SF97 that applies to year, weight, model, etc. So think and write carefully when filling out the application.    Also, you'll receive a couple letters with the SF97 one of which will have a price on it, one that's considerably (at least in my cases) less than what I paid....maybe it was residual, or their acquisition cost, hell who knows; again read carefully and offer DMV no more than absolutely necessary to GTFO of there with your licenses plates.  

Every component of the HMMWV is bolted on.  The upper control arm assemblies are shimmed to the frame, so they can be adjusted...its a pain in the ass to get to them, but it can be done.  Ball Joints are constantly failing; it seems that grease guns are prohibited, or at least their use restricted.  Ball joints bolt in, and are easy enough to change.  Radius Rods correct toe-in and toe-out front and rear, the suspension is a bit bow-legged, especially when un-loaded.  Also with a little bit of extra work, you can install later model (M1097) parts on the older 996 models; the newer trucks have heavier suspensions....seems .mil is determined to stuff ten pounds of shit into a five pound sack, turning a light truck into an armored car which leads to.  

And none of that shit matters in Texas when they register it as "AMGE" and leave all other options (model etc.) bland and write "exempt" for mileage.





 

I have a phobia of removing wheels and getting under a vehicle supported by jack stands.



 

Started unbolting the rear bumper and planned on installing the airlift bumper today, but the weather turned on me. At least everything is undone and tomorrow all I have to do is bolt it on as long as the bolts I got work. Seems finding 4.25" long is a pain, hopefully 4.5" will work. I also plan to get my final sanding in before priming. Going to wait to paint until after I get a slantback kit.

Ryan, any progress applying the Lizard skin and Monstaliner?

You'll be good with 4.5" bolts. I used those. I also went slightly long on almost all of my bolts, with no problems, just to make sure I could put grade 8 washers on everything. I got the bolts and nuts at Lowes and a couple bags of washers at Fastenal. I think I spent a little more getting hardware at Lowes than I needed to but I didn't know how much of each I'd need. It took a lot of trial and error and return trips.

The only parts you might need shorter bolts on are the outer most brackets. I'm kicking myself for not keeping better track of what I used where I did so I could have done a proper write up but I guess I got a little over enthusiastic to get it done.

If you need pics or measurements of anything, let me know.


No progress on the coatings today. Weather was cold for this time of year, rainy, and windy.

Tomorrow is supposed to be much improved and then decent through Tuesday so I should be getting it started then.

Have to pull the seats and everything else loose, vacuum out the truck, scuff, wipe with acetone, mask everything, and then finally start spraying. I hate prep work.

Going to take the top and doors off and just cover the truck with a tarp overnights until the interior is done.

Costco has a really nice 10'x20' shelter with sides for $240. I need to measure the truck to see if it will fit in there because I'm strongly considering picking one up. Wouldn't leave a ton of room around the truck but would make working on it in inclement weather much easier considering I've got no alternative.

Anyone looking to start uparmoring their truck?

Price of admission is only $15,000.

That guy is fishing, hoping to catch the big one. I bet they'll be there 6 months from now. I'd do it for a third the price,  lol.

The 4.5" worked great for the four main brackets. Fastenal is the best place locally I have found that has all of the Grade 8 hardware I need and they seem cheaper than Lowes. Weather and other projects got in my way of final assembly, all I have left is to bolt the bumper to the brackets and I am done with this project. A little more sanding and then priming. Then I might do the Lizard Skin and Monstaliner. I contacted Monstaliner to see if they can match the Military Tan color and waiting to hear back. After that just waiting on a Slantback kit and will paint once its all together.

That'd be awesome if they could match the tan!


So far all today has been has been stripping the interior and pressure washing everything. I stripped most everything I could including the soft top rails, seat belt mounts, and even the C-pillar. I can't believe how tiny the bolts are that hold that on! I think I'm going to beef those up while I've got it off with something larger and Grade 5.

I'm taking a break right now waiting for it to dry. Next is the scuff and acetone wipe down and then, start masking and plugging holes I'm going to keep. I don't think I'm going to have time to begin any actual application today. I still need time to grill some steak and drink some beer to enjoy with this absolutely beautiful weather we're having today! I'll have to start the application after work tomorrow. I'd love to call off but I'm on call this week.

Like I said, I hate prep work...


By the way, discovered something cool when I was taking the top rails off:




Going to make sure I preserve WW's handiwork when I start repainting!

My EUC cleared after 11 weeks from sale date, or 7 weeks from EUC sent to TSC message.

Recovering this Friday!

Hahaha! That's the first thing I thought of too!


Congrats on the EUC!

You picking it up or shipping?

Going to trailer it back 350 miles. Should be fun.

Definitely post pics when you get it home.

A friend of mine decided that he preferred the old style seats compared to the high-back A2 setup, so I was happy to oblige him in a trade. Getting that old seat base removed was a first class bitch, but it eventually came out. Fortunately the A2 setup went in easily enough with some grade 8 hardware.

I don't know what he was thinking - the adjustability of the A2 base is way nicer.

ETA: I went to my tag office today to attempt to register my softop. A friend of mine did it in his county with just a bill of sale and after getting a VIN verification, walked out with a title and tag. Well, my tag office wouldn't play like that. It's worth noting for those reading this in GA though, that they can provide a title/tag with a bill of sale, they just need the SF97 to establish the chain of ownership. It specifically says in the GA regs that the SF97 does not need to be in the person's name, they just need a bill of sale to accompany the SF97 showing that you're the new owner.

So I called IP today to cancel my request for Florida title and instead get the SF97. The gentleman, I spoke to said it'd be about a week to get the SF97 - I'll believe that crap when I see it. Also worth noting, he said we're supposed to get refunds for the taxes that were incorrectly collected - he couldnt give me a date on that though. I've had this truck for nearly 7 months now - I'd sure like to know how much longer I'm expected to wait.

Congrats Beef1911

That means mine should clear in the next 2 weeks.    I'm at the beginning of week 6 after EUC sent date.

I have a goosneck & truck ready to go pick her up  .

mine does this as well.
i assume this is normal?


also how long does it take to get the SF97 forms?

Yes this is normal. Its the control box. If you upgrade to the newer smarter control box and TPU, I think it goes away.

If it is normal, I won't worry about it.  Is there a danger driving it while it is still pulsing?



 

It should not be an issue to drive with it like that. I will be switching to the newer "Smart" control box and corresponding TPU in the future once all of my other projects are done.