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mah deuce

1M views 1K replies 260 participants last post by  jesusgatos 
#1 · (Edited)
introduction

In December of 2008 I decided to pack it all in and hit the road. Load up my dogs and my bikes and go wander through what's left of the wild west, keeping an eye out for places where I might eventually like to buy some land and build a place to live. Had been living up in Bend, OR for the last 4-5yrs and spent a lot of time exploring different parts of the Pacific NorthWest (mostly on dirtbikes). Been all over the west coast wheeling and camping in different vehicles that I've built over the years. But my wanderlust goes back much further, to the days I spent playing in the wilderness as a kid, looking forward to a time when I'd be able to set out on bigger adventures. When I was about 19yrs old I started making plans to build a custom motorhome out of an old schoolbus. Was going to haul my bikes and my Jeep around in the back of it. Had it in my head that I was going to spend my life traveling around the country/world writing about my adventures, and would do this all under the Trails Less Traveled banner. Was almost exactly 10yrs later that I found myself in a position to follow-through on what it felt like I'd been planning all my life.

The decision to build a deuce and a half was a simple process of elimination. Did a ton of research on different vehicles and didn't find anything else that was comparable and I could, 1) afford, and, 2) get in the US. After finding out that I could buy a deuce for a fraction of what a decent 1-ton pickup truck would cost me, it was a done deal. After learning all about the different variations of these vehicles, I settled on an M109, which is just a basic deuce and a half (M35A2) with an insulated 12ft box on the back of it (instead of the regular cargo bed). Ended up finding one for sale, listed right here in the Pirate classifieds section. Drove down to Lake Shasta from Bend and bought mah deuce for $3500 from Ed (Hammer). You can buy trucks straight from military surplus for a lot less, but couldn't afford the uncertainty that goes along with buying surplus.

There's nothing particularly unusual about traveling/living in a motorhome, but the imposing nature of mah deuce tends to give people the wrong idea. A lot of people see a military vehicle and assume that I must be preparing for the apocalypse, and a surprising number of people try to relate to me like that nutjob in the military surplus store in the movie Falling Down. They want to tell me all about their bunkers and their stockpile of weapons and food and whatever. Like we're brothers in arms or something. Creeps me out. But this is just a motorhome, much like any other motorhome, except that I want to be able to travel and live unsupported for extended periods of time, in some pretty remote places.


This is what it looked like when I picked it up.





 
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#158 ·
Brad Milne

I mentioned before that I stumbled onto a NOS cab, and a lot of the parts that I've picked up for this project came from the same place. The cab, a NOS hardtop, a whole pile of riveted wheels, the M103A3 trailer, and a whole truckload (a BIG load) of other misc. parts came from Brad Milne's yard in McKenna Washington. I've made a couple trips to his place already, and spent a few days with him, picking through parts and finding treasures that I didn't know I was looking for (like that cab). Real good-natured fellow. Allowed me camp in his yard and even let me drive this monster forklift, which was seriously one of the coolest pieces of equipment I've ever had the chance to operate. If any of you guys in the PNW are looking for parts for military trucks, he's a source that I'm reluctant give-up. The Gollum in me would prefer to keep his stash a secret. His number is... 360.400.1694.



 
#159 ·
cab-swap, bodywork, sandblasting, paint

Stripping the truck down went quickly. But I just realized that I was mistaken when I wrote in a previous post that I haven't had any trouble with rusted or seized hardware. That's not true. No amount of persuasion could loosen a few of the screws that mount the upper door-hinges to the cab. I had to cut them off. Only took a minute, and that's really the only trouble I've had with any hardware. At least so far, but I think I've been through almost everything already. Making a note, as these words might come back to bite me.





 
#160 ·
deuce and a half -> trail rig

After removing all of the storage boxes and everything from under the cab, I was shocked to see just how much clearance there is under there. Can't afford to give up that precious space, which is where I'm carrying a lot of fluids and batteries and other heavy stuff, but I'm realizing that it would be possible to build a deuce and a half that could get pretty damn shifty on the trails. Chop the front fenders off along the hoodline, bob it and ditch the bed, link it, etc. Maybe re-power (cummins?). I've got my hands full, but if anybody wants to build a hardcore deuce-based trailrig, I'd love to help design something like that. Send me a PM.

 
#161 ·
cab-swap, bodywork, sandblasting, paint

So this is what my mah deuce looks like right now. I hauled the new cab and all the body parts down to Agri-Trade School in Salinas. Tom sandblasted and painted the whole back half of my Tacoma Did a fantastic job and for what I thought was a pretty reasonable amount of money. Have so many parts that I needed to have sandblasted and painted for mah deuce that I've been having him work through them in batches, paying for more work as I can afford it. He's been really cool about that. Here are some pictures of the parts as I dropped htem off, sandblasted, and then epoxy-primed. Think I'll end up painting everything myself, just to save a bit of money.













 
#162 ·
cab-swap, bodywork, sandblasting, paint

And this is what the new cab looked like when I picked it up, after being sandblasted and epoxy-primed. This cab came with a reinforcing plate installed, which I understand the military installed in deuces that had M66 gunmounts installed, to keep the cabs from falling apart. Cool.

















 
#163 · (Edited)
cab-swap, bodywork, sandblasting, paint

Noticed two things after I picked up the new cab.

1) There's some kind of patch-panel installed here, and I can't figure out why. This cab was definitely brand new (was still mounted to the pallet it was delivered on), so I can't understand why this is here. Maybe this isn't actually a new cab? Guess it could be an M35A2 cab that got stripped and prepped to be re-assembled as an M35A3? In that case, maybe it got scrapped because of the patch-panel? Happy it found it's way to me in any case.

The patch-panel is no big deal, but it's the sealing-surface for the hardtop so I'm going to cut it out in order to create a nice flat edge for the hardtop to sit on. I know I know - could just use a piece of foam or something to take up the gap, but I'd rather make it right.




2) The cab probably had something heavy set on top of it at some point in time, because there's a little bit of a bow in the windshield mounting channel at the back of the cowl. Should be easy enough to straighten though.

 
#164 ·
cab-swap, bodywork, sandblasting, paint

Back at home, waiting to be reinstalled. But I built some jackstands and set the cab off to the side. Might as well do the engine-swap before I start putting the body back together.

 
#165 ·
cab-swap, bodywork, sandblasting, paint

Oh, of course I did some bodywork before taking all those parts down to be sandblasted and epoxy-primed. Pretty boring stuff, just filled-in some random holes, welded-up a few cracks here and there, etc. Forgot I even had any pics of that work. Obviously ground-out all the welds.

Should look pretty fresh when it all comes back together. Then I'm planning to driving the whole truck down to Agri-Trade to have the chassis, suspension, axles and the box all sandblasted and painted.







 
#166 ·
Yeah, that's a reman cab. I knew thta fromt he first pics since it has the pattern painted on it, I knew it had been installed on a truck and finished. Must have come back due to the paint flaking off. Probably improper prep. The gun ring reinforcement plate is a nice option. That with a hard top will make the cab a lot more solid. Toss in some Dynamat and you will have a nice comfortable cab though the winshield frames will probably still leak, lol.
 
#603 ·
Yeah, that's a reman cab. I knew thta fromt he first pics since it has the pattern painted on it, I knew it had been installed on a truck and finished. Must have come back due to the paint flaking off. Probably improper prep.
Just noticed something that made me think maybe this is/was a new cab. None of the knockout holes in the firewall are punched-out. Not even for the steering column. Kinda doubt they'd patch-up all those holes when cabs were remanufactured. Can't see why, as am pretty sure all the variations of the trucks that used these cabs had the steering columns in the same place, right?

 
#176 ·
for deadening, sound, and heat insulation look into products from the company Second Skin Audio. you would probably be interested in their undercoatings, the spectrum spray-on coating or their spectrum sludge coating. as well as the firewall ceramic coating to keep radiant heat out of the cab doubled with their heatwave insulation mats for the firewall and floor.

ive used their damplifier pro vibration damper mats and i love it. there is almost no resonance in my sheet metal in the cab and when you knock on the door skins and cab body, you get a hollow thud instead of a pinging, ringing sound. a good friend of mine has used the spectrum spray on his diesel and he said it made a big difference with the road noise he used to get from the tires and driveline and what not.

in my honest opinion, this is a better product than dynamat at a comparable, if not better price. ive used both companies and the cheapy alternative of roof flashing tape (back in my young days) and there really is no comparison of dynamat to the Damplifier pro.
 
#169 ·
It's hard to say. I believe originally it would have been galvanized depending on the year, but I'm not sure what they do on a rebuild. It's possible it could have been dipped in something and not properly rinsed that caused a reaction once the paint was on. There are a million things that can go wrong with paint and I can't even begin to guess what all can go wrong with CARC that I assume it was painted with.

As for mentioning the cab being used, I thought about it but it didn't seem like it would make much difference but after see the post about the patch, I figured I would confirm it. :D
 
#170 ·
hardtop & rollcage

Had a hell of a time trying to find a hardtop on the west coast. Ended up purchasing a brand new hardtop for a 900-series 5-ton, which is a bit wider than the deuces and the 800-series 5-ton trucks. Shouldn't be too difficult to cut it down to the right width and on the upside, I'll have an extra-large rear window. Think I'll offset to the passenger's-side by taking the width out of the passenger's-side of the hardtop.

After I fit the new hardtop, it will be time to start building the rollcage. Want to do that while the cab is empty, and before it's mounted. Started posting about this in a thread about rollbars on the steelsoldiers forum, but might as well copy/paste/edit and add it to this thread.

Disclaimer: I know I know, this is pirate4x4, but a lot of people that are following this project aren't hardcore offroad enthusiasts.

In addition to putting rollcages in all of my off-road vehicles, I'm the type of person that would put a rollcage in a sedan, minivan, or just about anything else on four wheels. Think about the fantastic crashes we've seen racecar drivers walk away from, and then consider how many people die in relatively low-speed traffic accidents. Most of the cars on the road aren't nearly as safe as they could be. But building a race-quality rollcage is expensive ($3-5,000 minimum) and most people don't want to deal with the inconvenience. Personally, I don't want to go out like that (traffic collision). This is my daily-driver. I built that rollcage to survive cartwheeling through the desert at 80mph+, so I feel pretty safe in that truck on-road too.

And I feel reasonably safe in mah deuce. We're probably not too likely to roll these vehicles if we drive them responsibly. It's the blowout, brake failure, or some other kind of catastrophic mechanical failure that I worry about most. Also concerned about the real possibility of a low-speed flop off-road. Can see myself getting myself into situations where that's always a real possibility. The height of the M109 box on my truck would probably protect me in most cases, but then I went and added that cabover rack. Sure don't want that thing to come crashing down into the cab.

So I'm going to build a rollcage for Mah Deuce. Nothing too crazy. Not going to attach the rollcage to the frame because the cab is mounted on springs. Just going to try to make the cab a little bit more crush-proof. If the cab separates from the chassis, so be it. The seats and harnesses will be mounted to the rollcage, so I'll launch with the escape capsule.

Took some rough dimensions (old cab w/soft-top) and whipped-up these SolidWorks models. Here are a few rough sketches to show you guys what I've been thinking about. Not really any more complicated than a rollcage that you might expect to see in a Jeep. Just a little bigger tubing. Not a whole lot of room to go with anything much bigger than 3" diameter tubing, so that's what I'm using for all the perimeter tubes in these models. Will have to pay to have the tubing bent because my bender/dies only go up to 2". Might even look into having these tubes CNC-bent and laser-notched. Would sure beat having to make some of those tricky compound notches by hand.

If anybody wants to download these CAD files to take a look at the 3D models, you can open/view them with a free program called eDrawings (download it here). It's made by Solidworks, so it's totally safe to download and use. You can spin the 3D models around, take measurements, make notes, comments, etc. It can be really helpful in collaborative discussions like this, where it's sometimes hard to visualize what someone it trying to communicate without 'seeing' it.


Version 1 is about as simple as it gets. Every rollcage starts with a good perimeter cage, and they con't have to be complicated. You could even connect the A-pillar hoop to the B-pillar hoop with straight tubes, but that would eat into precious headroom. Even a simple rollcage like this should provide some measure of additional safety in a low-speed flop.


V1 Solidworks file (right click -> download / save as)


Version 2 just shows a more elegant method of joining tubes. Notching tubes to make joints like these is VERY time consuming, but it creates a super strong with clean, flowing lines, no matter what angle you're looking at it from. Not sure how much that really matters to anyone in a Deuce, where you're not likely to ever even see it (unless you're running around topless). Might look out of place on a MV, almost too pretty. But still, probably my favorite way to make these types of joints.


V2 Solidworks file (right click -> download / save as)


Version 3 is where I've left-off (continuation of Version 2). Just starting to think about cross-bracing. The problem is, I hate compromises. I'd like to build a race-quality cage, but I don't want to make this vehicle any more impractical than it already is, and I don't want to completely destroy the look of the stock interior. So I'm going to settle for 'better than nothing' in this case. I might make a simple bolt-in cage, but I'll probably end up cutting into the body and the dash just a little bit, so I can make the cage fit tighter and look cleaner. Either way, I'm going to try to keep the visible tubing to a minimum. Thinking about cutting the plates out of the door openings though, and replacing them with tubing kind of like what I've shown here in Version 3. Could always plate-over them again, and make it look more stock-ish...


V3 Solidworks file (right click -> download / save as)
 
#171 ·
What about a couple horizontal tubes across the rear wall, similar to what you have in the front. But one of them down at the bottom, and the other intersecting your "peace symbol" bracing.

I see what you are saying about the door openings - hard to get any tubing in there without it being in your way.
 
#173 · (Edited)
My CAD models don't show the tubing on the floor, but there will be tubes that run along the door openings and the back wall of the cab, but the cab is actually pretty small and there's no room for a horizontal tube behind the seats. Think I might just weld the cage to the cab and reinforce the sheetmetal along the back wall instead.

Dynamat is good but really expensive. You can get the spray on sound deadener for much less and it will work damn near as well. Another thing to consider is actual foam insualtion on the fire wall and if you can swing it under the carpet. That will make a huge difference in road noise from the engine and tires. While you have that cab off you might consider spray sound deadening or line-X (some spray on) on the bottom of the cab and the firewall on the engine side. Anything to absorb or block sound in that truck will be a help. Also dont forget to get the inside if the doors and behind the seats. Sound from the rear wheels is very noticable.

Where did you get the rockwell parts? I need to rebuild a set.

thanks
micky
Considering all those options right now, and that's the main reason why I haven't done anything. Been working on my tacoma, doing the interior right now. Using a combination of sound-deadening paint, waterproof insulated flashing tape, foam, and carpet. Want to see how it turns out before I decide what to do in mah deuce. The other thing is that I'm not sure whether or not I'm willing to trade a little noise/comfort for the ability to hose-out the cab.

Oh, and I got my rockwell parts from odiron.com
 
#172 ·
Dynamat is good but really expensive. You can get the spray on sound deadener for much less and it will work damn near as well. Another thing to consider is actual foam insualtion on the fire wall and if you can swing it under the carpet. That will make a huge difference in road noise from the engine and tires. While you have that cab off you might consider spray sound deadening or line-X (some spray on) on the bottom of the cab and the firewall on the engine side. Anything to absorb or block sound in that truck will be a help. Also dont forget to get the inside if the doors and behind the seats. Sound from the rear wheels is very noticable.

Where did you get the rockwell parts? I need to rebuild a set.

thanks
micky
 
#174 ·
Bed liner does a fairly respectable job of deadening sound. I did it on the floor of a truck I had and cut cab sound by a good 20% and that was just the inner floor.

If you do the outside of the firewall and floor and then the Inside of the firewall and floor and back of the cab you could get some real reduction, and get a noticeable drop in cab noise.
(do the doors in dynamat if there is space inside though.)

And you can still pressure wash the inside if you want!
(though to high a psi can peal up liner if the surface is not prepped right or you use the cheap stuff.)
 
#175 ·
Yeah, that's definitely an option. some kind of bedliner applied to the inside, underside and firewall of the tub would probably be my first choice, but I had an awful experience with Line-X in an old Jeep tub. Started peeling/lifting/bubbling. Total nightmare. Don't think it was prepped right, seams were not sealed, something. I don't know. Might end up going that route again, hoping for better results.
 
#177 ·
Thanks for the suggestion. I actually used some leftover Spectrum from Second Skin to seal the floor in the box. Have used it on several other vehicles with fantastic results. Only reservation about using it in the cab on mah deuce is that I would kinda like to build-up a little more thickness. It's just bare sheetmetal, and even after I painted the whole inside of the cab in my tacoma, it was still pretty loud. Quiet-ER for sure, but not quiet. Adding heavy-backed carpet and foam has helped a lot. Just don't know whether or not I want to put carpet in the cab in this vehicle.
 
#178 ·
hmmm... mustve missed that bit about using spectrum in the box. i thought that was some kind of paintable moisture barrier at first glance. kinda like what guys use in non acrylic/glass aquariums. haha. now you got me wondering what kind of solutions there are for your cab. maybe insulation topped off with marine grade carpet? idk... great build btw, love the detail youre putting into this!
 
#179 ·
I would carpet, foam/ insulate the cab on top of a spray on coating of some sort. I think you will spend more time in the cab driving than tracking dirt in.

Get/make some big ass floor mats with lips on them to catch dirt and crap, then remove it and hose that off. You should be able to contain the mess and have carpet.
 
#181 · (Edited)
removing the camper from the truck

I mentioned this briefly earlier in this thread, but a recent discussion on rv.net made me a realize that maybe it's something that I should explain in a little more detail.

Other than the box vs. a cargo bed, there's no difference between my M109A3 and a regular M35A2, which is what most people recognize as a deuce and a half. The M109 box actually has skids on the bottom of it and only takes a few minutes to remove the hardware that secures the box to the chassis. Here are a couple of pictures to show how it's mounted to the chassis.







(what looks like rust is really just undercoating & crushed red cinder-rock they put on the roads in OR in the wintertime)

So part of the plan is to build a low-profile flatbed that will be sandwiched between the box and the chassis. Don't expect to drop the box often, but will be useful if/when I set up camp somewhere for an extended period of time. The trailer box will also be removable, so I'll be able to set my camper and trailer boxes down on the ground, and use my truck/trailer for other things. Have gone to a lot of trouble to design the camper box to be mostly self-contained, to make it easier to take it on/off the truck. Going to build something like oversized camper-jacks to make removing and installing the camper box easier. Greenjeepster on steelsoldiers showed me how some heavy equipment is loaded/unloaded like that, using a salt spreader as an example. Think that's what I'm going to copy, more or less.
 
#182 ·
truck vs. motorhome

Building mah deuce to travel, and want to be able to visit some really remote places. Plan on spending a lot of time off-road, but with everything in the world that I own inside that vehicle, I'm not going to be taking too many unnecessary risks. More about getting there (and back) than taking the most challenging route. But as soon as I drop off my house, it's just a truck, and as much as I love it, it would be relatively cheap and easy to replace. So when I'm talking about building rollcages, adding lockers, modifying the suspension and adding full-hydro steering, please keep in mind that this is a truck that I plan on using in other capacities.
 
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