M820A2 is home safe...Now it's time to check her out!

[HawkeyeMech]

So that brings about my next question Alpha...

Do the doors on the van body have provisions for locks? I know the cab doesn;t even have door locks or a key ignition which is fine, but will I need anything more than a couple of locks to secure the van body?

Thanks y'all!!!

S

 

[AlphaGeek(653rd Svc CO)]

You're right, the cab doesn't, and the only lock provision for the truck itself ia the good old chain and padlock around the steering wheel.

IIRC, the side doors of the van body have "lift 1/4 turn" type latch devices that incorporate a padlock hasp. Note that the side doore are actually pretty much secure when the sides are stowed, as the roof and floor panels fold down in the way inside. Leave them unlocked, and your potential thief will be dissapointed when they open the side door and meet sheet metal.

The back double doors are a little more fuzzy in my memory since it's been 22 years since I saw the back end of a M80A2. That being said, I think it's a single pole lift and spin latch operation, locking both rear doors with a single padlock. Unless someone knows how to operate the lift gate, they'll never get to the back door anyway since the gate folds over the rear doors when stowed. I'm not saying it's an impregnable fortress, but the average schmuck will have trouble gaining unauthorized access to a road-ready expando-van.

It's a tall vehicle. If you're backing up to loar cargo to or from a building, make sure your ground guide keep an eye on building eves. Just sayin'...


Hey, even Microsoft is getting in on some M820 action! Check out their Halo3: ODST Transport Vehicle

 

[HawkeyeMech]

Thanks Alpha. I pick up my M934A2 in July/August so I am trying to be prepared on the front-end. Unfortunately I am sans lift-gate, but I would like to find one and install it myself if you have any sources!

thanks again!

S

 

[goldneagle]

So that brings about my next question Alpha...

Do the doors on the van body have provisions for locks? I know the cab doesn;t even have door locks or a key ignition which is fine, but will I need anything more than a couple of locks to secure the van body?

Thanks y'all!!!

S

The side doors are secured as long as the walls are in the stowed position. The rear door had a spot for installing a padlock. I always kept it locked. If the liftgate is stowed in the up position - there is no access to the rear box. That is why i had all the tool boxes on the outside. If the engine is off you cannot operate the liftgate. It is run off the PTO. There is a backup pump to run the liftgate when the truck is off, but it requires 3 phase power to run. You can installed lockable door handles on the truck cab. I used ones that were designed for the small POSTAL JEEP. THey are almost perfect fit. SOmetimes you need to grind an 1/8" off the square rod to make it operate smoothly.

 

[HawkeyeMech]

Sweet - Thanks eagle! If you come across any of those door handles send them my way!!!

 

[goldneagle]

Sweet - Thanks eagle! If you come across any of those door handles send them my way!!!

You can find them on Ebay. I bought 2 sets at different times.

 

[AlphaGeek(653rd Svc CO)]

IIRC, you *can* flip the gate down even with the van body deck, and then the deck down to the ground with no PTO or three phase, just be sure you have power to put it back up, or people are gonna laugh at your really big, really flat bumper.
I could be off on this since it has been 2 decades, but I'm pretty sure I remember dropping the liftgate without engaging the PTO.

Also, my memory defuzzed a little regarding the rear door. The right door has the same latch mechanism as the side doors, meaning a padlock will work. I think we used long shank locks. The left read door had a rotating post/bar that whanged it into place and gave the right door latch something to get purchase on.


WARNING! Disengage the PTO for any and all road operations! Pretty much anything above an idle will guarantee a bent PTO shaft! (Company Commander had us stencil that in the cab of every M820A2 in the 653rds motorpool! LOL)

 

[Ryansdaddy]

I am looking at getting an M934 But I have not been in any expandable shelter since the Gulf War that was in the Desert. I am wondering how they are in the rain? Do they leak a lot? I hope not. They kept the dust out well. I live in the desert but I want the M934 for year round hunting camp enclosure.

 

[Sirblissfull]

Leaks depend on the box and how well it was taken care of.

All it takes is one seal out of place in a serious storm and not finding it until later.

 

[Blind Driver]

Excellant Thread

 

[bigzirb]

Really cool truck. I have not seen them around here. I wonder how they do in Florida rain as far as keeping the interior of the box clean and dry when expanded and closed? Thanks for all the pics.

 

[laserlee123]

Seal kit for m820a2 lift gate?

Does anyone know if there is a list of seals to overhaul a m820a2 lift gate, mine likes to leak.

 

[Ord22]

Thanks for the pics!!

 

[Kalbrman]

M820A2 Liftgate and Equipment Racks

I was a calibrator in the Army and drove M820A2s. If I remember correctly, the liftgate has a safety latch to prevent it from lowering while driving down the road. You need power to be able to lift the gate up several inches to disengage the safety mechanism and then you can lower the liftgate down to ground level.

The back doors have an overlapping lip on them. You just need to lock one of the doors to secure both back doors.

I have some pics of what the vans look like when they have the equipment racks in them. I'll figure out how to post them later. There are two rows of benches/racks that are mounted in the middle of the floor. The racks are mounted back to back and there is only a small gap between them to be able to reach up from the bottom and attach cabling. The benchtops have extensions that are mounted on short support bars. They mount between each leg opening, and over the lower drawers. The benchtops are mounted on pedestals that contain drawers. The pedestals are spaced apart to make room for sitting down, and there is space between the two sides large enough for a person to crawl from the back to the front of the vehicle. We called it the tunnel and would use it as storage space unless we needed to get under there to make cable changes. The pedestals were mounted to the floor using L-brackets and rivets. The racks were mounted to the benchtops using shock mounts. At the front of the vehicle box, between the racks and the front wall of the box, there was a desk on one side that was used for doing paperwork, and records storage. I think the other side had a filing cabinet or two.

On a calibration team, we would sometimes have as many as four of these expansible vans parked side by side with the side doors removed. We had long strips of plywood covering the gaps between the vehicles to keep out the weather. Tarps would be placed across the tops of the vehicles to make it waterproof. Some vans would have racks mounted in them and some would be used for 'production control' where we would accept and store equipment waiting to be worked on, or waiting repair parts.

We got the newer style equipment racks in the early '80s. Before that, we had an 'A'-frame in the van that was used for supporting stacked 'tubs' that had covers. The tubs were square and could usually hold a few pieces of equipment. The old tubs stacked three high and were closed on the back, so all cables had to come out though the front from around the sides of the internal racks. When closed up with their covers, the tubs resembled large rounded cubes with handles and latched covers. They were either a light green or gray color.

The driver's seat was spring mounted and 'floated'. It was quite a ride when going over uneven ground or railroad tracks. I think you could actually hit your head on the cab roof if you got a good bounce. Having a seat belt attached to the floor would not be a good idea.

 

[Kalbrman]

The first picture shows the equipment racks and bench top on the right side of the vehicle box. Two chairs can be seen where technicians would sit.

The second picture shows the left side of a van that is used for performing physical calibrations of torque and pressure.

The third picture shows the right side of the van with the bench top extensions installed, giving the technicians more work area.

The fourth picture shows the left side of a van with the bench top extensions installed. This side is used for electrical calibrations. Things like oscilloscopes, frequency counters, etc.

The fifth picture (bottom row) shows the right side of a van and the team chief's desk can be seen toward the front of the van. I believe the team chief's desk also had a safe for securing sensitive/controlled material.

The sixth picture shows how a van looked when we had the old tub style rack enclosures. This van is not using the A-frame that the racks would normally be attached to, but rather the tubs are positioned to the outside walls, and not in the center.

The seventh picture shows another view of the tub style rack enclosures with equipment in them.

The eighth picture shows the Production Control van that was used without the equipment racks. We used fabricated wooden shelves in this van for storing equipment that was waiting calibration, pickup, or waiting for repair parts.

The ninth picture shows 4 of the M820A2 vans parked side by side. Power was supplied from a nearby light pole in front of the vehicles.

The tenth picture shows how close the vans were parked. The side doors were removed and they were only a couple inches from each other. That required careful driving and a good ground guide.

 

[Kalbrman]

The right side rear door has an external handle, and in internal handle. The left side rear door only has a handle on the inside, and cannot be opened without opening the right hand door first because of an overlapping edge.

 

[maddawg308]

That's the coolest test bench for electronic gear I've seen! Very neat pics...

 

[Kalbrman]

We installed those racks in 1981. We drove a couple 2 1/2 tons down to Camp Carroll and picked up some huge crates, and drove them back to our site in Camp Coiner in Seoul, Korea. It takes a lot of screws to mount all of that equipment in the racks, and they're the kind of screws that require a lot of torque to turn them so that they don't loosen from vibration.

Calibration is one of the best jobs that the Army has. If you like working with electronic equipment and every kind of measurement that you can think of, we do it. It requires a very high aptitude in many parameters, because we work with resistance, capacitance, voltage, current, power, frequency, inductance, torque, pressure, force, vacuum, pH, vibration, mass, temperature, luminance, radiation, sound level, etc., and we need to know how to repair the equipment too.

 

[goldneagle]

We installed those racks in 1981. We drove a couple 2 1/2 tons down to Camp Carroll and picked up some huge crates, and drove them back to our site in Camp Coiner in Seoul, Korea. It takes a lot of screws to mount all of that equipment in the racks, and they're the kind of screws that require a lot of torque to turn them so that they don't loosen from vibration.

Calibration is one of the best jobs that the Army has. If you like working with electronic equipment and every kind of measurement that you can think of, we do it. It requires a very high aptitude in many parameters, because we work with resistance, capacitance, voltage, current, power, frequency, inductance, torque, pressure, force, vacuum, pH, vibration, mass, temperature, luminance, radiation, sound level, etc., and we need to know how to repair the equipment too.

Thank you so much for sharing the pictures! I always wanted to know how the interior of the van was set up. It is so cool to see it in action. Those are great pictures. They really make the thread complete.

 

[laserlee123]

Some urban "Alpha Hotels", graffitied my trucks,

Some criminals painted two of my trucks with their little gang signs, so I had to bite the bullet and go to Sherman Williams for three color CARC.

Don't use soap to out line.