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Must Have's for New Deuce?

tjonesdfw

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Looking into purchasing an M35A2 to set up as a private brush/wildland truck for ranch use. The fire apparatus ideally will be built on a skid and be self contained and placed into the bed via forklift when needed. We will not be bobbing the truck, and would like to maintain registration and road worthiness for short trips into town via 75 mph highways, so the truck needs to be able to run safely at reasonable speeds (and yes, I know it wont run that fast). We have heard to avoid certain size super single tires, to modify the braking systems to two circuit for safety, and assume there are countless other safety/reliability mods to be made. Ultimately looking for the utmost reliability with no expense spared (within logical reason). Have been referred to Boyce equipment in Utah which seems like a good start, but curious if there are other suppliers, and what "must have" modifications or fixes everyone here recommends. Thanks
 

SCM35A2

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Check the battery box & batteries, see if it has the upgraded/larger plastic battery box, if it doesn't then get one. Next if it doesn't have new/more up to date group 31 batteries then swap them out as well too. Another thing you can do is check all your battery cables, switch out any that look worn & add a few more grounds too. If the truck doesn't have a "remote" brake master cylinder reservoir, then add that too. These are just a few of many things I've done to my 64 model to help with reliability.

 

SCM35A2

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Something else you can do is to check to see if the truck still has the original axle vents on them, if so do the "axle vent tube mod". I used push lock fittings with 1/4 inch DOT airline & made sure to secure all the lines up high & out of the way.

 

tjonesdfw

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Swap in a 6bt cummins.
install air lockers
Better/more comfortable seating
Custom rims, or Mrap swap for radial tires
Are the lockers necessary if you're not bobbing it or doing extreme off-roading? Boyce recommended the 395 85 R20 MRAP tires. Trying to keep the multifuel motor, but I'm sure the 6BT would have more grunt.
 
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Tracer

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tjonesdfw, also consider the 5-Ton LDS Multi-Fuel engine, it has more horsepower & torque than the LDT, and it's easier to install than other engines. Also visit with Steel Soldiers member JATONKAM35s HOME ON THE WEB John Tennis has done some really nice mods on 2-1/2 ton & 5-ton trucks. Great guy to do business with. Also, the M35A3 has dual system brakes, this may be easier to adapt to the M35A2 than other systems. Lastly, the M35A3 also has electric wipers.
 
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tjonesdfw

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What is the consensus on 900 vs 1100 vs 395 tires? Some say the larger units eat bearings and brakes. If you stay with 900s or 1100's is power steering really necessary. Waterloo doesn't sell their kit anymore so it looks like Boyce is the only source these days.
 

HDN

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For what you want to do, why not get an LMTV? That would do all the things you need without as much work and probably for the same amount of money needed to do all the things you want to with an old deuce. It's already a 4x4 so you don't even have to worry about bobbing it. Full air brakes are also pretty nice.

EDITED for additional rapid-fire thoughts :p Plus I misread the bobbing part. But 4-wheel maintenance is less than 6-wheel maintenance 🤷‍♂️
 
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Valley Rock

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Make sure your brakes work good .

Possibly convert to disc ( pretty easy) which eliminates the wheel cylinders that are the major cause of brake failures .

Make sure your E-brake/parking brake work properly as this will save your ass in the event of a hydraulic failure .

I have seen videos on YouTube where guys say that the parking brake is absolutely worthless and should be thrown in the trash, I do not understand that logic, my parking brake is in good shape and properly adjusted and will bring my loaded water truck to a dead stop about as quickly as the foot break will .

Every one of these trucks should have a properly functioning stock park brake or a disc park brake on the pinion .

Using one of those line lock Mico lock deals just opens you up to premature failure of your wheel cylinders, since they constantly load the wheel cylinder when in use, and they are worthless once a wheel cylinder fails .

Be safe, these old trucks run pretty good and they get around real well, just make sure your brakes work good and use the truck and enjoy it, they're tough and fun to drive .
 

ToddJK

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One thing I'd check for sure are the dog bone bushings. Bad bushings can lead to a more unstable ride and can allow the dog bones to pop off when the axles articulate. That's one plus side to a bobbed deuce, no dog bone bushings to worry about. To replace a full set on the deuce is about $12-1300ish and it's probably one of the more harder jobs to do on the deuce. I don't think a deuce is a bad option, I mean we've seen many that has been used in fire departments and in the forest service successfully, but some other model trucks like previously mentioned by others won't have some of the limitations that the deuce has and requires less maintenance over all, but like anything, there's pros and cons to what fits your needs. To find a deuce in great shape, it can take a while, but if you're willing to spend the money, if you're thinking of Boyce equipment or whoever, then it's worth it if they go through every part of that truck with a fine tooth comb, meaning all new gaskets, all new seals, fresh fluids all around, new dog bone bushings, brakes, rebuilt air pack and MC, being a duel circuit is an added bonus. Power steering may not seem important, but if you're going down service roads or forest roads, the first time you need to quickly turn around on a narrow stretch, you'll wish you had the power steering, or the first time you go down a road that has deep ruts and a front tire catches one, causing the steering wheel to rip from your grip, better hope your thumbs are on the outside and not on the inside or you won't have thumbs for the rest of the day, so that's something to consider.

Tires imo are mostly just preference. That said, here's my take.395's are great tires and a good size for comfortable cruising speeds at 55mph, top speed around 67-68mph. Good weight rating, can be used in conjunction with run flats. Between the two common models of Goodyear and Michelin tires, both offer great traction on and off the road in mud, snow, rain, and wet pavement. The cons are they are expensive brand new, very heavy around 3-500lbs per tire with the rim and all. Yes it's harder on the drivetrain and adds weight to the vehicle thus more weight to stop so will increase brake wear but if you're smart and use the engine, defensive driving, and distance, you can really get away with barely using the brakes.
I have no experience with any kind of 11.00x20 tires.
Only experience I have with 9.00x20 tires are with the NDT tires. Those you're looking at 45mph cruising speeds and 56 mph top speed. These suck on and off road. They do much better if you get them cut with grooves in the treads which will help but still not much. Scary in snow, on wet pavement, good on gravel and light mud, not very good going up rocky hills/slopes. One plus is that these are cheap tires. Another bonus is you can use the snowchains which does in fact add a great deal of traction but still limited in terms of performance off-road in muddy conditions. If wanting to run the 9.00x20 or 11.00x20 size tire, I suggest something that has a tread pattern.
 

SCM35A2

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Something else too, download all the manuals for this truck & also find someone on here or on Ebay that has all the manuals as well too and purchase them. I have both because the handheld/book version is always a good thing to have.
 

Barrman

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You have gotten all kinds of suggestions in just 4 hours!

Technical Manuals is the best first step in my mind. Here is a video I did explaining them:


After having the knowledge of how to do things to the truck. Brakes. Filters and all fluids.

I like the look of the 11.00 tires. I have thousands of miles with them on my trucks and no bearing issues. However, the taller tires can be felt when pulling or climbing steep inclines. Nothing dropping down to low range on the transfer case can’t cure.
 

cattlerepairman

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We take new horse shoes, #1 size fits best and tack weld them over the dog bone bushings on our fire trucks. I’ve laid under several trucks in all kinds of climate and conditions putting those things back on and there’s no worse place to be when you need to be putting out fire


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The weld-on-a- "bar" modification is a good solution if you do not care about the longevity of the dog bone bushings. Welding around the rubber deteriorates the bushings quite quickly. However, due to the welded on bar, they can't fall apart. A #1 horse shoe is essentially 1/4in stock. People have used bolts to weld across and also drilled the centre of the dog bone mount and threaded in a bolt with a plate to achieve the same thing.

I went with replacing the stock bushings with Heim joints from Erik's military surplus. Yes, expensive, but that was the last time I needed to touch the dog bones. They will outlast me by a wide margin.
 
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