1900 miles in an M931a2 in 36 hours

[Russ344]

Hello to all, I bought this tractor off a popular auction site from a guy in Chicago. The truck looked very clean, CARC paint was in great shape, had a bunch of Red River Wmo's on it and the tires were like new. In fact, the spare tire and rim looks like it has never been mounted. I spoke to the previous owner several times and made him an offer. He accepted. Now came the hard part-get it from Chicago to my house in Arizona, 1900 miles one way. I'm retired so I decided to try and drive it back. I registered and insured the truck in Arizona so there wouldn't be any issues on the way home. The closest airport to my house is 2 1/2 hours away in Las Vegas. My wife agreed to come along so I wouldn't have to drive it alone so we set it up. We rented a car in town and drove it to Las Vegas the day before our flight to Chicago. we got a hotel room for the night and the next day got on the plane to Chicago. The owner picked us up at the airport and drove us to his house. We started up the truck, let it warm up, checked everything, and off we went. We had no tools with us but we were armed with a credit card in case something went wrong.

We left Chicago at 19:00 on Sunday. I drove until 04:30 on Monday and then stopped and grabbed 3 hours of sleep in the truck. The next leg of the trip lasted until 23:00 Monday when we stopped and grabbed 5 hours in the truck. We arrived at home in Arizona at 19:00 on Tuesday. The truck ran great the whole time. The CTIS system even worked. The only issue I had the entire trip was a small fuel leak at the tank selector switch. Someone had replaced the right tank fuel line with a bunch of make shift parts and it leaked. I stopped at a truck stop and the mechanic tightened some of the fittings and the leak stopped for a while. He didn't want to mess with it anymore because he was afraid that he would break some of the parts that were pieced together. I drove 50-55 the entire trip and through one big rain storm, complete with thunder and lightning.

All in all it was a great trip. We saw a bunch of beautiful scenery and a lot of the trip was along Route 66. However, I know how stupid i was to try and drive an old military truck that I bought sight unseen 1900 miles in 36 hours with no tools. We were very lucky to have made it with almost no issues. Here are a few pictures of the truck in Arizona. I'll post more later but right now we're catching up on our sleep.

 

[TMNT]

That is a beautiful truck! I want one.

I don't think you were stupid. It sounds like quite the adventure. You knew there was the potential for trouble and you were prepared with a credit card. I'm very familiar with my truck and I go prepared for minor issues but for anything major, I'm using a credit card and calling for help.

I'm thinking about taking a 350 mile trip to Florida in my deuce this winter when it's cool, so my dad can see it.

Congratulations on the truck. It looks great.

 

[plumkrazy]

Great story--You'll always remember this trip. As I was once told, it's not the thing that we do that we regret, it's the thing that we don't do that we regret. (Ex-wife doesn't count) Welcome to SS and I await more of your pictures. Regards--Allen

 

[DJones]

Very nice looking truck.

 

[drician]

What an adventure. I am glad you made it home safe and sound!

 

[dk8019]

I don't think it was a stupid move. Things could have gone wrong, but really worse case it would have been towed and the shipped the rest of the way home if it really broke.

The last 5-ton I sold went to a gentleman in Yakima, Washington. He drove it from central Ohio all the way home. This was an older M820, that had sat a very, very long time before I bought it and got it back on the road! He did fine, even the climb over the Rockies etc, and that's saying something in a NA 250 Cummins hauling a heavy 820 around.

 

[Sambor]

Nice truck!! I recently got a M931A2 as well in Oklahoma and drove it the 200 miles back home. I only took a fuel filter, serp. belt, 5 gallons of water and 5 gallons fuel. I had zero problems and it run like a top. Ain't they fun to drive? Wife says it rides a little stiff, but she likes to drive mine. Hope you have a alot of fun with it.

 

[Scar59]

You qualify for the "Iron Butt" award. True testiment to the reliability of these vehicles (when maintained properly). Great way to see the country.
Have fun with it.
JC

 

[RetiredNavy]

You worked out the cobwebs after a run like that. Am glad all went well for you and the Mrs.

 

[Carlo]

WOW is the first word I have. I thought I was doing good with my 1400 kms from northern Germany to my place but your trip makes me feel I drove across town!
Nice truck!

 

[dburt]

Well done!!

 

[wsucougarx]

Thanks for sharing your story. Glad everything went well for you! Truck looks outstanding!!!!

 

[Russ344]

Thanks to everyone for the great comments. The real iron butt award should go to my beautiful wife. I did the trip sitting on a spring seat while she road the entire way on the bench seat.

 

[Sambor]

I still want to know how two of you slept in the truck! And I agree with the pax seat-- it was not designed with any comfort in mind. I guess "soldier "B" was expendable. Looking into an aircraft interior friend redoing mine with all the trick foam with different densities.

 

[Ord22]

Amazing story! Kudos to you and the wife for enduring the long trip. How did ya sleep in the truck anyway?

 

[Carlo]

You are a lucky man. My wife has never set one foot in any of my vehicles.

 

[bigboy44]

Awesome trip! That trip was one not too many would tackle without some sort of backup. Glad it worked for you. I have two questions though. Why did you make the trip so quick, the other thing is what would you do different if you had to do it again? And yes your wife get the iron butt award! Congrats on the trip and the good looking truck.

 

[SE Jones]

And I thought my 11 hour ride from Atlanta back to the Mississippi coast was tough! Your wife does deserve an award. I know I could have used some company. Great job!

 

[timntrucks]

you have a awesome wife to let you go and then and formost go with you.. a great vacation together. glad it all went well and you have a nice truck too

 

[Russ344]

Sleeping in the back was a challenge. We are both 5'-10" but thin. My wife is one of those people who can sleep sitting up so she slept in the drivers seat. I slept laying on the bench seat with my feet on the passenger grab rail. Not comfortable for either one of us. Since we only slept 3 hours the first night and 4-5 hours the second night we were pretty exhausted. We slept pretty good because we were so tired. The real challenge was the giant suitcase we brought. It took up the entire front bench area between us and we fought it the whole trip. At night we balanced it on top of the bench seat to make some room. We were going to secure it to the plate behind the cab but the small fuel leak from the tank selector switch would have sprayed it with diesel. We wanted to take our time on this trip and get hotel rooms. However, as you all know these trucks gather crowds. I forgot to bring a lock for the steering wheel chain and since I had no way to secure the truck we figured we would just tough it out and drive straight through. If I had to do it again I would have brought a much smaller suitcase.
I also forgot to mention that I knew there would be no 12 volt outlet for the GPS or our cell phones. We bought a small battery power supply that is used for charging cell phones and it worked great. It kept our phones charged and our GPS running for the trip.