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He may have gotten the date wrong, Monday is the 5th.....JDToumanian said:
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Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!
1952 Studebaker V18A/MTQ
- Thread starter JDToumanian
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Duh, aint I the bright one!
JDToumanian
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Yeah, I goofed again... Tomorrow the 5th is the big day. 
JDToumanian
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It's home! 540 miles round trip in 19 hours including fuel and food breaks and three hours at the campus prepping the truck and hooking it up to the towbar.
Flawless trip. Pics and full write-up to follow, right now I'm going to sleep.
Jon
Flawless trip. Pics and full write-up to follow, right now I'm going to sleep.
Jon
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Outstanding worj Jon. Patiently waiting!
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Woo Hoo!
That's Great news Jon I am sure you will have a ball working with that auger. I am glad you are home safely and we hope to see some action videos of that truck working the earth.
That's Great news Jon I am sure you will have a ball working with that auger. I am glad you are home safely and we hope to see some action videos of that truck working the earth.
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Congrats Jon!
Drivining slower than everybody else and to have to worry about the extra vehicle can be stressful, to say the least. Sleep well!
You may need to get a cargo cover to keep all that blowing sand off you new truck.
Drivining slower than everybody else and to have to worry about the extra vehicle can be stressful, to say the least. Sleep well!
You may need to get a cargo cover to keep all that blowing sand off you new truck.
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That trip sounds faintly familiar. It was Oct 2005 when I went north to Lake City to get my M108. Left here at 9.30AM and got there around 4.00PM. Spent several hours goung over the truck and a few more loading it on the piggyback device. By the time I got home it was 2 AM. That was about a 600 mile trek and I ran the tractor pretty much as hard as I could the whole way.
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JDToumanian
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What a trip!
That was a ton of fun... and everything went perfectly, including the weather.
My friend Keith showed up at 0545, and we hit the road right at 0600. Keith was once a school bus driver, and has kept his commercial class A license with passenger and air brake endorsements up to date... Not that I predicted any problems with the authorities...
I had loaded up anything and everything I could think of that could be useful into the back of the deuce... Towbar, safety chains, magnetic towing lights, tire changing stuff (jack, 1" impact wrench, slave air tank and hoses), rags, bailing wire, duct tape, WD-40... and tons of tools - just about everything I have including chop saw and air tools (you never know!).
Bakersfield was about the half-way point, and we stopped there to have lunch and fuel up. My route was to take hwy. 395 to the 58, and take that all the way to the 101 at the coast. I had never been on the portion of the 58 between Bakersfield and the 101... It was amazing. We only saw four cars in three hours, and there were very few houses or anything else for that matter. You could film a movie about the Lewis and Clark expedition back there. But when we got to the pass, in the mountains between the San Joaquin Valley and the coast, hwy. 58 was steep and winding with lots of hairpin curves. We didn't get much over 20mph through there, and knew it would be difficult towing if we decided to take this same route back. Beautiful scenery though.
When we got to the campus, I called my contact in the "Surplus Department" and was met at the entrance and escorted to where the v-18 was parked near a maintenance shop. While the guys there used a forklift to drag the truck out of it's parking spot into a place where it was towbar accessible, I took care of the paperwork in the office. Then we hooked the towbar to the V-18 and I held it up while my friend Keith backed my deuce up. After hitching up and adding safety chains and towing lights, we took some time to look over the new truck.
Overall, it's condition is better than I expected. With the exception of the front winch and it's drive shaft, and the front axle's drive shaft, the truck is complete and rust free. I had thought the front winch was included, based on an e-mail from a fella on the campus who has a CCKW and a WWII Chevy 1-1/2 ton panel truck, but he meant it had the rear winch not the front... He said the front winch had been missing for at least as long as he had worked there. There is a lot of junk piled on the back in the bed, and I need to sort through it and see what goes with the truck and what is garbage. There are a bunch of tools there, including the ratchet wrench for the auger and a post hole shovel with a really long handle. There is also a really neat old floodlight, with a two lamps on it - one big, one small, and thick wire mesh to protect the glass.
The tires are much worse than I expected... they are all very rotten. Some of the tires are original to the truck, with dates on them from 1952, 1955, and 1964. The ones from the '50s have "gum dipped" molded into the sidewall! The worst tire had sidewall damage - a flap of rubber peeling off with the cords visible inside. They were all holding air, but were down to 15-30 psi... Needless to say, I used my remote air valve and wore my gun mufflers while inflating! I only inflated them to 45 psi... I was trying to find a perfect compromise between destroying them from too much pressure or from sidewall flexing. I am absolutely amazed they made it home.
At the campus, the people in Surplus and Maintenance were a great bunch of guys, and very helpful... they recommended a different route back home... a little longer on the mileage but a much easier drive - they even printed up some maps for me from their computer. They suggested taking the 101 south to hwy. 166 east, to the 99 north up to Bakersfield where I could catch the 58 again for the rest of the way.
The trip home was uneventful... two fuel stops this time, since my fuel gauge doesn't work. I was surprised how easily the V-18 towed - you could almost forget it's there, except for the fact that that I had my foot to the floor pretty much the entire way home!
My deuce has really proven itself. I've been on a few 300 mile trips to the desert... camping, shooting, a little 6x6-ing in the sand. But the deuce worked hard the entire way home, and didn't complain once.
I haven't had a chance to get outside and look at the truck in the daylight yet, but I hope to this afternoon and I'll follow this up with more detailed pics soon.
Regards,
Jon
That was a ton of fun... and everything went perfectly, including the weather.
My friend Keith showed up at 0545, and we hit the road right at 0600. Keith was once a school bus driver, and has kept his commercial class A license with passenger and air brake endorsements up to date... Not that I predicted any problems with the authorities...
I had loaded up anything and everything I could think of that could be useful into the back of the deuce... Towbar, safety chains, magnetic towing lights, tire changing stuff (jack, 1" impact wrench, slave air tank and hoses), rags, bailing wire, duct tape, WD-40... and tons of tools - just about everything I have including chop saw and air tools (you never know!).
Bakersfield was about the half-way point, and we stopped there to have lunch and fuel up. My route was to take hwy. 395 to the 58, and take that all the way to the 101 at the coast. I had never been on the portion of the 58 between Bakersfield and the 101... It was amazing. We only saw four cars in three hours, and there were very few houses or anything else for that matter. You could film a movie about the Lewis and Clark expedition back there. But when we got to the pass, in the mountains between the San Joaquin Valley and the coast, hwy. 58 was steep and winding with lots of hairpin curves. We didn't get much over 20mph through there, and knew it would be difficult towing if we decided to take this same route back. Beautiful scenery though.
When we got to the campus, I called my contact in the "Surplus Department" and was met at the entrance and escorted to where the v-18 was parked near a maintenance shop. While the guys there used a forklift to drag the truck out of it's parking spot into a place where it was towbar accessible, I took care of the paperwork in the office. Then we hooked the towbar to the V-18 and I held it up while my friend Keith backed my deuce up. After hitching up and adding safety chains and towing lights, we took some time to look over the new truck.
Overall, it's condition is better than I expected. With the exception of the front winch and it's drive shaft, and the front axle's drive shaft, the truck is complete and rust free. I had thought the front winch was included, based on an e-mail from a fella on the campus who has a CCKW and a WWII Chevy 1-1/2 ton panel truck, but he meant it had the rear winch not the front... He said the front winch had been missing for at least as long as he had worked there. There is a lot of junk piled on the back in the bed, and I need to sort through it and see what goes with the truck and what is garbage. There are a bunch of tools there, including the ratchet wrench for the auger and a post hole shovel with a really long handle. There is also a really neat old floodlight, with a two lamps on it - one big, one small, and thick wire mesh to protect the glass.
The tires are much worse than I expected... they are all very rotten. Some of the tires are original to the truck, with dates on them from 1952, 1955, and 1964. The ones from the '50s have "gum dipped" molded into the sidewall! The worst tire had sidewall damage - a flap of rubber peeling off with the cords visible inside. They were all holding air, but were down to 15-30 psi... Needless to say, I used my remote air valve and wore my gun mufflers while inflating! I only inflated them to 45 psi... I was trying to find a perfect compromise between destroying them from too much pressure or from sidewall flexing. I am absolutely amazed they made it home.
At the campus, the people in Surplus and Maintenance were a great bunch of guys, and very helpful... they recommended a different route back home... a little longer on the mileage but a much easier drive - they even printed up some maps for me from their computer. They suggested taking the 101 south to hwy. 166 east, to the 99 north up to Bakersfield where I could catch the 58 again for the rest of the way.
The trip home was uneventful... two fuel stops this time, since my fuel gauge doesn't work. I was surprised how easily the V-18 towed - you could almost forget it's there, except for the fact that that I had my foot to the floor pretty much the entire way home!
My deuce has really proven itself. I've been on a few 300 mile trips to the desert... camping, shooting, a little 6x6-ing in the sand. But the deuce worked hard the entire way home, and didn't complain once.
I haven't had a chance to get outside and look at the truck in the daylight yet, but I hope to this afternoon and I'll follow this up with more detailed pics soon.
Regards,
Jon
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Outstanding writeup, sir. Enjoyed reading it.
Now where' s the video?
And about bringing everything but the kitchen sink when it comes to tools: I have found that almost everytime I have said "I won't need this, I did and everytime I took it, I didn't.
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Here's a few more...
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I'm not familiar with towing operations - does someone have to be in the towed truck to steer it? If not, what would prevent the front wheels from steering whatever way they wanted when towing? If you lashed the steering wheel in place, I would think the friction on the front tires would be pretty great when you're making a sharp turn.
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Although the TM recommended a driver in the towed vehicle, I believe this is illegal in most jurisditions. In my experience, with proper front end alignment of the towed vehicle, and avoiding sharp turns, tracking is not a problem.
Great looking truck. Post more pics - and KEEP IT A GASSER!
Best wishes,
David
Great looking truck. Post more pics - and KEEP IT A GASSER!
Best wishes,
David
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Jon, that's a great save on that one!!!
BC
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I think the statement in caps might be directed towards me! LOLDDoyle said:
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I'm wondering if you pulled axle shafts, drive shafts or you just put the transfer case in neutral for the tow. Did you ever have any trouble with the front wheels following through after turns? It must have been nice to have a relief driver too! That sure is some pretty scenery there.
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Nice trip and Pics! You should drive your truck in the Baja 1000 or the Rolex 24hr race at Daytona Slow and steady. Its fun backing up traffic no matter where you live.
Slow and steady. Its fun backing up traffic no matter where you live.
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Great looking old truck. Extremely rare to find in any condition, much less as good as you got. The missing parts are not going to be too hard to find where you live, so I expect to see it at Aberdeen next year!