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5 ton toy hauler

cdawall

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I hope I am in the correct section for this. I am sorry if I am not and I am sorry if some of the questions are dumb. I am looking at the local gov liquidation place at an M939 (still a DRW model so I assume its a non-A1/A2) Exact model being an M927 or M928 (XLWB). I want to haul my ranger to and from trails with the possibility of another rig or two on a trailer behind. The Ranger will weigh in around 6K with armor and what not. Typical weight of a towed rig is 4-5K so a full load would be around 6K on the bed and 15K behind.

I have read the normal M939 would be an NHC250 and I am fine with that and possibly some minor mods (no crazy turbo setup or anything). Will that truck be plenty for what I am looking to do with it? I assume it can handle holding OD with 14R20's installed and ranger in the back? What is a safe top speed, will I have to hunt down the ABS parts or is it ok how it sits? What is the inside to inside dimensions on the stock XLWB bed? (ranger is 86" wide outside tire to outside tire). I would also like to run on WMO...I assume even-though this is not a multi-fuel that is possible?



The truck in question to be hauled. Going to go down to get pics tomorrow.
 

cdawall

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Speed can be limited by the speed rating on the tires, the weight of cargo and terrain.
I figured as much it was more of a generality. I more or less am curious if it will hold 45-50MPH with 14R20's and a typical 6K load in the back.
 

wreckerman893

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My M927 (has the super singles and CTIS) will run 65 wide open but the sweet spot is around 54 at 1600 which gets good fuel milage with the 8.3 Cummins. Your Ranger will fit in the bed easily.....I've hauled my Dakota in an M927 while flat towing a M923. Last year I flat towed my 32 foot van trailer using a converter dolly......pulled like a dream. The only issue you may have is getting the Ranger up in the bed unless you have a high loading dock on both ends.
 

GHall

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I have read about the friction inhibitors in ATF being a problem when running through the fuel system as in not enough lubrication for the IP and injectors. Also heard something about it could crystallize when it gets too hot. Not positive on that last part.
 

wreckerman893

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You can run some WMO in a straight diesel but you do so at the peril of the engine. The old 250 Cummins is pretty forgiving but the 8.3 is direct injection and might have issues. Back in the day we would pour the used motor oil from oil changes into the big tanks the company stored bulk fuel in. I assume they had several filters in the system. We also used to add a quart of ATF to each saddle tank every so often to keep the injectors clean. Unless you are running a millon miles a year the fuel savings won't outweigh an engine swap if things go south.
 

GHall

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I've read mostly about the fellas on here doing more of a mixture of diesel and motor oil, even read about veggie oil. Google something like "WMO and diesel, steel soldiers" some good threads should pop up.
 

cdawall

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EAFB, SD
My M927 (has the super singles and CTIS) will run 65 wide open but the sweet spot is around 54 at 1600 which gets good fuel milage with the 8.3 Cummins. Your Ranger will fit in the bed easily.....I've hauled my Dakota in an M927 while flat towing a M923. Last year I flat towed my 32 foot van trailer using a converter dolly......pulled like a dream. The only issue you may have is getting the Ranger up in the bed unless you have a high loading dock on both ends.
I just need a ramp to get in the bed the trucks on one tons with 38.5's. I have seen people run ramps onto the trailer onto the truck in the past can't imagine that wouldn't work with mine.
 

Josh

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I have a set of 12ft ramps that are good enough to get my cruiser into the back of my deuce. Its looks to have roughly the same ground clearance as your ranger. Cant imagine you would need much longer ramps.
 

Scarecrow1

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I don't think it would be a problem to to use the A1's or A2's for what you want to do. My A1 bed is 5 ft high and even at a loading dock I still meed to have a ramp to load with. Now what I'm about to say may upset a few people but I mean no offense just stating fact . If you are planning to use waste oil products then then you are shooting yourself in the foot. Yes the legendary Deuce was designed to use other fuels ( in emergency situations ) It was never designed to be used as the only fuel, Diesel fuel was. The day I have to run that crap through my 923A1s engine I will just shoot it and sell it for scrap. It would be more humane than deliberately trashing a great engine to save a few dollars. The Deuce has THREE filters to help cope with getting the trash out of the W/O and then you read of the filters stopping up and leaving people stranded. These newer 5 tons have the single filter set up what are the odds it will do the job? My trucks original sticker price $74,450.00 I paid less than 5 cent on the dollar for it. I will never run anything that would kill the truck just to save a buck at the pumps. Bio diesel has been said not to be good for these trucks so I won't use it either. The truck will do everything you want if you just keep it maintained like it should be. JMHO do right by the truck and it will be there for you.
 

cdawall

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EAFB, SD
I don't think it would be a problem to to use the A1's or A2's for what you want to do. My A1 bed is 5 ft high and even at a loading dock I still meed to have a ramp to load with. Now what I'm about to say may upset a few people but I mean no offense just stating fact . If you are planning to use waste oil products then then you are shooting yourself in the foot. Yes the legendary Deuce was designed to use other fuels ( in emergency situations ) It was never designed to be used as the only fuel, Diesel fuel was. The day I have to run that crap through my 923A1s engine I will just shoot it and sell it for scrap. It would be more humane than deliberately trashing a great engine to save a few dollars. The Deuce has THREE filters to help cope with getting the trash out of the W/O and then you read of the filters stopping up and leaving people stranded. These newer 5 tons have the single filter set up what are the odds it will do the job? My trucks original sticker price $74,450.00 I paid less than 5 cent on the dollar for it. I will never run anything that would kill the truck just to save a buck at the pumps. Bio diesel has been said not to be good for these trucks so I won't use it either. The truck will do everything you want if you just keep it maintained like it should be. JMHO do right by the truck and it will be there for you.
Good to know some people are against the WMO. I will have to do more research into how people run it. From what I have seen you would filter it before running it in the truck. Like heavily filter it with a centrifuge and multiple levels of filtration...Outside of that how would it be any different than what people do to run WMO, WATF or WVO? The military runs 25% WMO and JP8 through these right now so the motor has to be able to take it.

I have a set of 12ft ramps that are good enough to get my cruiser into the back of my deuce. Its looks to have roughly the same ground clearance as your ranger. Cant imagine you would need much longer ramps.
Sounds long, but I guess these sit a good bit higher up than a standard flatbed.

Has anyone made a set of rails for the ramps so you just pull them out from the underbody of the truck and drive up?
 
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cdawall

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EAFB, SD
Well ended up in the desert so the truck is on hold for until the summer. Since I should have a pretty good paycheck for when I get back what wheel/tires should I go with 14R20, 16R20 or 395's? Asking for complete personal preference I have read a couple dozen threads about the same question and am curious about some personal feedback.
 

GHall

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Neophyte has the 16.00-20's on his M8XX dump which looks pretty good.. I like my 14.00-20 XL Michies a lot and they are very common and seem readily available. Go to advanced search type in neophyte's name under user name and take a look. He's the only one I can think of off the top of my head that has 16.00 and his truck looks slick.
 

EMD567

Driver for the Ga Mafia
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Aiken SC
The only thing you should add to the fuel is something like diesel Kleen, to help keep the fuel dry, and inhibit the growth of algae. I also add either highly filtered used motor oil, or 2 cycle ash less oil, at the ratio of no more than 50:1. I normally try to keep it at 50-70:1. This keeps the ULSD from wearing out your IP and injectors.
 

cdawall

New member
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EAFB, SD
Neophyte has the 16.00-20's on his M8XX dump which looks pretty good.. I like my 14.00-20 XL Michies a lot and they are very common and seem readily available. Go to advanced search type in neophyte's name under user name and take a look. He's the only one I can think of off the top of my head that has 16.00 and his truck looks slick.
I have seen that one and it is part of the reason I was considering the 16-20's as they look very nice. I assume there is no difference from the axles to bed on the long wheel base model I am looking at correct?

The only thing you should add to the fuel is something like diesel Kleen, to help keep the fuel dry, and inhibit the growth of algae. I also add either highly filtered used motor oil, or 2 cycle ash less oil, at the ratio of no more than 50:1. I normally try to keep it at 50-70:1. This keeps the ULSD from wearing out your IP and injectors.
Interesting I had never heard that before. Will have to do some more research around about it. In all honesty I will probably use the truck twice a month to haul my Ranger about an hour down to the trails and then an hour back. So the WMO thing is just a way to keep fuel costs down...if its going to cost me a motor its obviously not worth it in the long run. This is why beyond kicking the fuel screw up a smidgen nothing will likely get done performance wise to the truck.
 
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