can a deuce ever be very reliable?

[Katavic918]

Of course you only hear about the failures. No one ever starts a thread because everything is working properly.

 

[rustystud]

Of course you only hear about the failures. No one ever starts a thread because everything is working properly.

 

[pmramsey]

Good lookin truck! Nice place too.

Thank you. The photo was taken in late May. The day was spent cutting the barley crop having been planted the previous fall. The trailer is ready an m796 bolster trailer with a 20 foot aluminum drop side bed. Great hay hauler.

 

[m1010plowboy]

I promised that we'd take the OP on a ride in 135.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUitK-eJ3r0

The in-cab action on this next one starts around 4:25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYMiR2DT7Fo

 

[JT Wood]

Hey Dave I stepped out for a few minutes sorry I missed you. Here's sooner pics of the 56 I was taking about

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[m1010plowboy]

Too bad we can't try out that transmission. Without knowing she shifts it's a yard ornament that may need a thousand hours and 7-10 grand to get rolling to an out of Province inspection. It's a tough inspection ...and a good inspection because those boys would find sweat on a brake-line you looked at a hundred times and it didn't sweat before the inspection.

It's a July 26 baby that rolled out 303 trucks after my Batus 11 - 7 -56' girl XXX5503. Nice truck though, missing the B/O light up front, electrical has been played with, rear lights will need work, no bows or troop seats. On the good side the steering wheel isn't cracked terribly at the hub, even the rubber appears usable, mostly complete with a hard-top and a slightly used hood.

Goat the 55' just took a 120 mile trip north after a complete re-build. Although they rebuilt the airpak, they had some brake release problems...but fixed things on the road and made it home safe. Reliable is a fat credit card and the number to a roll on winch truck.

 

[Barrman]

Most of your questions have been answered in detail. Someone posted a wise phrase long ago that I always keep in mind when dealing with MV's. "Never forget that the original owner with a budget in the trillions sold the truck because they couldn't afford to keep doing maintenance on it."

I daily drive MV's and have for years. I like them, I like spending time on weekends and evenings caring for them. I read the TM's and as much as possible online about the vehicles I operate and always learn something new. A M35 will be easier to care for and find parts than the Rover. I have a '67 Cooper S and any MV is much more dependable.

 

[DavidWymore]

I wanted a deuce since I was a little kid. When I finally got one, I worked on it nonstop til I had it on the road. Once I had it on the road, I drove it everywhere, put 1000 miles on it in a few months. There's nothing like owning/driving a deuce. No other vehicle I've had come close. I love it and so does everyone else.

Lots of people daily drive them and put a lot of miles on them without a lot of trouble. I do.

I will say the 900 series are much bigger smoother faster quieter more capable...but also much more complicated an expensive all around. It's a semi, a deuce is an overgrown pickup.

 

[TsgtB]

My worst fear is... going to a big box store, buying a big load of construction material, getting it all loaded, and find my HH clip had fallen off.
Freaks me OUT.

 

[cattlerepairman]

Someone posted a wise phrase long ago that I always keep in mind when dealing with MV's. "Never forget that the original owner with a budget in the trillions sold the truck because they couldn't afford to keep doing maintenance on it."

A nice phrase, but that does not make it true!

Fact is, that the tactical environment has changed a lot and it no longer makes sense to have slow, un-armoured, unprotected logistical vehicles with standard shift that increases the learning for new kids driving them.

The maintenance per se on our trucks is probably a lot cheaper than on a fleet of FMTVs. But then, you can use a laptop on an FMTV......

 

[Wildchild467]

I have about 40,000 miles that I put on my truck since I bought it. When I bought it, it had 23,686 miles on it. I drive it a lot and by a lot means I drove it to work today. It has never left me walking once in all those miles. I did a complete frame off after I crashed it and it has been an amazing truck. I find the most important part of owning these trucks is paying attention to it when it talks to you. If you hear a clunk once in a while, check to see what it is because it shouldn't be doing that. If you see your fuel pressure is a little low (installed a liquid filled gauge on my secondary filters to monitor fuel pressure), change your filter/s. If you see cracked brake hoses, replace all of them and be done with it. Since you are in there, inspect every solid metal line to make sure it is not rubbing the frame or anything that would cause an issue later on down the road. Adjust the valves in the engine. Its cheap, easy to do and most likely you will find a couple that need adjustment because private pyle probably didnt care as much as you will about them. lubricate nuts and bolts before you need to take things apart. even though things are good now, put a couple drops of PB blaster or your favorite lubricant on the eccentric studs to adjust the lower brake shoes. It will make adjusting the brakes a lot easier down the road. A lot of this is just things I do. I can always think of something to work on with the truck but a lot of it is relaxing to me and I enjoy it.

With all of that said, I think I have a very nice truck and is reliable as anything out there. I took it on a 1200 mile round trip and it never let me down. Biggest thing is always checking fluids as well. Don't under estimate a leaky seal or think your engine oil is ok. Check engine oil often and always keep it full. Better looking at it, than looking for it. I have all the faith in my truck and I love driving it. There are lots of deuces out there but it depends how nice of a truck you want. I could make a long list of things I would do if I got another one.

 

[98G]

The metric for "reliability" should be the ratio of breakdowns per miles driven. Or more specifically, the ratio of breakdowns that can't be fixed roadside.

Using this formula, MVs are going to score fairly low in comparison to most econoboxes.

Ideally we'do need a huge sample size to use for this. We don't have one. ..


As noted above, posts to the forum are selection biased for breakdowns.

Here's some numbers spread across 20 trucks or so, to include everything from an M1009 to 939series 5tons. Deuces are well represented:

Total miles driven, around 40,000.
Number of breakdowns total, 12.
Number of breakdowns requiring outside assistance, 5.

My sample includes a lot of unknown and untested auction trucks, but believe it or not, those aren't the ones that broke down. The only auction truck that left me stranded roadside was also the only auction truck I've ever previewed.....

If your primary selection criterion is reliability, MVs are not for you. If your primary selection criterion is enjoyment/mile, then they can't be beat.... even a breakdown can be entertaining

Edit - "
To be honest I am about to purchase a late 50's pickup truck or a deuce. The intended use is for a fun vehicle for me and my boy to cruise on weekends, maybe the odd roadtrip/camping/fishing excursion, and maybe put it in a few local parades to advertise my construction company.
"" - this strikes me as ideal use for an MV

 

[JT Wood]

That's the thing. 1200 miles without a breakdown is not that impressive. That's like 2 solid days in the road. If you went 120,000 miles with no major issues then I'd be impressed.

I've got an 85 international bucket truck that I drove 25k miles last year and about 300 hours idling with the pto. Never had 1 hiccup. These trucks are cool but I want to own the truck. I don't want the truck to own me.

I'd rather not spend 2 hours wrenching every time I want to go for a country drive.

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[teletech]

Many years ago, I used a M35 as a daily-driver for much of 3 years. I think I had to walk home a time or two but mostly it was fine.
Now, this was a very tired gasser-deuce and I was young and while mechanically-inclined I didn't know what maintenance I should have been doing so there's no good reason for this truck to have kept running but inertia. Of course, I got about 4MPG so I wasn't doing any really long trips.

I'd say the basic reliability is on par with any 1950s 4x4 pickup so it can be very good or very bad depending on basic condition and what work you do.
The real difference is what happens when something goes wrong, your old Willys pickup you can push it off to the side of the road and call a tow truck or just a buddy with a pickup and a tow bar... the deuce, not so much. Even changing a tire needs special tools compared to a regular car.
The size of the vehicle also makes it expensive, it's irresponsible to not be hyper-paranoid (at least) about the brakes on anything that big and deuce brakes are a bit of a weak link besides.

 

[drivebymashing]

Ive had my deuce for almost 2 years maybe only 2k miles. It has never broken down. Im a mechanic I check it very often. All three axles leak currently. It has never left me stranded. I did get a AAA policy that supposedly will tow it just incase. I also got the policy for my vette because it doesnt have a spare tire...

 

[Roaddog58]

I have 3 dueces, my 71 m35a2 is my daily driver, i've been helping my daughter build her house, the air is great for the nail guns, the lumber yard knows her by sound!! It tows our boat and has been to knob creek many times. You reap what you sow, put in the time and reap the good driving.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I did get a AAA policy that supposedly will tow it just incase.

You ask them if they know what an M35a2 is? I was told AAA would have nothing to do with one.

 

[TsgtB]

I'll have faith in the maintenance that I've done to keep it going, but I dont beat the snot out of it and expect it to be flawless.
I dont have the luxury of having anyone near by to help tow me home or even pull me out of a ditch, so I feel I have to be a little more careful of where i take it.

 

[drivebymashing]

I told the lady at AAA what kind of truck it and how many tires it is and how much it weighs. She said as long as its less than 26k im good to go. Im holding her to that. I did get the RV policy which cost a little more.

 

[DavidWymore]

They are no less reliable than anything their age. All about maintenance.