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Canada - Prairies - (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba)

l3oss

Member
Hello. Im new to the page and own a M923A2. It was bought at auction in the USA. Im Located in Regina, Sask.
Im glad i was able to find this page dedicated to all of us with green fever. ��
I read through the previous page posts and saw some of you were possibly looking for trucks. I have a line on 4 or 5 other units(M923) out this way that are for sale.
 

Maple Leaf Eh

Member
69
20
8
Location
Ontario, Canada
Glad to meet you on-line.

Please share what steps you took to get your truck into Canada. There are many interested people who want to know the words and paperwork required.

I tabbed through the previous 5 pages to get a sense of the conversation. Plenty of greetings and introductions. A few pleas for help. Some language barriers. But overall a motivated audience.

One thing I can comment upon is road certification for surplus Canadian military vehicles. Each province has its own rules. My ex'Canadian Forces M151A2 was welded back together from demilitarized pieces. It was inspected, safety certified and licensed in another province. I bought it and changed the plates over after a similar safety inspection. Insurance was a bigger deal because the usual providers don't have risk and hazard charts for anything older than 20 years, so I went with a specialty insurer. The vehicle is now on the road now as another vehicle in the driveway. I could have saved money with a "Historic Vehicle" plate, but there were too many conditions on usage.

The inspection checklist in my place of residence went from a dozen items to nearly a hundred earlier this summer. Some rebuilder friends hustled to get their projects inspected before the rules changed. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...hat-they-mean-for-car-buyers/article30639699/

The supply of military vehicles has never been very large. Canada tends to buy smaller quantities of vehicles, manage the fleets very closely, then as the wear and tear take over park those that are "Beyond Economical Repair" and cannibalize for parts. Whenever the replacements arrive, the existing fleet is usually so depleted and rusted out, there isn't much of anything left. Often the spares inventories have been completely expended, and replacement sources commercially or in specialized buys. For example, when the air brakes on the MLVW (ie our M35 diesel automatic 6x6) started failing, the whole fleet was grounded until a repair kit was available. Can Joe Civilian buy that kit? No. Likewise, commercial AMC Jeep front fenders appear on M38A1 Jeeps and are considered appropriate if a little funny looking.

This brings me to my next point. Some models were marginal performers at the best of times. The MLVWs have been sold surplus, but with no roadworthiness certificate. Something like, unsafe at any speed. No amount of repairs, proof or arguing with the nice people at the license office will get your MLVW approved for the highways. In frustration, most collectors are importing US M35s just to get wheels underneath. This very cautious safety argument is the reason my M151A2 was quartered with a torch. It is now registered somewhat ambiguously with a serial number on a metal foil sticker, just as if it was a hotrod.

A search on Canadian classified ads will find M37, M38, M38A1, maybe a civilian contract CJ7, maybe an M211, some Iltis', some LSVWs, the odd HLVW and sometimes a CUCV. Not much to choose from, and usually in rough shape. More trailers and spare tires than vehicles.

I mentioned parts inventories. The Iltis is a perfect example. Made in Canada for Canadian job creation. Used hard, they were replaced long after their Best Before date when the replacements arrived. When the central supply depot cleared out its absolute last Iltis shelves, they glutted the market. (Not their fault, they have operational requirements to meet and they don't care about collectors.) The dealers looked at the lots on offer and figured they could make more money diverting their auction purchases straight to the shredders rather than sinking money with no return on investment in sight. Ironically, the guys driving their Iltis'es came around looking for those same parts only a few years later, and have been forced to fabricate a lot of what they need, or have two or three hulks behind the shed for spare parts.
 
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l3oss

Member
Im new to the hobby and can only speak from what knowledge i have gained so far in this short period of time. I was going to buy a M35A2(pic posted below) and posted a pic of it on my FB along with asking for anyone who might know of anyone able to bring the truck from Alaska to Sask. I had a few people chime in saying things like "good luck getting it across the boarder" and a friend of mine said why bother try for that one with all the head ache and trying to find shipping. He said he had seen a 5t in his yard at work & that his boss told him there were apparantly more for sale. I called him and got as much info and over the next few days and more phone calls and driving i was able to locate 12(931,932,925,923) in a fenced compound. I did some more investigating and made another phone call. I was quite excited when I finaly got ahold of the seller.

Turns out the person who wanted to bring them up out of the USA was not able to. Its my understanding that you cant unless you own a corperated business. So he got his buddy with a corperated business to bring them up. I believe they had near 20 units to begin with. Truck were origionaly stationed in miniapolis & california prior to auction. By the time i found them there were 12/13. Some had very few hrs and low miles. As low as 9hrs. Some were still factory sealed in places. The tractor units with the 5th wheel plates didnt have a drop of grease on them.

Around the same time i had also been searching google and finding these surpluss sellers. One located in quisnel BC called cariboo6x6. I had talked briefly with the owner of cariboo in email and a couple short phone calls. I expressed i was intresed in a 923 with turbo, winch, ctis, ribs/bows and cover. He said he he could get me one for $14,000usd and transpost if i needed it for $4,500 more and that it would be brought across the usa/cad border and dropped for me in Estevan. Total would of been $18,500usd / $24,800cad plus tax and safety and any needed repairs.

I ended buying from the seller here in Sask. He does have more units forsale if any of you are wanting(i can get you in touch with him). I do own a business. Although its not corperated. I had it in for sask safety. All it needed was a fire extinguisher and a road hazard kit(reflective triangles). The washer fluid bottle was/is also cracked. They called SGI and told them they could not locate a replacement part to replace the cracked bottle. SGI told them to go ahead and issue the truck a clear safety sticker(with fire extinguisher & hazard kit).

I had it saftied as a commercial vehicle. I ended up getting a personalized "collector plate" for it.
 

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Maple Leaf Eh

Member
69
20
8
Location
Ontario, Canada
Gotta love the practical folks at SGI! I lived on Mullin Ave Regina from 92 to 98, and it never ceased to amaze me how business-minded the province is.

"You wanna set up a 1200 yd rifle range?" "Sure, just check with the RM." "No objections? Good, have at it but don't shoot handguns." (Of course, you mileage may vary.)

Glad to see you found what you wanted. The tricky thing will be to have it make a bit of money for you, or you might regret buying something so big.
 

Another Ahab

Well-known member
17,999
4,556
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
Gotta love the practical folks at SGI! I lived on Mullin Ave Regina from 92 to 98, and it never ceased to amaze me how business-minded the province is.

"You wanna set up a 1200 yd rifle range?" "Sure, just check with the RM." "No objections? Good, have at it but don't shoot handguns." (Of course, you mileage may vary.
Why not?
 

Maple Leaf Eh

Member
69
20
8
Location
Ontario, Canada
The range construction permit for a handgun range is different than an NRA or military gallery style rifle range. As well there is a level of club administration which means facilities inspections on a schedule, measuring the height of the berms, signage, flags, etc. Quite a lot of work for all concerned, because handguns are a federally mandated set of rules. Rifle and shotgun ranges have a little more tolerance in the approvals. Believe me, handgun ownership in Canada is a privilege.

You can check out the resulting range http://www.saskrifle.com/
 

StubbleJumper

New member
4
0
0
Location
Airdrie, AB
Hello, just wondering if your seller would have any 925a1? Have been on the lookout for one, there is a couple around, once again I have also snooped the Caribou website and emailed him as well.
 

Mattech

Member
37
14
8
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Currently, only a few MLVW's have made it to the market and are from Quebec, where there is a big problem with rust. The rest of the fleet from around Canada is not going to be released to the public and are being dismantled and then cut up to scrap... the reason for this .. is the trunions are actually breaking(shearing) at the bearings and are dropping onto the wheels, there was a mass grounding and subsequent inspection of all the trunions of rolling MLVW's with many of them failing due to cracks. The governement stopped all sales through Crown Assest and ordered them to be cut up as they are taken out of service. I was working at CFB Edmonton when that order came from Ottawa.
 

Moraurah

New member
5
0
0
Location
Canmore, Ab. Canada
Hello, I am happy to see so many Canadian on this forum. I am French Canadian, living near Canmore, Alberta. Looking for the best truck to build a thick winterized RV. I need something for high altitude and mountain steep icy road. So far, with my limited knowledge, I think a m932a2 or m926a2 would be my best options. This is not for recreation, it is for my permanent home and for my work. Any advice are more than welcome. I need to replace my old 1976 Chevy Cheyenne, which had never let me down for the last 8 years, with something serious, for my safety. My biggest concern is RELIABILITY. Thank you.
 

l3oss

Member
Hello, just wondering if your seller would have any 925a1? Have been on the lookout for one, there is a couple around, once again I have also snooped the Caribou website and emailed him as well.

Yes in fact he does have a 925a1. I almost bought it. A winch was on my must have list along with ctis and the turbo, but it has the non-turbo'd cummins and is without CTIS. Im new to this hobby and after buying the 923a2 ive seen alot of guys doing the CTIS delete and some even prefer the non turbo'd engine. Seller said he would provide me with winch so im still waiting for it. Ill be very pleased once its on the truck.
 

l3oss

Member
Hello, just wondering if your seller would have any 925a1? Have been on the lookout for one, there is a couple around, once again I have also snooped the Caribou website and emailed him as well.
i just checked my phone notes to see if i still had info from when i was deciding what unit i wanted. These notes were taken while doing a quick walk around. Its unit beside the 931

412hr / 14,600m
hard top
winch
2 low tires(cracked)
W/o CTIS
no TURBO
new spare
good crane
tail gate dented

I was also able to zoom in on a couple photos to show you the unit. It is the 7th down the line. Sorry i dont have any good front end pics.
 

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StubbleJumper

New member
4
0
0
Location
Airdrie, AB
From the reading I've done on this site, a few guys have good luck with the CTIS, however the majority do remove it. A winch is on my "Must have" list. Also I am really wanting lockers for the rear axles. I go camping quite a bit in the foothills and mountains, heaven forbid you get one stuck, so for me a truck of this size and weight, lockers are high on my list, but at least you can buy. The nhc250 cummins isn't the most powerful, but should run forever. Depends what you're looking for. For me, I want her to start and run when I need her to! I want mine to load up my offroad toys and pull my camper. A truck like that would turn some heads out in the bush around here. The cost of a newer one ton is crazy, and something like this is 10x the truck.
How was it for licensing and insurance for yours?
Do you know any prices?
Thanks for your help/info.
 

l3oss

Member
From the reading I've done on this site, a few guys have good luck with the CTIS, however the majority do remove it. A winch is on my "Must have" list. Also I am really wanting lockers for the rear axles. I go camping quite a bit in the foothills and mountains, heaven forbid you get one stuck, so for me a truck of this size and weight, lockers are high on my list, but at least you can buy. The nhc250 cummins isn't the most powerful, but should run forever. Depends what you're looking for. For me, I want her to start and run when I need her to! I want mine to load up my offroad toys and pull my camper. A truck like that would turn some heads out in the bush around here. The cost of a newer one ton is crazy, and something like this is 10x the truck.
How was it for licensing and insurance for yours?
Do you know any prices?
Thanks for your help/info.

Lisencing was easy. I went into lisence issuer with fresh commercial inspection slip from Ft. Garry and it was a breeze. I suspose a guy can always equip the unit with CTIS if thats a must for you. Feel free to msg me and I can pass sells info onto you.
 
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