Deuce LWB negatives?

[wallew]

rfgrere

 

[M1075]

M36

I always thought the M36s were harder to find and therefore more expensive, but I have been very pleased with the M36. It has a reinforced double frame and we have really taken it to the limit and it has responded favorably every time. The main drawback is reduced off-road capability compared with the shorter M35 (and larger turning radius). We did a manual FWD shift conversion and added 46" super singles on double beadlocks to give us more ground clearance. Prior to the super singles, we tended to drag the rear end when crossing rough terrain. With a full load of 1800 gallons of water, tanks, and pumps, it pushes 31,000# gross. There probably isn't a harder working M36 going right now.

 

[OD_Coyote]

If you have the room at home to park it, then the only negative I can think of is that it might be a challenge to make the corners when you are pulling through the drive-thru at McDonald's for some chow.

 

[cranetruck]

That's a beautiful deuce, M1075! It would make a great cranetruck with that extra loading
space. The larger turning radius is a drawback, especially in an area with narrow winding roads
like in the mountains here in Western Virginia. Oklahoma is pretty level in comparison.

To reduce the turning radius, run singles (like you are doing) and remove the interaxle prop shaft.

I have seen some info in the PS magazines on handling fuel cells like the ones you are carrying, I'll post it
when I run across the articles next time.

 

[M1075]

Thanks. I'm interested in adding a crane to 5 ton. I'm gathering some info now and will ask you some questions on a new post. Also, I've been thinking of adding another rear axle to the M36. Another tandem might be the easiest to setup, but I wonder if the truck will ever turn? Could one rear axle be setup with either M105 or M35 front springs? It would be easy to power with another driveshaft. Mechanically, is there enough torque to turn it? Another axle would sure help balance the payload and would be help a lot off road. It could even be a steering axle. Anybody done this? Drawbacks? Ideas?

 

[1ton]

You could move the axle set on the M36 foward to where a M35 would mount and then add another axle behind them that is steering. You would only want 15 degrees of turn either way. You would need to get a hydraulic steering pump and could either integrate the the rear steer or have a seperate control.

 

[hot rod deuce]

I would think it needs to be air so ride hight is not an issue the axle would only know pressure in the bags. other wise a spring axle will not work with your walking beam. so as one of the walking beam tandems goes up it lifts the truck and thus your new axle comes off the ground or if you drive over the same object with the newly added spring axle it will lift the walking beams off the ground. Now if it were air you could just pick it up off road. If it were me i owuld add an air ride spring lift axle for simplicity. Put a steering axle in it with coil overs on the tie rod and let it steer itself.. We have these set up on our heavy haul trucks AHEAD of the drivers. We also have a two axle booster that goes on behind our tri axle trailer those are both steer axles that follow the trailer as well.

Just dont back up with it down or with out it locked!!

Man the 36 has a shorter wheel base than my m35 will after the crew cab....good thing my front tandem will steer!

 

[1ton]

You would want some stops on the axle because you only want the axle to turn about 15 degrees either way or the tire will wear badly. The spring steering is a much better idea than the hydraulic steering. If you want to use the 3rd axle all the time you could link it to the walking beam suspension. You would just hang the back of what would be the middle axle with another of the center brackets. Then use the what used to be the rear bracket to mount the back of 3rd axle. It would the work the same as a tri-axle walking-beam trailer.

 

[M1075]

Thanks HRD and 1-ton! Those are all really good ideas. I'm not sure yet which way to go. The M1075 has an air third axle and rear stear on the fifth axle. It is a nice setup. I'm hoping for something simple on the M36 which will improve off-road performance, payload, and stabilitity. Raising the air axle when off road would not meet my goals, although that would be slick! I'm liking the sound of the tri-axle walking-beam setup. What modifications would be required? How would you keep the springs from interferring with one another? Wouldn't both sets of springs meet at the middle axle in the same place?