jacobsk
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The commercial off the shelf sister to the M-Gator is the John Deere TH-Diesel 6x4 of a comparable age. The original M-Gator being discussed in this thread is olive in color and had some additional reinforcements added to the frame to meet the requirements for the military sling load and tie down provisions which can be seen on the military front bumper and bolted to the rear of the main frame. The machine came standard with a dual 12v battery setup (unique vehicle harness), the pintle hitch, keyless ignition, steering wheel locking tether, rifle mount, fire extinguisher, electro hydraulic cargo box lift, military brush guard, and the most obvious being the steel drop side cargo box and oversized litter carrier front rack. The color is nothing unique as for several years John Deere offered several of the traditional series in Trail Green (Olive) so plastics for it should be available like anything else. Goodyear run-flat tires were standard on the original M-Gator early in production but were later made optional.
In 2008-2009 Deere brought improvements to the TH-Diesel 6x4 as well as to the M-Gator and it's designation was upgraded to the M-Gator A1. The improvements to the A1 model included additional reinforcements to the frame in support of the two post collapsible ROPS, the ROPS itself, an additional (2nd) radiator under the passenger seat for increased cooling capacity, seatbelts, and additional tie down points welded to the exterior of the cargo box sides and tailgate. These improvements coincided with the styling redesign of the plastics for the traditional series gators so the fenders, hood, instrument panel, and rear mud fenders changed. most notably the rear mud fenders became black in color versus the olive color they had been previously. The headlights also changed at this time.
In 2010 at the request of the military the color of the M-Gator A1 was changed to Desert Sand including the painted components, fenders, hood, instrument panel, and most notably the seats. The run flat tires were also changed to utilize tire-balls but they remained optional.
The difference between the oversized M-Gator/A1 front litter carrier and the commercially available front rack is not only its size to support a NATO stretcher, but it has supports running rearward over the fenders which tie into the frame in order to support the additional payload required. The cargo bed sides fox down and accommodate two more stretchers laying widthwise so the total number of stretchers on one machine can be up to three.
The tailgate on the cargo box should have a swing arm which rotates outward in order to support the tailgate in the horizontal position if desired or it can be left to hang downward in the unsupported position. The sides can then be folded downward and lock into the horizontal position requiring unlocking to lift back up. The tailgate does not lock in the up position with the sides folded down, it requires at least one side to be in the vertical orientation to latch upright.
Parts that you will find are not available commercially as service parts are the military cargo box, front rack, ROPS if equipped, run flat tires, keyless ignition, rifle rack, military brush guard, pintle hitch, tie down rings, and the front litter carrier. If you happen to have a tan M-Gator you will not be able to purchase any tan colored parts for service.
Everything else should be the same!
After driving around the front lawn a couple times I used it to move one of my m1102s out back, the pintle hook binds quite badly so it looks like I'll be changing it out for one off an m151.
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