FMTV Replacement Door Handle Upgrade

[FMTV Truck Sales]

Hello all-

Our Acela Monterras all get a door handle upgrade to the new style A1R handles (see pix below).

Kit would include:

• (2) New style door handles with locks
• (2) New keys
• (2) Handle gaskets
• All new rods, new rod clips
• Instructions and template for cutting

The only drawback is that you have to cut the outer door skin (see photo). We would include the cutting template for exact placement.





Thanks for the input!

 

[firefinder]

YES!

The side opening handles will probably be more robust also.

Look forward to seeing the kit.

 

[DiverDarrell]

I’m interested as well. Seems to remove a weak design. I’ve not no problem taking a cutting disk to my door lol.

 

[scottmandu]

YES!
The side opening handles will probably be more robust also.

I've seen just as many broken later style as early. It's not the handle that fails however it's the outer and inner latch mechanisms that wear out putting additional stress on the handle.

The later door skin also has formed ridges that strengthen the area around the door handle hole. Simply cutting a larger opening would cause quite a bit of flex in the door skin, and possible issues down the road.

 

[DiverDarrell]

A templet that you align with the original opening and bolt hole, with center punch locations at all the corners. Tape/glue the templet on, mark all the new cut out corners, take templet off with a straight edge scribe all the cut lines. And if you really want to get fancy also include a drill point for all the inside corners so one could use a step drill and drill the proper radius for the inside corners befor cutting.

 

[aleigh]

I think a major problem with the FMTV handles isn't necessarily that they are expensive (plenty of things are expensive), it's that they break "prematurely", and, moreover, are seemingly difficult to obtain. They seem to come from different places but the obvious implication is recycled FMTVs and the Steyer parts distribution network in Europe (the handles are from a commercial Steyr 92, so you can just buy them there). It's not really clear why the handles break. Was it a casting problem, a bad batch of them, or is a design defect. Is it that the handles are fine but shock load from misadjusted door latches are stressing them outside of the design envelope. Or do they just suck. Who knows.

So my question sort of is, why do we think the A1 handles are going to solve the problem (which requires presuming what the problem was, beyond just that they fail), and, probably more importantly, do we think we will be able to reliably source these handles well into the future? By the time you are cutting holes in your door you can buy any kind of handle, so it seems to me it would make sense to buy something off some common commercial vehicle. I speak out of ignorance here, for all I know the A1 handles are off the shelf and are on everything from bulldozers to generator covers to big rigs.

I say this having gone through the whole problem on my passenger door. In case any of this sounds negative, yes, I'm inclined to buy such a kit.

 

[Awesomeness]

I've seen just as many broken later style as early. It's not the handle that fails however it's the outer and inner latch mechanisms that wear out putting additional stress on the handle.

The later door skin also has formed ridges that strengthen the area around the door handle hole. Simply cutting a larger opening would cause quite a bit of flex in the door skin, and possible issues down the road. View attachment 710616View attachment 710617

A separate brace part could probably be made, or if they did decide to make a punch tool it could probably form this lip too (if there is enough material there to do it).

 

[Adventure Driven]

Yes !!!

 

[snowtrac nome]

That is something I might want to add to mine. The door latches are another part that could stand an upgrade I have had mine apart they look pretty wimpy.

 

[Coffey1]

Yes

 

[scottmandu]

it's that they break "prematurely"

This would depend on what the designed service life is. I would guess that failure of 10-20+ year old door handle on a piece of equipment that has sat for most it's life in hostile conditions wouldn't be defined as a premature failure.

 

[FMTV Truck Sales]

Of all of the A1R's, miscellaneous A0's and A1's that happened to have been refitted with A1R-style handles and of the hundreds of SD Brazos we've supported since 2007, we've never seen any type of failure with the new style handle. The handle "family" is in current commercial production and used on fire trucks, ambulances, tow trucks, service truck bodies, etc. every day.

We also do not see any flex on the door skin with the Acela Monterra upgrades.

Not a sales pitch - just honest feedback.

Awesomeness - not doubting your experience at all - would you please post or PM me with more photos of the failure and an explanation of what happened? I'd really like to get a better understanding - thanks in advance!

 

[FMTV Truck Sales]

We would love to also offer a replacement catch and latch. We've researched and bottom line is that we would have to custom design and NRE costs are exorbitant.

 

[Coffey1]

I would love to have a driver door shell but at 800 bucks mine will have to stay the way it is.

 

[scottmandu]

Of all of the A1R's, miscellaneous A0's and A1's that happened to have been refitted with A1R-style handles and of the hundreds of SD Brazos we've supported since 2007, we've never seen any type of failure with the new style handle. The handle "family" is in current commercial production and used on fire trucks, ambulances, tow trucks, service truck bodies, etc. every day.

The old handles are also in current production. They also are better sealed from dust as the pivot points are not exposed from the outside.

The new handles are made from cheap pot metal. Throw a little bit of fine sand in them and it doesn't take long for the pivot points to start loosening. When this happens you have to pull them further to compensate for the additional travel, which causes the handle to wear into the body. The internal lever also warps, likely due to worn catches. Eventually the play in the handle is too great to over come and the handle won't open the door. I've seen it on two A1's I've owned, one came from New Mexico and the other from Hawaii, both were covered in a fine dust.

Personally I'd like to see something along the lines of a super duty handle in terms of a retrofit. They are abundant as replacement parts, one can get billet, gold plated, armored, plastic, you name the material and someone probably makes a super duty handle out of it. Key blanks can also be made at the walmart key cutting kiosk.

 

[scottmandu]

I would love to have a driver door shell but at 800 bucks mine will have to stay the way it is.

Send me a pm I have doors.

 

[Awesomeness]

Awesomeness - not doubting your experience at all - would you please post or PM me with more photos of the failure and an explanation of what happened? I'd really like to get a better understanding - thanks in advance!

I don't have any failures - my '96 M1078(A0) has A1 doors with the forward pull handles. I was just saying that if you made a tool to cut the door panel (like I suggested in the other thread), you could potentially make it press that reinforcement lip into the panel at the same time as cutting it.

 

[Ambeihl]

Yes I would be interested. My truck still doesn’t have door handles and this kit is much cheaper than getting the parts direct from styer.


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[aleigh]

This would depend on what the designed service life is. I would guess that failure of 10-20+ year old door handle on a piece of equipment that has sat for most it's life in hostile conditions wouldn't be defined as a premature failure.

I agree, which is why I put it in quotes... Although anecdotally we know the handles seem to last a lot longer in other applications. Then again they do break often enough in cars. Late 2000s Maseratis have a similar door handle disease except it's the interior handle. Plastic components, microstress cracks and break off and the rod comes loose. Jeep JKs have a similar disease except it's with the transfer case linkage. Plastic grommets on either end of the selector cable wear and the cable pops out. In either case, replace with the same part, have the same problem in a few more years.

On the masers some guys took to reinforcing them, with epoxy usually, which brings me to - maybe there's something that can be done about the handles before they break, to either strengthen them or ease the stresses from the rod.

Speaking of anecdotally, we don't even know how many of these things break. It's not like someone is going to complain if they haven't. How many people wanting to upgrade (or debatably side-grade) their handles to A1 on this thread actually experienced a failure personally? My truck came with a bad one and I fixed it. They seem to have a "reputation" for that, but LMTVs also have a reputation for DOA transmissions, snapped drive-shafts, and I wonder how well-deserved that really is.

I did meet a guy once whose CTIS worked. Up, down. Held air. Changed my perspective on the whole world

 

[DiverDarrell]

Wait CTIS can work???