From fire truck to MTV

[aw113sgte]

Boy i sure wished you lived next door while youve got that hitch broke loose from the frame i would find a way to beat you out of it ! I need one of those hitches for mine i just need a longer stinger to slide out to reach some trailers i might pull with the overhang of the dovetail ! Keep up the good work !

Sorry Chucky, it's all bolted back up you missed your chance!

 

[SCM35A2]

Subscribed for updates.

 

[aw113sgte]

Working on the attachment rails for the shipping container, also checking out and fixing the iffy mounting of the aux cooler. Cleaning out tons of rocks from it too.

 

[aw113sgte]

Was trying to replace the rubber on the alignment rods using the ones from Midwest military equipment. While the general size is okay, they don't have enough flex to do the job. Had to pull with pliers to get the rubber to fit in the seating groove but it pulls out immediately. The spring they supply to attempt to hold.it in place is also not great, it digs into the rubber after in place and would likely cut into the rubber very quickly (spiral ring would work far better.
That said, the caps for the center of the alignment rod fit perfectly.

 

[aw113sgte]

Only 5 more to go....



Edit: got 2 more done, hope to finish the other side tomorrow. Had a little goo in the front left hub, looks like someone may have packed the bearing with grease at some point. Machining of the parts was pretty nice, no issues with alignment of any of the bolts and obviously care was taken order of machining operations to ensure concentricity was maintained. While I had the hubs off took the opportunity to retorque the bearing nut. Some were hand tight.
I do have a couple minor concerns.
1. The 4 socket head screws in the aluminum cap appear to be stainless, I put some anti-seize on them.
2. The metric bolts connecting the smaller steel piece with the splines (very nicely made part by the way) have no sealing so oil can wick along the threads. A sealing washer would fix this, I just put a little RTV on the bolt head and washer.
3. The two tapped holes in the large steel plate weren't chamfered. Very minor and easy to fix.
4. Wish there were precision pins or similar to take the torque. In theory the plates could slide with whatever clearance in present in the bolts holes if the torque is enough to overcome the friction. Is this actually going to be an issue in reality? Highly unlikely but I'll keep an eye on it. It's no different compared to many driveshaft flanges and those work fine.
5. Be very careful on the pinch clamp, almost felt like there were two starting threads. I often had to spin the screw back and it would click into another start. Not totally sure, although was happy to see the note that these were roll formed, significantly better strength.

Overall a very nice piece of kit!

 

[aw113sgte]

Custom seat mounting plate, 3/16 steel laser cut. Will be welded to seat brackets.

 

[aw113sgte]

Was tightening one of the lock clamps on the Eco hubs and felt a snap. Threads stripped. Oddly no thread pieces present besides a very tiny sliver, almost like what happens with a too large a tap drill.
Regardless, this will be my fix. Going to crush some of the threads so it can't come off if it ever loosens.

 

[ramdough]

Was tightening one of the lock clamps on the Eco hubs and felt a snap. Threads stripped. Oddly no thread pieces present besides a very tiny sliver, almost like what happens with a too large a tap drill.
Regardless, this will be my fix. Going to crush some of the threads so it can't come off if it ever loosens.View attachment 909074

I would get them to replace the part. I bet they would.


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[aw113sgte]

I would get them to replace the part. I bet they would.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Probably would, he seems like a really nice guy. Problem is I tend to get really focused on a project and don't want to pause progress. It's also hitting 25° here tomorrow by afternoon so I'm trying to complete it before then.

 

[aw113sgte]

Pulled seats and storage out of the cab, found out MWME put inch bolts in the seat locations...and punched through the cab metal from too long of a bolt in one spot. Hopefully the metric threads aren't messed up.
Power washed the interior, threw a fan in to dry it out.
Next step is installing the double middle seat.
Hate to loose the great storage but don't want hard metal to the sides of my kids heads.

 

[Third From Texas]

found out MWME put inch bolts in the seat locations...and punched through the cab metal

 

[DeMilitarized]

We had a better experience with MME and Joe, though you only get what you inspect rather than expect. He is a used car salesman.

We picked our unit up in Missouri and so inspected prior to driving home. My expectation was that we would need to replace most if not all the rubber and electrical on a 20 year old vehicle, but would have a solid mechanical platform. So, far that is what we have found.

My biggest disappointment was discovering the ABS unit had been disconnected when we picked up the unit. Once we got it home and discovered the lose connection, it has a problem, of course. I didn't have a bad experience, though MME will take every advantage they can. Joe did give me a ride to return my rental car, and I did drive our M1078 all the way back to Texas without a problem–

Unfortunately they are a factory of under inspected abused trucks that have lipstick on a turd. That is why I encourage people to buy trucks from other venders that actually take very close attention to their product and are proud to drive it. Myself when I flip a truck actually daily drives it for at least 2 weeks. This will make sooooo many problems apparent that may have not before. Almost every FMTV I have had has needed cab lift rebuild, ctis axle seals, tractor protection valve, most a qr1 valve or two, a ctis pressure transducer and possibly a controller, engine oil leak repair, some sort of electrical nightmare looked at, and tires all sucked. But when I feel confident that there is no issues with the truck then it gets painted and listed for sale for 1/2 the price of midwest and still get people complaining. I would think if 1 guy that has full time school (myself) can do a better job for 1/2 the price midwest with their massive shop and resources could put out a product they are proud of and can stand behind their claims.

 

[coachgeo]

...
Next step is installing the double middle seat.
Hate to loose the great storage but don't want hard metal to the sides of my kids heads.

What are you using for a camper box? If not an ambulance (made to transport people with very strict standards)....... IMHO build all or part of your camper box to be a full cage in strength. Then sit your loved ones back there in that. Just incorporate the family transport seating into the design of the camper. Will be shiat loads safer than the tin foil cab of these (and many other) trucks.

Also opens the door of turning the rear of the LMTV cab into a guest bed space. Another option is to turn the co-pilot seat into a separate office space from the living space. Move (now former) co-pilot seat back to rear of cab wall for this... or sideways orr? (aka- significant other stays in back with kids; (inside the cage area) when rolling) might also cost you some camera's to make the outdoor scenery visible to kids and sig-other as you cruise. Or big window... but that compromises cage.. so I say camera and big monitor in place of window.

 

[aw113sgte]

What are you using for a camper box? If not an ambulance (made to transport people with very strict standards)....... IMHO build all or part of your camper box to be a full cage in strength. Then sit your loved ones back there in that. Just incorporate the family transport seating into the design of the camper. Will be shiat loads safer than the tin foil cab of these (and many other) trucks.

Also opens the door of turning the rear of the LMTV cab into a guest bed space. Another option is to turn the co-pilot seat into a separate office space from the living space. Move (now former) co-pilot seat back to rear of cab wall for this... or sideways orr? (aka- significant other stays in back with kids; (inside the cage area) when rolling) might also cost you some camera's to make the outdoor scenery visible to kids and sig-other as you cruise. Or big window... but that compromises cage.. so I say camera and big monitor in place of window.

It's a 20ft shipping container so pretty strong. We talked a bit about various options and for now we will all be in the cab. That may change in the future if we find out we want to spread out, but there is a lot involved in making them safe in the box with strong seating and restraints. One of my kids and my wife get car sick quite easily she thinks the box wouldn't work (although they are fine and airplanes so who knows).

 

[aw113sgte]

Wasn't sure if my ABS was working so was going through and cleaning everything, messing around with computer settings . Software would return values like it was talking to the abs ECU, which caused me not to consider the simple solutions, one of the circuit breakers for ABS was pulled. Seems to be working now!

 

[serpico760]

Well, look like Ford Transit seats will fit perfectly. Just have to work out the mounting mechanism.

Can you tell me what's the width at its maximum at the seat area not the back area? Also do those fold?

 

[aw113sgte]

Can you tell me what's the width at its maximum at the seat area not the back area? Also do those fold?

They do not fold. I have no plans for a passthrough behind the seats so no folding needed. The width at the widest part of the cushions is 31". I couldn't ask for a better width. It sits right at the driver/passenger seats with no gap so I'm maximizing seat width for the kids.

 

[serpico760]

They do not fold. I have no plans for a passthrough behind the seats so no folding needed. The width at the widest part of the cushions is 31". I couldn't ask for a better width. It sits right at the driver/passenger seats with no gap so I'm maximizing seat width for the kids.

Perfect I was looking for a seat with a maximum width of 32 inches

 

[aw113sgte]

Finished the double seat. I cut a lot of the base bracket off to lower it as much as possible. It ties into the stock m8 holes and also the m6 holes used for the m16 mounts.I'm 6'4" and my head grazes the roof insulation(stock A1R insulation).
Also picked up some square steel tube to lift the shipping container and some weathering steel (corten) to mount it to the chassis.
Currently thinking of just bolting the box straight to the chassis, similar to m1087, the box is way stiffer than the frame.

 

[Lostchain]

That’s a nice looking seat. Where is it from?