wsucougarx
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First off my apologies. This turned into somewhat of a diary
I was finally blessed with the ever elusive M109A3 w/w I have been waiting for. I cannot start my recovery story until I begin with how this whole thing came about. Just bear with me gentlemen this is more of a journal . I have been wanting a M109A3/M185A3 truck for sometime. My search began some 2-3 years ago. I’ve been saving up my OT for this project. My premise was to have a strong platform to begin my offroad/off the grid go anywhere camper truck plus a potential ministry truck. Several shop van type trucks have come and gone with really nothing catching my eye. A short trip to Fort Lewis GL with my son last year proved rewarding. There in the middle of the DRMO yard was a shop truck that just stood out. After a brief inspection I was convinced this was the truck. However, my thoughts were I would need to wait the 2 months for it to be on the GL side of the yard. Well, the two months went by to no avail. I paid another visit to GL only to find the truck “gone”. Upon further investigation I spotted her clear over on the wrong side of the DRMO yard, it was in the FMS Freeze lot!!!!! My heart started pounding and my palms got sweaty. I ran over to her only to find a 9x12 piece of paper with those horrible letters adorned on it reading “FMS FREEZE MOROCCO”. You want to talk about a let down. That was the end of the day for me. However, there was a voice in my head telling me to wait. I argued and said wait for what, it’s sold! Again, it said wait. Well months went by, then a year went by. All the while, I passed up several opportunities to seriously bid on any M109A3. A beautiful one came up at FT Riley FEB09 that I was going to bid on and win. But again, that voice came to wait. Another came up at Redstone, and yes….again, wait.
Now fast forward to 26APR10.
I just finished a long day at work. Came home and was ready for bed. I sat at the dinner table alone and recalled a Bible scripture that says “We have not because we ask not”. I realized that I had not prayed for that truck. I know it probably sounds funny. That’s probably why I never really thought about praying for “stuff”. I finally prayed aloud the word of God and prayed that He would show me that M109A3 that I longed for (desperate times call for desperate measuresJ). I don’t normally pray or ask for anything like this. Plus I knew it was already “SOLD” but that constant voice of wanting me to wait came to mind. I said a prayer and decided to log into GL. I remember there were 223 items listed that night. I scrolled down the page and came to the item #190 on the first page. There appeared to be the pic of the back end of a shop truck. Anyone looking at the pic would just see another truck, however I knew it was the truck I have been waiting for all these months/years. As you can imagine I was a bit excited. I jumped out of my chair in excitement and let out a huge “Yeah” and thanked God. Surprisingly I didn’t wake anyone up. I didn’t get to bed until 0230 hrs that night. I promptly got up at 0600 hrs for a trip to Fort Lewis GL. I indeed verified everything and ask Lonny about the truck. He said he was really surprised that particular truck came up. Well, that made two of us. It was a very long 17 days from discovery to the close of the auction. I must say, GOD IS GOOD!!
Well, the bidding went a little higher than expected but to me it is well worth it!! I again made another trip to look her over for her roadworthiness. Lonny at JBLM GL informed me there was an issue with ALL 2.5 ton trucks and there may be a delay in pickup. Oh great I thought, I’ve waited well over a year and a half and now I need to wait longer. GL headquarters informed me there was an issue of the feds issuing premature EUC approvals.
EUC.
I submitted my EUC well before receiving my award letter from GL. In fact, I had the forms already made up the week before. I didn’t want to run into the same problem I had before, no ink in the printer right at go time. Needless to say, the two month wait for the EUC approval was actually bearable. The not knowing if they lost my paperwork started to creep in. I ended up getting my Congressman involved to help shake things about. Must have worked because DRMS emailed when they had everything approved. It took GL two days to reflect what I already knew.
Sent my EUC via email 13MAY10
GL email receipt of EUC 14MAY10
EUC sent to Battle Creek 17MAY10
Recv’d PAID IN FULL 14JUL10
Recovery Date 15JUL10
Recovery Day:
The excitement was just too much, I got a total of 2 hours sleep. Got the family out of bed and on the road by 0700 hrs. Got to Joint Base Lewis-McCord (JBLM) GL about 0810 hrs and was greeted by a new GL gal. I told her I was there for a pickup. She asked if I made an appt and I promptly said no. She then said I couldn’t pickup and I needed to make an appt. Just then Tony from GL walked in, grabbed my invoice and I was off to get my truck. She started as soon as I hit the starter switch. Boy she sounded great. I did a minimal safety check and was off to the GL gate. I was in a hurry as to not get caught up in another “HOLD”. I didn’t want to give them a chance to keep my truck again. In an attempt not to be rushed I told my wife to take the kids and go shopping at the PX and commissary. I don’t even think I finished the sentence and they were out of there. My safety check took about 30 min. However, her shopping took 2.5 hours….that’ll teach me. We were finally off. I noticed she didn’t have much power at first b/c of the very old fuel in the tank. I dumped half bottle of Power Service into the tank and could tell it helped out. The drive home was uneventful. One thing I did notice is the box sure acted like a sale. Whenever a truck went by the van would re-divert the wind and cause the softop to slap. At first I thought I had a blow out but soon realized what was going on.
All in all the truck is mechanically OUTSTANDING!! The steering is really tight and the engine is very responsive and sure pulled through the hills. She only has 1260 miles and 112 hours on the original engine!! Tires are brand new, the van box is absolutely immaculant. She has the split-brake circuit. No signs of leaks and really no sign they even used this truck. The oak floor boards are virtually untouched. No signs they the van. The only thing you can see is they dragged something in/out of the truck as shown by the marking in the floor paint. Hmm, dragging mailbags? Rust really isn’t an issue except a nice big spot on the hood and the windshield frames.
My plans are to add the multi-fuel heater to the van box and add the air-o-matic. I’ve had these kits since I saw the truck up at Ft. Lewis. Eventually I am going turn this truck into an off-road camper/ham shack of sorts. Unlike many of the projects seen in here, my emphasis will be to maintain the military look both inside and out. However, I will try not to deviate from creature comfortsJ.
Outstanding CARNAC:
I submitted my VIN to CARNAC and found my truck was assigned to the 909th AG CO POSTAL OPS, Bothell, WA. My reply was “I GOT A MAIL TRUCK!?!” I was a bit embarrassed but soon realized and hoped my truck was not mistreated as would a full on line infantry type truck. I mean really, how much wear and tear could a Postal unit do on a truck with only 1260 miles on her over the 22 years they had her?
Whew…did I miss anything?
I was finally blessed with the ever elusive M109A3 w/w I have been waiting for. I cannot start my recovery story until I begin with how this whole thing came about. Just bear with me gentlemen this is more of a journal . I have been wanting a M109A3/M185A3 truck for sometime. My search began some 2-3 years ago. I’ve been saving up my OT for this project. My premise was to have a strong platform to begin my offroad/off the grid go anywhere camper truck plus a potential ministry truck. Several shop van type trucks have come and gone with really nothing catching my eye. A short trip to Fort Lewis GL with my son last year proved rewarding. There in the middle of the DRMO yard was a shop truck that just stood out. After a brief inspection I was convinced this was the truck. However, my thoughts were I would need to wait the 2 months for it to be on the GL side of the yard. Well, the two months went by to no avail. I paid another visit to GL only to find the truck “gone”. Upon further investigation I spotted her clear over on the wrong side of the DRMO yard, it was in the FMS Freeze lot!!!!! My heart started pounding and my palms got sweaty. I ran over to her only to find a 9x12 piece of paper with those horrible letters adorned on it reading “FMS FREEZE MOROCCO”. You want to talk about a let down. That was the end of the day for me. However, there was a voice in my head telling me to wait. I argued and said wait for what, it’s sold! Again, it said wait. Well months went by, then a year went by. All the while, I passed up several opportunities to seriously bid on any M109A3. A beautiful one came up at FT Riley FEB09 that I was going to bid on and win. But again, that voice came to wait. Another came up at Redstone, and yes….again, wait.
Now fast forward to 26APR10.
I just finished a long day at work. Came home and was ready for bed. I sat at the dinner table alone and recalled a Bible scripture that says “We have not because we ask not”. I realized that I had not prayed for that truck. I know it probably sounds funny. That’s probably why I never really thought about praying for “stuff”. I finally prayed aloud the word of God and prayed that He would show me that M109A3 that I longed for (desperate times call for desperate measuresJ). I don’t normally pray or ask for anything like this. Plus I knew it was already “SOLD” but that constant voice of wanting me to wait came to mind. I said a prayer and decided to log into GL. I remember there were 223 items listed that night. I scrolled down the page and came to the item #190 on the first page. There appeared to be the pic of the back end of a shop truck. Anyone looking at the pic would just see another truck, however I knew it was the truck I have been waiting for all these months/years. As you can imagine I was a bit excited. I jumped out of my chair in excitement and let out a huge “Yeah” and thanked God. Surprisingly I didn’t wake anyone up. I didn’t get to bed until 0230 hrs that night. I promptly got up at 0600 hrs for a trip to Fort Lewis GL. I indeed verified everything and ask Lonny about the truck. He said he was really surprised that particular truck came up. Well, that made two of us. It was a very long 17 days from discovery to the close of the auction. I must say, GOD IS GOOD!!
Well, the bidding went a little higher than expected but to me it is well worth it!! I again made another trip to look her over for her roadworthiness. Lonny at JBLM GL informed me there was an issue with ALL 2.5 ton trucks and there may be a delay in pickup. Oh great I thought, I’ve waited well over a year and a half and now I need to wait longer. GL headquarters informed me there was an issue of the feds issuing premature EUC approvals.
EUC.
I submitted my EUC well before receiving my award letter from GL. In fact, I had the forms already made up the week before. I didn’t want to run into the same problem I had before, no ink in the printer right at go time. Needless to say, the two month wait for the EUC approval was actually bearable. The not knowing if they lost my paperwork started to creep in. I ended up getting my Congressman involved to help shake things about. Must have worked because DRMS emailed when they had everything approved. It took GL two days to reflect what I already knew.
Sent my EUC via email 13MAY10
GL email receipt of EUC 14MAY10
EUC sent to Battle Creek 17MAY10
Recv’d PAID IN FULL 14JUL10
Recovery Date 15JUL10
Recovery Day:
The excitement was just too much, I got a total of 2 hours sleep. Got the family out of bed and on the road by 0700 hrs. Got to Joint Base Lewis-McCord (JBLM) GL about 0810 hrs and was greeted by a new GL gal. I told her I was there for a pickup. She asked if I made an appt and I promptly said no. She then said I couldn’t pickup and I needed to make an appt. Just then Tony from GL walked in, grabbed my invoice and I was off to get my truck. She started as soon as I hit the starter switch. Boy she sounded great. I did a minimal safety check and was off to the GL gate. I was in a hurry as to not get caught up in another “HOLD”. I didn’t want to give them a chance to keep my truck again. In an attempt not to be rushed I told my wife to take the kids and go shopping at the PX and commissary. I don’t even think I finished the sentence and they were out of there. My safety check took about 30 min. However, her shopping took 2.5 hours….that’ll teach me. We were finally off. I noticed she didn’t have much power at first b/c of the very old fuel in the tank. I dumped half bottle of Power Service into the tank and could tell it helped out. The drive home was uneventful. One thing I did notice is the box sure acted like a sale. Whenever a truck went by the van would re-divert the wind and cause the softop to slap. At first I thought I had a blow out but soon realized what was going on.
All in all the truck is mechanically OUTSTANDING!! The steering is really tight and the engine is very responsive and sure pulled through the hills. She only has 1260 miles and 112 hours on the original engine!! Tires are brand new, the van box is absolutely immaculant. She has the split-brake circuit. No signs of leaks and really no sign they even used this truck. The oak floor boards are virtually untouched. No signs they the van. The only thing you can see is they dragged something in/out of the truck as shown by the marking in the floor paint. Hmm, dragging mailbags? Rust really isn’t an issue except a nice big spot on the hood and the windshield frames.
My plans are to add the multi-fuel heater to the van box and add the air-o-matic. I’ve had these kits since I saw the truck up at Ft. Lewis. Eventually I am going turn this truck into an off-road camper/ham shack of sorts. Unlike many of the projects seen in here, my emphasis will be to maintain the military look both inside and out. However, I will try not to deviate from creature comfortsJ.
Outstanding CARNAC:
I submitted my VIN to CARNAC and found my truck was assigned to the 909th AG CO POSTAL OPS, Bothell, WA. My reply was “I GOT A MAIL TRUCK!?!” I was a bit embarrassed but soon realized and hoped my truck was not mistreated as would a full on line infantry type truck. I mean really, how much wear and tear could a Postal unit do on a truck with only 1260 miles on her over the 22 years they had her?
Whew…did I miss anything?
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. Also, looks like it has a new wiring harness.
