Looking for a Deuce...

[bills79jeep]

I have been wanting a Deuce for a while now and I have been snooping around the posts, trying to learn what I can. Regardless of location, where are the best places to get one? I have heard of Joe Young, Eastern Surplus, and Idaho Motor Pool. Are there others? Obviously I'm not going to get a warranty, but who has decent trucks? I can do body work, paint, and I am somewhat mechanicly inclined, though I have never worked on a truck like this or a diesel for that matter. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[red devils dude]

do a search a guy in ohio just got one and had asked the same Question.

 

[Monster Man]

I have been wanting a Deuce for a while now and I have been snooping around the posts, trying to learn what I can. Regardless of location, where are the best places to get one? I have heard of Joe Young, Eastern Surplus, and Idaho Motor Pool. Are there others? Obviously I'm not going to get a warranty, but who has decent trucks? I can do body work, paint, and I am somewhat mechanicly inclined, though I have never worked on a truck like this or a diesel for that matter. Any advice would be appreciated.

I reccomend all three, have had great dealings with all. There's also a new place I saw in Texas with a large selection, that link is in the other post about looking for one, further down the list. eBay is OK, but everybody watches those. Military Vehicles Magazine is great, not as big a readership so the trucks are more sanely priced. There's a guy in Painesville, OH that has at least 2 deuces for sale in the latest issue, one's a tanker truck for $2875, needs hoses, the other is a no title dump bed truck. Number is: 216-389-6400


you're smart inlooking at those three dealers, as all three will stand behind the trucks (to an extent- they won't knowingly sell you a lemon and will do their best to help). Some others might not be so lucky, so be sure to go by word of mouth when it comes to dealers, as their ARE bad apples out there. Check references!



As far as working on these trucks, there's nothing you can't learn. They're quite different from your standard vehicle, parts are harder to find, etc., but just study up on the manuals, ask questions, read all these posts and it'll be a piece of cake ood luck

 

[FSBruva]

What have people heard about Clark Trucks in WV? I know they are a little more pricey, but for a newbie without shop capabilities/access, it seems the most reliable way to go. Any thoughts?

Matt

 

[jrosbo]

I have a gas powered truck over here in Illinois. It would be an easy restore. I have an add over in the vehicles for sale part of this forum. See M49. Price is Nego. Private mail me with a phone number and I will call you if intrested.

 

[Monster Man]

Haven't heard anything bad, that's good. From what I have seen they doa very thorough restoration, most times losing the miliatry look. Bet they are solid trucks though. Same goes for Memphis Equipment Co.. They too restore trucks for use, but more for commercial use and perform numerous upgrades, including repowers. Pretty pricey though, but again, haven't heard anything bad.

 

[bills79jeep]

I was also wondering what the advantages to having a drop side bed are. They seem to be more desirable to some, but I don't think i am going to be loading anything into my truck with a forklift anytime. Is an air lock front a lot better than the sprag? I don't intend to do real heavy off roading, more just fun driving. One last question, how much do used NDT's with a reasonable ammount of tread left go for?

 

[FSBruva]

As for the air shift transfer case, I don't even own a truck, but I can tell you that EVERYONE prefers them. In combination with Selectros Hubs ($550 a pair), most have noticed a marked improvement in steer-ability. Also, IronHorseGeneral reported that with the above equipment, and removing the inter-differential drive shaft, they get 14 mpg in their deuce.


As for dropsides, some prefer the ability to remove all the sides in the name of more rearward visibility. As always, it is personal preference.



Matt

 

[bills79jeep]

Thanks. I was thinking about doing thing like tire changes and I got to wondering. How do most of you jack up your trucks? I have a 2 1/2 ton floor jack, but i dont think that would be nearly big enough. The deuce weighs like 6+ tons right? Can you get jacks and jack stands that are not crazy expensive?

 

[Lee Alessi]

my 3.5 ton floor jack will NOT lift the front tires, either side

my 20ton bottle will

 

[Recovry4x4]

The trucks were equipped with a 6 ton bottle jack. I keep a 12 ton in the trucks for changing tires. Bottle jacks aren't that expensive. I waited until the Harbor Frieght Store to have a sale and bought 3 prs of 6 ton jack stands at about $29 a pair. My 3 1/2 ton Craftsman floor jack will lift either side of the front and either rear axle. A 5 ton long frame would be ideal but they aren't cheap. I'll probably buy one when my shop is finished.

 

[baja_power]

Could Block it up with Railroad ties..

 

[da_sgt]

I bought four 20Ton Michelin jacks at Sam's Club, I cound'nt pass up the price, 29 bucks each I've using the heck outa two of them, no problems yet [^] If they break I still have two more new in the box

 

[mtnrebel]

TnJ murray are good to deal with. Ive had no problem going thru them to get whatever i need. they ship their stuff out pretty quick, too. i got my m35a2/c from them, and drove it back to NC. they did everything i ask of them. they mite be pricy for some, but for me, it was well worth the price!!!!!!!!!

 

[bills79jeep]

I didn't even think of Harbor Freight, luckily the catalog comes directly to my dorm room...

Thanks for all the help guys, I have learned so much in the past few weeks. Hopefully by summer I can have a new vehicle in my signature!

 

[Rene M]

Harbor freight and northern tools both sell a pneumatic 20 ton that works great. I have 4 at my heavy diesel shop here in Houston.

 

[jollyroger]

I bought the 40 ton from Harbor Mafreight because it was on sale for $5 more than the 20 ton. So far it has jacked up my big flatbed trailer and a test under the deuce for fitment. I have a pair of 2.5 ton Snappy floor jacks and they together will lift the front. Barely. Backs are no prolem that way.

Dealers vs. private party vs. GL auctions for trucks. IMO. If this is the only truck you are going to buy and you don't know much about them at first I would get one from a good dealer. There are a lot of them that are known on this website. All those mentioned so far are great choices. Another guy that has great trucks is 100dollarman in California. I was at his yard a few months ago and he has really good looking stuff. He is in hot dry country. I did not see any trucks with rust issues. Trucks that come from cooler wetter climates can have some rust issues.

A private party sale is another good way to go but you have to rely on the private party having integrity and actually knowing more about the truck than you do. There are a lot of private parties on this site that are reputable and are knowledgeable. If I were new to the deuce I would only deal with private party people that are on the SS site or you know have a good reputation.

GL auctions. It is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are gonna get. There are a lot of good trucks that come from GL and are good deals. However, there is no way to be sure of what you get and there are no exchanges, takebacks, and you have to bid with the rest of us with OD fever, no bargaining over price to strike a deal, and you have to wait for an End use Certificate to be approved for you by the DOD before you can go get your truck, could take 60 days and you have a very short window after all these things happen to recover your property from where you bought it or you forfit and you have to get an SF 97 form or whatever the other form is in order to get a title in your state and you have to drive/ship the truck home. Did I mention the bidder premium you have to pay? Did I mention the SF 97 form costs $100. Did I mention that GL reserves the money from your credit card while you wait for the EUC to be approved? Did I mention that even if you are awarded a lot the DOD can put a freeze on the sales for some unmentioned reason and you have to sweat while you wait? Did I mention that even if you have already recovered your property the DOD can come and get it back from you if they decide they need to? Before you buy from GL read all the fine print about what they do and how the auctions work.

I buy from GL because it is exciting for me. It is an adventure for sure. It is an experience that I am lucky to share with my Dad and we both enjoy sending each other stuff we discovered on the GL website. Then when it comes to recovery my lady and my Mom get in on the adventure part by traveling with us boys. It is not a bad experience by any means. Just somewhat arduous at times. If you go that route do so with open eyes and some patience.