M818 Tractor Registration Number Location

[jamboly]

I am buying a M818 Tractor. I plan on registering it in Texas as a Former Military Vehicle with the option to use the registration number in lieu of license plates. I have put registration numbers on many other vehicles, but the M818 is throwing me off a little bit due to the location of the air cleaner on the fender. I can't seem to find any pics with an internet search. Would someone post or email me some pics of the registration numbers on their M818?

 

[Evil Dr. Porkchop]

Check the doors on the inside of the truck.
Edit: I thought you meant where to find it.

 

[jamboly]

Good point. Let me clarify. All the other registration numbers I have put on trucks have been on the side of the hood. (One semitrailer I did had it on back as well as sides). Since they will be used in lieu of license plates I just assumed they needed to be visible from the outside.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Since they will be used in lieu of license plates I just assumed they needed to be visible from the outside.

Referring to the Texas FMV LAWS thread linked in my signature block below, you are correct, the painted numbers need to be visible from the outside.

In service Military Vehicles with the numbers painted on the insides of the doors ARE VISIBLE FROM THE OUTSIDE when positioned ABOVE the seat cushions viewable through the window from the other side of the vehicle. The TxDMV DOES acknowledge this as a standard military position for the marking of the numbers. Although, you are bound to have some LEO in the side of the road who might drool over the opportunity to cite you for it. THAT is why, throughout the Texas FMV LAWS thread, I repeatedly encourage folks to PRINT and CARRY all the laws they might have to have in a 3-ring binder for the roadside education of those less familiar with the various graces written into the LAWS of this great State of Texas.

Remember, we are each an AMBASSADOR for this hobby and must be willing to help the uninformed become informed.

 

[fasttruck]

Prior to 1975 when the trucks were some shade of OD, the registration number would be stenciled in white on both sides of the hood and in the case of cargo trucks, also on the tail gate .When camouflage paint became the norm the numbers were no longer displayed on the exterior of the vehicle. Many units painted them someplace on the inside of the door for the use of maintenance personnel. If the doors have been repainted or replaced since the vehicle was surplused out , absent the documents for it which were probably thrown out at the same time, it will be difficult to determine what this number is.

 

[Jakelc15]

My M818 originally had the unit numbers on the front bumper and the tool box. I plan to put my registration numbers there as well

 

[fasttruck]

The numbers on the front bumper, the tool box on a tractor, or the rear bumperettes on a cargo truck are unit markings. As you face the vehicle the ones on the left are the owing units id and will appear on all vehicles owned by that unit. Example: 50AD/ 3/113 Inf. The number on the right is the unit's fleet number or bumper number which makes it easier to identify the vehicle than the registration number painted on the side of the hood. An example would be B 267. These numbers will be painted out and changed if the vehicle is transferred to another owning unit. The registration or "hood" number stays with the vehicle until it is surplused out. The Army has a TM on how to letter vehicles in terms of size of block letters and their positions. Perhaps someone will chime in with the number as I have lost mine. Prior to 1975 the lettering was white, with camouflaged paint schemes the lettering was black and later in the case of green vehicles, black with a tan background. The Army normally does not use the manufacturer's serial number in their maintenance record keeping. I bought a truck once where someone didn't clean out the map compartment (glove box) and there was a trove of documents in there with the identity of the unit and their administrative number. Absent that the only hope of finding that info is through CARNAC's computer magic. Or peeling off 30 layers of paint to see what is on the bottom.

 

[airbornebandsman]

I put mine on the front bumper in the middle and above the rear window on my hard top. 2 inch black stencil.