M820 Conversion

[harris127]

Hello all
I just won an action for a M820 5 Ton. After three weeks andfive EUC applications I was able to get the truck from Uncle Sam. It’s sittingin a garage in Sparta being looked over. I have seen in a past post of a guy witha M109A3 that was being converted to a RV. I got a lot of good ideas from that post. So Iwill be doing the same thing, showing progression posts. As soon as I get it home I will be postingpictures.
Mine will not be as elaborate as the previous posts on thesubject, but it will be practical for a family of five and a goofy dog. If anyone has any good ideas please feel freeto post them or send me a PM.
What I’m looking to do is add storage over the cab (possiblyexpanding it over the cab). I might also really expand it and make a queen sizebed up there. Hopefully I can put bunks in and putting them on some rails sothey move when we expand the sides. Maybe a frig and a sink. I’m not looking atputting in a toilet as they take up too much room, and if someone ate to much Mexicanfood I don’t want them stinking up the whole back end.

Pictures coming soon.

 

[jdknech]

I for sure will be following this build... are you keeping the expanding sides?

 

[harris127]

Yes, that was the selling point for me.

 

[jdknech]

I was looking into the M820's and M934's before i setteled on my command trailer for my build... the reason i stayed away from the expanding sides, is the walls fold out to make the floors and top... that will create some interesting challanges for you.. i cant wait to see how you set it up.. -Josh

 

[goldneagle]

as a former owner of a M820A2 truck I think you will find it quite a challenge to create a camper out of it due to the fact the the side wall floor and ceiling are the interior walls when the truck is not extended. They are also weight balanced so that the weight of the floor section helps lift the roof section into place. You also need access tot he side walls in order to undo the latches before it can be expanded out. That means every thing has to be in the middle on the truck while in unexpanded mode. You will also need more than one person to expand it out. The A/C unit that takes up a large portion of the overhang over the cab in 3 phase. Some of the newer units also had electric heat in the A/C unit. If you still have the heaters (multi-fuel) on both sides of the A/C they should not be used in the truck. The ducts f or them are lined with ASBESTOS. Do not mess with the ducts for the heaters. Some trucks had the ducts sealed and the heaters removed as a solution to the ASBESTOS problem. Check to see if your was done.

Also the side doors are not usable until the walls are expanded out. The inner walls block the doors when retracted. Here are some pictures of mine.

 

[quickfarms]

I would like to see your floor plan. I had looked at them a couple of years ago and they do look interesting but I could not come up with a floor plan that I liked.

I ended up with a S-280 that I am building the interior for.

 

[harris127]

I wonder if I put the bunks in the middle and used the side once extended to walk around. Thanks for the advise everyone. Goldneagle can you remove the whole ac unit with out messing with the asbestos. Asbestos scares me. Wish I had known that before buying it. Do they all have asbestos in them?

 

[harris127]

I was going to buy one of those but it was in CA and to transport it was going to cost 2500.

 

[Sephirothq]

I have one in Pa if you are still looking for one

 

[harris127]

Got pics

 

[TurboMustang370]

I need one of those with the lift gate like goldneagle posted.

 

[goldneagle]

I need one of those with the lift gate like goldneagle posted.

Only the M820A2 had the liftgate. the M820 and M820A1 did not.

 

[TurboMustang370]

Disregard.

 

[harris127]

Found out it needed 4 new batteries....

 

[harris127]

It runs but the mechanic says theres no brakes. He stated that the hydrolic brakes didnt work, but he dosent know why because he hadnt worked on it yet. How do hyrdolic brakes work?

 

[goldneagle]

It runs but the mechanic says theres no brakes. He stated that the hydrolic brakes didnt work, but he dosent know why because he hadnt worked on it yet. How do hyrdolic brakes work?

I suggest you download the tec manuals for the M809 series trucks and start reading them. There is a lot of info on troubleshooting and repair in them. They are available on this site.

 

[harris127]

thanks

 

[harris127]

So 140 miles and three hours later she is home. Average speed 50 mph. So she ran like a dream and I have no complaints. Pic coming soon. Also the AC unit was removed prior to me buying it.

 

[MtnSnow]

So what was wrong with the brake system?

 

[harris127]

Just needed brake fluid