M923: mudding or not?

[my blood flows OD]

You better believe it!

 

[71DeuceAK]

"Pictures or it didn't happen!"

No, I believe it. I know when I get a 5 ton I'll be playing in the mud, though to a lesser extent than some if it's my daily driver (which it may very well be).

 

[98G]

Haven't stuck mine yet. Did go thru 6 feet of water last year and successfully rescued 2 dogs for a neighbor.

I wish everyone in this thread would PM 98G and ask him how many M923 it takes to recover a 19k lb. Deere 455G crawler loader from a mudhole. And be sure to ask how many times he got stuck. However we did determine that it is darn near impossible to break HEMTT wrecker chains........

The first time? It just took a gentle tug from one M923 on 53's... we won't talk about the 2nd time....

 

[aleigh]

I talked to this guy who was an MV driver in the sandbox about this one time. He tells me there's the pecking order, of course, you go and get the heavier thing and pull the stuck thing out. I asked him where all that lead and he said well the thing to own was a Hercules. It just comes in and lifts the stuck MV straight up. I have no idea how they break the suction.

Anyways I asked him what happens if you get a Hercules stuck and he gave me this soulful look and he leans in as if sharing a secret and goes "you must never ever ever get the Hercules stuck".

So who on the site has a Hercules?

 

[98G]

I talked to this guy who was an MV driver in the sandbox about this one time. He tells me there's the pecking order, of course, you go and get the heavier thing and pull the stuck thing out. I asked him where all that lead and he said well the thing to own was a Hercules. It just comes in and lifts the stuck MV straight up. I have no idea how they break the suction.

Anyways I asked him what happens if you get a Hercules stuck and he gave me this soulful look and he leans in as if sharing a secret and goes "you must never ever ever get the Hercules stuck".

So who on the site has a Hercules?

Nobody - the us gov doesn't release armor....

 

[my blood flows OD]

Bigger truck=bigger stuck

 

[my76fj40]

Get you far enough back that no one else can reach you...

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Anyways I asked him what happens if you get a Hercules stuck and he gave me this soulful look and he leans in as if sharing a secret and goes "you must never ever ever get the Hercules stuck".

This'll give you an idea of what's involved, lol.

https://youtu.be/Q_QV4_SVwu0

 

[PapaPumpSD]

I was trying to figure out how my M925A2's drivetrain worked by trying to get the tires to spin in hi gear (unlocked fronts) in some snow. Both rear axles spun but I couldn't tell if all sides were spinning. Do the rears have any type of locker in hi? In low I know it's 6x6 but do any of the axles fully lock in any situation (hi, low, hi fronts locked, etc.)?

I noticed your truck had the front spinning and the rear right tires were not. Hmmm. <---Sorry, this was in reference to the recent post of someone's stuck M923 in Mud at a rally (he had to get it winched out after high-siding it).

 

[Suprman]

Some marine corps trucks came with rear lockers. I don't believe any of them were a2 trucks. You have one legs all around. Unless you engage the front axle via dash switch or put the tcase in low range the front axle is free. It won't sof engage with rear slip.

 

[71DeuceAK]

So basically the two rear/bogie axles are always engaged but the front is not unless in low or 6WD, and putting the transfer case in low range also engages the front axle? (I know, dumb newbie question).

 

[Rmtaunton]

You got it

 

[PapaPumpSD]

Some marine corps trucks came with rear lockers. I don't believe any of them were a2 trucks. You have one legs all around. Unless you engage the front axle via dash switch or put the tcase in low range the front axle is free. It won't sof engage with rear slip.

Thank you Suprman. So on my M925A2, in standard hi gear w/out the front engaged, is the truck driving with both rear axles or just one? I was under the impression that to get to 6x6, the only way possible is with the truck in low gear which is full 6x6. 4x4 (two driving axles) is accomplished in hi gear with the fronts engaged. I thought I read this in the manual.

Thoughts?

 

[Suprman]

M939 trucks are great for carrying a really heavy load down a dry dirt road. If you need to get artillery shells from your supply point down that bumpy dirt road and across a fire fields to your field battery then it's up to the task. Its not really set up out of the box for mud.

 

[Suprman]

Rear axles are daisy chained via with a driveshaft. They are both always engaged. Unless you have some type of mechanical failure.

 

[71DeuceAK]

I got the impression you could make the M939s a little more mud-ready by installing lockers?

 

[Suprman]

Lockers, big tires help in mud. The axles don't like mud, water can get in when sitting in muck. The truck just wasn't designed to go thru mud. Some light pressurization in the axles like the fording kit does would probably help. Fording water and driving thru mud is closely related. I bet a m1078 on 1600s might go thru mud a bit better.

 

[71DeuceAK]

Interesting to note. With larger tires, though, I wonder about street legality...thoughts?

 

[Suprman]

Lots of people swap up to larger tires. What's anyone really going to say.

 

[98G]

Interesting to note. With larger tires, though, I wonder about street legality...thoughts?

Varies by state.

Interpretation varies by individual.