• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

MadDawg's new CUCV M1009 - recovery NY to VA, 375 miles

maddawg308

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
10,866
763
113
Location
Appomattox, VA
Well, had to get another vehicle since the Dodge is pretty much toast and can't move around much anymore. Knew that camogriz in NY state had his CUCV M1009 for sale along with a M101 trailer for a good price, thought it might be a good candidate for a semi-daily driver as well as a vehicle I can take to shows more easily than the deuces I previously owned.

The recovery trip went like this:

Got dropped off at the Woodbridge VA Amtrak by a relative and rode it up the East Coast to Penn Station in Manhattan, underneath Madison Square Garden. For all the problems with Amtrak (economics and politics aside), the ride was quiet, very comfortable, and pain-free. Very fast too! Entire trip from south of D.C. to NYC took 4.5 hours, and that included a 40-minute stop in downtown D.C. I would highly recommend Amtrak as a way to travel especially if you are going one-way like I had to for the recovery.

NYC is always fun, loads of crowds and it's a bit overwhelming if you haven't been there before. I've been there several dozen times so it's just concrete and big buildings to me. Wish I had more time to play around, I love visiting this town, but had to catch a train to the seller's place. Of course, I had to stop for a short lunch and get some NY pizza, it's the best in the world, hands down. Walked over to Grand Central Station, where a commuter train north to Carmel, NY was waiting, took that about 35 miles north of the city, where camogriz picked me up and we went back to the CUCV and trailer.

CUCV is a 24,000 mile truck, very solid and runs like a top. Has been meticulously maintained by the previous owner and except for a few patches of cancer in the rocker panels and a couple small patches in the rear floor (thanks, NY salted roads) it's very good. Came with a lot of spare parts, fluids, etc. The trailer came with the top bows and cover, but I left them off for the ride back.

Going back, on and off rain and wet roads. For some reason the trailer didn't like wet roads and was fishtailing above 45 mph especially going down hills. Some drifting back and forth as well. Noone in the slow lane liked me going back home, I kept it at 45 mph pretty much the whole way. I think the M101 is a little too much weight empty for the M1009 to tow, I also think it tracks a little wider than the M1009 so that didn't help either. I checked tire pressure, it's all okay, so ??? 375 miles one-way, took 8.5 hours. Ugh.

So, going to use the CUCV as a daily driver for a little while, it's fun bopping around town and into the hills with it. Interstate driving isn't it's forte but it sure does better on the highways than the deuce did, in terms of speed, especially on hills. I remember the deuce would slow down to 25 mph on big hills, UGH! - glad that's over.

So, glad to be back in the MV ownership world, I get to play with a new member of the family for a while, before the next show comes around. It failed inspection, only for having no rear tag light (never had one) so I have to stab one on and get it re-inspected. Yay MV ownership!
 

Attachments

Recovry4x4

LLM/Member 785
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
34,012
1,810
113
Location
GA Mountains
Congrats Mike. Honestly, it really shouldn't be swaying. I have to keep weight in the front of mine to keep it straight.
 

NDT

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
10,500
6,631
113
Location
Camp Wood/LC, TX
Looks great. And a great idea on using Amtrak. Trailer shouldn't be swaying, I pull mine at 70 mph with an empty 4 cyl Ford Ranger and it just follows straight.
 

swbradley1

Modertator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
14,263
1,767
113
Location
Dayton, OH
Welcome back to the owner's group Mike.

Put a multi-fuel in the 101 and take it up to 70 and see if it is better with a small load.

:)
 

Storm 51

Just a Grunt
Steel Soldiers Supporter
888
9
0
Location
Seattle, WA
Congratulations, Mike on getting back into MV ownership! I hope this works out really well for you.

Enjoy your new toy!
 

pctrans

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
1,918
19
38
Location
Bradenton, FL
Check your tires good, for possible broken belt or bent rim. I towed my 101 up to your neighborhood (Graves Mtn) and back with no issues, loaded and empty.
 

wheelspinner

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
3,752
1,529
113
Location
North Carolina - FINALLY !
Glad to see you finally grabbed one. Looks great. Mine does 75 very comfortably on the highway , don't be afraid to run it. I tow 3/4000 lbs routinely with no issue at all. Probably just needed a little tongue weight. Congrats!
 

MarcusOReallyus

Well-known member
4,524
816
113
Location
Virginia
CUCV is a 24,000 mile truck, very solid and runs like a top.
Congratulations, Mike! I'm looking forward to seeing you around town! :beer:


For some reason the trailer didn't like wet roads and was fishtailing above 45 mph especially going down hills. Some drifting back and forth as well. Noone in the slow lane liked me going back home, I kept it at 45 mph pretty much the whole way. I think the M101 is a little too much weight empty for the M1009 to tow,

Stuff and nonsense, sir! See also, balderdash and twaddle. I tow my M101A2 all over with my Jeep Cherokee, and it's a lot less vehicle than the M1009. I don't know what caused your wobbling, but it wasn't due to towing with a too-small vehicle.


It failed inspection, only for having no rear tag light (never had one) so I have to stab one on and get it re-inspected. Yay MV ownership!
Hey, I have a licence plate frame that I bought for exactly that reason for my truck, with built-in LED for illumination. I went a different route, and still have it laying around. You can have it if you want it. It's chrome, so doesn't exactly fit the MV look (which is why I didn't use it), but you're welcome to it.
 

PaFarmer

Active member
446
35
28
Location
PA
Glad to hear Mike. You got a nice truck. It should be a win/win, you get another truck and Andy should be allowed to get another vehicle too.
 

shenkmen

Active member
1,107
12
38
Location
Lancaster, PA
Nice! An FMV and a trailer. So glad you worked it out and glad you got Camogriz's truck. No more passenger seat for you at Rausch Creek!

Congrats!
 
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website like our supporting vendors. Their ads help keep Steel Soldiers going. Please consider disabling your ad blockers for the site. Thanks!

I've Disabled AdBlock
No Thanks