Might Be Buying, Want Tips

[Flyingvan911]

Welcome. Read through the Tech Manuals and the deuce forum. Find out about license and insurance as well as a place you can keep it. Knowledge is half the battle. Deuces are a blast but more work to own and maintain than a civi car. Be patient and you will have a great truck.

 

[Warthog]

Problem, it seems anything more then a sentence or two is directed to a moderator for approval and nothing has gotten through for hours except for my delay post.

Because you are a new user AND you used the "@" symble in your post, the system flagged it for review. Moderators are not on duty 24/7. Sometimes it takes a few minutes/hours/days.

 

[Warthog]

Where in Washington?

Hint: its supposed to be listed. State isn't enough.

Per the "official" forum rules (which do change from time to time), only the State is required.

• Location: We require that all members include their state in their new member profile. This allows the other members to know their neighbors. Users who refuse to add their location will be subject to warning, temporary ban, and then permanent ban.


It is really nice if the city or general area of the state is also included.

Non-US locations are a different story. We handle them on a case by case basis.

 

[swbradley1]

From what everyone that buys from GL says, do not expect to be able to drive it home. If you are mechanically skilled then bring lots of tools and fluids, if not, bring a truck with a flatbed gooseneck trailer. Also, go and preview the truck if possible bring two batteries because they are always dead and see if it truly does run and how well it runs. The Hercules engine is multifuel no matter what it says, as are Continental and White engines. If it does run let it build air pressure and see how the brake pedal feels. If it is spongy or excessively hard you will not be driving it home. At least not safely. Good luck man, let us know what happens. I'm on the hunt for another deuce myself right now.

Not everyone that buys from GL says do not expect to be able to drive it home.

Wow! Good thing the batteries are always dead and people are prepared. NOT. The batteries aren't always dead and sometimes they may even be relatively new.


As for the rest the best thing you can do ahead of time is to read the manuals.

 

[swbradley1]

Where in Washington?

Hint: its supposed to be listed. State isn't enough.

From the rules:
• Location: We require that all members include their state in their new member profile. This allows the other members to know their neighbors. Users who refuse to add their location will be subject to warning, temporary ban, and then permanent ban.

 

[KaiserM109]

Check it over for signs of leaks before your ride and after. There should be none. Many of these trucks have low mileage but they are old and that means that anything made of rubber, like seals and brake cylinder parts, could be bad. Expect to replace a lot of this stuff if you keep the truck a while. See http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?82427-Deuce-Parts-Quick-Reference-Spreadsheet&highlight for some good advice.

This forum is a great place for info and outright help. LEARN HOW TO SEARCH. The one thing guys on this forum are impatient about, even for newbies, is having the same question asked over and over.

Things you need on your truck for regular use are: a quart of DOT 5 brake fluid, a gallon of antifreeze and a gallon of water, the same type as for a car, and tools, about the same you would need for working on old jeeps, but twice as big.

 

[Jeepsinker]

Well yes I'm certain they aren't dead every time and the vehicles are not always undriveable, but for a first time pickup from GL I believe it would be better for him to have these things and not need them, than need them and not have them. Nothing wrong with being over prepared if you can swing it. I always find that the one thing I don't bring is the one thing that I need most.

 

[KaiserM109]

Lots of good GL trucks don't run when you go to pick it up. If you buy the truck, and I think you probably should, go on this forum and download all the TMs you can and read them. Pay attention to daily maintenance and perform ALL of it before you pull it out of the GL lot. If you have never driven a truck the size of a deuce you are going to have problem hopping curbs, or worse cutting other cars off. It has a terrible turning radius and has very hard manual steering.

One deuce I picked up in Kansas had intermittent battery connections and water in the master brake cylinder. It was easy to fix the battery problem, but the brake problem didn’t crop up until I was in heavy traffic. Advice on that type of problem, test your brakes often and be ready for trouble.

Another deuce I picked up Oklahoma also had dead batteries and no brakes at all. I had 2 batteries and 2 sets of jumper cables to get it started. There was evidence of fluid leaking on the right rear-most wheel. Remember these trucks have often been sitting for more than a year and evidence of leaks is often masked. We had to bleed the lines to that wheel and they started working. However, when it sat a few hours it began leaking again. We had to continuously pump the brakes to keep the seal spread.

My 5 ton that I picked up in Georgia had dead batteries and a flat tire. The GL guy jumped it for me. I have an air hose that plugs into the SERVICE gladhand and I pumped all the tires up. The one that had sat flat for a year eventually blew out the sidewall. The truck also threw a water pump belt and all the TMs I had downloaded to a laptop came in EXTREMELY handy. I would have never figured out how to tighten up the belt without them.

Both the deuces and my 5 ton I picked up all had dead batteries. It takes 2 batteries to jump it because it is 24 volts. When I went on my pick-ups I took 2 regular car batteries and 2 sets of jumper cables. For those guys reading this and planning to pick up a M9xx, they have 4 batteries, but they are in pairs and you can jump them with just 2 others.

.

 

[Dipstick]

As Jeepsinker has said, very nice Whistler Dipstick! I have read the forum rules and am in the first place quite respectful as well as the fact that I myself do not prefer at all to cuss. None of my attempts to post a full response have gotten through for about 18 hours now...

Thanks Mad Man! Thanks Jeep! I installed new because my original's exhaust turbine blades were toast. You should hear this thing whistle! You either love the sound or you hate it. I love it. The D turbo exhaust housing is wider as I said but is a direct fit. No matter which multifuel/turbo you get...they both make the same amount of horsepower which is frankly....not enough. I've always loved shifting gears, so an A2 is just right for me. I hope to get mine running again soon. One week without driving him is too much.

 

[Howlin Mad Murdock]

Thank you Warthog for clarifying on my posting troubles!

Thank you as well Jeepsinker for the handy list. I failed to mention that the trucks only runs with a jump but that is solved of course by the aforementioned bringing of 2 good batteries.

I have already started looking at insurance and my family's current company has never dealt with military trucks so they are out of the question. But, I have looked at a couple places mentioned on SS and Hagerty Insurance quotes me for about $267 a year with solid coverage and 10,000 miles a year (unlikely but who knows ). Now if somebody can give me some good information on licensing a Deuce in Washington then I might just have to get serious!

I will be reading and downloading the TM's at some point. I definitely agree with proactive maintenance and cannot deny how much it helps! I probably should of mentioned this before, but I do have an Uncle who lives just a half-hour away from the truck and who does have a vacant gravel rv pad that I'm sure he would let me use. That would help tremendously I assume and he also has a great mechanical knowledge that would certainly come in handy. I do have a place to keep the beast when it gets home (provided I get to follow through on this one) which happens to be at the workshop that my awesome grandpa has on his land! Can you guys tell me what some of the required maintenance is that might not be mentioned in the TM's? And since I haven't hit many of the TM's yet, what size/type of air gladhand is Jeepsinker mentioning (as well as maybe where to get one)? I know about railroad ones but not nearly as much about these.

The auction opens on the 10th and ends on the 12th so hopefully I can get my act together in time for some action! I also hope the EUC wait time will give me some more time since this is my first and I am hearing those generally take about a month (probably not something to count to much on though). I do have to fit this around being in highschool (if that says anything about how young I really am ) but I have never had trouble with making up time off so I am very optimistic.

Thank you guys so much for all the information and encouragement so far and all that to come! Hopefully I have not forgotten to ask anything relevant to the current help.

 

[Howlin Mad Murdock]

Sorry that I haven't been on for quite a while (schoolwork...) but since some of you guys were wondering, I did not get the Deuce. Annoyingly, I got out bid surprisingly quick and obviously left empty handed. I am of course looking for the next opportunity though and I thank you all for all the help and encouragement provided.