My First MV - the M109A3

[yarry23]

Hello all,

Earlier today the fine folks at Hamner Towing pulled up in front of my house laden down with my new (to me) M109A3! She had lived out at Nelis AFB for all of her life, and is settling in at her new home in Santa Cruz, CA.

Barely fits in my driveway (hangs onto the sidewalk a bit), but she fired right up when I needed to move her. Doesn't seem to have any leaks (so far) and all the gauges seem to work. Air buzzer stayed on for a bit longer than I was lead to expect upon first starting her up, but then it stopped, and on subsequently restarting her it did not sound. Im guessing it just needed to pressurize the system, and hadn't been started for a while.

Headed to the DMV and got some temporary tags until Feb, by which time I get to show up and convince them its an RV. Hopefully all shall go well. There doesn't seem to be any hard and fast rules as to what exactly constitutes an RV, so I am planning on making the more visible, obvious modifications first (such as the bunk beds, the counters, etc), and leaving the more tricky ones for after I get her all registered.

I will post pictures tomorrow, as time permits. Was hard having to go to work and not staying home and instantly starting to work on her. Next to get insurance, then I can be street legal at least until Feb., when I head back to the DMV.

So, the Adventure begins!


~~yarry

 

[eagle4g63]

The air buzzer stays on until it reaches 60 psi, if you restart the truck and the air is still above 60 than no buzzer. My system will air up to 125psi and pretty much stay up there almost all day(I have a little leak so it goes down) You are suppose to empty the air tanks everyday to let out any moister that builds up in the tanks, so you will here that buzzer every morning when you start it up(mine takes less than 2 minutes)

Anyway I see you are a fairly new person so WELCOME.

And before anyone else can kill you with it......Post pics quickly!!!!!PLEASE!!!!!

Oh yeah you can use a bypass light for the buzzer like I did so I don't have to hear that darn thing everyday!!

 

[Clay James]

I just registered mine here as historic. Spent probably 8-10 hours there all together working on it. I plan on going the RV route when I finish the conversion. There was a tread a while back in the mod/hot-rodding section about registering RV. Good luck and congrats on your first MV!

 

[srodocker]

cant wait to see pics!

 

[Bad_Carp]

Headed to the DMV and got some temporary tags until Feb, by which time I get to show up and convince them its an RV. Hopefully all shall go well. There doesn't seem to be any hard and fast rules as to what exactly constitutes an RV, so I am planning on making the more visible, obvious modifications first (such as the bunk beds, the counters, etc), and leaving the more tricky ones for after I get her all registered.

Mine is registered as an RV and the DMV has never seen it. You just need to fill out the paperwork that it has been converted to a housecar. Get the VIN verification done by someone other than the DMV (Local muffler shop did mine) and then go down and register it as an RV.

 

[Cucvnut]

cool man Im on the over side of the hill in San jose.

 

[yarry23]

Okay, here are some quick pix snapped off this morning of the outside of the vehicle. Overall she is in pretty good shape I would say. Had the kids crawling all over it talking about where their bunk beds will go. That seemed to endear the wife, so that certainly helped. *grin*

My first time trying to post pix to this site, so I hope I did it right. My apologies if I did not.

Also, quick question about releasing the air in the air system - how do I do it? I wasn't able to find any clearly labeled button or anything. Any hint on what I should be looking for would be appreciated. I left air in the system last night, and I am anxious to let it out (once I figure out how!).

Cheers! I will post more pix of the inside once I get some more time. I will also be starting a thread on my camper conversion project, as it gets along underway.

Mine is registered as an RV and the DMV has never seen it. You just need to fill out the paperwork that it has been converted to a housecar. Get the VIN verification done by someone other than the DMV (Local muffler shop did mine) and then go down and register it as an RV.

I need to get the vehicle titled as well, as I am its first civilian owner. I like your idea though - sounds excellent! Just wondering how it interacts with needing to get a title made for it...

 

[Danger Ranger]

Nice, she looks really good! maybe you should skip the camper and use it to haul that tiny yellow car around...hehe.

 

[Evil Dr. Porkchop]

Also, quick question about releasing the air in the air system - how do I do it? I wasn't able to find any clearly labeled button or anything. Any hint on what I should be looking for would be appreciated. I left air in the system last night, and I am anxious to let it out (once I figure out how!).

there is a drain on each air tank, under the truck

 

[Shoprat 19th Engr]

Look under and behind the step on the drivers side of the truck and you will see the tanks and the valves to open you may need a small adjustable wrench to turn them

 

[salvorone@aol.com]

for me ive found a best way to find a leak is to use a paint brush and some soapy water . i couldnt believe i had so many leaks ,now holds air for two days before the buzzer comes on .and i use the drain valve before i put her to bed . welcome and good luck with your new purchase,

 

[M35A2-AZ]

Great looking truck!!!
I like the paint brush with soapy water to find leaks.

 

[ratat98]

Nice truck!! The M109 is becoming more appealing to me.... Must resist temptation!!!!

 

[joshs1ofakindxj]

Spraying suspect areas with windex will also show a leak.

 

[Ord22]

good looking truck!! what are your plans for it?

 

[Welder Sam]

congrats! my first was a 109 also!