New M35A2 owner

[Recovry4x4]

Recovry4x4, I'm encouraged by your 500 mile plus days. That is actually my goal, but I won't push it if I'm needing a break. But I love to drive, so I'm thinking it's possible barring any major problems.

Most I've done is a little over 700 but it was a very long day and I was towing 14,000#. Consistency can easily get you 500 miles. We pack a cooler and snacks so that we only leave the highway for fuel and maybe one good meal. Rest areas are a quick way to answer mother natures calls and stretch the legs. A few premade sandwiches in the same cooler can stretch your miles ever farther. Some of the best traveling I've ever done is in a deuce. You will get a kick out of how many times the same vehicles keep passing you! Talk Tom out of a Jerry can and a donkey dick and pack an extra 5 gallons of fuel with you. Wouldn't hurt to pack a few gallons of water in the back too. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

[rdixiemiller]

I repeat.....deuce cab sleeping will not work for me. I'm too tall/fat. The deuce cab is not very wide compared to a standard pickup. You might want to lay down in one before you plan to sleep in one!
Remember, this is a 38 year old truck, not a new Pete. Drive it easy for the first 50 miles, then do a good walk around/ crawl around. If it has not been on the highway for a while, the axle vents might be stuck, and you can start leaking out of a hub seal.
Another thing to think about, UPS your tools and stuff to the deuce! Easier than dragging them through an airport. Get a couple of ammo cans, load your tool kit in them, box and ship.
Have fun, I'll be available to help when you get to the Atlanta area. I have a deuce and a towbar if you break down, and a parts truck if you wipe out something not normally found at your local parts store.

 

[chill63]

Keep the advice coming...I'm taking notes. I like the idea of sending the tools up via UPS. I'll get a list together of what I'm packing and post it here before I send it just incase there's something I forgot. What are the common socket/wrench sizes I should pack? I imagine I wouldn't need to bring all the tools in the set.

Some of the things that I don't pack, I plan on buying at the local parts/hardware store before I head out of town.

One good thing about the truck is that Tom has been using it. He recently took it on a 100+ mile journey to an MV show hauling 3 CUCV's. One of which, I believe, is going to Desert Deuce.

Desert Deuce, he told me that you were coming this week. My first choice was to show up this coming weekend for the truck, but he said you were coming to get your truck. He wanted to make sure he would have adequate time to get both trucks serviced and such, so I put it off to the following weekend. It sure seems like it's coming up fast.

Recovry4x4, that's the way I like to travel. I'm almost afraid to ask, but what is a donkey d!ck? I'm thinking a towbar?

rdixiemiller, thanks for the offer. I would like to collect the contact info of the folks along my route just incase I get into trouble. I figure I'll have to make the call on sleeping in it when I get there.

I'll try to get a route map up tonight if I can figure out how to get the image from Mapquest or wherever.

Thanks again,
Chris

 

[Recovry4x4]

Sorry, the donkey dick is the spout for the Jerry cans. Always good to have a spare can of fuel and a way to pour it.

 

[rdixiemiller]

I would take a 1/2 drive socket set that went to 1 1/8", a 3/8 set, and a good set of combo wrenches. The usual automotive stuff, screwdrivers, pliers, channel locks, crescent wrench, pipe wrench, vise grips, hammer. Make sure the truck has a jack, or stop and pick one up at a parts place or hardware store. Some wood blocks (2x4) to crib up the jack. The truck has an air line port under the dash on the pax side, so a cheap 25 foot hose with a tire inflator is a good thing to have.
Sounds like a lot of stuff, but everything but the jack and wood blocks fits in a tool bag on my truck.

The de-splined hub flanges are off my truck at the moment, if you want, I will loan them to you for the trip. I can ship them up to Alfa for you.

 

[chill63]

Tom has the front drive shaft out of the truck right now for highway use. Does that have a similar effect to the desplined flanges, or would it be better to use the them?

What size jack should I get if it doesn't have one? Floor or bottle jack?

 

[Recovry4x4]

Get a basic bottle jack of 6 tons or greater. Easy purchase locally

 

[Katch1]

yes a bottle jack is preferred fits in tool box nicely and is cheap, also a budd wheel socket is good, the mil socket broke on me the first time I used it.WD-40 or something similar for frozen nuts/bolts and the always corroded electrical connectors. These are the things I needed on my trip hime, had all but one( socket), luckily had a chase vehicle. good luck, thats a real long first trip! You will both be used to each other before you get home

 

[rdixiemiller]

Desplined front hubs keep the axles and gears from turning all the way home. Removes a lot of front end drag, and improves steering. I put on de-splined hubs and leave the driveshaft in. This works best with an airshift transfer case.......

 

[chill63]

I'm assuming the hub changeout is a 20-30 minute job. I need to call Tom on Tuesday to make arrangements for shipping my supplies to him via UPS, and I'll talk to him about doing the hub changeout.

 

[rdixiemiller]

20 minutes-30 minutes is about right.

 

[SETOYOTA]

I'm just off 175 exit 142 in GA if you need my asistance. Good luck. The longest trip for me was 400 miles straigt out of DRMO with nothing but a Prayer. Luckily it worked out for me.

Chuck

 

[chill63]

Here's the first leg of the trip from Alfa Heaven to Freeburg, IL...529 miles

 

[chill63]

Here's the second leg from Freeburg, IL to my house in Cocoa, FL...1027 miles

 

[Recovry4x4]

There are some great people about midways through your second leg there in the Atlanta area. Are you shooting for Atlanta as a stop on your way home?

 

[chill63]

Yeah, if my driving schedule supports it, I'd like to have a stop just south of Atlanta.

Can I drive the Deuce straight through Atlanta, or do I have to take the bypass?

 

[rmgill]

I think you're technically supposed to take the Bypass as a truck. I would if it were in the middle of the day. Avoid Atlanta around rush hour. It's bad.

I'm inside town on the east side over near I285 and I85. You're welcome to stop for a pitstop and breather if you like. There's a good stop for Cheap Diesel at the Quicktrip just up I85 from I285. You have to get off at the NorthCrest/PleasantDale Road exit. I'm just down from that exit by about 3 exits on I285.

 

[SETOYOTA]

I'm about 80 miles south of the Atlanta airport. Welcome to use my place a pit stop. Plenty of room to park the truck also.

Chuck

 

[wreckerman893]

Your route shows you going from Nashville to Chattanooga via I-24. You will have to cross Monteagle mountain. It is a bitch kitty of a mountain for a truck (I was a commercial truck driver for a long time). You will drag ass up one side and the other side is very steep (they have "escape ramps" for "runaway trucks" on that side). There is a mandatory brake check stop before you drop off the mountain and I suggest that you take the time to give your truck the once over. The truck speed limit is enforced by the Tenn. DOT even if you are runnning empty. Once you get over the mountain you will have to go through Chattanooga to get to I-75. Traffic is a bitch during rush hour but otherwise you can breeze right through. There is a steep hill right before you get to the I-75 split that slows down the big rigs. Be careful. Good luck

 

[chill63]

I've thought quite a bit about Monteagle. I've run this route several times before on trips back and forth to Illinois. I know that in a passenger vehicle you don't have to touch the gas on the way down, and you'll still accelerate. I'll definately take my time going down that one. I've given myself a full week to make the trip, so I don't have to push it anywhere. Although I don't expect to take that long if all goes well.