New Member from Eastern Long Island Here...HELP! Itchin' For A Deuce!

[SeanEboy]

Hey folks! I've been lurking around for about a week or so, and figured what the heck, let me just sign up. Everyone seems really helpful, and the wealth of knowledge here far surpasses what I can probably learn in my lifetime.

Anyway, I'm hoping someone can chime in and steer me in the right direction. Here is what I'm hoping a Deuce will provide for me, and I'm not sure if it indeed will.

I'm an avid jetski nutjob, and just love taking my skis down to the ocean (typically in a pickup truck bed), and ripping in the surf. I am hoping to build some sort of a rack system in the back of a Deuce (most likely full length bed), and have a winch/crane to pick them up into the truck. These skis will not weigh more than 400 lbs or so, so I'd imagine there is something fairly basic out there that will do the trick, right?

How are Deuces on the beach? I'm hoping that their 6x6 footprint will tear up the fairly deep beaches we have up here in the NE, with ease. Perhaps maybe even offer help to anyone stuck whenever I see them, too!

Secondly, I was wondering if it would be possible to rig one up to pull my fathers 32' boat with? It's about 12k pounds. Now, I am vaguely familiar with the weight limit situation that comes into play here, but I think I might be able to just squeeze by. Is it possible to rig up a trailer hitch (typical ball receiver/universal setup) on these things? It looks like some welding/etc will be in order?

Any input would greatly be appreciated! I really am hoping this truck can be the beast I want it to be! I am just in love with all the awesome mods you guys do, they look so great!!!

 

[BKubu]

I have seen guys mount civilian hitches on deuces in the past. The key would be to properly fabricate the mount. The truck should pull the boat without a problem. The bed of a deuce is fairly high...not sure what the crane set up would look like, but I guess its possible. A deuce should do fine in the sand. I'd recommend single tires over the duals...go with an M35A3 for the automatic transmission, the larger/wider tires, Cat motor, three point seat belts, back up light, side markers, electric wiper motor, etc. Not sure if you are a fan...but...GO ISLANDERS! I used to live in Bethpage across from the polo grounds entrance.

 

[BKubu]

Should have also added air-assist steering as another plus. When backing up a trailer in tight, power (air assisted) steering is nice to have. It can also be added to an M35A2.

 

[SeanEboy]

Maybe the "crane" idea isn't the best, so I'm thinking rear winch mounted in front of bed, to pull skis up bunks/rails/etc up onto the bed to stay during travel. I've seen this before with pickup trucks in the past.
As for the M35A3 - I've read that the Cat's are more $$$ to work on, and the auto tranny fails etc... Any thought to that?
But I like the idea of the bigger tires, for sure...
As for the Islanders...!!!! Yes, most certainly GO ISLANDERS!!!! I grew up in the Hogue, Turgeon, Kasparaitis, Green, Healy, etc era... I love my team! We were all yelling at the TV last night, sheesh, the game was like a a soap opera on a roller coaster.
I grew up in East Williston before moving out here after college/the city.

Now, what can I expect to pay for one of these? Is it worth it for me to go to an auction, and perhaps take a calculated gamble? Or, should I just look for one second hand (that's been 'civilian-i-fied'), for the sake of having it registered in time for summer?

 

[Karl kostman]

If the boat your going to pull weighs 12K pounds your over weight, the Deuce is rated to to 10K, I am not saying that 12K is a problem, oh hold on YES I am saying that its a problem, single circuit brake system, I am doubting that your boat trailer is equiped with air brakes and the truck is tagged MAX TOWED WEIGHT NOT TO EXCEED 10K pounds, you could be in trouble in a lot of ways with this one!
KK

 

[SeanEboy]

Thanks for the input Karl. I could've sworn I read somewhere that gvrw was 26k, but I guess the CDL cutoff I'm thinking of.

How about this ad I found...? What can I expect to pay for a truck requiring work on the tranny? I must admit this truck is attractive to me as it is close.

NOTE: I AM NOT ADVERTISING THIS TRUCK FOR SALE. I AM SIMPLY ASKING WHAT A TRUCK LIKE THIS WOULD BE WORTH FOR MY PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.


1971 kaiser jeep m35a2
Hercules 7.8 liter multifuel engine with "d" turbo
Pto driven front winch
Cab heater and defroster
22,77x miles
1,543 hours


Currently registered and insured


Currently, second and third gear are not engaging properly. I had the top cover of the transmission rebuilt, but I believe the problem is with the 2/3 slider. I have sourced transmissions for as little as $500, from several suppliers, but to fix just the 2/3 slider would obviously be a fraction of that. I honestly don't have the time or desire to undertake it at this time, I just want some space back in my driveway.

 

[Karl kostman]

I have a 71 with the White LDT and a C turbo, I love the sounds of the "C" turbo for about 2 hours drive time then I wish it had a "D" on it instead! Concerning buying any M35 based trucks RUST can be a big deal and unless you can do your own body work its expensive to fix, to actually GET RID of the rust would generally mean replacing the components with rust free ones. Since this truck has a heater on it I am going to guess its a hard top, the winch is a pretty good plus as long as it has all the componets and they are at least in workable condition. Then the questions are does it have troop seat? does it have a cargo cover and bows, not terribly expensive items but darned hard to ship. Tires are cheap, I generally pay about 50.00 per tire in 80 to 90% condition with wheel. I will be the first guy to admit I am not a transmission guy so from my standpoint I would figure in the 500.00 to replace the tranny, if you can fix it for less your money ahead. If my assumptions here are correct and lets say that it has minimal rust and its all surface ONLY, I would say that I would not pay more than 6000 to 6500 maximum for this truck, remember its a 41 year old vehicle, there going to be issues that your not going to know about and they could very likely rear their ugly heads, its usually not a big deal just dont be surprised. They are great trucks, easy to work on just remember its 41 yrs old. As far as my comments on towing, your absolutely correct the Max gross vehicle weight on the Deuce is 26,000 pounds BUT the placard in the dash states the max allowable towed weight is 10,000 pounds. Brakes could very much become an issue for you there (Its a single circuit brake system) and if you got into any kind of an accident and your towing more than the truck is placarded for you are instantly in trouble. Good luck and keep us posted please
KK

 

[SeanEboy]

Thanks again for that great insight Karl. The boats trailer does have surge brakes, but I know that doesn't mean anything when compared to the placard. I am a bit sketched out thinking of hidden issues showing up- as my main intention for this truck is indeed as a beach cruiser....

Perhaps I should look into a surplus Hummer with the pickup bed for the beach instead? But the M35's are just too darn cool to not take a look at.

 

[DeucesWild11]

SeanEboy, once you get the fever there is no getting rid of it.. I too wanted a Deuce badly for several years and once my old 90 Chevy 1500 rusted out from under me I wanted something more durable. I got by Bobbed Deuce for $5500 which is a steal because I know people pay almost that much just to bob a normal deuce to a 4x4. Anyway, I could never imagine not owning one now.. they are just plain awesome!!! Yeah they require some regular maintenance but from this site I learned how to do all the work myself. My old Chevy I had to always take in to my mechanic so the Deuce for me has been cheaper to run and maintain. Like BKubu said go with big tires if you can, otherwise you can just air down the regular ones and then just re-inflate when going back on pavement since you have on-board air tanks! I personally like my 395's, they are 46" tall and complement the deuce nicely without modification needed.

A Surplus Hummer would cost much more $$$ than a deuce, unless cost is not a big issue for ya..

Best of luck with whatever you wind up with.

 

[DUG]

I installed an ATV 3K 12 volt winch in the bed of my deuce to pull the ATVs up the ramps. I have a third battery and a 12 volts alt set up in addition to the 24 volt system, but for just pulling some skis up you could just go with a fully charged third battery and recharge it at home like a lot of guys do with their car trailer winches.

Adding a civie hitch is no big deal. I bought one at WalMart that worked perfectly. I upgraded all the hardware to grade 8 and I routinely tow a converted toy box full of Boy Scout gear. I doubt that your boar is heavier.

Good luck.

 

[trukhead]

Welcome to the site! Are you any where near Middle Isle? I bought a Porsche from a garage there and they said they went fishing off of Bette Whites dock. They said she was friendly. I couldn't stay otherwise I would have went fishing as well. Are you acquainted with Bette? I'm a fan of hers.

Oh, yeah , by the way If I lived there, I'd get an M35A3 with working CTIS. However, stay off the express way because the A3 is happiest at 40 MPH! which is fine on most of Long Island in my humble opinion. What'r the other drivers gonna do, have a cow! LOL!
If your going to pull a boat remember the A3 a glorified pickup truck and it is critical that your parking brake be in tiptop operating condition.
I like my A3 but it is what it is. A 5 (M931A2) ton tractor would play with a boat but it has a whole lot of other issues.


Air brakes, CDL and such.......
In Wisconsin, we can license them as HMV s for limited use and bypass the CDL and airbrake issues.

 

[SeanEboy]

DUG, thanks for the tip! I will certainly continue down this path.. Your comment on the weight of the boat got me thinking, I just checked into the weight again, and the boat is 9637lbs all included. So, I guess I'll be alright! Furthermore, we only trailer it to and from the warehouse once a year, the saddening "put the boat away" trip if you will.

I was thinking of buying a pickup, and hauling boats as a sidejob as I'm pretty darn nifty with a trailer. Having learned on the smaller trailers (jetskis), which are most certainly the most finicky, I'm decent. Here's some pics of us hiding the boat in the warehouse from that big bad storm Sandy.

I swear everything fits by a clearance of about an inch or two, throughout our whole warehouse. Got this sucker on the first shot too. I think it was a bit of luck as the boat was wider than the truck, so I was going on direction from my father yelling from the warehouse.

Trukhead - I do indeed feel welcome! Thanks for being a part of that.. I used to work in Medford which was closer than where I am now. I actually live further East, and on the South Fork.. The illustrious 'Hamptons' if you will.. And, I'd love to drive people nuts out here by cruising around in a deuce. I really, really, really want to get one and use it for my usual evening and weekend cruising down the 20+ miles of coastline we can drive on. Maybe throw some decent driftwood in the back, clean up some garbage, catch some striped bass, bbq, all the good stuff.