Newbie! Just bought a Deuce M109A3, need some advice

[JeremyN]

I just bought this deuce from ebay, and it's a bit of a famous one that's been in several movies and TV shows (The Hulk, Jarhead, Over There, 3 Kings):
M109A3 Shop truck, M35A2 Military camper: eBay Motors (item 170560848906 end time Nov-07-10 12:58:45 PST)

Very excited to be joining the MV "club". Bought it for hauling, storage and as a bug out vehicle should it come to that.

I have to admit, my auto mechanic skills are a bit lacking, but I'm mechanically adept in general and really looking forward to learning more, and this seems like a great way to have a bit of "baptism by fire"!

However my first challenge is I need to get it from Southern California to Utah. My plan is to fly down and drive it back with a friend. I looked into shipping it, but the best price I've received so far has been $1,770, which is too rich for my blood.

I lined up the insurance today and once I've got that and the title, I can get it registered in Utah.

I've talked with the previous owners and they assure me it's been babied and is in great working condition. At my request, they've agreed to have their mechanic go over things one last time, specifically making sure the brakes are in tip top shape.

I've never driven a deuce before, but I have driven a few larger vehicles and I've driven probably at least a million miles in manual transmission cars/trucks.

I've read the manuals on getting the deuce started up, and I'm trying to absorb as much as I can about maintenance, but I admit most is over my head.

My questions are:
Am I insane to drive it 600 miles on my first journey with it? (Before I leave, I am considering a visit to Boyce here in Utah to ask if I can test drive one of their deuces... I'm happy to pay for their time, I'd just like to get some practice in before my journey.)

Given that it's going to be a long haul (uphill most of the way - which is good in my opinion, less reliance on brakes). What do you folks recommend I have on hand as far as emergency supplies? I'm planning to get a fire extinguisher, emergency orange triangles, jumper cables, and some fluids (recommendations appreciated). Anything else?

Commonly needed tools?

Even though their mechanic is going to give it an inspection. When I get there, I'd like to do the same, any specifics I should look out for?

How long can it be driven at cruising speed (45-50MPH) before it needs a break?

Any other advice is very welcome.

Oh, also, on the way up we'll be parking it over night in Vegas at a hotel parking lot. Any recommendations on a quick and dirty way to make it hard to steal while we slumber?

I'm really excited!

Thanks in advance!
Jeremy

 

[Derrickl112]

What do you folks recommend I have on hand as far as emergency supplies

bring ear plugs

 

[gunboy1656]

Welcome to the leak of the week club. These are not very hard to work on. Your not crazy, we have had vehicles driven all the way across country. As for your truck being babied, good luck with that, search for some of the other trucks on the board that were used in movies.

There is a .doc file that all newbies should read. (link below)

 

[gimpyrobb]

Welcome to the site.

 

[cessnatwin]

You are gonna be addicted!

 

[LanceRobson]

Hello. Good luck with the road trp and welcome to the site.

Lance

 

[roger-wilco-66]

[...]
Oh, also, on the way up we'll be parking it over night in Vegas at a hotel parking lot. Any recommendations on a quick and dirty way to make it hard to steal while we slumber?
[...]
Thanks in advance!
Jeremy

Disconnect the bone (cable between the batteries) and take it with you, and secure the steering wheel with a long chain lock to the drivers seat.
The cab doors can be locked from the inside, too, but you need to leave the drivers side front window (easier to reach) unlocked. I do that frequently. To open the door, you need to get on the fender, pull the front window open and reach for the door handle to open it (orang utan style arms help here). Just never forget to unlock that window and try it once before slamming the doors shut...

You're going to love it, field trips with the deuce are a blast!
You might want to take a notebook with you with all the TMs on it, just in case.
And a camera and post the pictures here!

Ahh, and:

> How long can it be driven at cruising speed (45-50MPH) before it needs a break?

Don't worry, you'll need a break first!


Cheers,
Mark

 

[davey8943]

Jeremy,

The Ebay Auction link has died. I was hoping to see some pics of your new famous ride!

As always.....



Welcome to steel soldiers... IT IS ADDICTING!

Dave

** EDIT **

Found the pictures, thanks for pointing that out Katahdin!

I guess I am still figuring out this whole "Internet" thing

But seriously, good looker!

** EDIT **

 

[Katahdin]

Jeremy,

The Ebay Auction link has died. I was hoping to see some pics of your new famous ride!

Dave

The link works for me, I think you just need to scroll down past the other ebay items at the top of the page.

Nice looking ride, very clean. Welcome to the site!

 

[swbradley1]

Welcome to the site. Put pictures up of your trip AND read the TMs BEFORE you go to pick it up. The pertinent TMs are in the resources section of this site. I have all the TMs on an iPad that I take with me wherever I go.

sw

 

[clinto]

My questions are:
Am I insane to drive it 600 miles on my first journey with it? (Before I leave, I am considering a visit to Boyce here in Utah to ask if I can test drive one of their deuces... I'm happy to pay for their time, I'd just like to get some practice in before my journey.)

I don't think you're crazy-sounds like you are doing everything you should. Reading the manuals, lots of experience driving a manual transmission, getting insurance lined up, asking questions on SS, etc.

I would definitely see if there are any SS members nearby that you could entice into giving you a 30 minute tutorial-what an experienced deuceophile can teach you in 30 minutes would take a week of reading the manual.

Given that it's going to be a long haul (uphill most of the way - which is good in my opinion, less reliance on brakes). What do you folks recommend I have on hand as far as emergency supplies? I'm planning to get a fire extinguisher, emergency orange triangles, jumper cables, and some fluids (recommendations appreciated). Anything else?

There are some good threads here on the site about what kinds of items you should take on recovery missions. Do a search and try to find them-I'd use the phrases "recovery AND list", "pickup AND list", etc. If you can't find, I will take a look and see if I can find a good one.

Commonly needed tools?

For the trip or ownership in general?

Even though their mechanic is going to give it an inspection. When I get there, I'd like to do the same, any specifics I should look out for?

Brake pedal feel, belts and hoses, oil and coolant level, air pressure in tires, etc.

How long can it be driven at cruising speed (45-50MPH) before it needs a break?

It can take a lot more than your back or kidneys can take. Trust me.

Any other advice is very welcome.

Good hearing protection. Sunglasses. A cell phone that's fully charged. Chase vehicle. Gold card. Phone #'s of local members who have deuces and towbars or towing services.

Oh, also, on the way up we'll be parking it over night in Vegas at a hotel parking lot. Any recommendations on a quick and dirty way to make it hard to steal while we slumber?

People sleep in Vegas? When we were there, the hooke................errrr............ forget it.

The advice above about the chain and dogbone is probably sufficient.

REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR CAMERA AND POST LOTS OF PICS WHEN YOU GET HOME

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Welcome. After you get it home, cut up all you credit cards. I noticed that deuce parts kept being delivered to my house after I got mine home. Seems like there is no way to stop them!!

 

[x-ray]

Congrats on your purchase. That M109A3 looks great. They look awsome in tan.
Good luck on your recovery, If I were you I would ask to get a letter from the owner and save a copy of the ebay listing about the movies its been in. Enjoy.

 

[mcmullag]

If you have time before you leave, spend about 4 hours each day or nite on this site and just keep reading the threads, and those threads will take you to other threads and you will learn an awful lot about the deuce on this site. I wear headphones for highway trips to block all the noise. Your idea to drive a deuce ahead of time is a good one, should really help ya, and like someone else said, if you can find a member here to show you around their truck and talk to you about it, that would really help. I think there is a sticky, a list of what to bring for pickup and drive home trip in the resources or something on the site. Good luck.

 

[dragonwagon]

ha ha ha i didnt think to ask this question before i went and picked mine up .

ear plugs , you will be tired before the truck is . Oh ya them are accurate

Im guessing for that distance a few ibuprofen would be handy too . You may want a small pillow depending on the condition of the seats .

I think id check the greese in the diffs , trans and t case . I dont trust a mech to do that , often to lazy .

bottle jack and large enough sockets to change a tire . Open the drains on each fuel filter at the bottom , let the fuel into a container and see if it looks like fuel or some unknown brown watery mix . just a little from each filter to see whats in there .

 

[drgreg]

If I were doing this recovery, I would have someone drive me down and have a chase vehicle for the return trip. You can make alot of repairs if you can get to a parts store. If you can't, you will be stuck getting towed. A 600 mile trip will take about the same amount of time and cost about the same driving rather than flying. There are many places on your trip that I would not want to be stuck with a broke down Deuce.
Good luck on your recovery.

 

[Happyland1410]

Congratulations and welcome to the disease... I mean hobby

Some others with more experience I'm sure will chime in on this but I see in the original listing it says that it comes with the SF97. I thought that only the original person listed on the SF97 can title the vehicle. When I bought mine from an SS member they titled it with the SF97 and then I did a title transfer. You may have already taken care of this but I would hate for you to get it home and then have the DMV refuse to title it.

 

[Jimma]

Welcome

 

[wreckerman893]

I am in Alabama and I sold a deuce to a fellow SS member in Washington state....he and his dad drove down, hooked the jeep they drove to the deuce on a towbar and drove backe to Washington state. The made it without any major trouble.

We gave the truck a good going over and installed two springer seats in it.

The chase vehicle is a better option than flying. It will be a major PITA to carry tools on a plane and getting stuck out in the middle of the desert without wheels would suck big time.

You can go to NAPA and get spare filters and belts.

Make sure your wiper blades are good before you leave....they are hard to find out on the road.

Make sure you have the kind of clothes you need for the trip. Carry some blankets in case you have to camp out with the truck. Rain gear is a good idea since the seals around deuce windshields and windows are seldom water tight.

Carry a cooler with bottled water, drinks and snacks.

If the truck does not have a heater you will stay warm from the engine heat coming up through the floor unless it gets sub-zero. If it is too hot close the side windows and open the front window and the incoming air will blow the hot air out through the holes around the gear shift and transfer case lever.

I prefer hearing protectors rather than plugs....after a while the plugs hurt my ear canals...your milage may vary.

Make sure the batteries are good...not just surface charged. It is hard to jump start a deuce with civy vehicles......you can pull start one on level ground with a smaller vehicle.

To do so turn on the battery switch, put transmission in 3rd gear, HIGH range and get her rolling...about 10 MPH let out the clutch....if she has fuel she will start.

When you shut down for the night make sure you turn off the battery switch or if the air leaks down the low air warning buzzer will come on and drain the battery. Also make sure the light switch is off (and make sure you turn it on when you start out the next day).

Unless you are staying over in Vegas for a reason I would layover in a small town where there is a truck stop and motels. Less crime and bad guys out looking for a target of opportunity.

The duece is small enough that it will fit into a motel parking lot where you can keep an eye on it.

I would still chain and lock the steering wheel. Park it in neutral with the transfer case in neutral. This will keep it from lurching forward if some idiot starts it in gear.

Don't trust the parking brake.....get some wheel chocks. Having your duece roll into some hot babes Prius is not a good way to win friends.

Hope this helps.

 

[LowTech]

All good info, we just did 1500 miles in Elise's "She Beast" this summer. Ran up the Eastern Sierras to the Black Rock Desert and back down through Death Valley. We did have some issues w/ oil dumping into the clutch, first from a tranny that doesn't like too much oil, and then from a rear main seal. Adding Lucas helped the rear main stop leaking. Too often these rigs sit around and the seals dry out. Once we did a full days driving at 2400 RPM (when we weren't climbing hills in third . . . or second, but that was bad fuel) the main wanted to leak. I did carry brake cleaner, a few cans, which I would spray into the bell housing drain hole while it was running. This kept the clutch slip way down. By the end of the trip, no leaking and no slipping.
I would also avoid running the Interstate if you can find other roads. Something about doing 52mph on them that makes you feel like you are going backwards at about 30mph. It is much more relaxing to be on some 2 lane and you tend to pass through more little towns where you can get things if needed.
I would also stop in Prim, if I was going to stop somewhere around Vegas. Way cheaper and only about 40 miles south. That being that you are on the interstate at that point.

There are quite a few of us in this area of Cali that would help if needed, PM me and I'll give you my #