Oshkosh MK48, any experience/owners?

[K10A]

It would probably have to be some type of manual and mechanical control as steering components need to be mechaically connected on road vehicles. Perhaps since its the Mil, the don't.

I looked at four of them friday and only the front axle steers.

 

[73m819]

I looked at four of them friday and only the front axle steers.

plus thay power articulate

 

[BBoomerBootCamp]

The MK17 trailers have been mostly moved through the system. In 08 I bought one from Barstow, at the time they had over 20 up for auction, I previewed all of them, of the 20 maybe 2 or 3 were worth a spit. I bought the one I wanted at the time for just north of $2500 plus fees, it was a refurb and in new condition. Some at that auction went for over 4k and were trashed (preview) I've watched them over the years and most today in good shape are closing for over 6500. Good luck, the tractor would be sweet, not for 20k plus, mostly because if you haven't got a trailer, they are getting harder and more expensive to find.

 

[nf6x]

I don't suppose that you want to sell me the knuckleboom off of that MK17, do you?

 

[BBoomerBootCamp]

I sold the unit to Soni (M920) last year, he has it behind his M916, I think theres a thread on here where he shows it running with the 916's hydros.
With all the 48's coming out this would be a good time to have stocked up on the trailers, had I only known 4 years ago, I'd of bought two, trucking was the killer, but two for one trucking.
You get the point.

 

[nf6x]

Yup. I'm kicking myself for buying those danged CUCVs instead of bidding on an MK17 or three in the following week's auction. Oh, well, I just wanted the crane anyway, and would have sold off or scrapped the rest of the RBU long before the MK48 FPUs appeared on the scene.

 

[pctrans]

I'm still trying to figure out why they are cutting them up in GA, and selling them in CA??

 

[Stalwart]

see your point, bet there is a steering control that changes the orientation of the steering

Like the HEMTT series trucks the front axles steer at a greater angle than the next axle for a given input. This difference allows them to steer with a decided crab. I wouldn't expect precise steering but it would allow undocking and docking with different carrier units. If you owned one, nothing you'd do at more than a slow walk.

 

[sandcobra164]

You can drive them at around 25 to 30 MPH with no issues disconnected so long as the road is not rough and you have plenty of room to stop. They ride like a mechanical bull when disconnected though and that sloppy 1-2 shift will make it fall on it's nose and then raise up at about a 20 degree angle when it kicks in. In all, if feels like the nose works in about a 12" range between starting out and shifting to 2nd. Scary stuff and I'd never take one on the road disconnected. Connected is almost as bad though, the articulation joint is very and I repeat very jerky in it's operation to minor steering corrections but once you're up to about 30, it's not noticed as bad. Also, a large majority of them were uparmored during the current conflicts. We pull the armored cabs off before we can DRMO them. The non-armored cabs have long since been DRMO'd and had to be "de-milled" or cut up and crushed before they could be hauled for scrap. There's likely fewer FPU's out there than most folks realize that are still complete. We just overhauled about 50 last year so I'll likely be busy doing previews in about another 10 years. We still have M900 series trucks in bad shape rotting so since these are fresh rebuilds with no purpose in life, Uncle Sam will likely wait till at least the tires rot before they decide to get rid of them.

 

[Logistics]

Won (?) a low mileage Mk48 in PA

Anyone in PA or NJ have a Mk17 trailer or advise on what to tag up to it?

 

[73m819]

Anyone in PA or NJ have a Mk17 trailer or advise on what to tag up to it?

I would look/build the 5th wheel unit, or the wrecker/recovery unit, anybody can have a cargo unit, seen one cargo unit, seen them all

 

[Logistics]

Thopught I had a ffith wheel lined up, turns out GL listed the Mk18 as Mk16 when they sold them.

 

[blhar15]

I was told that no more MK48's will be released, the last ones were sold last fall out of PA. I was the one that bought the last of them.

 

[bbf]

just put this mk on the road and it is a challenge to go over 52 mph i like my 983 hemtt better

 

[BradBMI]

The MK-48 is cool to drive but you need to get used to it. Its set up that you can pull up to a driveway, cut the wheel and the truck actually pivots and points the trailer into the d way.

I move materials with the one I have. Have a wrecker unit, flat trailer and cargo container handler.

It is a bit to handle at high speeds better to keep it under 50

 

[Hoefler]

My MK48 was originally hooked to a 14 trailer. The unit came out of Jacksonville. I have recently swapped out the 14 with an 18 trailer. Unit was fresh rebuild and works perfect. I drive mine at 40 MPH and enjoy the ride.
Pete

 

[Gunner0311]

Try the auction! You never know who will be bidding and what the final cost might be......

 

[mk48wannabe]

What auction?

Try the auction! You never know who will be bidding and what the final cost might be......

(sorry if this post is 2 months after the last one. hope i'm not resurrecting a dead thread here. I'm a new fan of mk48s, and i was looking for a description of the pros/cons of owning one, or how they compare to hemmts)

 

[Hoefler]

There are not that many in civilian hands. Perhaps somebody on here knows how many. When I won mine, there where something like 12 that where auctioned out of Jacksonville. I seem to remember GL had another auction not to long after that one where several more MK48's where auctioned. However, after the auction a few posted that GL was not going to release the units.
These big girls are not like a Deuce or even 5-ton that can be a daily fun driver. I use mine for special occasions and a few shows. Takes a bit to get used to how they drive, but after some practice they are manageable like any other big truck. When light on the throttle, fuel consumption is not all that bad.
40 MPH is a calm ride. 50 is do-able but pay attention. When running her over 90 MPH, its dangerous and a handful. 40 to 50 is just right.
Off road she seems less capable than my 5-ton. Wet and slippery hills present a challenge as she is very heavy and suffers from lack of traction even when all of her axels are locked in. On dry surface she works like a tracked vehicle. An MK is a very interesting mechanical machine-the location of the engine-the cab, how she drives the rear-all of it reminds me of high end back yard engineering on steriods. Its a cool truck.
Pete

 

[DrillerSurplus]

What auction?



(sorry if this post is 2 months after the last one. hope i'm not resurrecting a dead thread here. I'm a new fan of mk48s, and i was looking for a description of the pros/cons of owning one, or how they compare to hemmts)

The MK48 is definitely a different beast to drive. Other vehicles are a lot more owner friendly, so I think you need to own it for the "cool" factor or have a particular use for it. I have a couple in storage in So Cal that came out of Oceanside in your backyard. We are going to see if they can be used off road to support drill rigs working where the roads are bad enough to thrash our normal support trucks and the US Forest Service use permits (as well as the cost) do not allow a bunch of road improvements. I'm planning to retrieve them in the next month or so. If you PM me your contact info, I'll try to give you a shout and you can check them out if our schedules work out.