Taking LMTV home | 1200mi road trip TX to NC

[InvictusDecretum]

Well, I bought an M1078A1 LMTV from @fuzzytoaster. He has been gracious enough to allow me access to his yard, expertise, and employees to work on some major and minor things this past week. I believe it is now time for me to drive it home to NC so I cam make it back to the wife before Christmas.

I hope to make it in one piece without too many issues, but my general route is below. I've tried to learn as much as I can from these forums and sourced a lot of tools on Amazon or locally to hopefully deal with issues that pop up along the way. All zerks were greased, changed the oil/transmission oil/diff oil/hub oil/coolant, and driveshafts have been rebuilt completely (new U joints with washers and balanced... longer story there for another day.)

I'll try and keep this thread updated along the way. Going to take WAY longer than 17.5hrs. Have my aviation headset and an aux cable for audiobook/podcast/music.

 

[fuzzytoaster]

Well, I bought an M1078A1 LMTV from @fuzzytoaster. He has been gracious enough to allow me access to his yard, expertise, and employees to work on some major and minor things this past week. I believe it is now time for me to drive it home to NC so I cam make it back to the wife before Christmas.

I hope to make it in one piece without too many issues, but my general route is below. I've tried to learn as much as I can from these forums and sourced a lot of tools on Amazon or locally to hopefully deal with issues that pop up along the way. All zerks were greased, changed the oil/transmission oil/diff oil/hub oil/coolant, and driveshafts have been rebuilt completely (new U joints with washers and balanced... longer story there for another day.)

I'll try and keep this thread updated along the way. Going to take WAY longer than 17.5hrs. Have my aviation headset and an aux cable for audiobook/podcast/music.

We are rooting for you.

 

[NDT]

Check your wiper blades, will be raining the entire way. They can be bought anywhere.

 

[flyfishtrailer]

Sounds like a fun trip. Hope all goes well and keep us posted (a few pics would be great as well). Have you mapped out SS members along that route just in case you run into issues?

 

[Keith Knight]

When my truck was original I would disconnect the CTIS so I could put 85 psi in the front tires and 60 in the rear unloaded. The tires did much better and keep checking tire pressures. Also keep an eye under the engine for new oil leaks or old ones getting worse. Check hub temperatures after 50-100 miles after they had time to reach max temp.
Good luck.

 

[hike]

My brothers and I still say, "No photos, no story. Didn't happen." We need photographs of your new tinker toy and trip—

 

[SCSG-G4]

Should not affect you, but westbound I-20 at Camden is closed because of a ' catastrophic failure' of the bridge overe the river. In the Aiken-Agusta-Ga area you have @EMD567, me in the Columbia area (only as a contact for others with far more skills), @wreckerman893 in the Anniston, AL area, and at least one person in the Florence, SC area whose screen name I cannot recall at the moment.

 

[Wingnut13]

Well I hope your trip is uneventful and a ton of fun. There is a lot of brainpower here in this forum at your fingertips. Sounds like you have prepared appropriately. Have a great trip!

 

[ramdough]

Well, I bought an M1078A1 LMTV from @fuzzytoaster. He has been gracious enough to allow me access to his yard, expertise, and employees to work on some major and minor things this past week. I believe it is now time for me to drive it home to NC so I cam make it back to the wife before Christmas.

I hope to make it in one piece without too many issues, but my general route is below. I've tried to learn as much as I can from these forums and sourced a lot of tools on Amazon or locally to hopefully deal with issues that pop up along the way. All zerks were greased, changed the oil/transmission oil/diff oil/hub oil/coolant, and driveshafts have been rebuilt completely (new U joints with washers and balanced... longer story there for another day.)

I'll try and keep this thread updated along the way. Going to take WAY longer than 17.5hrs. Have my aviation headset and an aux cable for audiobook/podcast/music.

View attachment 913246

Well, if @fuzzytoaster went through it, your truck is as good as it can get…..

Now you just have to hope Murphy is on vacation. Good luck, and post up lots of pictures.

Also, in addition to checking fluids and temps every once in a while, check for any oil spray underneath. That will give you a heads up if anything has come loose or decided to leak.

In my trip home, I found 2 leaks. It is easier to find and address before everything is coated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SCM35A2]

Have a safe trip & be sure to talk lots of pictures!! I'm in SC so if you need something let me know & I'll do what I can.

 

[fuzzytoaster]

I touched base with InvictusDecretum 1800 and he is over 400 miles in with no major problems. I'm trying to keep Murphy occupied for time time being.

 

[wreckerman893]

I'm about 30 miles north of I-20 as the crow flies.
I don't have heavy lift capability anymore but I could help out otherwise/
twofivesixfivefivesevenoneonefoursix.

 

[biscuitwhistler37]

Well, I bought an M1078A1 LMTV from @fuzzytoaster. He has been gracious enough to allow me access to his yard, expertise, and employees to work on some major and minor things this past week. I believe it is now time for me to drive it home to NC so I cam make it back to the wife before Christmas

Hope you made it or are close to making it, merry Christmas and stay safe!

 

[fuzzytoaster]

He made it home safe yesterday. I don't want to steal his spotlight so we'll wait for his post.

 

[InvictusDecretum]

First off, I'm sorry for not updating this thread. I was really missing my wife and wanted to get home for the holidays, so I burned straight through 2 days. Thank you Fuzzy Toaster for updating them !

Secondly, thank you all for the outpouring of support ! The drive went mostly smoothly, this truck is an adventure and a half, and I can't wait to see where it brings me next !

Some issues I noted for future me to work on, some easy some not. Not in any particular order:

• Dual Tone troop alarm went off for 3hrs... Solved. Picture below
• One of two front axle breathers is broken. Extract and replace.
• Coolant leak but only when cold. The passenger side silicone boot on the trans cooler appears to be cause. Clamp tightened and no change. I lost ~1qt overnight.
• Engine oil leak. Unknown location, 5-8 drops on ground overnight. Possibly passenger side rear rocker cover (ugh). Will investigate.
• Transmission oil leak. Valve cover bolt over front output pinion on transfer case. Non-OEM bolt. Too short, unable to tighten. Requires dropping valve body... ugh.
• 3 times the Check Trans light came on. I pulled over each time and it cleared as soon as I came to a stop. D1 - 1323 (inactive, no other codes): ECU input voltage high. Could use some thoughts on that...

Some pictures below:


Fitting in at Bucees


Troop alarm wires chafed from the metal tag. The dual tone alarm went off for the last 3 hours of my first day, and I decided it was worth investigating before setting out on the second day. I used some F4 Self Fusing Silicone Tape to isolate them and had no further alarms.


Atlanta was a parking lot for 30mins




I did not know these existed



Made it home around 2300 on the 23rd

 

[Mullaney]

.
Those "Most Stuff" Oreos are amazing!

Sounds like you had a pretty good run for the house.
That troop alarm would have driven me bonkers!

Glad to know that you made it home - safe and sound!

.

 

[InvictusDecretum]

.
Those "Most Stuff" Oreos are amazing!

Sounds like you had a pretty good run for the house.
That troop alarm would have driven me bonkers!

Glad to know that you made it home - safe and sound!

.

I really couldn't hear the troop alarm with my Bose aviation headset on, or really even much with my earbuds in, as long as music was playing. It did intrude on audiobooks/podcasts though...

Before I departed I applied some hood liner to the underside of the doghouse... Didn't realize I needed two rolls to cover it all, but was able to feel a huge difference in temperature with my hand



And FLIR camera backs that up as well. The cursor is on the drivers seat cushion, just above the inboard bracket.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Transmission control unit - these don't like voltage problems. Was your voltage actually high? My truck would go into over-voltage cut-off and on two or three occasions I got an over-voltage warning from my TCU as well. It's the first thing to complain. They are also one of the more problematic modules on these trucks - especially the older trucks. They don't like jump starts and bad/dead batteries or over-voltage conditions. Definitely the first computer item on the list that you should have a spare of. My truck (2008 A1R) already had a new TCU from the previous owner and I keep a spare on hand.

My OVCO adventure:

2008 A1R with 260a charging questions

Currently has a brand new N3221 voltage regulator (2012 vintage I believe - was new in the box with papers). The truck had a 2013 regulator when I picked it up in Houston. It died about 100 miles from Portland - 2600 miles into the trip back. I put in the brand new spare and drove the last 100...

www.steelsoldiers.com

 

[aw113sgte]

Transmission control unit - these don't like voltage problems. Was your voltage actually high? My truck would go into over-voltage cut-off and on two or three occasions I got an over-voltage warning from my TCU as well. It's the first thing to complain. They are also one of the more problematic modules on these trucks - especially the older trucks. They don't like jump starts and bad/dead batteries or over-voltage conditions. Definitely the first computer item on the list that you should have a spare of. My truck (2008 A1R) already had a new TCU from the previous owner and I keep a spare on hand.

My OVCO adventure:

2008 A1R with 260a charging questions

Currently has a brand new N3221 voltage regulator (2012 vintage I believe - was new in the box with papers). The truck had a 2013 regulator when I picked it up in Houston. It died about 100 miles from Portland - 2600 miles into the trip back. I put in the brand new spare and drove the last 100...

www.steelsoldiers.com

Have a part number/NSN for that trans controller with the WTEC 4?

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Have a part number/NSN for that trans controller with the WTEC 4?

2520-01-554-9359