The 10 ton mack M125

[123mack]

Prime mover for the 8 inch howitzer. A chain hoist was used to lift the trails and attach them to a special coupler to the rear of the truck. Those two items, along with a divat which mounted on the bed were part of the BII. The gun crew rode in the truck.

 

[houdel]

According to Doyle, the M125s were designed as prime movers for towed 155mm guns and 8" howitzers. Only 552 were built as the Army converted to self propelled artillery and the prime movers were no longer needed.

Dirt71 - what is the size of your garage doors? I just bought the Highpoint M125 with a M816 wrecker body. I am about to build a garage to house my green iron, and I want to make sure the doors are big enough. I am currently planning on three 10'w x 12' h doors.

 

[M1075]

I am about to build a garage to house my green iron, and I want to make sure the doors are big enough. I am currently planning on three 10'w x 12' h doors.

I don't think you will like the 10x12 doors, especially if you are going to have an M125. My shop has 12x14 doors. Just about everthing can fit in.

 

[m.walker]

It's cool , looking at it on the trailer gives people that have never seen one a better idea as to its actual size !

 

[ida34]

Any idea on what piece Kenny? By the time I was in artillery the biggest towed gun was the one I was on. The M198 and it was towed by 900 series five tons.

 

[rdixiemiller]

10 ton cargoes are really scarce! I hope a collector buys the other!
If I win the lottery........

 

[Dirt71]

Sorry Bruce, for me driving this truck is the funnest part. and you are right shifting gears is an art. I find it easier to use the clutch just to take off and stop and shift gears with out it by getting the rpm's in the right range, works well for me.

by the way my door is 10x10. I would go with something at least 14 ft wide and 12 feet tall, so you don't have to pull the mirrors in, I even have to pull the mirrors in on the 5 ton to get in the door.

 

[littlebob]

10 ton cargoes are really scarce! I hope a collector buys the other!
If I win the lottery........

Unless I win it first!
Everbody asks what I'm going to do with the Deuce, I still haven't figuiered out what I could do with the ten ton, but would love to have the time and money to figure it out.
littlebob

 

[houdel]

.... you are right shifting gears is an art. I find it easier to use the clutch just to take off and stop and shift gears with out it by getting the rpm's in the right range, works well for me.

I had to do the same thing on my old 4 speed Camaro when the clutch blew. I couldn't get the pressure plate to release when I pushed in the clutch pedal. So at a stop I'd have to turn the engine off and shift the trans into first. Then I'd start up the engine and get the car moving, then lightly back off the throttle to get out of gear, then back off some more while shifting to the next higher gear until I could feel the trans slipping into the next gear. Then accelerate & repeat the process until I got into first, then do it all over again at the next stop. Fortunately I was in a rural area at the time, that would have been a bear to do in in city traffic!

You are right, properly shifting a manual transmission is rapidly becoming a lost art. My fire department had all auto trans trucks except for one old tanker with a crash box that we "inherited" when we took over a neighboring FD. There were only about three of us (out of 30 some firefighters) who could drive that truck, even though quite a few of our members could drive a synchronized manual trans.

 

[jblack6527]

Wow! That's a big MOFO..

 

[maddawg308]

Any idea on what piece Kenny? By the time I was in artillery the biggest towed gun was the one I was on. The M198 and it was towed by 900 series five tons.

The primary howitzer that was towed by the M125 10-ton cargo truck was the M115 8-inch howitzer. It served during WWII through the early 1960s, but was effectively replaced by the M107 175-mm self-propelled howitzer and its 8-inch counterpart, the M110. The M125 cargo truck also could tow the M1 8-inch howitzer and M1 240mm howtizer (two beasts, slightly different calibers), but these pieces were, for the most part, retired by the time the M125 was built in the late 1950s.

Here's a pic of the M115 8-inch howitzer that was the primary towed load of the truck:

 

[ida34]

.... you are right shifting gears is an art. I find it easier to use the clutch just to take off and stop and shift gears with out it by getting the rpm's in the right range, works well for me.

I had to do the same thing on my old 4 speed Camaro when the clutch blew. I couldn't get the pressure plate to release when I pushed in the clutch pedal. So at a stop I'd have to turn the engine off and shift the trans into first. Then I'd start up the engine and get the car moving, then lightly back off the throttle to get out of gear, then back off some more while shifting to the next higher gear until I could feel the trans slipping into the next gear. Then accelerate & repeat the process until I got into first, then do it all over again at the next stop. Fortunately I was in a rural area at the time, that would have been a bear to do in in city traffic!

I had the same thing happen on a trip in my Beretta with the family. We were about 30 miles from our destination but a week later I had to drive it about 550 miles home like that.

 

[joec]

well if each member donated $3.00 it would pay for the truck to get purchased ,hauled and some restoring done!

 

[Dirt71]

I told the wife, A man can't just have one 10 ton. I have been talking to Kevin Emdee for about a year about this truck so it showed up last Friday It's not in near as good as shape as the first one the cab is completely rotted out and the engine is locked up as it was sitting outside at a museum in New Hampshire for god knows how long and Kevin has had it parked in his yard for about 12 years. But Kevin had a brand new engine in the crate that came with the truck. When I get through painting the other truck I plan on doing a complete frame up restoration of this truck. Kevin also sent with the truck a brand new N.O.S. gauge cluster for a 10 ton that had never been mounted, that is dated on the back 1958. But it is going to be a little while before I get started on this project.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Wow!

 

[clinto]

How is the 10 ton cluster different from a standard Reo cluster?

Oh, congrats!

 

[dc3coyote]

WAIT, what you got 2 now,
I hope you dont mind visitors I wanna see them
I may have to bring one of my Dueces just to show a size comaprision

 

[Dirt71]

Stop by any time!!

 

[jwaller]

it looks like you got the hitch you have been wanting.

 

[Alredneck]

Man thats a insane rig