The Amazing Fording Capabillities of the USMC 7 ton MTVR!

[M920]

I must say, I'm very impressed with the AMAZING fording capabillities of the US Army's FMTVs!!!!

NOT SO MUCH WITH THE CAPABILLITIES OF THE OPERATORS BRAINS THOUGH....

See attached video to be in awe.....

http://youtu.be/FnT7thvsPM4

 

[maddawg308]

Ah jarhead Privates. Without them, we'd have more money in the DoD's bank account, as we wouldn't have to spend it fixing gear that wouldn't have been destroyed by stupidity.

Hope noone drowned here. Can't say so much for that engine, though.

 

[M920]

Ah jarhead Privates. Without them, we'd have more money in the DoD's bank account, as we wouldn't have to spend it fixing gear that wouldn't have been destroyed by stupidity.

Hope noone drowned here. Can't say so much for that engine, though.

I owe the USMC an appology....on closer inspection I noticed that they are actually FMTVs.....SORRY!

 

[998Junkie]

I owe the USMC an appology....on closer inspection I noticed that they are actually FMTVs.....SORRY!

LOL...because we know Pvt. Jarhead would have made it to the other side.

 

[maddawg308]

It IS a neat video, showing the capabilities of the truck (MTVR or FMTV, regardless they're pretty capable), what ticks me off is that the drivers ASSUME that the water is shallow enough for their trucks to go down the street without drafting water. Stupidity and ignorance is a trait that is discouraged, regardless of which branch you are in. Especially if they were Marines (after all, Marines have a bad enough reputation without adding insult to injury).

JK, it's the Army coming out in me, nothing personal against Marines, just friendly rivalry...

 

[gimpyrobb]

Nice video, even if this is the 4th posting of it.

 

[M920]

Nice video, even if this is the 4th posting of it.

Sorry Gimp, I did search for it several different ways and did not see it.... hmmm, just shows how much I know about "operating" computers....

 

[quickfarms]

The marines are smart enough to use a trac when the get real deep

 

[M920]

The marines are smart enough to use a trac when the get real deep

Well....as a former Army truck driver, I guess I just automatically assumed that it was the Marines....it looked like an "amphibious landing" to me.....Well, sort of....

 

[budman67]

A question here as I don't know the answer,if this was not a road and an unknown area,
what would be the correct procedure?

 

[gimpyrobb]

No worrys man. You have to wonder what they were thinking...

 

[KsM715]

A question here as I don't know the answer,if this was not a road and an unknown area,
what would be the correct procedure?

Stop and find another route.

 

[M920]

A question here as I don't know the answer,if this was not a road and an unknown area,
what would be the correct procedure?

Well, IT IS ACTUALLY A ROAD here! It dips in to a railroad underpass and the water is therefore much deeper there, then in the surrounding area!

As to the correct procedure; there are so many violations here, I'm not sure where to start.

The first and most important rule is:

NEVER DRIVE IN TO A BODY OF WATER, THAT DOES NOT CLEARLY LET YOU IDENTIFY IT"S DEPTH AND THE CONDITION OF THE SUBMERGED SURFACE!!!!!

This being very hard to comply with in murky, flooded areas, it would rule out 90% of flood water crossings from being attempted!
And remember, even when driving on a road that you are familiar with, if it is submerged, you can still get yourself in trouble because the flood waters might have washed out the road beneath the waters surface!

The crew in this video should have at least known to stop, when the water started to reach the bottom of the windshield, NOT THE TOP!!

They should have also realized that the flood waters in the underpass were to deep for their trucks by observing how little clearance was left between the bottom of the overpass and the waters surface!

If you absolutely have to attempt a crossing like this in an emergency, the smart thing to do is to have ONE truck slowly EASE in to the flooded area, while the other truck stands by to assist if necessary. If available, the first truck can attach a tow cable behind it that is already tethered to the second truck. This will allow the second truck to help retrieve the first truck, if it were to get in to trouble.

Just remember: Driving through flooded areas is one of the most dangerous things you can do in your car or truck and should be avoided if all possible!! BE SMART AND STAY ALIVE!!!

 

[maddawg308]

Since this isn't an operation while under fire, you can afford the time to do it right. Send a crew out in a boat, with a depth ruler (or stick) to ascertain how deep the water is, or if the water is moving too fast. If it's higher than the bottom of the windshield on the FMTV, bring BOATS, not TRUCKS. This might seem a little shallow considering, but you also might have sunken obstacles like cars or logs, that you can't see from the surface, that may snag up your truck as well.

Bottom line is, the drivers in the video took an awful chance there wasn't a ditch, sunken car, knocked over fence or tree that might've made matters worse. COMMON SENSE is important in these cases, unfortunately, 1 EA SENSE, COMMON, NSN 0000-00-000-0001, is no longer issued to troops in this day and age.

 

[budman67]

Thanks guys, I had no plans for going higher than the fenders.
Just curios from watching the SS 2010 Florida summer rally.

 

[TehTDK]

Hmm I have seen that clip before and when I did it was listed as the National Guard and actually not the US Army/Marines

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X79gNYpYO3k[/youtube]

That is the same video as the one that was posted, albeit runs for 3 minutes and labels those trucks as being driven by national guard personel....

 

[M920]

Hmm I have seen that clip before and when I did it was listed as the National Guard and actually not the US Army/Marines

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X79gNYpYO3k[/youtube]

That is the same video as the one that was posted, albeit runs for 3 minutes and labels those trucks as being driven by national guard personel....

Well.... THAT IS GREAT NEWS!!!!! hahah...... Thanks for propperly "PROOFING" that it is all the NATIONAL GUARD!!! lol