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Thunderbird's M923A2 thread

Thunderbird

Thunderbird

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Hi Guys,

Well, it looks like I'm the winner of one of the M923A2 trucks which closed last Thursday 10/17 at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas. I mailed a bank check to GL on Friday, and since they're only 100 miles from me, I anticipate that they will switch my invoice to 'paid' either later today or tomorrow. Once that happens, I'll have to arrange to go pick up the truck. :-D

The truck itself appeared to be in really good condition, both in the photos and video on the GL website. Even looks like it has 3/4 tank of diesel left. No I haven't seen the truck in person. Yes, I realize I'm in for an adventure! Even though I'm an engineer by trade, I put myself through school driving trucks and have maintained my CDL all these years, so I might be a little ahead of the game there. Maybe not!

My plan, if all goes well, is to go pick it up Tues 10/29 and drive it back to Tucson (a distance of 420 miles from my house). I will likely fly up, cross my fingers that the Gods are smiling on me and that the planets are all aligned, and simply drive it home. I could also drive my pickup up with a bunch of tools, however, I'd have to then find someplace to put the pickup for a few days until I could fly back to get it. It would be great if I could get someone from Tucson to go with me, but my friends all have day jobs and don't really want to take the time off to go on another one of my crazy adventures... :jumpin:

I've downloaded all the TM's from the SS site. Thanks to everyone who made those possible!

All that being said, the purpose of this thread is to document my acquisition and recovery process, and then later to document any repairs or upgrades that I make to the truck.

Wish me luck!


Update Monday 10/21:
Looks like my invoice just popped to 'paid' status. That was SpeeDee! I guess it's for real now. Yikes, what have I gotten myself into?!?
 
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Gunzy

Gunzy

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Drive your pick up to Nellis and use a loading dock to put it in the back of the M923 and tie it down. I've seen that done before. The truck looks nice and the sandbags are priceless. LOL
 
M35A2-AZ

M35A2-AZ

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Man I wanted the sand bags!!! Thay may have gold coins in them....LOLIf you have trouble on your way back feel free to call. I am just west of Phoenix.PM for number if you want it.
 
Thunderbird

Thunderbird

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Gunzy said:
Drive your pick up to Nellis and use a loading dock to put it in the back of the M923 and tie it down. I've seen that done before. The truck looks nice and the sandbags are priceless. LOL
Click to expand...
If it was a normal sized pickup, I'd consider that. However, it's a Dodge Ram 3500 Quad cab Long bed lifted 4x4... You know the story. The mother of my children calls it my 'Big Stupid Redneck truck'. I wonder what she'll think when my kids tell her about the M923??:driver: Maybe she'd let me borrow her Nissan Sentra. On second thought, maybe not.
 
Thunderbird

Thunderbird

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M35A2-AZ said:
Man I wanted the sand bags!!! Thay may have gold coins in them....LOLIf you have trouble on your way back feel free to call. I am just west of Phoenix.PM for number if you want it.
Click to expand...

Haha, If they're full of gold coins I'll let you know! Maybe they're full of zombie heads? Greasy broken fan belts? Perhaps I should start a poll? Or a contest! "Guess what's really in the sandbags and win a cigar!" I'm going to be so disappointed if its just sand.

Thanks for the offer in case I break. I'll PM you shortly.
 
MtnSnow

MtnSnow

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Congrats! I am now in the process of looking forward to the next GL auction as I missed out on picking up a 5 ton from Nellis (Sorry if we ended up bidding against each other) so it looks like I will try again at the next auction with trucks I am looking at out of Barstow.
 
A

AZ Mitch

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Congratulations T bird

Congratulations T bird,
Send me a P.M. when you’re back in Tucson. I get down there every few days, and would like to hear about you load - out experience from Nellis. Are you planning on using a 15-day "drive away" permit ? [thumbzup]
 
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Thunderbird

Thunderbird

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Thoughts on loadout

Thanks all for the replies. I'll try to answer some questions about loading out, or at least post some musings...

Here's where my head is today (direction subject to change at the whim of the squirrel driving the little wire wheel up there, of course): Options!

Option 1:
I fly to Vegas, spend the night, get a cab to Nellis, pick up the truck, and drive it home (distance 425 miles). Assuming nothing goes wrong, I figure on a cost of about $600 (flight, room, cab, fuel, etc). Plus I have to take about a day and a half off work. Don't know about y'all, but right now time is my most valuable commodity. This could be a lot of fun if everything works out. It could be a disaster. Disasters get expensive in a hurry.

Option 2:
I drive my truck (loaded with tools and supplies) to Vegas. Convince my highly skeptical cousin to let me park it at her apartment for a few days. Cab to Nellis. M923 to cousin's apartment. Change all the fluids there and give it a good once-over. Drive M923 to Tucson. Fly back to Las Vegas. Cab to apartment. Drive pickup home. Total cost probably around $900. This is starting to sound like work, though, and I have to take three days away from my bill-paying job to do it. Probability of disaster, though, is reduced since I've worked on the truck before the big road trip.

Option 3:
Have it shipped. I've gotten quotes starting at $1150. One of the gentlemen on this site with a lot of experience quoted about $1400-1500. Probability of disaster = 0.0 Time taken away from work = 0.0 (Ok, maybe an hour when it gets delivered) But, cool story to tell people also = 0.0

So, is worth saving 8-900 bucks to not have to worry about anything? Is it worth all the extra work to do it myself, save a few dollars, but have some piece of mind? Should I just throw caution to the wind and go for it? Sometimes being an engineer sucks, because we can't get away from the running risk analysis that's always playing out in our brains.

Tomorrow may hold an answer for me. Tonight, the squirrel is restless... :mrgreen:
 
M35A2-AZ

M35A2-AZ

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Jon, It is always fun to pickup a truck, but If you have to fly in to get it and have no tools that would be low on the list. But do able.

Having it shipped is the safest way to get your truck. It may cost a little more but you know it will get there for that cost.
When you drive a truck you have to worry about the tires, bearings and the list goes on.

Castle Bravo and I have recovered a lot of trucks from Nellis and Barstow and have had good luck with them all.
Had to change a tire, run out of fuel and a lot of other little things.
Just do you home work on the trucks, check the truck over and drive safe.

Good luck...
 
S

Sambor

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Congrats of the new truck. I have to deal with engineers every day in the aviation industry so I know where your head is. Forget all that-- these trucks are really tough! Keep in mind that high school kids drove them, worked on them, and tried to tear them up when they were GI's. Check it over carefully, fill both tanks, carry some coolant, oil, rags, duct tape and a small tool set, and have fun. I had never drove a truck this size before, but drove mine over 200 miles to my shop when I picked it up-- sight unseen by the way. AND, most important thing-- take a good leak before you go and make sure you know how to adjust the drivers seat! If you take a passenger-- make them bring a pillow.

It's a lot of fun-- you get to look down on everything-- semis included.

John R Dunn
Weatherford Texas
 
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