Towing a commercial trailer with an M-series 5-Ton

[Nonotagain]

The M915 is a lot lighter than the M916/M920 due to lack of transfer case and front drive axle. It also gets a little better fuel milage.

The M915 came with the 15 speed Cat tranny or the 5 speed Allison. While I lke the Cat the Allison is cheaper to repair and easier to get parts for.

Come on now wreckerman, the Cat transmission is a 16 speed forward and two reverse speed transmission. Get with the program.

Secondly we know that you hate CAT, both motors and transmissions cause they are Yellar as you southern boys say.

The older trucks used the Cat tranny while the newer trucks used the Allison.

I wish there were a market for the Cat 1755 transmission as they cost a ton to repair if you can find the parts, and if you can find someone that knows anything about them for repair.

 

[466Navastar]

7155 cat transmission - 16 speed

 

[Autocar]

Basically-

Buy a M818 if you want off-road capability or want the "tactical look"
Buy a M915 if you want to go fast on the highway
Buy a M915A1 if you want something easy to drive

Exactly. The M818 is too underpowered to pull my halftrack but it looks so "right". The M915A1 is much more civilized with plenty of power, but it just doesn't have the 'look'. Too plain Jane-more like a regular over-the-road truck painted green. Living here in California with the hills, I had no choice except to sell the M818 and keep the M915A1. See my thread on fabricating loading ramps for the M871 trailer to see both tractors.

 

[Bolkbich]

915's are quiet and they pull good...but...there is something about a m818 they are fairly cheap so stick a set of 290-335 injectors,pump and turbo on it they run good get a pyrometer and dont burn it up i did it for years..sorry for the small pic it was years ago

 

[Bolkbich]

at the diesel nats it ran a pavement scorching 23.00 sec@55 i think had a ton of fun and got crazy attention

 

[JBmerchantmarine]

I hope this is the correct place to post a question regarding hauling a civilian tag trailer with a 5 ton. I purchased a m929 dumptruck and am interested in purchasing a civilian tag trailer such as a 12 to 20 ton dual tandem axle trailer to tow a small 5 to 6 ton excavator and / or a bulldozer / trackloader. The truck has the super single Michelin tires on it. The truck I have is the older version that is naturally aspirated '85 model. I was wondering from most other people's experience on here is this a sound plan? Will the M929 haul the equipment trailer loaded ok? I don't envision having to move any equipment more than 40 to 50 miles from my house. Am I barking up the wrong tree here, or should I look for some other commercial type hauler?

 

[wreckerman893]

It will pull it but it won't like it. On flat land it is not too bad but hills will kill you. There is not a lot you can do to get more power from the 250 Cummins without spending a ton of money. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is what it is.

 

[wcuhillbilly]

It will pull it but it won't like it. On flat land it is not too bad but hills will kill you. There is not a lot you can do to get more power from the 250 Cummins without spending a ton of money. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is what it is.

I second Wreckerman. I do exactly what your asking with an 816 wrecker. I have added jakes, turbo, duel fuel mod, fuel button etc, i wish i had air brakes and at LEAST a 10 spd tranny. Questions,,,,, 307-282-0773 Joe
Good luck

 

[JBmerchantmarine]

I really appreciate the honest advice. I have only really used the truck around my own property so far hauling slash , stumps and loads of clay for fill. For stuff like that it is really an awesome vehicle. I took it down a couple dirt roads close to my home and like wreckerman said , the hills really bog it down without even anything in the bed. However I have seen convoys of these trucks out on the highways , mostly the tractor version pulling heavy loads , however not very fast. I would guess to a certain extent momentum is your ally on the road when hauling. I'm not really interested in speed, just want to be all legal and safe. If speed is the only drawback then then next thing to worry about I suppose is trying to pull a loaded trailer up a hill and having a train of pissed off motorists behind me. I won't be hauling very long distances either , mostly all within 40 miles. I would just hate to invest tons more money into some other truck which the only purpose would be to occasionally move a small piece of equipment.

 

[wcuhillbilly]

For instance, i live at 4500 ft elev. The 816 weighs 36,000 as it sits, my 12 ton trailer is roughly 7,000. My JD450C crawler loader/backhoe is 21,00. So just the truck with the mods will go down the road ok, untill i start to climb the 2 mile 6% grade near me, ok, empty just the truck it will climb the hill at 20-25mph in 3rd gear, mostly cause 3rd is to low and 4th is to high( i loose 1200rpm at a shift hence need for 9,10,13,15, or 18spd trans). With the dozer on the trailer (approx 65,000lbs total truck trailer dozer)and providing i get a running go at the same hill, i climb it at 10mph in 2nd gear and 200* F near 1000*F on the pyro.
I love the look of the 800 series trucks but the 900s have a definate advantage for workability and reliability. Downslope,,, lets just thank God for jakes, i dont trust the little master cylender and single pot brake system.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

I also have a JD450 crawler loader. I have pulled it within a 40 mile radius with a deuce. Trailer has air brakes and deuce was loaded with crushed concrete. She did it, but wasn't fast on the hills by any means. I have a m817 that will be taking over this duty shortly. I also rarely need to move it more than 10 miles between my place and a friends house.

Having done just what you want to do in an even more underpowered truck, I say besides hills dragging you down the m929 would be a good haul truck for what you want to do. It has full air brakes already. Plan your route to avoid the worst of the hills if possible, and if you get a long line stacked up behind you, pull off when safe and let them by. I know it sounds like I am a arse but I don't give tailgaters and a line stacked up much thought. I paid my taxes, I have just as much right to use the roads. My weighted tags mean I pay even more. So I let them by when it is safe to do so- otherwise they are just spots in my mirror. Its not like I do it doing rush hour or everyday.

 

[JBmerchantmarine]

It sounds like I might be ok, as long as speed is not my primary concern, which brings me to my next issue. I remember finding a link at one time to a adapter or converter that can be used to plug the civilian trailer into the connecter on the rear of the truck, but now I'm having trouble finding it again. I know this subject has been covered before in threads on this site , if someone could point me in the right direction again that would be most helpful. I remember also reading that you can just swap the 12 volt bulbs out on the trailer with LEDs and they will work fine with the truck's 24 volt system , is that the case?

 

[Ferroequinologist]

There are many LEDs that are multi voltage. I have a couple of the adapter boxes you are thinking of. They work off resistance so as long as the trailer is non led it works fine.

 

[JBmerchantmarine]

I definitely agree in regards to the taxes , I live in Maine everything is expensive. I was glad to hear from my local town clerk that I can go in and get a "booster" to up the weight registration for the truck on a month by month basis. And the route planning is definitely the way to go , avoiding big hills shouldn't be too big of an issue.

 

[wcuhillbilly]

Eriks surplus has some adapter plugs for about $125 that will adapt the military plug to a 5,6, or rv style trailer. The LED thing im trying to hash out now as i have no lights on my trailer even after leds and an adapter plug. There are converter boxes that do the conversion as well as the 24 to 12v deal but they are around $700. I have a simple 24 to 12 adapter wired under dash that i may splice off and run alternate relays for a set of rear lights brake and run lamps as im sure this wont be the only trailer ill have to pull. Again, some of the 900 series already have a 12 civy plug wired in

 

[4XDesign]

Lights aside, be careful if you ever move a van trailer with a military tractor. Moving a van trailer that is typical height will result in excessive height about 14'6" here is my 925 converted tractor hooked to a standard height trailer.

 

[wrenchturner6238]

Try xm381.com. I just bought a converter for around 350$

 

[M813rc]

Lights aside, be careful if you ever move a van trailer with a military tractor. Moving a van trailer that is typical height will result in excessive height about 14'6"

That's why I changed out the military 5th wheel on one of my M931s for a civilian slider unit. It was a direct bolt on swap. Dropped the plate height by close to 8" (which took my M129A4 and the TSS from 13'9-10" down to 13'1-2". The slider also allows me to tow short necked trailers like the M146 and M348 without hitting the 14.00s of the A2 on the undercarriage feet.
And it lowered the bed angle on the low boy.

Cheers

 

[JBmerchantmarine]

What about using a M989A1 trailer as an equipment hauler? Would this be a real dumb idea? I would think beyond the obvious issue of ease of loading / unloading equipment, that the next issue would be little tongue weight on the hitch , I wonder how that would affect the towing. After doing a little light reading it sounds like these trailers were meant to be pulled by the big HEMTT. I would assume towing with an m 900 series 5 ton truck that you would loose a lot of traction , sort of like trying to pull an oversized radio flyer wagon. I notice too that the trailer weight itself is a staggering 11000 plus pounds. But, it has the payload capacity I am looking for about 22,000 lbs. Anyone have any experience with these? My gut tells me that unless I'm gonna be hauling around big rocket launchers stay with a civy trailer , but these M989's look so **** cool , I'm getting excited just reading about them.

 

[BnaditCorps]

What about using a M989A1 trailer as an equipment hauler? Would this be a real dumb idea? I would think beyond the obvious issue of ease of loading / unloading equipment, that the next issue would be little tongue weight on the hitch , I wonder how that would affect the towing. After doing a little light reading it sounds like these trailers were meant to be pulled by the big HEMTT. I would assume towing with an m 900 series 5 ton truck that you would loose a lot of traction , sort of like trying to pull an oversized radio flyer wagon. I notice too that the trailer weight itself is a staggering 11000 plus pounds. But, it has the payload capacity I am looking for about 22,000 lbs. Anyone have any experience with these? My gut tells me that unless I'm gonna be hauling around big rocket launchers stay with a civy trailer , but these M989's look so **** cool , I'm getting excited just reading about them.

Well i think the issue with that trailer is the dry weight, 11k, and you will only haul it dry once in a blue moon.

Now if we take a 23,000lbs truck, an 11,000lbs trailer, and 22,000lbs of equipment on the trailer we get 56,000lbs without anything extra in the truck, tools, dirt, logs, etc.

That is a bit heavy for a 5 ton