I felt this fits this thread better than any ongoing one despite not being a 10 ton exactly. Same purpose, right?
After replacing all the tires, fixing wiring issues, broken air lines, and PMCS over the past few weeks the M1070 HET made its first long drive today for the Metal of Honor Parade in Gainesville, TX. She performed flawlessly on the 120-ish mile round trip. 45 mph tops of course, and she held it the whole way and may complete with a M123 for lowest MPG.
I filled the tanks the day prior and had 4 people approach me to talk about the truck. It helped soften the sting of the fuel purchase.
Just like the Army, we had to leave early Saturday morning to get to the convoy rally point to be escorted by police up to the parade grounds. So leaving at 0530 made sure we arrived at 0830 and ready by 1000. Something-something formation 15 minutes prior to.. you know the rest if you've been there.
View attachment 846340
We had 4 living Metal of Honor recipients arrive and were escorted in the parade. The vehicle turn out exceeded expectation with over 20 MVs in attendance. Most were jeep variants up to Mutts and we had a sprinkled variety of WWII pieces there including: M20, M4, WC's, etc. A M923, M109A4, and the M1070 were the only in attendance dating to the modern era of vehicles. Overall the parade was managed well and the crowd attendance was strong. Many other non-MV groups were in attendance too but we took point carrying the MoH guests.
View attachment 846342
The HET was a surprisingly smooth ride as well as quiet. It's more maneuverable than the HEMTTS I've had and that Detroit loves to scream. Foot to the floor and let the computer manage the rest. Having no load on the rear makes fast shifting a little problematic with the torque converter locking/unlocking between gears but that's remedied by finding her rpm sweet spot on the high end and just driving it like you stole it. I've still got little fixes to do and CTIS components to source. One day she will get painted and made nice-r.