XM-211 Dump (first MV for me!)

[Danger Ranger]

Ready for that Ford now???

Sell that chitty chevy and just drive Tonka. It will do anything that GovMotor stuff can. You can even change over your lights and stuff...

 

[Tplane37]

I doubt I'll sell Tiny at any point, but that's not to say that I won't put her over onto a bobbed (or not bobbed) deuce with a modified Cummins 6BT, an Eaton 9 spd., and 385's... keeping the body and the main interior while ditching all the useless electronics in the truck. But I will not own a Ford, I am trying to get away from working on my trucks as a necessity all the time, not trying to work on them more!

And the more I look around researching Tonka, the more I am becoming obsessed with the M211 series of trucks, even have a Crew Cab version and a Suburban replacement version envisioned on my "wishlist" keeping the same lines from the cab forward and building the back half wish upgraded interiors... but I have to convince the wife that she likes driving a M211 first, that might be the tricky part (until all the guys at the rodeos drool over her even more when she pulls up in Tonka! LOL).

 

[Section8]

Eaton 9 speed ooooooooooh! I like! Still searching for my tranny!

 

[Tplane37]

Okay, Suburban is FINALLY done and Tonka is back in the barn so I can get back to what I was doing...What was I doing? Oh yeah, the wheel cylinders and brake lines. Anyone need pictures of anything while I am in there? I'll be taking some anyway, but if anyone wants specific pictures inside the brake drum, let me know and I'll snag some.

 

[Tplane37]

Tonka is for sale. Unfortunately.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?100085-1952-XM-211-Hardtop-Dump&p=1277840#post1277840

 

[Danger Ranger]

Why? Thought she was working great for you hauling rock or something.

 

[Tplane37]

It has to do with custody of my son. Tonka isn't road worthy yet, especially not enough for the 400+ mile trip. I don't have a trailer big enough to get her home to Illinois from Ohio, and Tiny can't sagely drive the trip right now either... So Tiny might be occupying my trailer, and our Suburban is only a half ton. If the front end was right on Tiny, and I had a stout enough trailer, I'd tow her to Illinois with me. But I had to make a judgement call. Tonka can be replaced, my son cannot.

If no one buys her or can provide potentially long term storage in Northeast Ohio, I am going to try to figure out funding to transport Tonka. But in the end, I may have to scrap her or figure out a quick and creative way to convert Tonka into a trailer to tow her to Illinois in multiple pieces. I really want to avoid scrapping her if at all possible. But the deadline is roughly Memorial Day 2013.

 

[drgreg]

I hope you find a solution, that is a fun truck. Here is some fun we had with them: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?37907-Racing-the-Deuce&highlight=racing+the+deuce

Here is a picture of my (the original) Tonka.

 

[Danger Ranger]

Do not scrap that truck. Its not even a funny threat. There are ways of transportation well worth it before that end. I am sorry to hear it has come to this, there is no question that you should tend to your son. If you are out of options by your deadline, I may be able to find some form of storage. But this would be last resort.

 

[Tplane37]

Do not scrap that truck. Its not even a funny threat. There are ways of transportation well worth it before that end. I am sorry to hear it has come to this, there is no question that you should tend to your son. If you are out of options by your deadline, I may be able to find some form of storage. But this would be last resort.

Thanks, I will keep that in mind as a last resort. Like I said, scrapping it is my very last option. I have saved dozens of old cars and trucks from the scrap yards in my life, and I have only taken one classic truck to the scrap heap (after removing anything and everything that could have potentially been used or rebuilt by someone... that ol' dog really was a goner). I still cringe every time I recall taking that one old truck to scrap. So needless to say, I will entertain any and all other possibilities of saving her first.

SS is the only place I have her for sale, and I will accept no less than about double the scrap value to ensure she goes to someone who actually wants her to keep around. This will rule out the "scrapper" trying to get a hold of her. Even though I am heading to Illinois this weekend (tentatively), my other half will be here at the farm until spring. She's going to get things ready here in Ohio to move, and I am going to be getting things ready in Illinois. So there is time. If Tonka sells, she will only go to a Steel Soldiers member.

@drgreg or @hendersond: Wisconsin wouldn't be to bad of a haul from Central IL (compared to some other state in the country!). Do either of you guys have a trailer, that can be pulled behind a M220, that will handle Tonka? And can be rented/borrowed for the trip this Spring? (With air over hydraulic brakes and hook ups on the trailer preferably.) I stumbled on a '56 M220 a couple hours away from where I am going to be in Illinois. I have much better equipped facilities in Illinois, I might consider buying the second Jimmy to fix up for the purpose of towing Tonka home. (Pictures attached - was used by a fire department in Missouri up until the day it was parked, ran and drove when parked, seller says he can make it drivable/running if bought for asking price or "the right deal.")

EDIT: RE: 1956 M220 Shop Van (Firetruck) - The brakes were completely rebuilt about 4 years ago and the gas tank was boiled, pressure tested, and relined at that time. been sitting since soon after all the rework was done. It was the previous owner who did all the work and drove it in parades. The current owner rarely used it and it has been sitting out back (I guess its another case of "Wow! Cool! I'll take it!" And then getting it home and saying to self "Now what?") Was being driven in parades after the rebuilds. He went out to start it in November and it would not start. Probably bad gas from sitting. The guy is checking on the pintle hitch and air hook up out back when he gets home today. We will likely meet up sometime after Christmas to see the truck in person. Comes with more than a bed full of "spare parts." He is supposed to send me more pictures soon.

 

[Danger Ranger]

That could be fun....the firetruck box would make an awesome service body...

 

[drgreg]

I do have a "civi" 14 ton tag trailer that I pull with my Kodiak dump truck, but any MV that is too far for a tow-bar I have hauled. By the time I add up the costs, having stuff hauled looks like a great option (unless I'm doing it for the thrills, like recovering trucks from GL).

 

[Tplane37]

Okay folks, your blockade against me appears to have worked. I am in the process of gathering parts for my trailer build to get Tonka home to Illinois from Ohio. My plan is to design and build a 24k lbs trailer that will carry a deuce, designed to be towed behind Tonka. At the same time, I need to modify a Chevy Dually to be able to accept the lunette eye on the trailer. So here are a couple of questions, if you guys could be so kind.

(1) What size Lunette ring do I need on the trailer to hook up to a stock M211 (Tonka)? Are they the 3" such as these http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Coupler/Holland/1385.html ?
(2) Where can I find a Pintle hitch that I can bolt to a plate the will be welded on the back of the Chevy Dually? (Stock hitch off of M211 possibly?). I like the fact that the Pintle "spins" on Tonka, the trailer end will be mounted rigid.
(3) "hendersond" What is the measurement of your yellow shop truck from the ground to the highest point? I need to set the ride height of this trailer to clear overpasses, and want to be able to fit the shop trucks on it too (I hope).

I am building this trailer, primarily, from the 24k lbs blueprints from Northern Tool, because of the weight, I have to have the trailer inspected in Illinois before it gets titled... so I will be over building it and adding a third axle that can be "singled out" when I don't need it. I initially wanted to build a gooseneck trailer, but then I considered the capacity of the trailer and would like to be able to pull it behind Tonka, and the thought of putting a gooseneck hitch in a dump truck makes my head spin, so a bit of "re-engineering" is being done with the blueprints in hand. My dad is getting prints for a different trailer that he wants to built (once I showed him that blueprints existed online with DOT approved drawings for a fair price).

 

[Danger Ranger]

My dad has a custom pintle for a 2" reciever hitch. I don't know when you will be back in Ohio, but if you took care of getting it and getting it back to us, I am pretty sure I could lend it to you. We don't use it hardly at all anymore (trailer is too big).

They sell pintles for pickups, but maybe I am not reading your plan correctly...

Good luck on the trailer build. I am glad you decided to go this route.

 

[Tplane37]

My dad has a custom pintle for a 2" reciever hitch. I don't know when you will be back in Ohio, but if you took care of getting it and getting it back to us, I am pretty sure I could lend it to you. We don't use it hardly at all anymore (trailer is too big).

They sell pintles for pickups, but maybe I am not reading your plan correctly...

Good luck on the trailer build. I am glad you decided to go this route.

Thank you for the offer and I will keep it in mind. I am looking at a set of blueprints for a 32 ft 24k lb gooseneck trailer from Northern Tool. I am trying to figure out if I want to build it as a pintle trailer instead, but that all depends on what material the blueprints call for. I have a few triple axle mobile home frames here in Illinois that I can use for parts and nearly a dozen axles to choose from. But I don't know if the I-Beams on the trailers I have access to will match up to the DOT Approved prints. Because of how much weight I will be hauling on the trailer, I will likely have to have the trailer inspected here in Illinois after it's built, but before I can title it. So I am still researching how much I can vary from the prints. At the same time, this trailer will be towed primarily with the dually I am looking to pick up this week, but want to be able to pull it with Tonka on heavier loads, so I want the lunette eye on the trailer to match the stock pintle on Tonka, and for the pintle on the dually to match said lunette eye... again, this all depends on if I can vary from the prints and still pass inspection (switching from the gooseneck design in the prints to the pintle hitch I desire).

All in all, I am still in the research stages and parts gathering. I will be posting pictures up as I build once the build starts, because in the end, I am hoping to haul for S.S. members and whatever else I can get on this trailer to make a buck. Businesses aren't hiring, so I am trying to figure out how to get by on my own until the job market comes back around... (in about 4 years).

 

[m1010plowboy]

Trailer hitch G749

That all sounds like good news that will keep you busy for a few minutes. It'll be nice to see that truck again.

We bought a double double trailer back in 07' and it pulls ok behind the dually, but just ok. Big trailers like these should have a deuce or tandem in front of them.

Fabricating a civi hitch on the Deuce is one of the upgrades I want to do. By adding a civilian 2" receiver on the Deuce we can slide in any type of receivers and pull the 'ball' style trailers as well as the pintles.
All our trucks have a hitch height of 21" and all trailers are set up to run level, loaded at that height.

The Original Pintle on the Deuce is real high so adding a Civi hitch on the Deuce the same height as your dually, might be the easiest way to go. Even with the set-up in the picture below, the trailer sits high so the truck hitch is not in a direct line with the receiver which 'does' have an affect on the way it handles.

This trailer has a 3" ring and I believe the trailer is rated around 23,000lbs. I have no idea if that will work
with the weights you're talking about but it sounds like you've already done your homework.

Good to see that beast back on the screen.

 

[Tplane37]

C30 tow vehicle

Below are pictures of what I am working with on the dually. It has the 6.2L NA Detroit, and a TH400 in it at the moment. My dad wants the transmission and I want overdrive, so he is going to trade me a heavy duty/built 700R4 with the proper shift points for a diesel for my TH400 that's in the truck. It only has 95k miles on it, so its not even broke in yet, and the plush seats should take care of the lack of padding I have in my hind-end for the long halls.

I am looking to see what kind of bracing is behind the diamond plating on the rear of the flat bed, what I have in mind is to literally mimic what is on Tonka (I reposted a picture of Tonka's pintle for reference). The idea is to weld in a heavy C-Channel of the same dimensions as the C30's frame, and attach the pintle and D-Rings in the same configuration as the M211's. This should give me some extra height on the trailer tongue. In addition, the lunette would be adjustable, using the lowest setting for the C30, and the highest bolt pattern for Tonka. Of course, this is dependent on how much difference there is between the two patterns, I have the "draw bar" (lunette eye) measurements from the M101/M103/M105 TM to reference for Tonka's pintle height, and I will have the C30 available for those measurements. My hopes are to be able to keep the trailer level no matter what I haul.

I will also be looking to reenforce the standard receiver hitch that is built into the flat bed... just in case. The C30 already has a gooseneck hitch in it recessed below the steel plat you can see in the pictures, this means I can haul pallets and hay, and whatever else needs to lay flat on the bed. I have not yet figured out exactly what benefits fabbing in a tandem "dead axle" would do for the C30 (think of the opening scenes on Fast and Furious 4), but I feel it could be an option down the road if I find that it would be beneficial and economical (e.g. added fuel costs and tires). I'm not going to add a tandem axle to the C30 just to "look cool," it will have to have a noticeable benefit for me to go through that effort.

Anyway, seeing what I have to work with may help you guys envision this project to get my projects home to Illinois while serving the dual purpose of being another transport guy for the forum here and one of the others I belong to. In using the TM's for the M211, it would appear that if I can keep my deck height at about 2' 6" and I am aiming to keep it a flat bed (haven't decided on the beaver tail yet, I'll make that up as I go), I should be able to haul any of the Jimmy's and most likely any of the M35 series...or trailers, pallets, beds, parts, etc. ... no 5 Ton's at this time.

Hope the pictures help.

 

[Robo McDuff]

If you have them or have time, could you post some pics on how the hydraulics for the dump bed work on Tonka (I like that name). From the second picture on your first post, it almost looks like part of a container hoist system. There is a thread on swappable dump beds and although your system would not fit here, I would like to see how they set this up.

I hope you can hang on to her (or both now including the fire truck) seems like a good project (but your son always has priority). Would be nice though, having both trucks standing next to each other.