PROJECT HEAVY BETTY. My 5 ton military truck

[Trike_crazy]

So I seen an old military 5 ton for sale the other day and went to take a closer look at it last weekend. It's an M51 A2 (dump truck) that has had the bed and hydraulics removed. It has the continental mulit-fuel engine in it. Stilll not sure if I should buy it or not. I've wanted one for awhile but nothing ever comes up. This needs work but its what I work on every day since I'm in the military. I'd leave it a 6x6, maybe buy a flat bed and install a hitch to pull my racecar if I don't sell it to cover the cost of this.

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[jb2wheels]

Interesting and I have no first hand experience.
How is it titled, tagged, and insured?
Seems like a lot of truck for $3500.
Aren't they slow/underpowered?
How far do you have to tow your race car?
What do you tow it with now?
Would this be tiresome to drive any distance?

[Ghostv2]

I know the 2 1/2 ton 6x6's are very popular around here, some people use them as daily drivers. Insurance is cheap since not much can hurt them lol. I'm not familiar with the dump trucks and gearing and such. I would be more comfortable around $2,500 since it's well, not even a complete truck. No dump bed. So who even knows why it was removed or the condition of the hydraulic side of it. Jump on the deuce forums and see what to look out for. That'll be your best bet on opinions. I just love the multifuel engines, some people use gasoline cut with used motor oil. Make sure it's up to date on paperwork or there is another chunk of change you'll have to fork out and time on it sitting around.

I'd rather a deuce and a half for your application if you ask me though. Since they have a 5 ton capacity on-road anyways.

[fabiodriven]

They're great trucks. 55 mph is your limit and the hitches are extremely high on military trucks so you'd have to lower it to tow. The multifuel will run on straight used engine oil or whatever you want to toss in the tank really. I used to have a deuce, wish I still did. Just run the oil through a ten micron filter and you're good to go. Get on Steel Soldiers military truck forum.

[Shep1970]

This beast was at trikefest its the only pic i have of it though. Definitely turned heads when it came through

Shep

[Trike_crazy]

I had planned on making a hitch and a bunch of other little modifications. The guy called me back and is stuck at $3500. It is the lowest priced military truck I've seen in my area in a long time. I think I'm going to jump on it and bring it home. I'd like a deuce but with the popularity of them you can't find one for a decent price. Maybe down the road I can wheel and deal this for something else that I like?

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[83ATC185]

Maybe someone can clarify but do you need a CDL to drive one since the 5 tons have air brakes? Or maybe its just commercially owned vehicles? Maybe i'm making this up in my head? LOL

I say jump on it! i wouldn't think it'd be too hard to get your money back on it. There was two sale here with a covered bed and trailer for $10,500. I doubt theyll ever get that but one of them did sell.

[90nut]

U-go motorwerks in Floyd's knob IN deals in those and the amazing unimog. Don't have much first hand experience as far as price goes. Kinda seems high, gotta factor in the tires condition, those alone will cost ya $$$

[El Camexican]

The guy called me back and is stuck at $3500.

Ask him what the "OBO" on the window means.

My ex GF's dad had one of those. He would pull it out and take nurses and doctors to work when the city was under snow. Cool as all heck, but it cost him a few bucks to keep it running.

[Trike_crazy]

Ask him what the "OBO" on the window means.

He had a trade deal lined up. He told me he'd sell it to me and hold it if I wanted it. Well I want it so I guess I'm just going to have to pay for it.... but I might slip one last offer in before cash exchanges hands...

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[fabiodriven]

Maybe someone can clarify but do you need a CDL to drive one since the 5 tons have air brakes? Or maybe its just commercially owned vehicles? Maybe i'm making this up in my head? LOL

I say jump on it! i wouldn't think it'd be too hard to get your money back on it. There was two sale here with a covered bed and trailer for $10,500. I doubt theyll ever get that but one of them did sell.

It does not have air brakes. If it's the same as the subsequent 800 series 5 ton trucks, it has air assisted hydraulic brakes. As far as needing a CDL, it would depend on how it's registered and what it's going to be used for. The short answer is no, you do not need a CDL.

[Trike_crazy]

It does not have air brakes. If it's the same as the subsequent 800 series 5 ton trucks, it has air assisted hydraulic brakes. As far as needing a CDL, it would depend on how it's registered and what it's going to be used for. The short answer is no, you do not need a CDL.

This is air over hydraulic brakes. Once I track down some of the paperwork to get it legal I'm just going to see about getting Indiana Historic Vehicle plates and take it to trikefest for the hell of it. I know the old crewcab isn't liking the yearly trip to Haspin especially going up the hill at the entrance.

When I talked with the seller he told me that he would do some of the maintenance to it like changing the oil and filters. Some of the other stuff I might be able to call in some favors from the other shops in the state and get their old stock they no longer use. Manuals are easily found online or in paperback so I can make sure everything is good.

The biggest issue to me is the 2nd fuel tank isn't working or hooked up (not sure which). I want to use one tank as a diesel tank and the other as a waste oil tank. As long as I can prefilter the used oil before it hits the tank and not get any water in it I should be ok. Once I get the spin on filter conversion done I can keep a few extra filters in the truck if they get plugged by the oil.


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[83ATC185]

ahh cool i was thinking the 5 ton trucks were different than the dueces, that's good to know!

[Herboso]

We drove those in the Army as a Combat Engineers. They were our main means of transportation before we went mechanized. The dump bed had a canopy cover similar to the deuces. We hauled our equipment and personnel in the back. I remember sitting on a pile of duffel bags and enjoying the scenery of S. Korea through the back. Those things will last forever if maintained. Our trucks were all 40+ yro. I have no idea what maintenance costs or parts availability or costs are. Would be a fun project and conversation starter to drive one around. Good luck and enjoy.

[coolpool]

Not quite the 5 ton I used to operate but the same basic unit. That price seems fine by me and since you're used to working on military gear already you could pull this off. The multi-fuel engine is waaay out of my area of expertise as all our Canadian ones had a 250 Cummins w/jakes. As fabio mentioned, steelsoldiers.com will be your friend. The brakes work great when maintained but the air-pack can be pricy to rebuild if needed. It's easy to leave the park brake on and drive away, been there, done that. I remember they tended to get a lot of axle seal leaks and pinion seal leaks; but that could have been coincidence in ones I drove. Make sure the t-case slides in and out smoothly and stays in hi or lo when driving. The t-case can pop out of gear if you hit bumps since this thing will spend a lot of time with its ass in the air with the spring suspension and bias ply tires, lol. And to make matters worse, the dump version is a bit shorter than the cargo variant; and it may have extra springs! You'll also have 24V electrical which will have to converted or your trailer converted. Now, you could put a 5th wheel on it to make it a tractor?

Did I mention it's going to ride like a hardtail Honda, lol.