CUCV Roadtrip Today

So today I took a little 726 mile ride in the "Bucket of Bolts" SECM with the trailer salad in tow. Transported personal items from S FL to my N GA retirement home. The SECM was converted from an M1008 and I don't know where to start on the trailer. Let's say it was purpose built from stuff I had given to me. Both worked flawlessly. Pic order is unknown. One is of the truck in my back yard, another at a fuel stop and another of my GPS. Note cruising speed and top speed. I'm digging the 4.10 gears.

That whole unit just looks solid, beefy, how does it ride? My dually pounds the heck out of me but our frost heaving roads don't help.
I like the fuel cost. $0.00. Sounds like the price we're getting for Alberta premium crude.

Can you tell us about the fancy gauge and how you wired it in? You kids and your technology is tough keeping up with.

The truck is heavy, around 9000#. When I put the cab and chassis rear in I installed an add a leaf as well. Even with the add a leaf, it rides better than an empty pickup. There are some stretches of concrete freeway that tax comfort.
That fancy gauge is a used Garmin GPS I bought off eBay for $20. Plugs into the self installed cigar lighter. It's my poor man speedo. Young? Haha, retiring in a few months.

What size tires are you running in the rear ?
Are you using stock gm dually wheels with factory spacer between them ?
Build thread on truck ?

Tires are stock size 235/85R16. Factory dually wheels with no spacers. When I put the Duratracs on the back, I may need 1/4 inch spacer as the side bars might touch. The rear is the narrow cab/chassis one.
I should probably do a thread on some of the stuff I've done, it's quite unique but it's far from pretty.

Thanks for the info.
Im planning on the cc axle swap also.
From all the dually secm trucks I've seen, they have a small spacer between the wheels (for clearance).
Im considering the 255's all around with small lift.
I also have a large rear sway bar (from a p30 RV) that I would like to use.
Anything you recommend or would do different ?

You'll have to schedule another trip to take crap to N. Ga in May so you can come on up to the Findlay rally!

I will be living here by fall. Woohoo! May can't work this year at all but maybe next.

86, I had 255/85R16s on an 86K30. Inner wheels were stock steel and outters were Alco rims. No rubbing at all. I had planned on 255s for my other truck. (Also CC rear) but might have had issues with this truck. I'm fine with the 235s and completely impressed with the Duratracs. As far as do different, no, I'm pretty happy with it as is. I need to study the swaybars deal. Ive always wanted one on my M1010.

gimpyrobb said:

You'll have to schedule another trip to take crap to N. Ga in May so you can come on up to the Findlay rally!

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Is that a MV rally I am just south of I20 in east Alabama.

Findlay is a rally in northern OH.

Recovry4x4 said:

Findlay is a rally in northern OH.

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Gotcha I don't think Gunny is ready for that far of a drive yet. He will be next year hopefully.

I'm back in the South again. My average moving speed for the 723 mile ride back to FL was 64.7 MPH. The trip south was largely uneventful. The truck ran magnificently. Little over 1500 miles with the trip up and back and running around in GA. Very pleased with the 4.10 gear change.

I have a set of 4:10 geared one ton axles for an eventual build of my 1009. Kenny I hope you have to make fewer of these round trips than I did! The big move is in a couple weeks.

I should have a couple of more. I'm disposing of a ton of stuff and one of my 3 CUCVs is already in place. One bedroom suite is going but that is all in the furniture Dept. I may need to o do a small uhaul van and that is it. Your road to the south was much more daunting.

I'm really glad it's working great for you. I hope you have a ton more uneventful miles. 10 out of 20 is about a 50% average on this page if this new math hasn't changed in the last forty years since I was a math major in colledge. Somewhat better than I would of expected. But still every vehical manufacturer on this planet would be having a major recall with 1/10 of those kind of odds. feels kinda like rain up here. ps.. I'm not a moderator or a troll, just making a usefull observation. John

10 out of 20 what John?

Recovry4x4 said:

10 out of 20 what John?

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{quote by recovery4x4} The thread will not be closed because of opposing ideas. Healthy debate may help others in the future. I think referring to any member who offers an opposing view as a troll is unjust. Just because a member starts a thread doesn't mean he moderates it. John, by all means, follow your heart and do the swap if you wish. There are plenty of daily driver, stock CUCVs here to illustrate that they are as dependable as any mechanical vehicle. Yes, I am a moderator. 10 out of 20 posts about trouble with CUCVs. I didn't count all of the off the wall posts like batman verses superman ect. , or the true odds would have been much higher than 50% (dependable versus undependable) these are great trucks, & I love them, but they are made with 35 year old technology that has been converted to Korean war era technology so our fine men & women in green could use the equiptment on hand & have it be interchangeable with their existing equiptment. That hardly makes them as dependable as any other mechanical vehical on the road . No I'm not a moderator, but was lucky enough to be born with a just a little common sense & after 40 some years of driving 4wd chevy trucks, I've come to realize whats dependable daily driven trucks & what is not. This was just meant as an opposing view & a healthy debate, hopefully helping others in the future. John

I must have missed a meeting somewhere? I don't understand where JUNKYARDJOHN came out of nowhere with the "dissent"? If the point is to say that the trucks are junk because 10 out of 20 posts are problems,well....... That is typical of any forum unless you are in the customization threads. Not too many people post "I had no problems today, truck started drive and stopped just like its supposed to" that would be like sitting at a Dr office and assuming every person in the world is deathly ill because everyone in the Dr office is. Unless I missed posts that are gone?

wheelspinner said:

I must have missed a meeting somewhere? I don't understand where JUNKYARDJOHN came out of nowhere with the "dissent"? If the point is to say that the trucks are junk because 10 out of 20 posts are problems,well....... That is typical of any forum unless you are in the customization threads. Not too many people post "I had no problems today, truck started drive and stopped just like its supposed to" that would be like sitting at a Dr office and assuming every person in the world is deathly ill because everyone in the Dr office is. Unless I missed posts that are gone?

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NO don't get me wrong. As I stated "I love my trucks". They just need a few upgrades to be dependable, daily driven drivers that you can count on 99.9999% of the time, & in their stock configuration.... they are not. In my opinion anyone who claims that they are, are either the luckiest person in the world or making an incorrect statement. I never said anything about junk or dr.s offices. calm down. John

To help everyone understand, John brought over some stuff from this thread. http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showth...2-volt-amp-painless-wiring-harness&highlight=.

As far as dependability, I think it is unfair to categorize all stock CUCVs are being undependable. Luck has little to do with it as well. The truck I drove on this journey has 121,000 miles on it. They sure didn't get there on the back of a wrecker. If one can't get a CUCV to be dependable, they either need to reconfigure it to a platform they understand or consider another vehicle. There is nothing on these trucks that are rocket science. Many mock the electrical system but it's really quite ingenuous if you understand it. In my life I have blown up a ton more small blocks and big blocks than I have 6.2 diesels. I've also experienced many more dependability issues from carburetors than injection pumps. So in closing, I'm certainly not the most lucky person in the world and can document that the dependability of my trucks is not an incorrect statement. I just know how they work and maintain them in a state of readiness.