M35+S-280 vs M109 inside and outside dimensions

Just thinking about M109's..

The M35 with an S-280 is about 12Ft tall outside.
How does the M109 compare?

also, the S-280 gives you abot 6.5FT height, 6.5FT width, and about 12FT length inside. I think the M109 has quite a bit more room.

On bed width vs M109 body width, I'm wondering how that compares. I did not find a transportability manual.

Has anyone put 395R20's on an M109? - woindering also about clearance under the body.

weight? - don't know, but the S-280 is not exactly light either.

lastly, there is one model with a huge lift gate.. that would be interesting to know more about.

The M820A2 is the lift gate model of expansible van trucks, and it is based on the M809 series 5 tons. The "A2" is the lift gate designator.



I will be able to get more accurate M109 dimensions soon...

if it wouldnt of been raining today 54 i woulda got you them measurements and pics

i think the 109 is bigger also

weight. 109 is about 4k# and is just as wide as a cargo bed.

No worries grounded....

Will be raining here by Saturday, it does tend to shut things down a bit.

The dimensions are on here somewhere. I searched / compared before buying my M109. Sorry I don't have a link.

M109A3
Steel Soldiers :: Military Vehicles Supersite

Oh, and the inside of an M109 box is 7.5ft x 12ft.

The prob with the shelter is no windows.
It is much better insulated than the 109 body but not wired up for shore power like the 109.
The shelter is removable (provided you own a wrecker or know someone who does) so you still have a cargo truck.
Interior wise I think the 109 is bigger.
I have a 109 and I did have a shelter at one time.
If I were to have to choose I would take the deuce and shelter combo since it presents more options.
Before that rat bastage Offy stole my bolster trailer my plan was to put a deuce bed (he stole that too) on it and haul a shelter on it.
Your milage may vary.

I REALLY like the idea of a modular trailer with the same bed mounts as a Deuce. Of course, if you could put a shelter in a Deuce bed on that trailer, you could also just put an M109 box directly on the trailer instead. I've been playing around with the idea of building a really thin flatbed for Mah Deuce that would basically act like a 2" body lift when the M109 box was mounted, but would be a semi-functional flatbed when the box was removed. But in order to make that worth doing, I'd need to mount some BIG lift-jacks at each corner of my box. It would be really nice to be able to drop the box and have a truck to run around with though....

S-280?

A Deuce with a hook lift would solve all of the problems. You could have every type of bed.

That would be a longer-wheelbase with a boom-type lift between the cab and the bed?

I have an S280 on my deuce. It is roughly 11'-6" high. The shelter weighs around 1400#. The shelter I bought was stripped for refurbishment and has no internals to speak of. I am planning on wiring for 120v and for 12 volts which I will power from the deuce via an invertor.
My intention of having the ability of removing the shelter if need be put me in a place where I decided the S280 is the way to go. I have a friend who has a large roll back so we can load and unload the shelter with a minimum of fuss. Eventually I will build a loading dock of sorts, 48-50" high that I can sliide the shelter in and out of my cargo bed.
As for windows, or not, I can install RV type windows in a few locations, between the ribs and it will not compromise the intergrity of the shelter's structure.
I considered the M109, and rejected that option as I see the modular, insulated design of the S280 to be superior if you intend to heat and cool the structure.

I, for one, would like to see a few pic's of the S-280 on your Deuce if possible..

Mike

The reason I am asking around is that I have issues with the shelter I have now. These are actually good points of the shelter, yet they do not all jibe with my use as it has evolved.

The Army might say something like this: "not concurrent with the continual evolution of high speed low drag mission strategy necessary in today's high-tempo battlefield environment".

My shelter is S-280-like. It is a "ELECTRONICS SHOP AN-GRM-23D" and has a full length workbendh along each side. Undeneath the workbench, are pull-out drawers. The benches are extremely sturdily made of thick aluminum and so between each drawer is a vertical support made as part of the workbench frame. The benches are also made so that shenves and drawers can be repositioned height wise by loosening some large bolts and they will slide up or down. I currently even have one shelf set tilted back at an angle, as it holds my reels of coaxial cable and power cables.

It also has an extremely comprehensive yet simple to use power distribution system (image) with some 50 or so outlets arranged at different heights on the walls above and below the benches. Also 24VDC outlets and 100A 24V system. For 120VAC, it has two 208V 3 phase systems, one for 400Hz and one for 60Hz, both now converted to 60z. This means it can take up to six separate 120V 30-50A inputs. well pictures are worth a thousand words.

It has two air conditioners, one 8000BTU and one 12000 BTU. Both are 120V 60Hz. Also a heater, aftermarket too.

No windows is OK for me. I could use closed circuit TV if I need to see out. It is well insulated. The thing is perfect for what it is. It was a repair shop, there was no gear so I put in radio equipment, added a 12V 100A system, and air conditioning.

The main issues I have are:
Too little space between the workbenches to put a decent comfy bunk
The door is too narrow for the ATV to fit inside, necessiating a trailer to be towed.

The workbenches are removable, and bad-arse in their own right, but that still does not get the ATV into the box. An M820A2 would be perfect, but a little long for my parking place.

All the inside is shown here. Anyone else using radio communications - all their base are mine. Maybe it is an example of how much communications gear can be crammed into an S-280 space. There's radios in there you can't even see unless you are in the operating position in front of them.
M35 Commo Truck 23 June 2007 - Field Day" with the Irving Amateur Radio Club

Ok, so I am somewhat constrained by the original fixtures. Even if I cleared out all the electronics gear and stripped it down to a plain S-280, I'd still not be able to get the ATV in.

I'd still like to gather more info on the differences. I swear I saw an M109 with a huge liftgate similar to the one on the M820A2. Maybe that was my imagination.

rlwm211 said:

I have an S280 on my deuce. It is roughly 11'-6" high. The shelter weighs around 1400#. The shelter I bought was stripped for refurbishment and has no internals to speak of. I am planning on wiring for 120v and for 12 volts which I will power from the deuce via an invertor.
My intention of having the ability of removing the shelter if need be put me in a place where I decided the S280 is the way to go. I have a friend who has a large roll back so we can load and unload the shelter with a minimum of fuss. Eventually I will build a loading dock of sorts, 48-50" high that I can sliide the shelter in and out of my cargo bed.
As for windows, or not, I can install RV type windows in a few locations, between the ribs and it will not compromise the intergrity of the shelter's structure.
I considered the M109, and rejected that option as I see the modular, insulated design of the S280 to be superior if you intend to heat and cool the structure.

Click to expand...

Yes pls post some pics, I never seen one totally empty.

I must contend a point though, the M109 has wood filled walls, and things, heavy things, can be bolted right on. On the S-280 - you must carefully design the mounting and preferrably take note to put the fasteners through the skeleton if possible. The skin on an S-280 is aout 1/16" or less? thick.

for A/C, 8000BTU will cool the S-280 interior plus a 300 watt electrical dissipation heat load to 80 degrees F. in 100 degree F. sunny weather.
This has been determined by experiment and was repeated several times. It's not a perfect statement, but should be a good datapoint for calcualting.
20,000BTU can keep the thing below 70 degrees easily. Now that's what I'm talking about. Next weekend, I'll be enjoying that.

One M109 box, the only one I have seen taken apart, had wood sheets inside the steel walls. I am informed that they do not have this stock.

Older thread, but a good start to my question. Is the M109 the same chassis as the M35A2 or was it an earlier configuration. Looking at a 1965 model, do not want some off the beaten path model that is hard to find part for. Thanks, Glen

M109 is the same as an M35A2 except for the cargo area. Big box instead of the deuce bed.