Newbie with some questions

I am looking at buying a Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 on a gov liquidation site. I have always liked them and thought they looked cool, now the boss has singed off on me getting one. I would be using it as a weekend truck and something to mess with. Thank you all for any help ahead of time. My questions are:

Are they money pits?
Could it make a reliable truck for weekend errands?
Whats the price range on these?
What are they worth?
How much do they cost to ship from Atlanta to Baltimore?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated,

Are they money pits? YES , the bigger the toy the more it costs . You rarely get your money back after making it how you want it .

Could it make a reliable truck for weekend errands? It depends on your mechanical skills and whether or not you are willing to keep up proper preventative maintenance , a truck is only as dependable as the owner keeps it.

Whats the price range on these? $1 to $ 30,000

What are they worth? There is no blue book for them , personal preview is the only way to tell what it is worth. Or you may be able to get someone local to the truck to preview for you for a small fee. Buyer beware with auction trucks.

How much do they cost to ship from Atlanta to Baltimore? Figure $4 a mile and it should cover you , do your research first and you may find a better deal . But if you have no plan and limited time to remove the truck it will cost big $$$.

Welcome to SS you best bet is to download the TM's here and start reading . Read as much as you can in the forums here and educate yourself on them before pulling the trigger . Currently there is not much for surplus parts for them and it is reflected in parts prices when you can find them.

You should read this TM before driving one of these ( also a good idea before previewing It helps to know what to look for ) .
m1078_TM 9-2320-365-10.pdf
m1078_TM 9-2320-365-10 for the M1078 series trucks.

The rest of the TM's are here
M1078 TM's


They will help you decide if your willing to spend the money and time on upkeep. Remember MV's are addicting and they tend to herd up .

Also do you have parking for it without zoning or HOA problems ?

Edit : be sure to read the insurance stickie as insurance / registration threads are not allowed , so do your homework ahead of time.
Insurance

No answers for your questions, but a welcome from just across the River here in Virginia.

Welcome to the green disease from Indiana, open your wallet if you are going to get into this world.

Welcome and I echo porksplace's comments. Operating / maintenance depends a lot on you (ability, resourcefulness, etc.), patience when parts are needed, all sprinkled with a little luck. Most of the East Coast LMTV's have been coming out of Atlanta, but there have been some in NY and we should see more and more being released. So, you might want to wait for one to show up closer to you. I'm curious how the new Iron Planet auctions will deal with location (ie. will they send trucks to a central location as GL did or save money and sell them directly from the bases?).

I am in Atlanta and am willing to preview a particular truck or two if my schedule permits. Of course any feedback would simply be my opinion and any unforeseen risk is still yours.

Also, just for illustrative purposes, I know a guy that shipped two M1078's to Cali for $2500 a piece. Of course, that was two trucks on one trailer. I'm sure one would have cost almost as much.

As a new M1078 owner, I can tell you that there is NO PLACE to buy parts for these. Sure, Eastern Surplus and MTP has some inventory, but that's about it, and they do not stock a complete line.

NDT said:

As a new M1078 owner, I can tell you that there is NO PLACE to buy parts for these. Sure, Eastern Surplus and MTP has some inventory, but that's about it, and they do not stock a complete line.

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True, sort of. But there's more out there than you might think. Remember, part of the MTV program was geared to have commercially available parts to cut down on costs. We bought a unit that was missing quite a bit and although we did get lucky with a couple parts most of the mechanical parts are available commercially. That doesn't mean they are necessarily easy to find. Many of the part numbers do not match civilian part numbers and you have to research to find cross-reference info. Some industrial and aviation part suppliers can do that. We also found parts from surplus dealers that didn't know what they were. Some of the major parts manufacturers like Haldex have websites where you can plug in the part # from the tech manual and you will get a viable civilian part (assuming of course that Haldex made the part in the first place). I even had something come up as a Freightliner part. Again, patience and research. I would also imagine the parts will become easier to find over time. The MTV's are just now starting to come out in quantity. However, stay away from trucks that are missing body panels and glass! There are a few doors and windshields out there, but you will PAY.

parts are coming around more and more. I've seen a change even in the last several weeks. I'd estimate a lowboy haul that distance would be $2k. There is generally a lot of work to do on a surplused truck. If you're willing to jump on whatever problem confronts you , should be good to go.

Doug Roberts said:

parts are coming around more and more. I've seen a change even in the last several weeks. I'd estimate a lowboy haul that distance would be $2k. There is generally a lot of work to do on a surplused truck. If you're willing to jump on whatever problem confronts you , should be good to go.

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Definitely on the parts. I just noticed last night a lot of stuff I've never seen on eBay; including reasonably priced glass!

It is fun to drive. Don't push one for maximum speed. 45-50 is comfy for the little Cat. Parts are becoming more available, but BAE scrapped all their inventory ( well most ) when they stopped supporting that unit. As parts become bail able, the more harder to find pieces, buy them if you can afford them. At some point if monies permit and prices fall, consider buying a truck for parts. They handle well and look good with the M1082 trailer behind it.

Dave

Also , be Leary of a MV from a NORTHERN climate , salt/rust is your enemy , check your purchase over carefully BEFORE bidding !!! There have been some coming out of Ft. Drum in NYS , they get a LOT of winter !

Check the roof rain gutters, the rear holds some water causing rot. Most gets painted over and covers it up. It's in a bend where two body panels come together. It can be repaired but takes a little work. Also the axle ends are separately lubricated from the inner axle. They often are empty or near dry and need lube added or changed.

No help answering your questions, but welcome from the slower shore.

MARYLAND - Land of Pleasant Living

joshuak said:

No help answering your questions, but welcome from the slower shore.

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Never heard that before; liking it.