New member, new toy, general question about pick up from DRMO Ft Lewis-McChord

Hi all,

I've been just a casual watcher/reader for awhile but I believe this is my first post. I originally became interested around the time I purchased a little Mep-016D generator. And again with much interest a few months back with the EPA and surplus vehicle issue. Seems to have worked out. Just today I won the bid on a S+S '94 M1079 LMTV van. According to the inspection It requires a jump to start. I'll be arriving to SEA, taxi or shuttle, or possibly catch a ride from my sister to DRMO in Ft Lewis-McChord and somehow (hopefully) driving it back to Rochester MN. Will the DRMO staff provide a jump (possibly a fee involved) or do I need to purchase... transport there... and install batteries on site? I'll make some calls tomorrow, I just was hoping to get a head start. I was hoping for a jump, then drive to a auto store or Walmart etc and then swap batteries. Possibly the drive to auto store would start to recover batteries. I can dream, right?

2nd set of questions: If I take the shuttle from SEA airport to Ft L-M, how far to the DRMO? Walk or taxi from there? is there an auto parts store near by? Anybody know the lay of the land?

3rd set: Are the battery clamps on the truck of common size? Do the leads possibly end in terminals that you just feed a bolt through and attach to clamp that way? It would really suck to cart batteries there and they not fit? I have no need to "keep it military" so any brand of battery is "on the table" as long as it fits in the box and the clamps fit on. Any suggestions would be great but I would be equally interested in what to avoid. I hope to avoid brand loyalty wars though.

Freecr

Welcome aboard & you have a tall set of orders to fill to start with. Have you had anyone check out this LMTV yet, or are you going in having never seen it before? Do you have tools, spare filters, diesel fuel, tranny fluids, axel fluids, a chase vehicle & 4 batteries if the originals are dead? Some trucks will just drive off the DRMO lot, but there have been a few that have self destructed the axels due to being drained of fluids. Make sure you have a set of tow companies #'s on your cell phone that can tow this truck should Murphy show up same time as you. You also might want to post your recovery route to see if there are any SS members along the way to offer assistance if you need it.

Good luck & keep us posted as to how things progress........don't forget the pictures.

At Lewis McChord you have to check in at the main gate visitor center to get your visitors pass.
Have all your paperwork, invoice, etc.
I havent bought from GP yet, but if they are using the same yard as GL it's a couple freeway exits north of the main gate.
You should post for help in the PNW thread, there are a handfull of us right in that area.
You sir, are a brave soul.

It's doable, fly in and drive a truck home. The guys from Texas flew in bought my Deuce and drove it home. But that was after we had gone through it and I even changed the alternator while they were landing. I included spare parts, gloves and a multimeter just in case and they had a belt break (but I had bought a new spare for them).

Would I do it on a M1079, no but that's just me. I might drive to get one but not fly. For one thing they won't let you carry everything you need on the plane and I doubt it would make it if you had checked baggage with everything either.

When I did my first recovery I had a chase vehicle loaded with everything we could think of along with several high limit credit cards.

Good luck

I recently purchased a LMTV at auction myself, and like you, I wanted to pick it up and drive it home. After doing a lot of research I decided it would be best for me to have the vehicle shipped to my house. The batteries are realistically about the least of your concerns; you have to think about all of the other components on the truck required to get you home safely, and there are a lot of them. You will want to do a fluid change, a filter change, inspect all hoses, brakes, etc, etc. It sounds like you wont have many tools with you, or a support vehicle, or anybody with you that has a significant amount of experience working on these trucks. You are not talking about a low speed 20 mile trip, you are talking about a 1700 mile trip, and there is a lot to consider.

I'm not trying to talk you out of picking the truck up and driving it home, I know for many people that is one of their favorite experiences of ownership. What you want to do is possible, but if something does not work out you are going to have to pay a lot more to have it towed than you would if you set up a shipper beforehand. Good luck in whatever you decide, and take lots of pictures!

Hi all, I’ll respond in order.
My first challenge is getting there from the airport. 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] is going through the vehicle, and then leaving the yard. This puts the batteries/ jump high on my list. The vehicle only has 4600 miles on it, so my hope is most things should be ok. I know assumptions like that are just inviting Murphy to the party. This is why I’m asking for advice.

FloridaAKM, I’m going in never having seen it before. In fact I’ve never seen these in person, then yet drove one. When I was in the Army it was all M939 series which I drove 4-5 days a week. Scary thought right. Yes, I’m in need of serious advice. I’m flying in, so tools will be limited. My first stop after leaving the yard was going to be a part store for new filters, and a plethora of fluids, and of course batteries if they will jump it in the yard. If they won’t jump it, I’ll have to buy, transport, and then install the batteries in the yard, then go back to the auto-store. Suggestions as to what exactly I need to purchase would be greatly accepted. My sister lives in Seattle so I can order and send items to her. That doesn’t get me out of the yard and 25-50 miles to her but it’s something. Please, please give me a shopping list.
Elkhtr, I’ll try to find and post in PNW. Thank you for the suggestion.
Swbradley1, no choice now, I’m committed, and probably a likely candidate to be committed. When the guys in white show up, I won’t ‘be home’.
Harry Fupa, yes, it’s all about the journey. I hope to find some people to tell me the most common things to check out, possibly find some people to call if/when trouble comes up along the way. Shipping it because of the height is very costly.

Elkhtr, PNW?

Your best bet would be to have a towing company pull it off the lot and have someone go over it . That said many yard do not allow working on trucks at all , have you verified they will let you do anything to the truck on site ?

Some yards might jump one for you, but I have never seen it done. Like mentioned above some places will not even let you change a light bulb on the lot, to say anything about anything else.

My understanding is that GP does not have employees on the lots like GL does, so assistance from them is even less likely. DRMO guys will likely be there, but they are usually less than helpful.

I would attempt to find a member on here in the area who could either tow it off or is at least willing to ride with you out there and assist with the recovery. Otherwise I would call a wrecker co and have them get it off of base and than you could drive it from their lot.

Edit: Mileage on the odometer of an MV should never be used as a reference.... they are meaningless.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?77974-PNW-Info-Thread! is the group of guys in the area

The shuttle will drop you off the gate. You then have to go to the Visitors center. When I was there (not DRMO) you had to have a sponsor to get a pass. Then you have to hitch a ride to the storage lot. The guards will not let you walk in. Too far anyway.

Sounds like your best bet is to hire a towing company and have it towed off base. Or have a local member help you out.

Also a lot of bases clamped down on security in January 2015.

Call GP and ask for directions on how to proceed.

freecr said:

Elkhtr, PNW?

Click to expand...

The pacific northwest info thread.
Forum section, then regional chapters.
Sorry, assumed too much.

I looked up your truck and I think the speedo is a replacement. Note how clean it is compared to the other gauges? I would assume that the 4600 miles is since replacement. Also they state that this truck has "blow by" which indicates it is a high mileage truck.

"Hydraulics are not functional" means you have no way to tilt the cab if you need access to the engine compartment in case of a breakdown or need for fluids or filter replacement.

It also means if you get a flat you are going to kill yourself trying to get that spare tire down.

Having driven several of my own trucks off of base and having assisted several other members by retrieving their trucks for them.... My advise based on what I can see about this one is to get it shipped. I would not risk a 1700 mile trip in this truck.

If you do do it... keep us posted, we want to read about it

To Ship or Not to Ship ....

Best money I spent on my M1078 was having it shipped to my house. You are looking at a long noisy trip on I-90 across some lonely stretches of highway in a vehicle for which you have no history. Further .... a vehicle that most truck mechanics have never worked on.

I had the same thought to drive mine off the Atlanta lot ... but fortunately I listened to the smart advice from folks on this site.

Obviously if you have plenty of time and money ... go for it ... you can be assured you will have an adventure!

Good Luck!

PS: Mine had the same issue with the hydraulics ... I just added some fluid to the reservoir (between spare and the air intake) and it worked fine. You can also try using the manual pump if the fluid level is just a little bit down.

It's a 20 year old truck, no matter what the mileage reads.

You can't expect it to be road worthy.

They need monthly maintenance to be kept ready to use.

Jumping a truck with dead batteries is a good way to fry the alternator.

One of the members of our MVPA affiliate recently bought one of these trucks and had a catastrophic failure of the front planetary drive on the axle just a few miles from base. After seeing the set up myself, one cannot see the fluid level on the axle at all. That was the start. Then because of a handful of loose bolts in some very inconspicuous places, some other failures happened. Eventually there were two other minor problems that were found (that could not be found during an inspection of the vehicle) that were suspicioned to be the reason why the military deemed it to be surplus. He even used his experience with this truck to do a show-and-tell of what can happen, why it happened, how to use the tech manuals in repair of the truck. One thing to remember, there is a reason the military is getting rid of these vehicles considering they are part of the current fleet: they aren't getting rid of good usable vehicles, they are disposing of problems. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THIS HOME!!! It needs hauled or flat towed (tech manual states it cannot be hooked and towed.)

i picked mu 1078 up in GA and three hubs had no oil the trans fluid was empty and 2 of the batteries where DOA
dont plan on driving it home unless you have a support vehicle,buddy,tools and time .
you should just ask ........ ANY SS members in the area that could lend a hand ? be ready to at least offer some cash for fuel,lube,time and coffee (not that they will accept it but you should offer)