Deuce Crew Cab and stuff...

Well, I'm starting to think that I want to downgrade from my M813 to a deuce. I figure I can swap with someone out there that wants to upgrade plus get a bit of cash for other projects. The M813 just seems like too much truck for me. I get it out, get used to it a bit more on the road but still, have this awed feeling that it's too much truck.

And to think I was pondering a British Foden 8x8.

So anyhow, I'm thinking about what I'd do the deuce that I bought. Given that I'm somewhat leery of trying to transport one of my armored cars in the bed, I'm leaning towards a trailer. If that's my method, then I'll have space on the truck for modifications. My current thought is to cut the bed down to ~108" and make up a crew cab. I'm also thinking of singling out the possible deuce out too.

So to this end to see how it would look, roughly, I grabbed the base image out of the transport guidance book and used that for a quick mostly to scale schematic to see. It doesn't look half bad. I had thought about bobbing it, but keeping the extra rear axle would be nice. Extra cab space would be nice too. Two customized bench seats in back would make it possible to get some rack time back there on the road and have a place for some tool storage in bins under the seats.

An S250 in the back would also be an option...

Thoughts? I know Hot Rod is working on this already....

Nice concept, Ryan.
What you do to your deuce should depend on your intended use. I often run out of bed space and wouldn't think of shorten it. Perhaps a longbed version would be more suited for the crewcab mod.
Adding a trailer was a great benefit in transporting supplies on a long trip in my case.
If you just want something different, go for it.

To make your M813 more useful, add a knuckleboom crane.

________________
Bjorn
MVPA 19212

1968 M49A2C modified. 1972 HIAB 765A crane and 1960 M756 pipeline truck bed.
11.00-20 NDCC singles.
M103A3 trailer.

"Some things cannot be made better, just differently"

CURRENTLY WORKING ON: Vehicle wiring, adding relays for headlights and turn signals.
Adding small fuel tank (starting and shutting down in cold weather) and installing heating coil in main tank for biodiesel/cooking oil.

Thing is, a trailer seems to make more sense for the towing of one of my vehicles. Easier loading. I'd like to keep the bed space to some degree for getting things from the hardware store (a load of bricks say). If I need to carry anything longer, I can just use the trailer. I've thought about the knuckle boom, but short of getting damn lucky, I'm never going to find one. And its just one more thing to get that'll cost a bunch of money.


Short of some significant quantities of lumber in the future, I don't see much I need to haul around suburbia that needs longer than a 9' bed. It'd still be longer than most pickups.

Don't cut the bed down.

I love crew cab trucks, they're the only way to fly. I have thought of this several times.

I think the best way to fly would be to buy an M36 and take off the oversize bed, put a standard M35 bed on it and then lengthen the cab. I can't remember the bed dimensions of an M36, but if the difference is too long to add all to the cab, you could put some kind of toolboxes/additonal storage in between the rear of the cab and the bed.

I would like to see some updated pics of the crewcab the other member is currently constructing.

Is there any sort of loss in off road capability due to the longer wheelbase of an M36?

Given how rare M36's are. I'd rather not muck one up with such a mod, even if nicely done.

rmgill said:

Given how rare M36's are. I'd rather not muck one up with such a mod, even if nicely done.

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thank god, to bad there aren't more guys like you

How about this. Chop down an S250 or S318 shelter into a sleeper. You could probably bolt it right into the cargo bed. Install one of the deuce butchers fiberglass hardtops and you could make a crawlthrough about any size. Other than that, you could buy a commercial 48" bunk. Probably not too costly.

The commercial bunk would be a bit clunky looking. One of my thoughts with the crewcab setup is that there would be a bit of room back there, I suspect, for an after market air conditioner. I've looked at my 5 ton and the standard cab just doesn't have the space for it all. A crew cab with two bench seats tucked in back would make an ideal tug vehicle for my dingo on a trailer. plenty of space for more kit back there and still more cargo bed than an m105 bed. The M105 bed doesn't work because it has one wheel well, where it needs two.

red devils dude said:

rmgill said:

Given how rare M36's are. I'd rather not muck one up with such a mod, even if nicely done.

Click to expand...

thank god, to bad there aren't more guys like you

Click to expand...

My willingness to muck/customize vehicles is proportional to how many there are out there or how many were made. There seems like so many plane jane deuces running around now that tweaking the odd one isn't a big deal. As I said however, those M36's are rare. Seems like there's more LWB 5 tons than the 2.5 tons. The more rare the MV, the more cherished it should be in it's original form.

yes I'm all for that

i dont take the purist attitude. i can only guess how many people are pissed at me modding one of 8000 wc-53's

rmgill: Your concept is almost exactly what I had planned, except for toolboxes and a (super-single) spare mounted behind the cab making for an even shorter bed. With luck I'll have enough room for a 10' bed. Good luck with your mod!

TheSHAD0W said:

rmgill: Your concept is almost exactly what I had planned, except for toolboxes and a (super-single) spare mounted behind the cab making for an even shorter bed. With luck I'll have enough room for a 10' bed. Good luck with your mod!

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I have to find a good swap for my M813A1 first. ideally I want to get some money out of it too so I can fix my blasted drive way. Digging out a 4 ton armored car that was bogged down so much that my 5 Ton couldn't drag it out was time consuming. (all it did was spin the tires and dig itself in slightly!).

I had to jack it up so it was clear of the mud, more or less. Let the ground dry and then dig ramps up out of the remaining "holes" that the wheels were in. Still, the ferret did nicely compact down the area that the hull was resting on.

Things the final truck needs to have:
Winch (a second rear winch would be wondrous)
Dump bed (for landscaping around the house things)
Hard or soft vinyl top, I wonder if I could get GMA Cover Corp to make a new vinyl top that would fit the wider rear cab area?
Short cargo bed for re-enacting kit and bows/cover.
I'd kind of like it to be a drop side bed too. The ability to load a pallet of RR Ties from the side would be really nice. It is with the 5 Ton.

Hey thats a sweet drawing, Its like you took it right out of my head How much do you want for the 813? That has the cummins right? if a wrecker happend to trip you trigger i would do some trading of some kind with you...a crew cab wrecker is my next dream....400 cummins bumped to round 700 HP and a jake brake with 10" stacks, ahk any way im lookingfor a 5 ton something and might be interested in buying outright then you can look and get excatly what you want.


Here are some picks of Day One of crew cab project ------> www.hrd6x6.com

hot rod deuce said:

Hey thats a sweet drawing, Its like you took it right out of my head How much do you want for the 813? That has the cummins right? if a wrecker happend to trip you trigger i would do some trading of some kind with you...a crew cab wrecker is my next dream....400 cummins bumped to round 700 HP and a jake brake with 10" stacks, ahk any way im lookingfor a 5 ton something and might be interested in buying outright then you can look and get excatly what you want.


Here are some picks of Day One of crew cab project ------> www.hrd6x6.com

Click to expand...

We were both thinking on the same tack it seems. I'd been knocking the idea around, you'd started putting it into action. I figured I needed to see how it would look first before I really thought about doing it. I don't have as much space or gear to do it so what I buy has to be for a good reason.

I have $9500 into the M813A1. Its got the cummins NHC250 in it and has the USMC ISO Dropside bed as well (fording kit and Detroit Lockers too). I'd be interested in a Deuce with a winch. I don't need a wrecker as I want cargo bed space to play with.

Hey you guys are having too much fun. I tried out the ol' "computer sawzall" on my truck to see what it would look like.

I doubt I can find the time to undertake such a project. . . . but it would come in kinda handy to haul the family around in style, yea? Can you imagine the wife and kids pulling into the grocery store ?

Jeff

JWC, that looks awesome!!

Now looking at the pic, I can see one would have to find a 'step' fuel tank to accomodate the back door. But I really like it!! where did the stack go though? didya lose it in photoshop?

boy that does look cool, and it would serve funtion also. ever tryed to cram 3 guys and a load of gear in the front of a deuce? its a tight fit and when you shift in to 4th-5th umm lets say I would rather have a girl sitting in the middle.

Mike,

Ahh, the stack, . . . everyone loves those stacks. I'm afraid this is one of those (sigh) gasoline trucks. Never had a stack, the exhaust is routed under the truck. There is a deep water fording kit available that brings it out the side, but it goes vertical behind the fuel tank. I thought about adding a stack up front for the appearance, but it seems kinda' sacrilegious (sp?). I should just wait for Santa Claus to bring me what I really want - a whistlin', black-smoke belchin', multifuel !

Jeff

JWC,

Nice photo editing! Stretch limo for a wedding, perhaps?

Could someone identify the colors/pattern used on JWC's cab for me? My WV Army National Guard has it too. (Well, mostly. There are some large red oxide primer patches as well - or perhaps 'fall camouflage'?)

Warmest Regards,