Will a M818 pull a M172?

M818 - 5 ton tractor with 5th wheel; M172 - 25 ton low boy, I've found a M818 fully refurbed for 10,000 and a M172 (in good shape) for 7,500. I was hoping something like this would be a good start for flat bed trucking.

Thanks,
Bryan

Welcome to the forum!

From the information I have, they work perfectly together. You'll have a lot of tires to replace if they aren't good.

Take care.

Bjorn

I have pulled a 60 ton M60 tank with a deuce in low transfer and first gear so a five ton should do better

Thanks for the help fellas. As soon as I get home, thats what I'm starting with. Cranetruck, I'm pretty sure both the truck and the trailer have new to slightly used rubber all the way around. If not, I have certainly broke down and remounted (by hand and GAA) enough tires to know how. Its just the paying for the new rubber that will not be fun. Three months and counting. Take it easy, Bryan.

M818 may not be good

As cheap as it seems it would be with less than 20 grand into the whole deal..... there are alot of things that will not make this a cost effective choice for civilian flatbed trucking. Check internet sites such as truckpaper.com and local used truck places for the same things your into. Ebay is also a good place to get an idea of what your after. If you are as mechanically inclined as to be able to deal with the issues that will arise involving service to a military set up..... you are certainly just as capable to deal with that if its a KW, Pete, Western Star, Freightliner.... etc.

Some things that will make a difference:
Prep for D.O.T. inspection.... military will need mods to bumpers for the M818
Comfort for long term runs.... no sleeper means spending money on motels
Freightliner FLD 120 series are pretty much the same as M915A2s,3s,4s
Parts.... can't go to the shop with a -14&P and look for a part
Insurance
There is no doubt that a chromed out 5ton would be cool as hell but a full chrome Western Star is just as cool
Financing.... banks dont know military vehicles
20 grand is not unthinkable to start a rig up with and 15 grand is possible but do not invest so much that you cannot "afford" to lose. Being an Owner Operator..... It's a bit like motorcycle riding, dont buy a bike you cant total.
Check out the OOIDA website for info, lots of good info and if you do the membership for like 40 bucks they will send all sorts of even better info.
Size of deck is also an issue and if you are using a lowboy style vs. freigtht style it is something to look into
Good luck!!!!

I agree with Hvyjunk. Below is an image of my deuce on the road w/dot number on the door etc (about a year ago before the M756 bed was installed).
It's not very efficient, more like a hobby and all customers may not appreciate you spending time on the equipment when all they want is the cargo.
In my case the 6x6 feature has value since the delivery here is log cabin material, which was brought close to the building site as a result. The crane is invaluable here also.
If you want a serious business, go commercial. If I had more business I'd get a commercial truck.

Bjorn

i agree with the two above post , a military truck is not made a commercial opeartion, also the 818 would need another trans as the od 5 speed just wont do it, a military truck will not be cost effective unless theres a LOT of off road use (which the truck is made for, not highway use), top speed is to low,weighs way to much almost double a non military rig. the list goes on. just like i would not use my 819 for commerial towing, i would take it off road for heavy recovery or use it to tow somebodys military truck as a favor. hope my 2 cents helps and thanks for your service to our country

Hey, Bjorn, I'd suspect the 6x6 nature of the deuce does make getting your material right next to the job site a lot easier than with a commercial truck no?

Yeah, Ryan, and the crane really makes it all possible. In this case, a 4x4 was used to bring the material to the site. The trail was too narrow for the deuce.
BTW, the lumber in the picture was split up for two trips with the PU.

Bjorn

73m819 said:

or use it to tow somebodys military truck as a favor. hope my 2 cents helps and thanks for your service to our country

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As we've already seen, right barefootrubi?
Thanks Ron! The pics were priceless!

i agree, for long hauls a military truck isnt the best route.. in the mtn of colorado i have seen people put tanks in the beds of 5tons and deliver water (most houses in the mtn around SW CO that i have seen have wells and not city water).. so people always need water. rain or shine and most houses arent on paved roads so the 6x6 definately comes in handy...

I have had to use my deuce to pull a stuck Kenworth out of the yard after they delivered our double wide it had those small high pressure tires that are no good in the soft and wet dirt. The deuce is handy off road but driving on the road tires me out.

Thanks for all of the advice. The past couple of weeks I have been getting away from the idea of a 5 ton and was thinking of going straight for a 916 or 920. The 916 I'm operating over here seems like it was made for long hauls. It's a Freightliner. Also, I've started the process of applying for an SBA loan in the amount of $50,000 to get started.

"Comfort for long term runs.... no sleeper means spending money on motels" - I've spent so many nights underneath the goose neck of my 870 on a cot its not even funny. Long hauls just means camping trip for me. Fun times, good training.

Thanks again for the advice.

Thats EXACTLY why Uncle went with the M915 series of trucks.. Long haul in a semi non tactical environment. Bring supplies from the Corps area to the DIV rear. From DIV rear it's usually 5 tons to the killers.

emmado22 said:

. From DIV rear it's usually 5 tons to the killers.

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like me

RDD,

Once you graduate OSUT and earned your MOS, then you can say your a killer.. (If you are a Combat Arms MOS) Until then, your a civilian who aspires to be in the military.

sorry emmado22 just couldint help it.