kenet3621
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Great looking truck!
-
Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!
1,680 mile HEMTT recovery
- Thread starter JDToumanian
- Start date
TheRecorder
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Here is a short video the first few miles of the return trip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imxJwiTBiyI
Last edited:
Gunner USN
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Sounds like you had a great recovery and a trip with no drama! Outstanding looking truck, just out of curiosity, what kind of highway speed will it do?
dk8019
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Awesome! Glad you made the long trip with no issues!
BnaditCorps
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sweet video
JDToumanian
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Thanks everyone for all the support and offers of help, I really appreciate it! Fortunately help was unnecessary. I can talk about it now without jinxing myself: This trip was absolutely perfect and went according to plan or better than planned. Therefore there is little drama to report, and there were so many hours of solid driving that there was little time for still pictures. Jim took quite a bit of video, so more of that will get posted here eventually, but now that I've had a day to recover, I'll mention some things of interest and post what few pictures there are...
Speed - I tried to keep it right at 55 mph, but because of the sensitive throttle, it sometimes crept up to 57 (2,100 RPM). I'm still trying to figure out the governor, and whether it is set correctly. No-load RPM is supposed to be 2,250 and loaded, the max should be 2,100. Sooo, does that mean when cruising down the highway with very little load, that 2,250 RPM is acceptable? If so that would be a little over 60 MPH. I'm still not going to exceed 55, and I never revved it to 2,250 to see if the governor catches it properly...
MPG - The average for the trip, up until the last fill-up, was 4.26 mpg over 1,496 miles (burned 351.2 gallons). The total miles driven is a few hundred more, as I haven't filled the truck since I got home, but I doubt it changed much. The average steadily improved over the course of the trip, and that is clearly due to me getting better at driving the truck. The throttle is very sensitive, and an unsteady foot definitely wastes fuel. I am extremely pleased with the fuel economy, and it confirms what I have always believed... Horsepower for horsepower, Detroits are no less (or more) efficient that other comparable engines of their era.
Ride - Rough roads definitely beat you up, but thanks to the more spacious and comfortable cab and seats, the ride is not as bad as my deuce. Smooth roads make it a real pleasure to drive. Seat belts are a must... I think if you weren't wearing it and hit a decent bump at speed, you could literally break your neck on the roof and be killed!
Crane - HEMTT cranes have nothing securing them in the stowed position, like lock pins. The crane is just sitting there, so when you hit rough spots in the road, it sometimes bounces. I also noticed that the outriggers creep out, and we stopped several times to engage the PTO and pull them back in, and tighten up the hoist cable to limit bouncing. The engine RPM "latch" feature doesn't work, and the problem must be in the engine compartment, because I can hear the latch relay clicking in the box by the crane.
Tires - All nine tires were brand new, with the little nubs and molding lines on the tread mostly intact. After driving about 1,800 miles, the nubs are gone but some of the molding lines are still visible, even in the middle of the tread, so I would say that tire wear is excellent. They'll rot out before I wear them out, so preservation will be a priority.
Temperature - I thought my engine was running hot, as the needle on the temperature gauge stays almost all the way to the right, at about 185 degrees. Then I started thinking the fan clutch wasn't working, but when I hit the first significant grade, it came roaring to life and the temperature remained steady. I noticed today that the fan clutch thermostat is marked "195" so I'm going to accept the temperature riding high on the gauge as normal.
Noise - With the windows up, the cab is extremely quiet, no intercom or hearing protection required. In fact, it's the quietest MV I've ever been in... It's quieter than my Blazer. With the windows rolled down it's a different story. The air filter intake, turbo whistle, Rootes blower, road noise from the tires, and exhaust and mechanical noises of the engine, is very loud indeed and my ears were ringing before I decided that ear plugs should be worn when the windows come down.
Jake Brake - Works great... I love it!
It was awesome to meet up with Agazza and Castle Bravo outside Phoenix... Allan gave me some left over HEMTT parts he had and came to the rescue with a spare headlight, as one of mine had burned out earlier that day and we intended to drive into the night. I wish I could have stretched the trip into a couple weeks and set a more leisurely pace, stopping whenever I wanted along the way.
Pictures:
1 - Filling up at WalMart in Sherman, TX
2 - Passenger's side view mirror, somewhere in Texas
3 - Van Horn, TX
4 - Deming, NM... The last night.
5 - Fireworks shop in Lordsberg, NM where large financial transactions took place.
6 - Picacho Peak, AZ
Speed - I tried to keep it right at 55 mph, but because of the sensitive throttle, it sometimes crept up to 57 (2,100 RPM). I'm still trying to figure out the governor, and whether it is set correctly. No-load RPM is supposed to be 2,250 and loaded, the max should be 2,100. Sooo, does that mean when cruising down the highway with very little load, that 2,250 RPM is acceptable? If so that would be a little over 60 MPH. I'm still not going to exceed 55, and I never revved it to 2,250 to see if the governor catches it properly...
MPG - The average for the trip, up until the last fill-up, was 4.26 mpg over 1,496 miles (burned 351.2 gallons). The total miles driven is a few hundred more, as I haven't filled the truck since I got home, but I doubt it changed much. The average steadily improved over the course of the trip, and that is clearly due to me getting better at driving the truck. The throttle is very sensitive, and an unsteady foot definitely wastes fuel. I am extremely pleased with the fuel economy, and it confirms what I have always believed... Horsepower for horsepower, Detroits are no less (or more) efficient that other comparable engines of their era.
Ride - Rough roads definitely beat you up, but thanks to the more spacious and comfortable cab and seats, the ride is not as bad as my deuce. Smooth roads make it a real pleasure to drive. Seat belts are a must... I think if you weren't wearing it and hit a decent bump at speed, you could literally break your neck on the roof and be killed!
Crane - HEMTT cranes have nothing securing them in the stowed position, like lock pins. The crane is just sitting there, so when you hit rough spots in the road, it sometimes bounces. I also noticed that the outriggers creep out, and we stopped several times to engage the PTO and pull them back in, and tighten up the hoist cable to limit bouncing. The engine RPM "latch" feature doesn't work, and the problem must be in the engine compartment, because I can hear the latch relay clicking in the box by the crane.
Tires - All nine tires were brand new, with the little nubs and molding lines on the tread mostly intact. After driving about 1,800 miles, the nubs are gone but some of the molding lines are still visible, even in the middle of the tread, so I would say that tire wear is excellent. They'll rot out before I wear them out, so preservation will be a priority.
Temperature - I thought my engine was running hot, as the needle on the temperature gauge stays almost all the way to the right, at about 185 degrees. Then I started thinking the fan clutch wasn't working, but when I hit the first significant grade, it came roaring to life and the temperature remained steady. I noticed today that the fan clutch thermostat is marked "195" so I'm going to accept the temperature riding high on the gauge as normal.
Noise - With the windows up, the cab is extremely quiet, no intercom or hearing protection required. In fact, it's the quietest MV I've ever been in... It's quieter than my Blazer. With the windows rolled down it's a different story. The air filter intake, turbo whistle, Rootes blower, road noise from the tires, and exhaust and mechanical noises of the engine, is very loud indeed and my ears were ringing before I decided that ear plugs should be worn when the windows come down.
Jake Brake - Works great... I love it!
It was awesome to meet up with Agazza and Castle Bravo outside Phoenix... Allan gave me some left over HEMTT parts he had and came to the rescue with a spare headlight, as one of mine had burned out earlier that day and we intended to drive into the night. I wish I could have stretched the trip into a couple weeks and set a more leisurely pace, stopping whenever I wanted along the way.
Pictures:
1 - Filling up at WalMart in Sherman, TX
2 - Passenger's side view mirror, somewhere in Texas
3 - Van Horn, TX
4 - Deming, NM... The last night.
5 - Fireworks shop in Lordsberg, NM where large financial transactions took place.
6 - Picacho Peak, AZ
Last edited:
JDToumanian
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Here's the only mechanical failure of the trip: The well-worn rain cap broke. At first I thought it had just slipped down, but it fatigue cracked and is broken, so I ordered another one. It looked like it had been struck one too many times by loads handled by a careless crane operator.
It's kinda funny... It occurred to me that if I had an irresponsible and care-free attitude toward the trip, and had done none of the preparations and brought virtually none of my tools, we still would have made it, though only through luck. All those tools, but only a couple wrenches and the grease gun got used. All that time getting DMV paperwork, insurance and my Class A, and we got no attention from The Law. I'm not saying I'd do it any differently next time... I'm a meticulous planner by nature. It was one of the greatest adventures of my life and I'm ecstatic that we made it with no problems, but yet it's also a little disappointing (and still a relief) that all my preparation was basically moot.
It's kinda funny... It occurred to me that if I had an irresponsible and care-free attitude toward the trip, and had done none of the preparations and brought virtually none of my tools, we still would have made it, though only through luck. All those tools, but only a couple wrenches and the grease gun got used. All that time getting DMV paperwork, insurance and my Class A, and we got no attention from The Law. I'm not saying I'd do it any differently next time... I'm a meticulous planner by nature. It was one of the greatest adventures of my life and I'm ecstatic that we made it with no problems, but yet it's also a little disappointing (and still a relief) that all my preparation was basically moot.
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MUCH MUCH better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.....
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Glad you had a good trip and no problems!!!
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Great thread, but Ernest is way too creepy!
LOL!!
The engine RPM "latch" feature doesn't work [\QUOTE]
I thought the same thing but after reading the TM I found I was using the wrong sequence. The sequence is engage PTO>switch remote power ON>high idle ON>latch.
Also make sure it's in neutral as there is a neutral interlock switch that will not allow the high idle to work if its in gear for obvious reasons.
The air solenoid for the high idle is on the left top back of the engine. Behind the valve cover. It has 3 wires if I recall. 1 hot and 2 that go to the interlock switch.
There is a whole troubleshooting sequence in one of the TMs.
Good luck with the truck they are lots of fun.
.
TheRecorder
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BnaditCorps
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top quality editing!
JDToumanian
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I'll give that a try, thanks!The engine RPM "latch" feature doesn't work [\QUOTE]
I thought the same thing but after reading the TM I found I was using the wrong sequence. The sequence is engage PTO>switch remote power ON>high idle ON>latch.
Also make sure it's in neutral as there is a neutral interlock switch that will not allow the high idle to work if its in gear for obvious reasons
The air solenoid for the high idle is on the left top back of the engine. Behind the valve cover. It has 3 wires if I recall. 1 hot and 2 that go to the interlock switch.
There is a whole troubleshooting sequence in one of the TMs.
Good luck with the truck they are lots of fun.
Jon
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JDToumanian
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That's from my favorite movie, he's "Shack" from 'Emperor of the North Pole'.
MidnightDuramax
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He also plays Dirty Lyle the sheriff in the movie convoy. Thats where I reconize him from. Awesome looking truck. Glad all went well on the recovery. I hope to have one some day.