Move M817 from Middle Tennessee to South Florida

I have a fully functioning M817 in Morrison, TN that I need to get hauled to a shipping dock just north of Miami, FL. I will be loading the back up with household items but won't be getting anywhere near the 44,000lb GVW. It will be ready to go by August 11 and I am flexible on the timing.

I know there are a lot of MVs coming out of Florida so if anyone is going down empty I can pay your way!

Any suggestions or advice would be very much appreciated.

I considered driving it down but till I would get it registered and insured and then put the fuel in it I don't think it would be worth the time and wear on my truck to try and save on shipping cost.

My wife and I are missionaries in Haiti and I think this truck will be our answer for hauling supplies up the twelve mile trail from sea level to 4000ft.

Lovetofix said:

I have a fully functioning M817 in Morrison, TN that I need to get hauled to a shipping dock just north of Miami, FL. I will be loading the back up with household items but won't be getting anywhere near the 44,000lb GVW. It will be ready to go by August 11 and I am flexible on the timing.

I know there are a lot of MVs coming out of Florida so if anyone is going down empty I can pay your way!

Any suggestions or advice would be very much appreciated.

I considered driving it down but till I would get it registered and insured and then put the fuel in it I don't think it would be worth the time and wear on my truck to try and save on shipping cost.

My wife and I are missionaries in Haiti and I think this truck will be our answer for hauling supplies up the twelve mile trail from sea level to 4000ft.

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Check with United States of Freight ( advertiser on site.) There are a lot of fly by night transporters out there. Make sure your transporter has commercial insurance on the truck, trailer and load, verify they have D.O.T. numbers on the truck and proper commercial plates for the states your load is passing through. Also verify the truck and trailer have current D.O.T. inspection stickers on them .

Haiti ? Bring lotsa grease and review carefully the operator and organizational responsibilities detailed in the applicable TM, 9-2320-260-10, 20, and lubrication order. I anticipate parts delivery there will be slow.

Thank you Fasttruck,
I appreciate any input I can get, if there is a common repair item I want to be prepared. I am taking a clutch kit, brake cylinder and pad kits, seals and bearings for the axles, control box, a couple spare tires and some other spare parts and rebuild kits. I can get oil and grease down here but you are right about getting things shipped here, nothing goes very fast in this country.
I downloaded all the applicable TMs and read the entire operators manual and lubrication order. The one thing I am trying to figure out is a chart or something to cross reference the military lubricant numbers with standard SAE numbers.

OE= engine oil. Shell 15-40 Rotella T is equivalent to what the military puts in the engine. OE10 is 10wgt oil for power steering. HB=brake fluid. Military has been using DOT 5 silicone brake fluid for some time. This is probably what is in your truck. GAA= chassis grease. GO90= gear oil differentials, & transfer case. Dump body also takes OE 10, check dip stick with body down. Don't forget the oil can points:
hinges, clevis pins in linkages, door jambs, etc. Take access panel off doors and lube window regulator rollers to preserve the window regulators.

Thanks for the advice and specifications.
Now, to keep up with this threads original topic, I am waiting on a quote from Joey. My case is a bit complex since I am putting other items in the truck to be shipped. Something to do with insurance only covering the vehicle but Joey said he is going to call one of the drivers and work something out!

Lovetofix said:

Thanks for the advice and specifications.
Now, to keep up with this threads original topic, I am waiting on a quote from Joey. My case is a bit complex since I am putting other items in the truck to be shipped. Something to do with insurance only covering the vehicle but Joey said he is going to call one of the drivers and work something out!

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Yes since you pack the items the driver can't vouch for their effectiveness in being packed and therefore isn't responsible for anything other than the vehicle. It also changes the weight of the vehicle as well as the center of gravity. I hauled a 923 out of Orlando a few months ago with "some furniture in the bed" the guy said it ended up being about 4400lbs of stuff in the bed and put the center of gravity of that truck almost 10ft in the air on my trailer. It had to be chained down pretty good. They may make you sign a liability waiver.

As far as other parts go. download the parts spreadsheet in the 5 ton section. Some parts may be available as they do cross to the civilian world alot if you needed to order parts off ebay and have em shipped there you would atleast have the basic part number.

I have experience exporting ex military vehicles, but not to Haiti. I urge you to learn about vehicle import requirements into Haiti. You will want confirmation that an unregistered vehicle can be legally imported.

Rick

Wes, thank you so much for that parts spreadsheet! That will be a huge help when I start to have things wear out.

I understand the logic behind not insuring the items packed in the truck, it was just something different and I am happy Joey at USF is workable with the special circumstances. I will probably have about 10,000 lbs in the bed (heavy small stuff like steel tracks for a CTL, razor wire, a Miller 330 A/BP welder etc. so it should help keep the center of gravity low). I used to help load moving trucks so I know what it is like to pack things for travel and what happens when it is not done right. We shipped a 16' box truck to Haiti when I first moved here and we had our whole house of furniture and appliances in the back. It weighed in just a few hundred under the GVW and it got here without damaging a single thing. I plan to run the truck over the scales prior to having it picked up so I can give the axle weights to the driver.

Thank you Rick for the reminder, I have imported several civilian vehicles here to Haiti and one I never registered stateside. All I had was a signed title so I don't think it will be a problem but will verify. I have already gotten my export license from the D.O.C. Bureau of Industry and Security and all my paperwork is notorized so I should be good to go.