5 ton or deuce?

I am a 15 year old living in London aspiring to get a big truck (a duece and a half or a 5 ton) and drive away as soon as possible. Firstly does anyone know it either a duece or a 5 ton is even road legal over here and secondly, which would you recommend getting when i am able to?

Thanks in advance

Wow ! Talk about ambitious. At 15 I was drooling over a Ford Torino GT. I admire your desire. Now to business, I have absolutely ZERO idea on the legalities of one of these beasts vis a vis the U.K., E.U., or anywhere other than PA, USA and I spent quite a while digging up info before I decided to jump in. The other thing I suspect you'll find is that it might be quite difficult to even FIND either on that side of the pond. Have you considered something like an LMTV ? Parts are probably going to be another issue. Those items now out of the way, it really comes down to :
- What do you want to / can you afford to spend ?
- What unit(s) are even available ?
- Which is in the best possible condition for what you have to spend ?
- Most importantly, what is YOUR preference ?

As far as driving them there really isn't much difference in the "classic" M35 / M809 trucks. But the "classic" trucks are MUCH different to drive than the "modern" variants with auto trans, air brakes, CTIS, etc.

Whatever you decide, rule number 1 . . . Have FUN. Rule number 2 . . . Be SAFE. These are all monsters that can be your best friend or kill you in a heartbeat. Best wishes and good hunting.

My opinion the duce is just a big oversized pickup, the 5 ton gets in to the commercial vehicle area. My self im partial to air brakes , the duce has an old style air assist hydraulic system. you are only going to have lh drive models they never made wrong side drive (I mean right hand drive) duces or 5 tons. The fmtv series may be another good choice as I would you could likely get your hands on a rh drive styre cab over there. have fun with them.

Welcome aboard.


I recommend the Deuce for your vehicle.


And, please spell Deuce correctly. It really does make a difference in the search engine.

What's your fuel price? In an M35 you might get around 8 MPG (unloaded) in Imperial measure. Think about that before diving in. Yes, you can burn all kinds of 'waste' oil that will appear to cost less, but everything is a double edged sword. You'll be paying to filter it, and repair stuff that wears out early like the injector pump when you burn something less clean than straight Diesel fuel.

To the folks in the US, my quick search shows Diesel prices in the UK that are ~$6.50 USD / Gallon. Think about that next time you're complaining while filling up the truck.

Welcome from michigan , you may want to search some of dmetalmiki 's posts . He is from your area and has a nice motor pool .

For London, get the little guy. A deuce will be HUGE on the streets, and check into the congestion charges. I BET it will be more since it's a "big" commercial vehicle for London. The 5-ton is a big animal. It might also be against the law to park in some communities. If you were outside (even as far out like Slough or further) I would go 5 ton, GO BIG if you can. Remember VAT, import and road taxes might be cost prohibitive. You might event get away with a HMMWV. There are some members that can probably chime in for the taxes. See if there are any registered in country, even if a little rougher, it would save on taxes. think about where you would store it, how much diesel is more a gallon there. We love our green iron, but the States are a lot cheaper for fuel, tax and storage. And do go see Dmetalmiki, nothing is like being inside of them. Do not expect him to sell you one however.