M944A1 recovery

A few weeks ago I took two of my boys with me to Devils Lake North Dakota to recover my m944a1. I made a conversion hitch for the dolly (from some gl stuff)and pulled it up there with my suburban and pulled the suburban back with the m944a1. The batteries were dead so the soldiers that were there jumped it to start it for me. It didnt show any charge when it was running but I was in a hurry to get loaded up and going so I didnt check it out right away. We got it loaded and went into town for a Subway sandwich and it wouldnt start when we went back out. Fortunatly I brought a couple batteries with and jumped it with them. I noticed the belts were loose on the alternator and tightened them up. About 10miles down the road we started smoking bad under the hood. The alternator was smoking but not belts or bearings, it had apperantly shorted out inside and thats why the belts were intentionally loosened?. I took the belts off and we just jumped it each time we stopped. We stayed in two hotels on the way home and had no problems the rest of the way. Hiway 281 was very bad in some of north dakota and southdakota. Truck is very cool and will work good for hauling grain, The 939 series trucks are much more comfortable to drive than my m35 and m818 though they are a little better with the mufflers that I put on.
Ross/Nebraska

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Sweet truck. Did it have the tools and equipment you expected?

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Oh yeah, we're gonna need more parts of the inside of that rig. She's a beauty!

It has the 30kw generator,multifuel heater,Lathe,hydraulic press and the tent poles.

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ummm, did you guys notice the fact that its gonna be hauling grain....Yikes. Too bad that it has to be heavily modded for your use but still its better than the scrapper getting it. Looks cleaner than just about any other example of this model i have seen. Good luck with it.

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VERY COOL!!!! WOW..the lathe is there. How much other stuff is there? Looks a bit empty...

What a score!

Not to worry scooter, Im not going to do anything to the truck that cant be put back someday. Im going to keep it shedded as well

Excellent !!!!!!!!!!!!! I was kinda going on the "well it is his truck and he can do as he likes" mindset and wasn't gonna give you any crap, but its great to hear it will be kept in a condition suitable for resto one day.

What a BEUTIFULL truck..it has presence for sure..I would be proud to KEEP that orriginal for shows etc. In fact fact I (allmost) would swap it for my KRAZ 225b...P.s. fabulous pictures too..must have been a GREAT trip for u'all!

Both sides of the truck fold out with a built in hydraulic pump(hand operated) and the back end folds out so the press can be swiveled out the back. There is a hoist track that will hold 1500lbs that extends out the back of the truck to be able to hoist something into the box. There is also a hoist track over the lathe to move things onto the lathe. When all the sides are flipped up there are tent poles that hook into the sides extend several feet out to make a big enclosed shop. The multifuel heater would be able to heat the whole area. I dont have the canvas parts for the tent but the poles are there. The generator is pto driven off of the transfercase. I will try to get some pics of the setup but it will be awhile before I have time. BTW there is also a electric motor driven aircompressor and a large tank that is built into the top of the box. Its a very big awesome truck.

What engine is in that vehicle..and does it have a steady usefull cruise speed? and what mpg did you achieve on that trip?

Now that Is very cool . I don`t know what you gave but the equipment is worth alot.

Congrats Reb! It's a beaut! I'm glad some of the goodies were still in the back for you. Looks like you and your boys had fun.

dmetalmiki, it has the NHC-250 240hp Cummins. Cruising speed is around 60 MPH. 5-6 MPG can be expected.

I didnt check mpg on the trip, my m818 on a 500 mile trip averaged 6.7 half with no trailer and half with a 10000lb trailer. This m944a1 weighs around 30000lbs and has the same engine as my 20000lb m818.
The m944a1 has goodyear tires on it and they are rated 55mph. I went 60 for a few miles but didnt know how serious I should take the 55mph rating so I ran most of the way a little less than 55. My michelin tires dont have a speed rating on them. anybody want to chime in on the speed rating???

the lathe takes the cake, that is awesome


i want one now

an army lathe