CUCV 1009 daily driver?

I am new to this site & mv's . I was thinking about a 1009 6.2
automatic that has 65k, no leaks.Seems to run well, military
put a new tranny in in 2007, came from a N.C. guard post. I
can't find any rust. The current owner states that he has put
new batteries, alternators , and a few other small items (I think
it can be bought for $3500.00). Are these things viable as a
relatively short distance daily driver? I am a city firefighter and
only drive to work once every 3 days, 16 mile round trip( plus
me goofing off on my off days puttering around town). This
would also be used on 180 mile intersate road trips during
hunting season towing 2 four wheelers?I am interested in the
possibility of running used veg. oil ? Does that affect maintenance issues?
I am also a volunteer firefighter in my community, and need
to leave home on a minutes notice all hours of day and night,
how bad is the whole rapid start and go? I am in NC so we have
relatively mild winters.Thanks in advance.

I have been using one as a daily driver averaging 50 plus miles a day, and I love it. I don't know that it would be a good start and go vehicle unless you keep a block warmer on it during cool months. In mid 30's after 5-10 minutes of warm up I still baby it until it is up to temperature, but I don't use a block heater. Towing a couple 4-wheelers 180 miles would be nothing to a M1009. People say they don't have power, and compared to modern diesels they lack a good bit, but they still have good torque for pulling small trailers. If you want a cheap realiable no frills sport utility vehicle, the M1009s are great in my opinion. I have three I like them so much lol.

Waste vegtable oil needs to be heat so that part most likely wouldn't work for quick starts.

about says it all! And welcome! been doing the vol Firefighter first responder thing for 19.5 years now. Know all to well about the minutes notice all hours of day and night thing!

A M1009 would work great for what you described. However, even though you are getting a running, driving truck for basically nothing compared to new vehicle prices. Be prepared to spend about a modern vehicle payment each and every month on it until you go through all the wear items. No matter how low the miles or how good it looks. Most of the parts such as pumps, radiator, hoses, belts, starter, alternators, etc... Are still 25 plus years old and will need to be replaced.

"Waste vegtable oil needs to be heat so that part most likely wouldn't work for quick starts. "

I have been told by the seller, that " I can mix 3~4 gallons of filtered veg. oil
with 1 gallon of diesel and pour it in the tank? How would I heat this?

Daily driver? Can Do.

Get in and go right away? No Can Do.

I've been using my 1009 as a daily driver for about 2 years now.

If you are needing a vehicle that you can hop in, fire up, and go. Look elsewhere. I would stick with a gas motor for that, unless you are going to buy one of the newer diesels.

If you are mixing wvo and diesel you can't preheat it. There are kits out there where you install a secondary tank that wvo goes in. That tank is setup to preheat the wvo for you to the correct temperature. You flip a switch and run directly off of wvo after it is heated up, when you are your stop, you switch back to diesel and purge the wvo from the lines. It's been discussed on here multiple times, just do a search.

My 1009 is my daily driver. I put about 45 miles on it every day and the more I drive it, the more I love it. Everyone before me is right though. Be prepared to replace parts, as it is 25+ year old vehicle. On the bright side, most of these parts are readily available. As far it you being a firefighter, I dont know that I'd want an old diesel as my fire up and go vehicle. Id stick with a gas motor as midnight said. If you do wind up purchasing it, be sure to post pictures-the fellers on this site love pictures!

I daily drive my 1009 as well. As some said already, not necessarily a get in and go vehicle but definitely reliable. Also if you've been looking around this site already you've probably seen that these trucks are by no means fast, so that 180 mile trip might take a little longer. Sounds like a good price though, about what I paid for mine. For the alternative fuels, search for waste motor oil(WMO) on here. That's what I'm planning for mine one of these days. Welcome to the site and even though the guy above me already touched on it...

I just picked mine up this past weekend. If it is 40 degrees or more, jumping in and getting going should only take about 30 seconds, if everything is operating properly. it will be a loud ride till she warms up, but I think the 30 second or less wait for the glow plugs is nothing. I filled up and am keeping track of my mileage. I just put 177 miles on her and topped off today with 6.9 gallons of fuel. That's roughly 25 mpg's, which I find hard to believe. I will keep track and post on that again.

Oh yeah, read the TM, do the maintenance and she should be very reliable. Good luck !

ssdvc said:

I just put 177 miles on her and topped off today with 6.9 gallons of fuel. That's roughly 25 mpg's, which I find hard to believe. I will keep track and post on that again.

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Please do!! It's not unheard of, but that's crazy.

I use mine as a daily driver. Mine is in drive as soon as the idle smooths out... about 5 seconds. I don't give it a heavy throttle for the 1st mile and my drive to work is short. I see people warm up their gas engines for 5 minutes or more too, so each his own.

2deuce said:

I use mine as a daily driver. Mine is in drive as soon as the idle smooths out... about 5 seconds. I don't give it a heavy throttle for the 1st mile and my drive to work is short. I see people warm up their gas engines for 5 minutes or more too, so each his own.

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Same here. I've always been told and practice that with a diesel, once it's started you give it a few seconds to get the oil pressure up and flowing then it's safe to drive easy for the first mile or two then gradually drive as normal. Long warm up times are just burning fuel.

ssdvc said:

I just picked mine up this past weekend. If it is 40 degrees or more, jumping in and getting going should only take about 30 seconds, if everything is operating properly. it will be a loud ride till she warms up, but I think the 30 second or less wait for the glow plugs is nothing. I filled up and am keeping track of my mileage. I just put 177 miles on her and topped off today with 6.9 gallons of fuel. That's roughly 25 mpg's, which I find hard to believe. I will keep track and post on that again.

Oh yeah, read the TM, do the maintenance and she should be very reliable. Good luck !

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25 mpgs sounds a little too good. My trucks average 18-20 with stock sized tires. Remember to check the accuracy of your speedo. From what I have seen the speedos are at least 10 percent off, meaning 55 mph on speedo is usually 50 or less. This ofcourse makes your odometer register more miles then actually covered. Also diesel foams a lot when filling tank, making it tough top off to the same level every time. Calculating mileage spread over a number of fill ups will give you a more accurate figure. I am going to put 33's on one of mine and see just how good of mileage I can get.

Daily Driver

So, I have been looking around at m1009's, and talking with owners I know, and it seems like the opinions are equally split. On one side the "daily driver" folks say "its an awesome daily!" and the other side I get "it's fun to put around town in, but not a daily driver, or distance driver". From what I am gathering, the groups are also divided into folks who work on their trucks and spend time to learn them as inside/out as they can, and folks who don't work on their trucks at all, do a little but don't spend time learning the in's and out's of these vehicle's, or those that just haven't found this website and support community!

The consensus on how much people love their trucks is clear across the board. I am on the fence. I want to buy one, I want to DRIVE one. I will tinker with it, but I want it on the road, not in a garage. The plan is a daily driver and from what I find, if I spent a little time upgrading parts and updating systems, I could have a daily driver...a 27 year old daily driver ( I understand there will be problems ).

I believe I saw "ssdvc" picking up his m1009 this past weekend while I was taking a look at one. Seeing him driving down the road a few minutes later just about sealed the deal for me. I want to pull the trigger, and this thread is helping. My girlfriend liked his...very , very, very nice inside! I guess I should say great job David...eventhough from the posts I have read on here everyone already knows that! ( Also...I liked the star )

The appeal of a driving a stripped down, no frills truck is almost to much. These seem crazy reliable if they are maintained. A question I did have regarding the suspension, axles etc., would be, how much rust is to much under there?

The engine upgrades, and electrical upgrades seem to be something anyone who takes the time to understand them can handle but axles, transmissions, etc., probably over my head ( no shop, equipment, moola', etc. ). Whats the lifespan on these components ( springs, axles, etc. ) for a daily driver? I know the offroad crowds take on this already, so I looking for a more "realistic" perspective.

It comes back to the 25+ year old arguement again. There are seals inside the axles that will or have worn out. Same with the springs and the bushings for the springs. Nothing last forever. Most of the trucks have some spring sag to them. Especially in the rear of the M1009's. Go to the CK5 web site and you will read about how they even have a niffty name for it.

However, new spring sets with bushings at stock or slightly lifted specs are available for less than $500. If you go into the deal planning to spend some money each month doing upgrades, read the manuals, understand what needs to be done and buy a few tools. Such as jack and jack stands, pickle fork, front axle nut socket and the ball joint adjusting tool. Everything else is just normal hand tools. You will have a very dependable, pretty low mile unique vehicle that will last you another 25 years with just normal maintenance.

Going into the deal thinking it is something that won't need work for the next 50,000 miles is just setting yourself up to be dissapointed and mad.

Guess whether to buy or not only you can determine.

My M1009 isn't an everyday daily driver, so it's more of a fun vehicle. I drive it to work about once a week and use it for errands too. It would be fine for a DD with regular PM and replacing old items that could leave you stranded.

Just keep in mind what it is - as you said - a basic, stripped 6.2 diesel Blazer. Summers will be hot without AC, it's a little noisy at drive thrus, hiding personal items in it isn't easy with those big windows, and diesel costs more (here nearly $4 per gallon now). Yes, that's also part of it's appeal and you can address some of the bad points with a few changes. Just saying it has some drawbacks too....keep them in mind for your specific use and you won't be disappointed.

Mine will keep up with traffic, drives 65-70 mph with ease and handles well - parking it is a breeze. You can carry people or fold up the back seat and carry stuff. My first tank of mostly short trips was about 16 miles per diesel gallon, parts aren't too bad to locate either, and my co-workers love it - one calls it the "Battlewagon".

So far I have really enjoyed it.

Yes they are 25+ years old yes the springs may have settled a bit over the years that does not mean you have to change them Allot of trucks and cars for that matter are still driving on there old springs with no issues yes seals and such will wear out or need replaced at some point. point being ANY! Truck or car you buy will need some things repaired or replaced that is a given. Find a ride YOU LIKE! look it over like any other truck or car, drive it if pos. then decide for your self what you want to upgrade or replace other then normal things like seals ,brakes,tires,battery's and such that are normal wear items you are not buying a new truck with one of these but not all are bad as alot make them out to be I've bought and drove a few home 270 miles with no issue at all after a couple new battery's or a jump just look it over good so you know what your getting and keep the surprises to a minimum ! GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY THE RIDE! Besides with this hobby the upkeep is half the fun!!!

The 1009 is bare bones, period. You can make it like it's civi counter part, but it will cost you (and why would you??). It is loud, obnoxious and stands out where ever it goes. If you like driving a real truck, you could use this every day. If you don't, you won't. My wife doesn't care for it, but that's just fine with me. I have gotten a lot of looks, thumbs up and smiles since I picked her up and I noticed yesterday that you sit up fairly high and the "view" gets nice sometimes.

Do it, you know you want to !!!! Good luck to you !

Oh, I did take that star off (sorry Dave) but I am going to put all the correct information on the outside as soon as I get some original info for the truck that I am waiting for.

my wife likes it she drives it all the time then again she is a country girl grew up on a farm!!