6x6 super single I saw at FT Carson GL lot

[1waterdog]

Need help ID'ing a truck I saw at Ft Carson CO while picking up a m101a2 trailer from GL. It was a 6x6 with factory super singles? I would really like a 6x6 with super singles, that came that way from the military. It was in GL yard and appeared to be in good shape or at least newer. Any ideas? It looked like a duce?

Thanks
Dwaine

 

[timass1]

Could have been a 5 ton 900 series or even a 800 series

 

[asgtoolman]

Your description sounds like an M35a3; the modified deuce and a halfs rebuilt in the 1990's.
There are plenty of threads and pictures on this site and usually several listed on eBay with very good pictures.

 

[1waterdog]

Thanks! I went on ebay and that was exactly what I saw. WOW I better save my pennies, it looks like just what I want and don't need. I wonder what the fuel economy is like?

 

[Katch1]

depends on what your gonna do with it, that cat is expensive to work on and doesn't match up to the trans real well, ok for a light hauler or parade vehicle

 

[goodguyzy]

yes i want a A3 but about $5500-$6000 from GL

 

[emr]

read all u can about them before u buy from the guys here , they may have singles, but any truck can have singles, my own personal opinion is one has to really just love those a 3 s to want one, the standard deuce s are less expensive, easier to get parts, tires wont be flat every time u want to go somewhere , but to each is own and thank God for that.. .. the growl of a multi turbo with straaight pipes does it for me, I love NO power steering and all the noise she can muster, and I LOVE my bench seat too... just sayin.... good luck if U really want one i hope u get one and love it !!!!!

 

[1waterdog]

I am still building my CUCV. My big thing is HEMP and it sounds like that may have a computer being as new as it is. I like simple, but I want the best technology I can afford. I have a large family and would like something bigger that if I had to I could get to PHX and pick up my kids. I live at 6000 ft and may have to play in the snow to get there. I have heard the singles do better, what do you think?

 

[jollyroger]

I have trucks both ways. Singles and duals. I think they both do their jobs very well. A lot of that depends on YOUR personal preference.

I have a M-35A2C that I put 395's on the stock rims and I would not go back on that truck. It now runs 65 MPH on the highway (flat ground) at 6000 feet. It sniffs a hill and I'm downshifting. I'm just sayin'. I am looking to put a 5 ton LDS motor in it to make up for the loss in acceleration and hill climbing power.

I air down to 15 psi for off road and it rides super smooth. Full psi duals to full psi singles the duals seemed to do better in a 2 foot deep sandy creek. Not that the singles did bad. They just seemed to want to dig rather than move. It just changed how I drove a little bit. Aired down the singles did much better and I did not notice much change for the duals.

The duals have the flat tire safety factor. If a tire goes flat on a dual you got another one to hold the axle up till you can get it someplace to work on it. With a single if it goes down that's pretty much it. So if you run singles have a good spare ALWAYS and check it regularly. Have your jack and changing equipment ALWAYS and check it regularly.

With duals on an M-35 the tire and wheel weighs I think 110 lbs. If you go single with 395's and stock wheels it weighs over twice that.......In fact I am going to work on one tomorrow. I will weigh them both to contrast and compare. My point is putting a 110 lb. tire and wheel back into the bed or a 200 + lb. tire and wheel back in the bed......Well. You know which one is harder to deal with.

I think the singles last longer, give you more road speed, give you more ground clearance, ride better, steer better and look cooler than the duals on my M-35. But that's my opinion. However singles are more expensive wheel to wheel than the duals (but there are 11 duals and 7 singles per truck including spares) and are easier to work with as far as size and weight.

Really I would do some research like you are doing and ask around on the SS site like you are doing. Then maybe you can find some local guys that would take you for a ride with both styles of truck and see what you like.

 

[jollyroger]

Some before, durring and after pics duals to singles.

 

[asgtoolman]

read all u can about them before u buy from the guys here , they may have singles, but any truck can have singles, my own personal opinion is one has to really just love those a 3 s to want one, the standard deuce s are less expensive, easier to get parts, tires wont be flat every time u want to go somewhere , but to each is own and thank God for that.. .. the growl of a multi turbo with straaight pipes does it for me, I love NO power steering and all the noise she can muster, and I LOVE my bench seat too... just sayin.... good luck if U really want one i hope u get one and love it !!!!!

I KNEW I wanted an A3--until I really looked at one; the lines, the mass, the everything just doesn't look right IMO. So I went with A2 and super singles.

LOOK, LOOK, LOOK before you buy!!!

 

[jollyroger]

I am not a big fan of the A3 either. Not that they are a bad truck and not that you don't get value for $4000-$8000 cause you sure do. I just like how the A2 looks better. I like the straight pipe whistler turbo. I'm just sayin' that's what I prefer.

The only A3 that I have seen that I like is one that 100dollarman did with the 395's on it. It went from where the **** did that funky hood come from to that thing is a beast. The 395's really helped put the hood into proportion somehow.

 

[1waterdog]

How hard is it to put on super singles on an M35a2?

Thanks for all the info it defiantly gives me something to thing about!

 

[Mitymac]

There fairly simple if mounted on rims.
Remember the A3 has about $3000 + rubber on it with the combat rims.
That said my A3 is for sale and am keeping my 5, A2s.
I cant get past the hood... nose in the air.

 

[asgtoolman]

How hard is it to put on super singles on an M35a2?

Thanks for all the info it defiantly gives me something to thing about!

Rear hubs would have to be "flipped" if you want all wheels to have same offset and you want your front and rear track the same.
New wheels $200.00 to $300.00 each + shipping
New tires $????, depending on where you find them + shipping + mounting
$$$$ add up quickly.
IF IF IF you don't mind the looks of the A3 and don't want to shift gears yourself, and want power assisted steering, it's pretty easy to make a case for buying an A3 rather than recreating one yourself from an A2. My

 

[asgtoolman]

I KNEW I wanted an A3--until I really looked at one; the lines, the mass, the everything just doesn't look right IMO. So I went with A2 and super singles.

LOOK, LOOK, LOOK before you buy!!!

To further clarify my previous post, I also bobbed mine, changed to an M116 trailer bed, and changed to super singles; all at the same time.

 

[jollyroger]

asgtoolman is right about cost. It is not cheap by any means to single an A2 out with modern radials.

A good A3 is $4000-$8000 depending on a lot of factors. You get 43 inch tall tires on combat rims with the much meligned CTIS system. I have not worked on that system personally but I have heard it is not fun. They are good trucks and worth the money.

You can find A2's for $2000-3000 in good shape. You can mount a set of 395's (46 inch tires) on stock rims that come with the A2.

I got my tires from 100dollarman in Lucerne Valley CA. You can PM him on SS for his current pricing. I drove the pickup out to Vegas for a weeks vacation and went over to his place and bought the tires. He is about 2 hours away from Vegas. About 40 miles South of Barstow.

You can use the 9.00 20 tubes and liners just to get you started. Then over time or when you get a flat change that tube out for a 11.00/13.80R tube. They cost me $25 ea. 14.00R tube is the right one for the 395's but they cost $35 ea. and are not as easy to find as the 11.00.

If you change the tires and tubes out have a couple of friends over on a Saturday, break down the NDT's. Clean up the rims and rings with a wire brush. To mount it helps to have a tire machine to hold the rim in place. I did mine on a 30 gallon drum with some big breaker bars and a bunch of prybars. It takes some work but not too bad considering you will have a hard time finding a shop that will work with the snap ring rims. And remember you can resell the 9.00 20 NDT's and extra rims to recover some of your money.

You can run the rears with the hubs flipped in and the wheels with the dish out. It's not the best way to do it but the truck will run that way until you have time to flip them out or get the wheels that accomodate for the front to rear difference. I flipped my hubs out when I did mine as I wanted to run a narrow track for narrow mountain roads. You don't need any parts to do this. It just requires you to carefully remove the rear hubs and drums. Unbolt the drum from the hub. Punch out the wheel studs. Flip the hub over on the drum and rebolt. Reinstall wheel studs. Reinstall drum and hub onto spindle. Then repeat another three times.

If I had to total it all up I have about $4500 in the truck including the singles and a lot of sweat and blood and twelve packs.

 

[jollyroger]

Hub flip.

 

[JOAT 0311]

Real nice addition to this post Jolly Roger. I agree about using the stock rims and I am using the 11" tubes because thats what I have to work with. There are plenty of deals out there for tires. It is pretty easy to get good 395s for 200.00 ea or less. The shipping may end up being the worst part. The A3s are nice but I wouldn't get one unless my wife needed the auto trans and p-steer. I love my multi-fuel.

 

[lonegunman]

As a guy who actually owns an A3 I have a pretty good idea how well they run. I averaged 12mpg over my last 200 mile trip, about 50 mph is all you get for cruising speed. As far as the dreaded CAT engine, mine runs like a demon. My "expensive" maintenance meant buying an overhead at 500 hours since it was new and that is considered break-in hours. Cat recommends doing the over head every 1000 engine hours/100,000 miles for the life of the engine. I doubt most deuce owners with have a lot of problems with it. It was under 300 bucks. My truck fires with a quick flip of the starter every time.

Cat serviced the engine, trans and axels and gave my truck a clean bill of health. The next day I started a 2500 mile cross country drive home to recover it. It was trouble free the entire way and used less than one quart of oil, the oil was still clean looking when I got home.

You can waste thousands making an A2 nearly an A3. Super singles cost a couple of thousand for tires and wheels, power steering is at least another thou, electric wipers are 400 more, a muffler is a couple hundred bucks, a decent driver's seat is a couple hundred more, good luck with the air brake upgrade and the trans.

Or you can buy an M35A3 and get over the funny looking hood. My truck was built in very late 1998 or early 1999. It is basically less than 12 years old, EVERYTHING was rebuilt to new or brand new. The engine and trans were warrantied for 36 months or 150,000 miles when it was turned over to the govt. Mine had 6300 miles and 495 engine hours with documentation to prove it and the two steer tires were new in 2008.

I drove plenty of A2's while in the military and this truck is an upgrade in every way. It has the same feel cab size and still feels like a deuce. If you plan on using you truck for something other than a yard ornament it or running into junked cars for a YouTube video the A3 is the only way to fly. It is well ahead of an A2 in ease of operation and realibility. I can walk into any Cat dealer in the country and buy filters, belts and hoses. I can have the trans serviced at any big truck repair that works on Allisons and most of the A3 upgrades are regular commerical parts. Good luck finding multifuel parts in the sticks.

Best of all I got it for 10% of the Govts price. Try buying anything Cat powered, all wheel drive, nearly new and capable of hauling 2.5 tons cross country for 6K anyplace but GL and tell me how you do.