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Cruise Control and Recovery

MDSA

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Valdese, NC
I won 2 M332 Ammo trailers from GL in Richmond and got my EUC approved in time for me to pick them up over Christmas while my oldest son was home from the Air Force Academy. We left at 3:45 and cruised along at 50mph for almost 7 hours, only stopping twice for fuel and relief.

After the first 3 hours my right foot started to cramp from pressing the gas pedal, so I finally tried something I had thought of many times but have never seen mentioned on Steel Soldiers – I pulled the throttle out and used it as cruise control. It worked fine except on hills where a little touch kept us up to speed. In traffic I would push the throttle back in just in case we met an emergency or had to slow for traffic. I think my right foot would be permanently deformed if the throttle hadn’t worked as a cruise control.

We got to the GL office about 10:30 and Charles there was VERY helpful. We were out of that office in 2 minutes and found the trailers. I had been prepared to jack them up but Charles used a fork lift to hook them tandem to the Deuce.

Everything except air lines hooked up fine. While I tried to find the air leak on the trailer right behind the Deuce, my son David got all the lights working and all tow chains in place. The night before we left I added my air hose to the mass of tools I took, and it’s a good thing. All 4 tires were low, one down to 5 lbs. It took longer than I wanted, and I could not figure out the air lines, but we never had trouble stopping.

After lunch and a few pics of the base which I wish were better, we headed home about 1. We stopped several times to check connections. Had a tow chain come disconnected on I85. You Virginia guys need to fix some of those pot holes – I thought I was driving a brick at times. But it was a blast pulling over 5000 lbs of tandem trailers. 47 feet long. I could hardly tell they were back there: pulled straight, stopped easy, and didn’t slow the Deuce down except on hills.

It was well past dark when we got home about 8:30 so I left the rig on the road. Besides I was beat after 17 hours. Next morning the Deuce failed to start. Thank God it waited until home to act up, but AMGeneral helped me find the problem and I got the trailers stowed behind the house one at a time. They back up much better than I thought they would. I used low and they backed right in where I wanted them. Now to clean them up.

By the way, I find the M332 a much more practical trailer. The deck is lower than a 105. The ammo trailer is heavier and smaller, but the tailgate opens and the low deck makes it easier to actual get things in and out of.

I am going to try and attach pics, but check my albums if no pics attached here.
 

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cattlerepairman

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After the first 3 hours my right foot started to cramp from pressing the gas pedal, so I finally tried something I had thought of many times but have never seen mentioned on Steel Soldiers – I pulled the throttle out and used it as cruise control. It worked fine except on hills where a little touch kept us up to speed. In traffic I would push the throttle back in just in case we met an emergency or had to slow for traffic. I think my right foot would be permanently deformed if the throttle hadn’t worked as a cruise control..
I do not know what else to do as a tall person on long trips in a cramped cab. Although not on a Deuce, I have used this method often on other trucks. I would say that it is inherently dangerous - but with many things that are potentially dangerous, if one is mindful and pushes the throttle in as soon as traffic conditions change, I consider it a manageable risk.

Should a situation occur that you did not see coming where immediate slowdown is vital, you can only hope that you will be in a position where you can reach and release the throttle (as opposed to hanging onto the steering wheel white-knuckled, unable to let go)......otherwise you'd be up the creek sooner than you can say "Holy sh**!".
 

Stretch44875

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(this is on my truck...yours may vary)
The throttle on a M35 is not like a car throttle, it's a tractor throttle(governed). When you push the pedal, you are telling the engine what RPM to run at, not how much fuel/power. If you are doing 45 mph, and come up on a hill, the injector pump will add more fuel to keep the speed up without pushing the throttle more. So the throttle control makes an excellent cruise control. I will keep my truck within 3 mph, unless the hill is steep enough to slow the truck down under full throttle.

If you have a panic stop, just push in the clutch. Unless you have the throttle pulled ALL the way out, the engine will not overev. Actually, even then you should be fine. If your truck is warmed, up, hold the throttle all the way down while in neutral, is should stop around 2800 rpm. I think mine is about 2900 rpm. Won't go any faster...

Dennis
 
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