HEMTT Update

[Hammer]

That sure is the easy way to move those tires around!

 

[13 MIKE]

Man, of all the military vehicles I would love to own, the HEMTT would be it! I drove the HEMTT or PLS for 8 years while in the Army, all of which were in the ammo section of either cannon or MLRS artillery.

As I'm sure 13 MIKE knows, the MLRS six pack wouldn't be appropriate to haul in the M977 anyways, as it was never meant for those. The M985 is the version of HEMTT that was designed to haul the pods for the MLRS as it has a heavier 6000# material handling crane, compared to the 4500# MHC on the M977. The two trucks look identical from the outside, with the quickest way to tell the difference being a glance at the MHC... on the M977, there is just a single cable that hangs down, on the heavier M985 crane, the cable loops through a block and back up to the crane. The M985 also has the brackets for the pods to sit in on the floor of the cargo area. An M977 can lift empty pods, but wouldn't be able to safely lift full ones, especially those loaded with an ATACMS.

I'm super jealous. That is an amazing truck!

Brad

Never noticed the difference, all we had were 985's, and the tanker.

 

[Stalwart]

I'd dearly love to have the MLRS pods for display but we are making due with the pods for the 2.75" rockets. At least this way we have room to haul our "stuff" too. Perhaps some day I'll have the proper trailer as well, I know they are out there for a reasonable price. Problem is I need to get rid of my Stalwarts FIRST and then I can get a trailer. A bigger crane would be handy, but at 5000 lb close in and 2500 extended allows me to lift most things I need to.

 

[Stalwart]

New toy for the HEMTT, a dummy 50 on the MK93 soft mount that Damon bought for the truck:

 

[srodocker]

man that is awesome!

 

[BradBMI]

Nice Job! How much did the new sides cost? I have a M985 with warped sides. Maybe your guy could fabricate a set for me?

 

[Stalwart]

He could but I believe you'll fall over at the price. I don't remember exactly but it was north of $7,000. They are EXACTLY the same as the steel ones and a lot went into making them. Steel would have been less expensive but I didn't want the pockets to start rusting and there are always places you can't get paint into that water WILL find.