Looking for a work truck

[svlsmokey]

Looking for a good truck

Hello all. I'm brand new here so please be patient.

I am looking for a heavy duty pickup for wood hauling and perhaps, eventually, plowing snow. I need something strong and reliable. I've come across a few M1028's that are for sale. So far they look like a good fit for what I need. Can anyone give me some guidance? One concern is that I will be coming down a steep grade with a heavy load (2500 feet of drop in less than 5 miles and about 4000 lbs of load between the truck and trailer.) Will the three speed automatic hold the load?

In general, is there anything to look for when considering a purchase of a MV? I see that some have really low miles - as little as 30K. They seem like a deal compared to a civilian diesel truck of similar capacity - and the civilian truck always 120K+ miles. Is there a reason that they seem to cost less? I really know nothing about MV's - like I said, I just happened to stumble across these trucks and they looked like a good fit.

Any and all advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[roscoe]

I don't know know much about the M1028 , but do a search and you will find quite a bit of good info on it. All the MVs sit for long peroids of time so issues do occur related to that. On the positive side they are made tough.

 

[Stihl029]

I have a M1028 and I love it. Its got a service body on it and would be great for what you want to do with it. remember this though its geared low and will not be good for the freeway's. I am not sure what area you are in but it wouuld be great for more rural areas. a good addition to teh powerplant would be a Banks sidewinder turbo kit. do some searching and you will see that this is a great rig. We use M1028's for our Brush trucks up here in AK. our new rig is an A2 or an A3 I cannot wait to see it at the end of the month.

 

[91W350]

They have large brakes and should handle that load easy enough, but I think just the truck weighs more than 4,000 pounds.

If you do not mind driving under 55 and do not expect to go 55 uphill loaded, you should be fine. They are what they are, heavy duty pickups with a light duty engne. The 6.2 is pretty economical, but do not expect it to haul a trailer like a 7.2 Powerstroke or one of the newer Cummins. Guys will tell they run theirs 60-65 all day long and that is humming for a diesel with a 4.56 axle ratio. It is way beyond what the engine was designed to run rpm wise and their fuel economy has to have flown out the window. Find an online tire-gear-rpm-mph calculator and look to run around 2200 rpm. That is the upper limit of their comfort zone, they will run harder and may survive, but that is not their design.

If you want a 70 mph tugger, keep looking.... find a newer turbo diesel. A 1994 to 1997 Dodge 12 valve is one tough vehicle.

As a snow plow for parking lots and driveways, they are super. As a road plow, they are under powered. Glen

 

[p3amea6]

I have a M1008 that I use for a Heavy load work truck and it is fantastic.

 

[doodaa]

I have a converted M1010 that I plow and haul wood and scrap metal with and I am impressed with the workhorse of a truck it is but the engine has power issues hauled 3800# of iron in one load yesterday.I know it's a little heavy but don't have a scale while loading and truck didn't squat all that much.as far as plowing she's great with the locker

 

[4x4 Forever]

They have large brakes and should handle that load easy enough, but I think just the truck weighs more than 4,000 pounds.

If you do not mind driving under 55 and do not expect to go 55 uphill loaded, you should be fine. They are what they are, heavy duty pickups with a light duty engne. The 6.2 is pretty economical, but do not expect it to haul a trailer like a 7.2 Powerstroke or one of the newer Cummins. Guys will tell they run theirs 60-65 all day long and that is humming for a diesel with a 4.56 axle ratio. It is way beyond what the engine was designed to run rpm wise and their fuel economy has to have flown out the window. Find an online tire-gear-rpm-mph calculator and look to run around 2200 rpm. That is the upper limit of their comfort zone, they will run harder and may survive, but that is not their design.

If you want a 70 mph tugger, keep looking.... find a newer turbo diesel. A 1994 to 1997 Dodge 12 valve is one tough vehicle.

As a snow plow for parking lots and driveways, they are super. As a road plow, they are under powered. Glen

Agree with most all of the above (dont know about plowing), the curb weight is 5800# for the 1028.

Here is a gear/tire rpm calc.: Gear Ratio Calculator just remember the trans case is a 208 and gears are 4.56.

Good luck!

 

[svlsmokey]

Hey - thanks to everyone here for their help and advise. I am planning to buy the M1028. A question: in the process of transporting this rig home, I may need to install a 2 inch receiver hitch. Looks like it will be 4 bolts on each side - easy enough. But on the wiring, do these have the same kind of wiring harness as a civilian truck? One of the wiring kits I came across has a plug that fits into the original harness but it's designed for a civilian truck. Or, should I look for the military trailer plug and use that? Thanks, -Sam

 

[4bogginchevys]

thier was a pretty recent thread about this topic, something about the plug in style "T" wouldn't power a blinker on one side because the military wired it different or something, it should have all the info you need...I cant remeber it all but I think the guy did get it fixed up to work good. Good luck with the advanced search, let me know if you find it

 

[svlsmokey]

Found the thread - good info and it looks like the T connector can be used.
Here's the link:
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/46121-trailer-wiring-adapter-cucv.html

 

[Tanner]

The 6.2 is a decent motor - when used within it's design limits. It 'redlines' at the fuel-pumps' governed max of roughly 3600 rpm, torque peak (IIRC) is 'all in' by 1800rpm & peak combo of hp & torque (usable max power) tops out at @ 2800rpm; beyond that, you're just wasting fuel...

'Tanner'

 

[svlsmokey]

I picked up the 1028 this weekend. It made the 500 mile trip home - only problem was the mice that recently took up residency in the heater ducting. I dropped the last one off at a gas station on the way.

 

[ehuppert]

Hmmm, mice! BTDT! would strongly suggest you remove the heater blower motor and check for debris in the heater core area.

While moving vehicles around for snow removal i left my 1008 running. A short while later i looked over and the cab was full of smoke. Seems the mice had built a home in the core area and the heater resistor had caught their condo on fire. I very quickly "partially" removed the heater core and jammed my hand in there to remove the smoldering fiery mess. Scratched and bruised myself in the process, but did extinguish the fire!

Would not have been a pretty site had this happened on the road or elsewhere, truck could have been up in flames...

Definitely worth inspecting

Eric