M35A2 vs FMTV videos

[emr]

Interesting, vidio, alot can be liked and disliked, as for driving, anyone that would take an M series for a long mission over these is a hard headed old timer for sure, No soldiers that drive em here would take an M35 out over an FMTV vehicle, as for the mechanics, I hear many opinions, I just asked last week at a big repair facility here, all the old timers and My friends hate em, almost every on the ball young guy laughed and said , naw they are easy when U know how, I put my money on the future in battle not the past, these trucks will have a short life span due to electronics, so far they are still under warenty, when that runs out if they are still a problem they will go, but they are the begining of the new types of vehicles that are the future, and I have driven them they are very very powerful and so darn easy to drive, there is absoulutly NO soldiers that will ever work on there truck, in the field, they are towed or burned in combat, any vehicle in theater that has AC down is DEAD LINED today, so using an antique is out of the question, that is fact.Now we do have the best vehicles in the world bar none, even these.No vehicle can do it all, and anyone can pick out one thing and say, see it cant do that, thats silly, just like the comment of the cab lifting electicaly, one needs to add In my OPINION that looks like it would not work, because in reality the cab can be hand cranked so easy its silly, and as for working on them everything is under the cab when lifted, U can start it right there with on board stuff, Like a Mil young mechamic said to me the last time, these are easy trucks to work on, it just depends on who that is, That is info from a facility here, most mechanics do not like em, most mechanics are older, most drivers love em ,most drivers are younger.

 

[bigelk50]

Interesting views, I thought they were supposed to be the coolest thing since sliced bread. But like anything you give them a few years to work out the bugs and they just might be. In my personal opinion the '70s era of trucks just seam like they are built tough as you can get. Good Videos Mike!

 

[airbornebandsman]

there is absoulutly NO soldiers that will ever work on there truck, in the field, they are towed or burned in combat, any vehicle in theater that has AC down is DEAD LINED today, so using an antique is out of the question, that is fact..

I have known quite a few soldiers that have had to work on a broken down FMTVsin the field to get it running again, when you have no wrecker in the convoy and the brakes lock up in the middle of a town you don't have a choice but to get in the dirt and turn wrenches while others pull security. And were I was if the A/C was down you just sweated more and continued with the mission and hoped they could fix it soon. The duece may be an antique but if you lose an injetor or just about anything else in the engine it will keep going, in the FMTV if you lose anything on the engine you may as well stop and burn it.

 

[cranetruck]

Kind'a flattering really to have the latest tactical trucks compared to '60s technology vehicles....how often do you see the M1 Abrams compared to the M48 Patton tank?
Seem like the new are only tested in one environment, would be interesting to see them in the snow and jungle too.
As far as A/C is concerned, do the troops in the back have to sweat it out?

 

[OD_Coyote]

IMHO - From an as aesthetics perspective the FMTVs do not have the character of the M35 variants.
I prefer old school technology with mechanical injection pumps, manual transmissions and no computers thank you!

 

[Pawnshop]

Stateside, deuce all the way, because I have to fix it when it breaks.

I think this hits the nail on the head for most of us here. The old 2.5t/5t trucks CAN be maintained by one person in his/her driveway, the FMTV can not. From a civilian MV enthusiast's point of view the older trucks are better. From the POV of the current 20yr old, MTV/Playstation generation, military truck driver the FMTV with it's automatic tranny and computer controlls IS much easier to drive and THEY don't have to work on it (typicaly). The computer nerds in the rear get to figure out how to make the engine computer talk to the tranny computer when they are fighting and giving each other the cold shoulder. But that really isn't any different than a new car these days...

The EPA is the real reason this is all happening. The older trucks have all gone through several rebuild/update programs and they could do more (like the A3 program) and that would keep them running and reliable for a loooong time. The EPA restrictions are SO heavy that the trucks were forced to be re-engineered from the ground up because it is simply NOT possible to meet EPA requirements without computer controlled fuel systems.

Skuttlebutt has it that the LTV (2.5t 4x4 unit of the FMTV) is VERY easy to roll and even endo (nose over), there have already been some publicised accidents here in Austin involving them.

Not all of the kids driving the FMTVs these days prefer them, I talked to a kid at an event last year that was out there with his LTV and when I told him my M35A2 was on the other side of the event he looked like he was about to cry because he couldn't leave his truck and go play with mine. He told me that the LTV was nice, but the M35 is a TRUCK.

 

[Pawnshop]

Actually the cab is lifted by air. If the truck doesn't have any air pressure built up you have to jack it up from the control panel behind the cab.

I am glad they kept SOMETHING from the old cabover days, most of the old trucks had cab jacks.

 

[airbornebandsman]

Skuttlebutt has it that the LTV (2.5t 4x4 unit of the FMTV) is VERY easy to roll and even endo (nose over), there have already been some publicised accidents here in Austin involving them.

.

Sadly, its not just scuttlebutt. There are many, many incidents of LMTVs rolling every year and many fatalities and serious injurys as a result. The 5 ton version is much more stable.

 

[emr]

I sure do know a few good kids that prefer the older trucks, But they are TRUCK drivers, not a the vast majority of 20 year old guys and Gals driving today , and they are few and far in between, and to be honest know mater how much some would rather play with one of our trucks, they would want to switch back after a few hours, I read some soldiers have worked on FMTV's in the field, that is very very rare. very rare. Like I said these are the future, and like I said after they all run out of warrenty , they may go, but they will be replaced by something very much like them, And as u guys serving on this site, U guys LOVE trucks, and WE drive REAL trucks here....so it is understandable for these perdy trucks to take it on the chin here.I like the post about the Female Army, U got a great sense of humor......I get a kick out of defending these trucks for what they are, they need to be easy to drive and they are, and I will say they do have balls also, there are plugs that work for i pods too..., I rest my case.

 

[vinny-socom1]

Well I love my 5ton but if I could buy a fmtv for the same price I would... Sorry I do like the look of them..just can't afford the price..

Vinny

 

[res0wc18]

man those things look hairy. What about just updating the huge amount of trucks we already have? Was any updates besides the m35a3 ever done to improve the deuce? Wasnt there a bmy m63 that had typical 5ton rockwells with and airshift tranfer power steering auto etc?

Was there anything that was built of m35a2 designs or their equivilant 5 tons?

 

[wiggall]

The last parade that I had THE BEAUTIFUL BEAST in. I had a Idaho National Guard FMTV right behind me. He said on the road he would take the FMTV hands down! Offroad M35 NO CONTEST!

 

[cattlerepairman]

FMTV and so on

I have driven the Austrian Steyr 12M18 (Google it, if you want to see pics) which is the technically much dumber "original" FMTV with an 8 speed standard tranny and differential and transfer case air lockers.

The same debate happened, when the first 12M18 started replacing the Deuce-type trucks in 1986.

In fact, this debate undoubtedly happens in most armies of the civilized world whenever new systems are introduced. There is no egg-laying wooly milk riding pig that fulfills all possible roles to everybody's satisfaction. If you need eggs, get a chicken. If you need wool, get a sheep. You get the drift.

Old systems have distinct advantages - but so do new systems. What an advantage is is often a matter of definition.

The 12M18 is suitable for unpaved and marginal roadways but not off-road capable to the extent the older trucks were. It is wider and higher, with all the benefits and disadvantages this entails.
If the role of the truck involves being loaded to its rated capacity and driven mid- to long distance (several hundred miles) which one is more driveable and will cover the distance faster?

In its time, the Deuce was a sturdy and deceptively simple construction, using lots and lots of then-common bits and pieces. The engine saw use in other applications, the brakes were the same as on many other vehicles at the time and so on.

This is no longer the case; as we know when we buy parts, the list of stuff on the trucks that are "specialty" parts is now quite long - and it is not getting better.

Yes, military trucks have grown to be more complex - but so have the civilian counterparts they share many common components with (as was already pointed out by another poster). Perhaps the roles of the trucks have changed the same way as the combat theatres have - it may well be more effective to sideline a truck than to engage in field repair, based on the amount of spare trucks available in-theatre and the threat levels.

In short, I value personal preferences and I love driving and working on the Deuce. Not because I have to, but because I can.

If I had to pick a truck that I had to drive for 10 hours a day most days, I would pick the FMTV or similar over a 40 year old truck any day..

 

[comanderfritz]

so many modes. put it this mode when doing this, that mode when doing that. to complicated, took me 10 minutes to figure out how to drive the M35. "so this is 4th gear? alright got it."

 

[flighht2k5]

Man M35's are not that great offroad. They are about average. Ive driven both and I like the FMTV way more. I do like deuce's but without a locker in them or lots of speed. They just dont go thru much.

 

[OPCOM]

I just finished an FMTV school yesterday that was put on by TACOM. My state got 30 FMTVs last year. They have sat in our storage yard and haven't been used at all. All 30 ECU's(main computer) were bad and had to be replaced. They all were defective from the factory. In the course we deadlined the truck because of one relay going bad. In fact if any one of about 5 relays goes out, the truck won't start. you can pull relays from non essential areas and put them in the burnt out ones slot, but if you run out or a bullet hits the PDP area, the truck is dead for a long time. Even our instructors kept saying how big of a piece of crap these are and they are the teachers!!!!!!!! They did also keep saying that they miss the "old deuces". The FMTV is awesome in it's ride quality, power, turning radius, and a few other things, but what good are those things without reliability? We all know the M35A2 can dang near get you home on 3 cylinders, 2 gears, 5 flat tires, and running on whiskey. I just don't understand why our military has forgot the lessons of the 1950s? Keep it simple so the average soldier can fix and work on it and make the thing able to work after a nuclear bomb goes off. I for one am sickened at the crap our military is getting. And don't get me started about the 12/24 systems on all our trucks!!!!!!!

I can make it work after the bomb. But it will cost you very great lot of barter.

 

[dk8019]

I watched the first video, did anyone think that the advice on the downhill loss of control wasn't so great.

 

[OPCOM]

more videos, good quality ones.
http://www.bunkerofdoom.com/mil/sys/index.html

 

[res0wc18]

well the deuce and fmtv are completly different but if a deuce had hydraulic power steering and selectable lockers and another 100hp it would walk all over that piece of chit

 

[southdave]

I don't think we could even build a good truck in the US any more most parts and components are made in India or China now Cat and cummins have moved most engine plants off shore closer to all the scrap metal I guess. like or not some designer are going to upgrade the current industrial standard and present it to the govt.