need some close up V17 pics

[scoutmanadam]

Hi, i am in the process of restoring my 52 reo V17. I have looked at all the pics off of this site and haven't been able to find any of the insides of the tool boxes or of the inside of the cab. Also, any more pics of the outside would be most appreciated. thanks

 

[scoutmanadam]

Also a pic of the top woud be cool

 

[Steve6437]

I may have some pictures of the 52 REO V17 MTQ that was assigned to me for 18 months 69 to71. I will try to answer any questions regarding the V17 the best I can remember, anyway if interested. We just called it the V17 line truck back then.

 

[Steve6437]

Found the CD with the V17 pictures

I may have some pictures of the 52 REO V 17 MTQ that was assigned to me for 18 months 69 to 71. I will try to answer any questions regarding the V17 the best I can remember, anyway if interested. We just called it the V17 line truck back then.

I found the V 17 pictures I thought I had lost.

 

[54reo]

I found the V 17 pictures I thought I had lost.

Post them up if possible!

 

[Steve6437]

I am working on it now.

 

[Steve6437]

V17 MTQ new from Korea with 20 miles on it. Vietnam August 1969

 

[Steve6437]

I have more pictures but this site keeps kicking me out.

 

[Steve6437]

The first picture shows the limitations of the rotating platform, it was just not high enough to reach the cables. Ladders and bucket trucks came in handy for sure. In the fourth picture to the right there is a 5 ton shown with a Polecat auger and pole lifting arm. This was a handy setup to bore holes and set telephone and power poles with. I would guess this was a special order setup and I only know of two that were there. This one was owned by Pacific Architect and Engineers, a military contractor. But we were offered its use many times. Also notice in the background in the same picture a V17 with its jin poles up. Even with the "modern" equipment in the picture, the old V17 could still prove that it was still very useful. In Vietnam, concrete telephone and power poles were the norm, but would break in the middle at times if under undue strain. There were very few wooden poles. There was a booklet that came with each V17 that explained how they were to be used. May be such a booklet is still available since it was a Army publication.

 

[Steve6437]

V17s 169 159 and 167 ready to go to work, September 1969.The booklet that came with the V17 explained how they were to be used. I am a little fuzzy, OK a lot fuzzy on remembering what it said. But it went something like, the V17 MTQ was a telephone line construction truck that was to be used in conjunction with the V 18 to construct telephone lines. The V18 boring the holes and the V17 and its pole trailer following along behind placing the poles in the holes with the jin poles using the rear winch cable attached to lift the poles as it went along. Following V17s would place the cross arms with insulators to the poles using the rotating platform. Other following v17s would, from the towed wire reel trailer, string the open wire across the cross arms. Another following V17 would complete the job by affixing the wire to the insulators using the rotating platform. The open wire would be pulled tight with a rope attached to the wire being strung, the "Cats Paw" fit onto the rear winch shaft through the little sliding door on the right side of the V17. The rear winch drum was disengaged and the rope wrapped around the cats paw and the pto lever moved to start the winch. A slight pull on the free end of the rope would tighten up the open wire or wires on the pole cross arm insulators so it would not sag between the poles. And on it goes until the line was completed. This was the basic procedure as I remember it. The V17 and V18 was designed back in the day when open wire and cross arms was used by the Army Signal Corps. A day long since past by at least 1965. They were, as far as I know, not designed to be used with telephone cable. The poles that were used with the V17s were wood and shorter allowing the rotating platform to be used with the idea that no ladders or pole gaffs are needed and the wire stringing process is speeded up in a assembly line type process. If a book could be found, I could be proven wrong here, but I do think this was the basic concept behind the V17 its wire trailer and pole trailer to carry the poles behind the V17. And of course the V18.

Korea may be the last war where this type of telephone line construction concept was used. The idea where front line troops used field phones and field wire strung out on top of the ground for communications, then as more ground was gained, another group would come along behind them with the V17s and V18s to string permanent open wire communications from the rear to the front line troops that were (hope any way) moving foward. Here is where you can see the need to speed up the telephone line construction process to provide constant communications from the rear to the ever moving forward front lines. Of course Vietnam was not anything like this, so the V17s and v18s were assigned to maintain the communications facilities that was built for the most part using more modern construction equipment used by contractors. The V17 and 18 were really obsolete for working with modern (1969) cable based communication facilities. But the military used what they had and if you needed a truck to maintain telephone lines, well you got a truck to maintain telephone lines. Just deal with it the best you can.
The contractors had the modern equipment, we had the V17s.

 

[Steve6437]

 

[Steve6437]

 

[Recovry4x4]

Wow, those are some great pics.

 

[Steve6437]

There were eight 17s new from Korea with only five miles on them July August 1969, one V18, one pipeline truck, I don't have a picture of the V18 or pipeline truck. Just was not thinking about it at the time. Went to the docks at Saigon to get them off the ship. They said to pick which one you wanted so we did. It was a 1952 Reo gasser V17A MTQ, but we just called them line trucks. Some were built by Studebaker and White and there were some minor differences between them, but I don't remember what it was. Everything was new and packed in wood crates with that sticky rust prevention stuff and we spent several days cleaning it all off with MO gas. They had been parked in Korea since the early 1950s and were just like new. Each one came with an instruction book describing all the features of the V17 and how they were to be used. So there are instructions for this truck if you could ever find a booklet.

 

[Steve6437]

Had trouble at the fuel depot and every time I went there which was often as it was easy to go through 50 gallons of gas in a day or two. Some one would come running out at my truck and tell me I was in the wrong lane for fuel as we had the only gasser 2 1/2 tons there were as far as I know. I had to show them that it was a gasser and had to line up withe the 3\4 tons and Jeeps. There was a big deal going on at the time about putting MO gas in to multifuel trucks as they had more power, but would burn up the engines.

 

[Steve6437]

You can kind of see why the turn table platform was not used very often as it was just too short to reach the cables. They made a lot of noise driving down the road and hit even a small bump would cause them to rattle and bang. We used ladders and bucket trucks most of the time. The jin poles were used quite a bit to set poles and load cable reels, but you had to let them stick way out of the back of the bed when disassembled as if you pushed them all the way in, you could not open the drivers door. Mine just sort of went missing one day and problem solved. Also you could not drive around with the jin poles up or you would snag a telephone cable or worse a power line.

 

[319]

Great photos, thanks for posting........of course, more is better!

 

[jasonjc]

Great pic's. Thank you for sharing them with us and thank you for your service.

 

[Steve6437]

Great photos, thanks for posting........of course, more is better!

I have a lot of pictures of Vietnam, but this is all the V17 pictures I can find. If I find any more, I will post them. Like anything else at the time, I never thought to take more pictures of the trucks we had and that some day they would be rare. Actually they were sort of rare back then as there was just a few in country. Duce and a halfs and three quarters, jeeps were everywhere, but not these. Also there was NO parts for these at all in country. Not even an oil filter. But as far as I know none ever broke down because of it. Good truck, but somewhat slow when loaded down with equipment. Most people wanted a three quarter or jeep as they were faster. But I did not mind as there was no where to go anyway.

 

[Steve6437]

The chain through the steering wheel and pad lock had to be used each time you park the truck. This was a big deal and if caught not locking your truck you could get your truck taken away from you. So it became a habit to always lock the chain each time you park it. PMs were a big deal also and if you did not do them each morning, same thing, you could get your truck taken away from you.
It was a military thing as just about anything else was no problem as long as you did not run over something big or expensive. One guy drove his V17 through some concertina wire and the wire became wrapped so tight around the axels that it just stopped the truck in its tracks. It took two people a day with wire cutters to cut all the wire out so the truck would move.