which truck series is the best/most reliable

[13B40]

ihscoutsniper,

I don't know what you are looking for as far as "opinions" are concerned. This whole website is packed full of "opinions" that run the gamut. Look around. I guess if you get 5 opinions for your position and 4 against then you'll go ahead and butcher a truck to make your "silk purse". Why not just jump into it feet first and buy truck. See what its all about and form your own opinions. Opinions are worth what you pay for them.
Good luck with your new business.
Thank you for your service!

Ken

 

[doghead]

• Do not post in all CAPS or in giant run-on sentences without punctuation. Do not post as if texting and do avoid the use of texting abbreviations. We are not the grammar police but we want everyone to easily read your post in at least 8th grade English. It is extra work to post proper sentences from a smartphone but the result will be greatly appreciated. Please do your best to use capitalization, proper spelling and punctuation. It makes it easier for everyone to read!

 

[ihscoutsniper]

Well, we just purchased an a3 from sparta, haven't picked it up yet, it was bought to bob and sell,
Tthe reason i want opinions is to find out what others think about the advantages/disadvantages of each truck type/series....
I know all about opinions but that is specifically what i am asking for.
In the end I am not going to tally up the score , I will draw my own conclusion, but if i could get opinions followed with reasoning or facts , that would save me lots of time , heart ache and expense to find out the hard way

 

[Nonotagain]

M35 series trucks are a 50 year old design which until 1987 used a single circuit brake system. The 87-88 model year Air Force trucks have a dual circuit brake system.
LDT-465 multifuel engines make poor power, but for now can be had for half the price of a large truck diesel engine. Your initial outlay for a truck is going to be $3,000-3,500. A bobbed deuce tips the scales around 10,500 lbs.
If you are looking for tow capacity, search for XM-381 truck and data plates.

A 5 ton truck uses the old design 250 Cummins. Most hard parts aren't available any longer except as surplus. Fuel mileage sucks (5-7 being good). Towing speed is also low with 48 mph the average. A bobbed 5 ton is going to weigh close to 17,000 lbs. Same brake limitation for single circuit hydraulic brakes. Big tires and wheels add road speed. Initial costs $3,500-$4,500.

If you plan on purchasing trucks for resale, don't think that you won't have DOT issues with transport. You will need a class A license if towing a trailer weighing more than 10,000 lbs.

 

[porkysplace]

not to be rude or nasty, but not one single person has actually answered my question(with the exception of oldfart as to gear ratios..again thanks) yesterday i posted a question on gear ratios,and possible changes and it broke down into a fight over engines, this time i asked about engines and got into all sorts of other things, I am missing the secret code of questioning to get the answer i seek.....focus gentleman. i will however send appreciation for the interstate trucking regs , kinda forgot about that, but again back to the question at hand

OK here is the deal with this site ,the idea is it is always better to add to a existing forum rather than start a new one . So instead of you starting 10 new threads of each perticular aspect of your we try to look at the overall picture . You didn't like how the original thread went so you started a new one , this is one build project the information should stay in one thread . Alot of want yuo want to know has been covered , have you searched? . The threads started makes for more B.S. to sift through ,so rather than do that people start a new thread and make more threads to sift through. Also be very specfic in your title name , this one asked witch truck series is the most reliable ,but it appears you want to know which model of the M-44 series is the most reliable ,not which series. You also need to give a complete ezplantion in your fist post not little tidbits as it goes . Again the idea is to keep the number of threads to a minimum and build your questions into 1 thread for 1 project.

 

[ihscoutsniper]

finally, a good answer , thank you, have class a cdl, but since you are the second to mention it i will definatly check into dot regs,...ok looks like 5 ton series may be out unless someone can give good reasons to keep it in the runniong.

 

[doghead]

IHscoutsniper, do you have a high school education? Please do not post in giant run-on sentences. Use capitalization and punctuation properly too, please. There is also a spell check feature.

 

[91W350]

I think you are posting to:

A. Stir up trouble

or

B. Get your post count to 100 to peddle your items here.

Everything you have asked has been covered many times before.

Your short snippy cell phone like replies would make one suspect you are under age 18.

Not trying to step on toes and I almost never tell people to use the search function, but in your case, I think you should use the search function. M35A2 or M35A3 brought me the following.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/general-polls/48649-buying-m35a2-m35a3.html

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce-modification-hot-rodding/58641-m35a2-m35a3-pros-cons-each.html

5 ton commercially

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/5-ton-up/61291-any-body-use-5-tons-commercially.html

Read those for a few hours or days and come back.

 

[ihscoutsniper]

Ouch, that hurt. I do apologize for my improper use of punctuation and my rambling sentences.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Seems to me that every time someone offers an opinion, what you requested, you dismiss it. Gear ratios are easy. 6.44 for the 5 tons and 6.72 for the deuces. Except for the 900 trucks I'm pretty sure all have 1 to1 high range. You said you are not interested in engine opinions so now its just a matter of sheetmetal and that is your decision. Now here is my observation, you are squeezing the heck out of oranges in a desperate attempt to get apple juice. Do you have a Hurst AMX?

 

[ihscoutsniper]

I never excluded engines. That was almost the point.I didn't post to start trouble and didn't know about the 100 post count.
I will use the search function.
I merely sought to get current opinions from guys who were online currently so that i could get reasoning and facts behind the opinion. I thought that was the point of a forum.
I definatly did not intend to end up the ***hole at the end.

 

[ihscoutsniper]

It may be over my head or something, but I don't get the Hurst AMX reference?

 

[73m819]

No matter what you do, BOB, ect, these trucks( m35, 54, 809, 900 5t) are not designed to do what you want to do ( design from late 40/early 50 with some up grades), by the time you get it to where you want it, you will have so much money into it that you could buy a civy model with a LOT less maintance.

 

[Recovry4x4]

ok , i started a thread on gear ratios the other day and somehow it got off track and became a which engine is best thread. so what i want to do is build a hotshot rig, crew cab, front and rear winches 49 in tires , what i haven't firmed up is what series to start with ,i do however prefer the look of the a2 series, but not terribly important , i do want to swap in a 10 spd roadranger trans for better performance pulling 30' gooseneck, . i would even be willing to consider basing it on a 5 ton chassis with the cummins if it is the better motor, ...so please post your OPINION and reasoning where applicable,....but please lets not make it a debate if possible just stick to the facts maam....

Sorry, after the explanation above about the original question of gears getting off topic on engines and...you starting a new thread, I falsely assumed you were trying to get back on the gears topic. If engine discussion is OK, refer back to the original thread on gears to discuss engines.

You want to build a hotdshot rig, tow commercially, not concerned about speed, want it bobbed, 49" tires and don't want anything commercial looking right? Why concern yourself with a 10 speed is road speed isn't an issue? To accomplish all that you desire I would suggest a power company 4x4 with your selected MV sheetmetal. Don't forget mods to your trailer to go with that 60" 5th wheel height.

 

[ihscoutsniper]

The road ranger is a personal preference thing, not much gain as far as top speed. A2 has a .85 overdrive while road ranger is at .80, so only slight gain.
But the advantage of splitting the gears is in my opinion worth something.
I still would like to be in on the Hurst Amx thing, I don't get it???

 

[Ripcord01]

You need one of these. Will get you there fast,and plenty of horse power.

 

[ihscoutsniper]

Yeah, like converting a deuce over won't be costly enough
Not to mention whatever is on the trailer will be charbroiled,LMAO

 

[91W350]

52 or 53 were built in 1969, we had one in Salina for a while. It belonged to a neighbor and I had not a clue how rare it was, or how collectible it would become. It is an ultra rare beast indeed. You will search for a very long time to find one, according to this site, 39 are accounted for.

Super Stock AMX pictorial registry for 69 SS/AMX muscle cars

What you are asking for is about like that, kind of hard to find.

 

[ihscoutsniper]

ok, I see. Thanks for the explanation.
I am reading previous posts with the search function now.
It seems that this is "the eternal question", ...
I definatly prefer the look of the A2 over the "cobbled" look of the A3
Since I am hard headed and prefer my own transmission selection....
I guess i will go with an A2,
I do,however, have experience with the cat engines, have a dealer nearby and am freinds with the shop mananger. However anything that says CAT on it anywhere is usually imo overpriced.
Rogers military sales is about 30 miles from me and has a price of 3000 a truck need to go look at his selection.
Anybody ever dealt with him before?

 

[emr]

It seems to me with all your stated knowledge and the business U are starting, That U should have all this info or at least be able to look it up ? If not U are going to have allot of trouble in that business , U are asking for opinions ? These trucks are not for U in my opinion. ...
This also sounds like a " How big of tires can I put on this truck thread " And u have not even looked at any yet ? U do not know what U are asking in my opinion also........ Randy