I put mine up and took it down in 100F so I know the feeling. It sure takes away some of the cool factor of owning one.
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Working on the MKT
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25thIDAirAssault
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Mark ,
The display at your event looked really nice. Lots of armor from the looks of it. Sounds like you guys really had a nice time. Weather looked great also. Your power converter platform looks real good. We are going to put 2 griddles in my original MKT -85 for the first time on Friday. Should work out good. Using the 2nd MKT-85 basically as storage and extra room. Hoping for nice weather but so far this week it has been cloudy, overcast, and rainy? Friday and Sat are supposed to be nicer with no rain. Temps only reaching 60 though? Will almost certainly install the canvas walls at night after dinner so that when it turns into a barracks it will be warmer with the space heater. The new flourcesent lights should work well also. I will try and post some pics on Sunday morning. Mark, I hope our event goes as well as it looks like yours did. Talk to you guys soon.
John
The display at your event looked really nice. Lots of armor from the looks of it. Sounds like you guys really had a nice time. Weather looked great also. Your power converter platform looks real good. We are going to put 2 griddles in my original MKT -85 for the first time on Friday. Should work out good. Using the 2nd MKT-85 basically as storage and extra room. Hoping for nice weather but so far this week it has been cloudy, overcast, and rainy? Friday and Sat are supposed to be nicer with no rain. Temps only reaching 60 though? Will almost certainly install the canvas walls at night after dinner so that when it turns into a barracks it will be warmer with the space heater. The new flourcesent lights should work well also. I will try and post some pics on Sunday morning. Mark, I hope our event goes as well as it looks like yours did. Talk to you guys soon.
John
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After our event at the Central TX Airshow this last weekend I've come to the conclusion that I can't handle the trailer by myself and can't rely on the generosity of others to help me with it (although many did provide support it may not always be there in the future). For that reason I've put the trailer up for sale: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/vehicles-sale/88074-mkt-85-fully-loaded-4500-a.html
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about 8 years ago and it's slowed me down considerably. After a 4 hour drive home from the event I wound up sleeping 4 hours that afternoon, got up for 2 then back to bed for another 10. I hate to admit it while I'm trying to sell the trailer but it is a LOT of work just setting it up and taking it down. As such it's time to let it go. I appreciate all the help that folks on here have given me in finding parts and making things work and hope another SSr will pick this up.
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about 8 years ago and it's slowed me down considerably. After a 4 hour drive home from the event I wound up sleeping 4 hours that afternoon, got up for 2 then back to bed for another 10. I hate to admit it while I'm trying to sell the trailer but it is a LOT of work just setting it up and taking it down. As such it's time to let it go. I appreciate all the help that folks on here have given me in finding parts and making things work and hope another SSr will pick this up.
25thIDAirAssault
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Mark,
Like I said I am sorry to hear about you selling the MKT. I did not know of your health issues, I hope you are doing well. I know how much work the MKT's are and I understand. I give you a lot of credit to actually do the work on the trailer and get it fully operational. Than use it and take it to shows. Bravo, nice job. At least you can say you did it and you have the pics and memories to prove it. Good luck in your future projects.
John
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Thanks John. It's been fun but it really is tough when there's just 1 or 2 people running things. Everyone wants to see it at events and partake of the food but when it comes to clean up or stowage seems like they all disappear.
We have had the same problems/feelings. Everyone wants the MKT's setup at events and us to cook food, but a lot of people simply don't realize (and maybe in some cases don't care) how much work it is. It is not just setting up the MKT, but getting all the food/supplies (usually takes an entire afternoon to go buy all the food/supplies), then the cooking, cleaning (after every single meal), then by the time you are finished cleaning you have 15mins till you have to start cooking again for the next meal. Then at the end there is the work closing it back up and putting everything away. And after that we usually have to open her back up again a few days later to really clean it up again (usually with a hot-water pressure washer) to make sure it is really sanitary for the next event.
The last event for us is what broke the camels back. We were told we would cook two breakfasts and one dinner and just for the volunteers with the military vehicles. Once we arrived the organizers told us that we would be cooking ALL the meals (2 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 2 dinners) and would have to also feed an extra 200 people. We had bought food just for what we needed (with a little bit extra just in case). We were in the middle of nowhere as well (about an hours drive to the store). Organizers told us they didn't care and that it wasn't their problem that no one had told us that things had changed and just drove off on their golf cart with "more important things to do". Even after we went out of our way to do all of this, the organizers refused to help pay for the extra food and we spent our entire weekend baking inside of the MKT (with the ovens running and the summer temps it was hot as h ell in there) cooking for people. Never had a chance to get out and see anything. Naturally a lot of people who offered to help us could never be found when we needed them, but they were the first in line to get their free food. We did have a few people that helped us here and there which we really appreciated, but they had to leave after a while as they hadn't originally planned to stay all weekend. That whole situation left us very jaded. Especially when it wasn't the first time it happened. In the end we calculated it cost us over $600 in our personal money and a completely lost 3 day weekend.
We concluded it simply wasn't worth the effort after that. We will bring it out to events to show it, but other than cooking for ourselves (or for small events) we will not be cooking for the masses anymore. After volunteering for events for the community and other activities over all these years, we want to actually see the event from somewhere other than the other side of the service table. We love to help people, so this was not a simple decision.
You got a nice trailer there. Very hard to find one with a good set of canvas all over. I am sure whoever buys it will be happy with it.
The last event for us is what broke the camels back. We were told we would cook two breakfasts and one dinner and just for the volunteers with the military vehicles. Once we arrived the organizers told us that we would be cooking ALL the meals (2 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 2 dinners) and would have to also feed an extra 200 people. We had bought food just for what we needed (with a little bit extra just in case). We were in the middle of nowhere as well (about an hours drive to the store). Organizers told us they didn't care and that it wasn't their problem that no one had told us that things had changed and just drove off on their golf cart with "more important things to do". Even after we went out of our way to do all of this, the organizers refused to help pay for the extra food and we spent our entire weekend baking inside of the MKT (with the ovens running and the summer temps it was hot as h ell in there) cooking for people. Never had a chance to get out and see anything. Naturally a lot of people who offered to help us could never be found when we needed them, but they were the first in line to get their free food. We did have a few people that helped us here and there which we really appreciated, but they had to leave after a while as they hadn't originally planned to stay all weekend. That whole situation left us very jaded. Especially when it wasn't the first time it happened. In the end we calculated it cost us over $600 in our personal money and a completely lost 3 day weekend.
We concluded it simply wasn't worth the effort after that. We will bring it out to events to show it, but other than cooking for ourselves (or for small events) we will not be cooking for the masses anymore. After volunteering for events for the community and other activities over all these years, we want to actually see the event from somewhere other than the other side of the service table. We love to help people, so this was not a simple decision.
You got a nice trailer there. Very hard to find one with a good set of canvas all over. I am sure whoever buys it will be happy with it.
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I have to say last weekend Keith_J and TexAndy were a tremendous help. The deuce and trailer wouldn't have made it home if Keith_J didn't volunteer to drive and he did most of the cleaning all weekend. Our MVPA club is good about covering the food costs and I tell everyone else that I don't have a food service license so can't give/sell them anything without risking a fine. It's okay to do for a private club but not for the general public.
If I was 20 years younger and had a working immune system I'd probably hang on to it but age and fatigue has gotten the better of me.
I will mention that a stripped MKT just sold on eBay for $3200 so I think the price is reasonable. Of course I understand that most of us on here are really, really, cheap b*stards (myself included) so I'll probably wind up going the eBay route in the end.
If I was 20 years younger and had a working immune system I'd probably hang on to it but age and fatigue has gotten the better of me.
I will mention that a stripped MKT just sold on eBay for $3200 so I think the price is reasonable. Of course I understand that most of us on here are really, really, cheap b*stards (myself included) so I'll probably wind up going the eBay route in the end.
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Mark,
I'm sad to hear that you will have to give it up, and I think it is more than a fair price (more like a steal for the buyer). I've opened mine up and closed it down six times, by myself. It's usually a two or three hour ordeal when I do. I have been very lucky at the GA Rally's with some wonderful help. But no matter how you look at it, it's a lot of work. Since I do the 'final cleaning' on mine after I get it home from a rally, it usually stays opened up for a month while I do things to it.
M1031CMT, you were much nicer than I would have been. I would have pursued the organizers and told them I was leaving, and I would have left, gone to a local print ship (even two hours away, and printed up flyers to hand out to everyone headed to the site. Remember, the only fair fight is one you win!
I'm sad to hear that you will have to give it up, and I think it is more than a fair price (more like a steal for the buyer). I've opened mine up and closed it down six times, by myself. It's usually a two or three hour ordeal when I do. I have been very lucky at the GA Rally's with some wonderful help. But no matter how you look at it, it's a lot of work. Since I do the 'final cleaning' on mine after I get it home from a rally, it usually stays opened up for a month while I do things to it.
M1031CMT, you were much nicer than I would have been. I would have pursued the organizers and told them I was leaving, and I would have left, gone to a local print ship (even two hours away, and printed up flyers to hand out to everyone headed to the site. Remember, the only fair fight is one you win!
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Yeh I've done the "ring-around-the-MKT" a couple times myself. Crank one side. Lock it. Go around to the other side and crank. Lock it. Repeat as needed.
One last story of the MKT adventure. Last Friday night after we had everything cleaned up after dinner and sacked out we got a nasty wind storm. Sustained winds were 29mph and gusts were likely over 50. As you can imagine the walkway covers acted as parachutes pulling the poles out of the deck. TexAndy and myself were valiantly trying to get the tentage down before any damage could occur and avoid being beaten by the support poles at the same time (they were out of the deck but still connected to the roof and cover). We finally got it strapped down around 0130 (as the wind died down) and headed back to bed. Saturday night I used about 10 ratcheting tie-down strapes connected to the top of the poles to secure them snuggly to the deck. Isn't it just like experience to figure one thing out just as you no longer need it?
I was very tempted to walk to the organizers tent (which most of them were just sitting under drinking beer at 10am while we were trying to put the MKT up in the rain) and tell them to stick it and hook the MKT back up to the M35 and leave. But there were more than a few vets who came out that I was feeding for free for the breakfasts (it was costing us money but I thought they already paid all their dues long ago) and didn't want to disappoint them by leaving so I sucked it up and did it.M1031CMT, you were much nicer than I would have been. I would have pursued the organizers and told them I was leaving, and I would have left, gone to a local print ship (even two hours away, and printed up flyers to hand out to everyone headed to the site. Remember, the only fair fight is one you win!
LOL. I thought I was the only one who did that!
rwbrown72
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The MKT's are really fun, but as all have said before... they are a lot of work. My friend Wade and I took mine to a show recently and I had almost the same experience with the exception of the event organizers. A couple days before the show we were asked if we could cook for everyone. I decided not to. Personally, I don't want the liability of someone getting sick and blaming us or someone complaining about the quality.. you guys know the drill. In the end, I did cook for everyone and had a ball. I only asked that the people make a donation to the museum. Personally, I would not take on an event and commit to every meal. I'm not a professional and don't want to be. I do this for fun and I won't do it if it stops being fun. The other thing I won't ever do is setup at show center! Can't do anything without someone seeing. Not a big deal until the vendor who was going to serve food decides to cancel at the last minute and we had the only dry spot out of the rain. It all worked out great and we had a wonderful time, but I did learn a few things about the MKT and how to handle it.
indy4x4fab
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Oh and by the way guys these boys can cook,The MKT's are really fun, but as all have said before... they are a lot of work. My friend Wade and I took mine to a show recently and I had almost the same experience with the exception of the event organizers. A couple days before the show we were asked if we could cook for everyone. I decided not to. Personally, I don't want the liability of someone getting sick and blaming us or someone complaining about the quality.. you guys know the drill. In the end, I did cook for everyone and had a ball. I only asked that the people make a donation to the museum. Personally, I would not take on an event and commit to every meal. I'm not a professional and don't want to be. I do this for fun and I won't do it if it stops being fun. The other thing I won't ever do is setup at show center! Can't do anything without someone seeing. Not a big deal until the vendor who was going to serve food decides to cancel at the last minute and we had the only dry spot out of the rain. It all worked out great and we had a wonderful time, but I did learn a few things about the MKT and how to handle it.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ4D3nN0siQ&feature=youtu.be[/media]
jump forward to 0.20 and theres a breif shot of there mkt, and we where to ever get a mkt we would set it up almost the same as there's. It was very simple the maintain and clean over all. As well as the syplicity of how they set there's up to work is much more user friendly over all.
rwbrown72 If you get a chance to would you post up a few pictures of how your is set up, in anther new post please and add a link back to this page so others could see the differences, as well as be a guild to showing others how they could set there mkt's up.
over.
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Indy,
Here's how I envision my setup when used in a disaster situation.
Here's how I envision my setup when used in a disaster situation.
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What about a zombie apocalypse?
indy4x4fab
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I plan to set my base camp up very simler, I'll post a picture here in a bit.
We usually circle the wagons when we do a setup. But it really depends on the location.
We generally start by disconnecting the trailer from the truck and moving the truck up just enough so that when the MKT is open, and the tailgate on the deuce is open, you can walk right from one into the other.
The deuce has the fridges/freezers in it as well all the other food supplies.
One of the CUCV's pulls the water buffalo and parks it beside the deuce so that we can bring the water hose into the MKT. The water buffalo also holds the large propane tank which powers the deep fryer we have installed in the MKT.
The mod-tent is then setup across from the MKT (when we need to bring the tent) so that people can sit and eat under it.
So far we have never had the need, but if we did, we could setup the two MKT's end to end.
Don't have great pics, as I am usually way too busy setting up or working in the MKT to take pictures. But here are some from two events and one pic of the two MKT's side to side.
We will be pulling open both MKT's in the next few weeks to clean them and move the equipment around from one to the other. We are going to setup one MKT just for cooking, and the other MKT will do all the prep and serving. That should keep people away from the stoves (to keep them from being burned) and will make it easier to cook and serve people at the same time.
We generally start by disconnecting the trailer from the truck and moving the truck up just enough so that when the MKT is open, and the tailgate on the deuce is open, you can walk right from one into the other.
The deuce has the fridges/freezers in it as well all the other food supplies.
One of the CUCV's pulls the water buffalo and parks it beside the deuce so that we can bring the water hose into the MKT. The water buffalo also holds the large propane tank which powers the deep fryer we have installed in the MKT.
The mod-tent is then setup across from the MKT (when we need to bring the tent) so that people can sit and eat under it.
So far we have never had the need, but if we did, we could setup the two MKT's end to end.
Don't have great pics, as I am usually way too busy setting up or working in the MKT to take pictures. But here are some from two events and one pic of the two MKT's side to side.
We will be pulling open both MKT's in the next few weeks to clean them and move the equipment around from one to the other. We are going to setup one MKT just for cooking, and the other MKT will do all the prep and serving. That should keep people away from the stoves (to keep them from being burned) and will make it easier to cook and serve people at the same time.
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rwbrown72
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Hey Mike,
Did you ever find and of the screens for the MKT? I'm still looking.
Thanks,
Russell
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Well that was quick and painless. Posted the classified yesterday and sold it today. It went to a member of our MVPA club and another SSr. I'll let him make the announcement if he chooses. Thanks again for everyone's help with this project. It was fun but time to get back to the wife's M37 project.