Summer’s finally arrived, and some of the main roads in my neighborhood are getting a serious make-over. One of the rigs used in the process is this former military 6×6 (M…. – too rushed to look it up). It has a mean stance, with those seriously-offset front wheels. Wide tracking…
I’m not totally sure what it does, but it clearly applies something. I saw it moving very slowly over the new gravel substrate; maybe someone more familiar can clue us in. Big wheels, and not just for show – how refreshing.
I couldn’t help notice this on the door. That’s where the maximum vehicle weight is required to be posted, as per Oregon law. 002?? Gigatons?
Just think – some lucky kid who used to play with Tonkas gets to drive this every day! I don’t know what it is either, but it sure looks cool.
This truck is the opposite of one I saw several years ago. A guy knocked on my door. Nice middle aged guy in a white short sleeve shirt and dark pants. He told me that his company was in the are paving driveways (mine was gravel at the time) and asked if he could give me a quote. At the curb was a shiny, black H-1 Hummer. The guy gave me a price, then I called a friend in the asphalt sealing business. I had smelled scam, and he confirmed that there was just not that much money in asphalting driveways.
I passed, but there is at least one neighborhood house that they did, and the drive still looks pretty good. I might have been more inclined if he had a truck like this.
Well, my day job is kicking in here…
From looking at the middle picture at length, the truck has its own power source in front of the bed and some type of spreader on the rear of the truck. The shape of the bed seems to indicate it is a spreader bed given the “V” at the bottom, likely feeding either a belt or screw. I’m going to hazard a guess it is spreading lime (powdered limestone) or portland cement on the rock base of the street. It will absorb moisture and firm up, giving more stability to your street. However, I have not seen this done on gravel. I did have a project a few years ago where portland cement was placed on a roadway and then a second machine (think a large garden tiller) mixed up the cement into the base. Made a very stiff road.
Is there a machine there that says “Asphalt Zipper” on it? It would likely mount on a loader bucket.
There is also a second possibility this could be used for placing material, such as calcium chloride, for dust control. It’s somewhat common for counties in my neck of the woods to place it on their gravel roads to hold down dust, especially as profoundly dry and hot as it has been here in the Midwest. Since it appears there are a respectable number of houses around, you can bet somebody will gripe, so this is a preemptive move on whomever’s part. Water works for dust control just as well, but only until it dries.
I think your first guess is correct. That’s how I saw it used, going over the new gravel, and I did see (at some distance) something like a giant tiller. I guess all to make a solid base. Oddly enough, the top pavement is asphalt, not concrete. I miss good concrete residential streets; some here are quite old, and holding up well. Asphalt: not so much so.
I agree; concrete is far superior to asphalt.
The truck is an M35. (There’s an M35A1 version, but I can’t recall the external differences). Nominal 2.5 ton, air-switched front drive. The engine is a turbocharged straight 6 diesel, but can be switched to run gasoline with a couple of field tweaks if diesel is hard to get. (It’s still compression ignition.) 24V system with the batteries in the compartment under the passenger door. AM General did the A1 version (circa 1972), don’t recall who made the original.
The engine does not use glow plugs for cold starting, but has a container of ether. You give it a 5 second (max) shot while cranking and you should be good to go.
The chassis used to be popular for rural fire departments. You could lug 1000 gallons of water (the 2.5 ton was nominal) and a reasonable pump and get a lot of places. There’s a label recommending ear protection for driving it–the road noise is ferocious at 50+ mph, though the exhaust note is a blast.
I haven’t looked recently, but a few years ago these were a few thousand dollars on Ebay in drivable condition. Haven’t seen the big brother (5 ton 6 x 6) on the road, but a few of them were on Ebay. There’s also an outfit that bobs the truck to get a 4 x 4.
Oh yeah, the trailer for this is set up with a differential so it can be driven off the rear axle pass-through.
Boyce Equipment Sales in Ogden, Utah will take a M35 6×6 and rebuild it into a 4×4 pickup truck called the M35 A2 Bobber that is insanely cool. If I could import a picture I would but it is worth taking a look at their website. The converted trucks run about $15,500 which is a hell of a truck for the money. I have no idea what I would do with one but definately need this in my driveway.
http://www.boyceequipmentsales.com
The correct website is http://www.boyceequipment.com
Ooops.
The M35 is a 2 1/2 ton truck, the most popular variant being the M35A2 or deuce and a half. This truck is a 5 ton, part of the M39 series of trucks. The two are closely related, you can tell the difference between the two by the different air cleaner and the squared off front end. The tires, front bumper and rear are not original to the truck. I suspect they were modifications done by the owner.
See some pictures here:
http://olive-drab.com/od_mvg_www_deuce_m39.php
It may or may not have the original Continental LDS multifuel engine. Most of the 5 tonners were given new Cat motors at some point after the beginning of the FMTV project that could not replace them soon enough. They still use the 5 tonners but have mostly fazed out the Deuce for the new Steyr LMTV trucks.