My M109A3 camper project

[njjeeper]

Rick asked about it in another thread so I figured I would toss up a pic from when I picked it up and drove it home...

[m109a3uk]

Nice I had a 3 colour camo one. It was a fab truck and I did a fair few miles in it. Enjoy.

[SEABEE62]

Now put in bunk beds, micro wave, small refrig, and flat screen TV.....carpet too ! Seabee

[rickf]

I have been looking for one of those forever. Ever since the prepping craze hit the prices have gone through the roof. Used to get them for 1200.00. Now I am seeing 10,000.00 for some in questionable condition.

Rick

[richard]

Great, somebody here is having the same idea. I got a S-280 shelter with my M35A2. My idea is to be flexible in either having a cargo or a RV truck. Would like to see your restoration and camper project. I am still working on the tear-down and not on the build-up. I do not know whether it is allowed to put a M35A2 resto into the resto thread.

Rick, same prices here. A new or overhauled engine costs the same as a whole Deuce and a Half.

[Horst]

miss my Deuce looking at those pictures

[njjeeper]

I drove this thing home after it sat in a field for 3 years. It came out of surplus into the field It had a depot rebuild in 1988 and the government installed seat belts, a rebuilt engine and they bypassed the FDC. The engine has about 190 hours on it since the rebuild! I drove it home on a mix of stale diesel, fresh diesel, motor oil and gasoline. Not exactly what I would choose, but it had 1/2 a tank of that juice so I burned it.

Right now I am going through the brakes and wheels. The front already got new boots, rebuild wheel cyls and all new seals along with a full re-grease. Now I have to reseal and repack the rears and rebuild those wheel cylinders. I am also installing new braided stainless brake lines on the whole truck. With a single circuit master, I want to be as sure as possible! I am replacing everything even though the brakes worked and it had no leaks.

Once I get the wheels, brakes and motor PMed, Ill start the camper conversion. I have a lot of ideas and I'm not sure which directing I will go yet. I may just get a nice pop-up camper and gut it to put the stuff into the deuce. Or perhaps it will be more rugged....not sure yet! I want to have it back on the road in time for Red Ball in Sept....

I got the truck for $3k and drove it home.....not too bad but not the deal of the century either

[Horst]

I think with what you say about was done on it, you got a deal. And bypassing the FDC is never a bad idea if you run diesel only.

[richard]

I love abbreviations. Guys, what is a FDC?

[WC Matt]

Great, somebody here is having the same idea. I got a S-280 shelter with my M35A2. My idea is to be flexible in either having a cargo or a RV truck.

A fellow I knew did this with a 5 ton (S280 shelter in the bed, converted to a camper). Because the S280 shelter only took up about half (maybe less?) of the bed, he had a camper with a front porch to sit on!


M109A3 looks good, think the really good deals on 2.5 tonners are drying up. BTW, I thought all of the "A3" variants in the M35 family had super singles and a cat (straight up diesel) engines mated to an auto tranny? Your's is sporting the older multi fuel & manual tranny. Wouldn't that make it an "M109A2"?
Matt

[rickf]

Matt, the M109A4 had the Cat engine and the super singles and the CTIS garbage inflation system.

Richard, The FDC is the Fuel Density Compensator, which adjusts pump timing depending on what fuel is being run in it.

TJ Be careful what you run for fuel without the FDC.

[Horst]

Richard,

FDC stands also for eventually dumping fuel in your motor oil. That's why a lot of people disable it, even the Army did that. You might want to do the same. Can be done by simply re-routing the lines around the FDC/HH (hydraulic head). Matter of minutes. You might want to re-set your fuel setting after that but also this can be achieved fairly quickly.

[njjeeper]

I hear you Rick. I didn't dump all that crap in the tank, the PO did. Being over 15 gallons of the stuff was in there and it was in a field I didn't have much choice but to burn it for the 80 mile ride home. I have been diluting what's left with fresh diesel so it should be ok. I will likely stick to diesel, perhaps cut with some used motor oil in light dilutions but that's about it. Just cause it will run on brake fluid and gasoline doesn't mean it should now that it's retired from duty

It's last tour of duty had it in Sea Girt as part of the 250th Forward Support Battalion. I got a bunch of paper work under the seat from some exercises this truck took part in back in 2006. It was transporting a bunch of medical equipment to Fort Dix. There were a lot of hand drawn maps of Fort Dix and the areas for the exercises. Kinda cool. Being a 1968 I wish I knew what it did before the NG got it.

I totally screwed myself on the brakes bleeding yesterday. I was sure I had just one more pump and dump in the master cylinder fluid reservoir. I was wrong and it sucked air. Now I have a wet noodle pedal and I have to bleed the MC, air pack, and all the wheels.

[rickf]

Yep, you screwed the pooch. Did anyone mention how expensive silicone brake fluid is now? 9.00 a pint!!!!!
Do all of your initial bleeding through that same line and you will get 90% of the air and then you will have to got through the rest of the system. It was probably due for a fluid change anyway.

[richard]

Great, somebody here is having the same idea. I got a S-280 shelter with my M35A2. My idea is to be flexible in either having a cargo or a RV truck.

A fellow I knew did this with a 5 ton (S280 shelter in the bed, converted to a camper). Because the S280 shelter only took up about half (maybe less?) of the bed, he had a camper with a front porch to sit on!


M109A3 looks good, think the really good deals on 2.5 tonners are drying up. BTW, I thought all of the "A3" variants in the M35 family had super singles and a cat (straight up diesel) engines mated to an auto tranny? Your's is sporting the older multi fuel & manual tranny. Wouldn't that make it an "M109A2"?
Matt

Matt, I need some inspiration from the inside. Do you think he can send me some pictures? In this case I'ld like to PM you my email address. Thx Richard