Re: [MV] M35 Enthusiasts

From: Cougarjack@aol.com
Date: Sat Jan 01 2000 - 14:08:42 PST


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Joe says:
>.... but the trucks aren't designed to be driven
>75+ mph, ......snippage here.....
>I had a M35A2 with the 11:00x20" singles. Ran like a scared rabbit.
>Handled like it preferred to be on its side.
>Joe

Yes, Joe, I agree totally. There are several design and performance issues
here.
One would be the steering on the M35 series. Being designed for tactical
use, and being all-wheel drive, the front axle has only about a degree of
caster designed into it. (that's the front end quality that makes the
steering wheel return after a turn, and causes it to have a nice center
feeling) At lower speeds, this does not create a safety problem, but at
70mph, if a road seam or pothole forces the tires to the side a bit, or you
steer suddenly to evade a hazard, and the truck has enough of a load to
cause the tires to flex in the sidewalls, "folding under" a bit, the reduced
caster will cause a high speed rollover that will rival the ones we saw on
the "A-team". I once did this with an M35A2 carrying mess equipment, and
the truck laid down on its side like a tired dog, at 45 mph. The problem with
the reduced caster is that forces in a higher speed turn of just a few
degrees exceed anything that you can overcome with the steering wheel, and
the truck will not recover from the turn. Over she goes like a big animal!
You cannot just add more caster, as the truck then becomes almost impossible
to steer on a chosen track off road with the front axle engaged. A front
axle that is pulling, with too much built in caster, will tend to resist
your steering efforts and try to return the truck to a straight line track.
Other issues are brakes, which, at 18 to 20,000 pounds of curb weight are in
the marginal area anyway, and the fact that the truck has no structural
members anywhere above the dashboard, making it akin to riding a farm tractor
down the interstate at 70 mph, the hazards presented by losing control of one
of these behemoths multiplies exponentially with the speed. Can you say
"emergency room"? My 2 cents is don't do it...if you must go fast, buy a
truck that was at least designed to go fast. Perhaps there are some people on
the road who don't want to be anywhere near an M35 doing 70 MPH. </rant>
Smile..thanks for listening!
Jack



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