Hi Mike,
>A couple of M-29 Weasel questions for those 'in-the-know'.
The best place to ask such questions right now is Barry's site:
http://disc.server.com/Indices/56136.html
My new site is under construction, but will eventually replace the above:
www.M29cWeasel.Org
>I am thinking of buying a 1944 M-29C Weasel (for good or ill).
>(Any comments on that statement alone ??)
Buy 3 and have three times the fun! I speak from experience, and I will
soon have eight times the fun ;-) Seriously, if you live in an urban
environment, without a good idea of where you can use one "off road", the
means to get it there other than driving it, and the fortitude to deal
with the "track problem" that comes with 99% of the Weasels out there for
sale... take a pass on this great vehicle and get something else like a
M37, WC, Jeep, or some other wheeled vehicle.
>The one that I have located and am looking at appears to be equipped
>with tracks with steel shoes.
All Weasels have steel plates with a rubber coating and small pads in the
middle. There are two different types of tracks you are likely to see.
One is the standard, which is light weight stamped steel, the other is a
heavy SOB which is commonly called "French tracks" as they might have
been made for the French Army in Indochina. There is apparently a third
type, but nobody in the Weasel community that I know of has seen this
one, which means if it does exist it was made in tiny numbers.
>I'm sure my neighbours (and the local county government) would not be
>pleased if I was to drive it around my neighbourhood (old asphalt
>roads). I'm sure it would tear up the road and probably not do me or
>the Weasel any good either.
They will do very little damage to pavement unless you are on really soft
asphault on a VERY hot day. You will get some "scuffing" perhaps, but
nothing more than that. However, you most likely won't be able to drive
on public ways for more than a couple hundred feet. It all depends on
registration. Most states do not have provisions for allowing unfettered
access to public ways by fully tracked vehicles. Registration itself is
sometimes based on "wheels" as it is in my state (Maine). Registering it
as a snowmobile, ATV, or farm vehicle comes with their own sets of
limitations depending on the state regulations.
Oh... and just about forget about getting a Weasel insured for road use
:-) I barely was able to get liability/damage insurance on it for use on
my own property. And I live in one of the more friendly states when it
comes to non-standard vehicles.
>Are tracks available that are equipped with rubber shoes or something
>that is a easier on both the roads and the driver for hard surfaces ??
No such track exists. But this isn't an issue in any case as regs for
states are more yes/no on the issue of tracks. They could be 100% made
out of rubber and you still most likely wouldn't be able to put them on a
public road for any significant distance.
>Another factor affecting my decision is transportation.
>The Weasel is located near Greensboro, NC and I am near Annapolis, MD.
>A one-way distance of about 250 miles (my estimate).
>
>Any ideas on how to move it ??
I move mine on a standard 16" car trailer pulled by a GMC Z-71 (higher
end 1/2 ton pickup). I have double axles and electric barkes, which
comes in handy as I am in the mountains ;-)
>I've checked with a local towing company about having them drive their
>roll-back down there to fetch it and bring it back. Their 'over the
>phone' estimate was about $820.00 - seems like there might be a more
>cost effective way. Hoping someone has an idea or two.
If you have a truck it is better to just go out and buy a trailer for
$2000 or so. After all, what are you going to do with it when you get it
home? You almost certainly won't be able to drive it out on a road so
you will have to transport it to some place, which will be practically
impossible without your own means of transportation.
>Thank you in advance for the help and advice.
No problem. Good luck.
Steve
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue May 01 2001 - 07:42:40 PDT