From: Nathan Wilkens (nathan.wilkens@asu.edu)
Date: Thu Mar 13 2003 - 06:11:51 PST
Floyd,
I have an 86 M1009 that I use as my daily driver down here in Phoenix AZ.
My truck had several hundred thousand miles on it when I bought her, and has
been quite a bit of fun to keep rolling. However - I did spend half of my 8
years in the National Guard as a wheeled vehicle mechanic, fixing Humvees
and CUCVs, but since those were brand new vehicles, I never had to work on
the things that are failing on my M1009 (it seems I'm still learning new
stuff all the time!). Here's my attempt to answer your questions:
1. Just how realistic is using a M1009 as a family car? I use it as my
daily driver (and for several trips across the country). However, although
it is nice for short city trips (since you feel 'safe' sitting so high),
your butt and head will vibrate with the noise, and you have to love that
certain 6.2L diesel stink (all diesel engines have a slightly different
stink to them). Although an M1009 is relatively easy to get into and out
of, if you put in a radio tray, it makes access behind the passenger sit a
little more difficult for backseaters. Also, I have a winterization
insulation kit to cut down noise (a must have) but groceries always slide
around between the seats. Oh well.
2. How reliable are they for everyday driving? Despite the high miles on my
CUCV, she has NEVER let me down. Once, she died in the parking lot after
getting a leaking fuel intake hose (I just pushed her back into her 'stall',
and worked on her later), and another time the rebuilt tranny died, leaving
me with only 1st geat and a long trip across town (about 10 miles through
residential streets). Also, once I forgot to shut the headlights off and
killed my batteries after sitting at school all day. I was able to get a
jump start off a civilian pickup, but since it was his 12V to one of my 12V
batteries, it took 30 minutes of charging before there was enough juice for
mine to turn over.
3. What kind of gas mileage do they get? Surprisingly, I get a very
consistent 19-20 mpg regardless of whether I'm city driving or country
driving - in fact, the vast majority of my miles are city miles, and the
only time I've found it likes to suck fuel is when you drive over 75 mph
(then watch your fuel economy drop!).
4. How hard are they to work on? They are really easy to work on if a
mechanic has had military training and 'understands' that this is not a
civilian blazer. The majority of my mechanical problems have resulted from
mechanics trying to treat my CUCV as if it was a civilian blazer, causing me
to have to fix it later myself. If you could find a single, military
background mechanic (who was a 63B MOS from the mid 80s to the late 90s),
you would have no problems with mechanics stuff. As for me? - I've
discovered that I'm the best mechanic I know (doesn't mean I like it), and
since I've had to re-fix all the shop repairs I've done, I'll just do it
myself from now on. As far as doing it yourself - if you can read a TM (buy
the CD of all the M1009 TMs for $20 - it's worth it), and occasionaly ask
the list for help, it's really quite easy to work on. Also, they really
only come in two years 1984 and 1986 (some where built during other years,
but they were built in the civilian plant and modified - 1984 and 1986 saw
the only two production runs of original military M1009s) - several minor
improvements were made on the 86 model (mostly to make a mechanics life
easier), so I would recommend an 86 over an 84.
5. Are they air conditioned? A tough point here.... Very few of them are.
Mine isn't, but I've lived one summer without AC in Phoenix (is that some
kind of record?)... The truck itself is not that bad if parked in the
shade - most of my problems came from my wife whining about being too hot!
With two alternators, there is not 'standard' place to mount an AC
compressor pump. Since I would strongly recommend NOT buying a truck that
has been hacked to 12 volts (it was designed for 24V for a reason!), it may
be hard to find one with AC. Having said that, I have seen several trucks
for sale that DO have AC (originally installed) - I understand it was a
$1200 option to have professionaly installed - and I'm not sure I could do
it right for much less with aftermarket parts.
6. If not how hard is it to add and at what cost? Pay a little more for a
truck that already has it.
7. What is a general price range for one that would be in good enough
condition to both look good inside and out and be mechanically sound. I
can't really say on this, since every truck is quite unique (in it's dents
and dings that is). I paid $1500 for mine, but it was in very rough shape.
I have her insured for $7000, but I think you should be able to find one
with AC and in good shape for between $6000-8000. Also, beware the
mileage - the CUCV odometer only goes to 99,999 so I wonder how many "only
15,000 miles" trucks really have 115,000 or 215,000 or more miles?
8. Are there any reliable dealers in the Houston area? Is there a local
MVPA chapter? Also, you may want to get one from somewhere else if it's
from a reliable MV dealer. For example, I wouldn't hesitate to drive out to
see Joe Young if he had one for sale (being a pillar of our community,
you'll find no one more trustworthy).
9. Will everyone see me coming and try to stick it to me? Possibly, but I
don't think there's that much of a market for the M1009 CUCVs... The pickups
sell faster because they are 1.12 ton trucks, but the demand for M1009s is
more limited.
10. Since I like green things I only want one that has the original military
colors and a radio rack would be nice: See comment about reduced access to
the back seat from the passenger side, and you cannot remove the back seat
once the radio bracket is installed (the back bench seat tilts forward to
remove, but the radio rack doesn't allow it to tilt forward).
11. Should I just forget about a M1009 as a family car? Depends on your
family. My wife is great and she has agreed to my CUCV and my motorcycle as
our only vehicles (we sold her 98 mustang), and despite her occasional
grumblings, I think that she really likes my truck - even if she calls me a
nerd (since I have twin midmount antennas and a great big coalition forces
inverted V on my door) - but people get out of the way when drive by!
I hope you find this info useful. I've posted some stuff about my CUCV on
my website at http://www.public.asu.edu/~nate123/mil_vehicles/ike.htm where
I go into detail about the kind of work I've done on my high mile truck.
Thanks,
Nathan Wilkens
86 M1009
----- Original Message -----
From: "Floyd Petri" <fpetri@eastex.net>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 11:10 PM
Subject: [MV] I may be looking for a M1009
> A while back I was inquiring about buying a M1009. I received several
> replies and my computer crashed and I lost it all. I really just blew it
off
> and forgot about it. Now some wild ass kid lost control and ran through
the
> family car while it was parked at home. I love green things. I am back to
> considering a M1009 as a family car. However, this time I am going about
it
> a little differently this time. I need to ask some serious questions
first.
> Any help answering them would be appreciated. Those that feel the answers
> should be off list well here is my email address fpetri@eastex.net and
those
> that feel the answers need to be on the list that's OK too. Here are my
> questions.
>
> 1. Just how realistic is using a M1009 as a family car?
> 2. How reliable are they for everyday driving?
> 3. What kind of gas mileage do they get?
> 4. How hard are they to work on?
> 5. Are they air conditioned?
> 6. If not how hard is it to add and at what cost?
> 7. What is a general price range for one that would be in good enough
> condition to both look good inside and out and be mechanically sound.
> 8. Are there any reliable dealers in the Houston area?
> 9. Will everyone see me coming and try to stick it to me?
> 10. Since I like green things I only want one that has the original
military
> colors and a radio rack would be nice
> 11. Should I just forget about a M1009 as a family car?
>
> Are there any individuals on the list with a M1009 for sale that might
meet
> my needs? I do want to make one thing real clear up front. I am a disabled
> veteran and I am unable to do body work, paint or mechanical work. I want
> one that doesn't need all this. So there you have it. Anyone on the list
> interested in answering my questions and maybe have any? Thanks.
>
> Floyd
>
>
>
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