From: Thomas M McHugh (tmmchugh@msn.com)
Date: Mon Jun 09 2003 - 14:48:02 PDT
Jim,
The landing mats are called "PSP". Pierced Steel Planks. They are put
together with a common Peevee, normally used with rolling logs. We used
them in the Engineer Aviation Bn,s. Haven't seen PSP for a long while.
What price range are they now ???
During my 43 years in the military, I was assigned often in early 1951 -
1953, to put down 1000 + ft or more & remove after them after supply planes
landed on them. After being bent, they are terrible to get apart. During
1959 to 1967 we used them on areas that had no roads yet. That caused them
to become so bent up, they were scrapped.
Be aware, that they become quite slippery when wet & mud can also cause
slippage. It is possible to install it upside down & use the sharper
edging to give traction. Upside down will be a major event to get them
apart.
Tom McHugh, NJ
1952 M38A1
M-416 Trailer
MVPA, MTA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Newton" <jnewton@laurel.com>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 4:40 PM
Subject: [MV] Landing Mats on a Dirt Slope For Deuce Parking...
Hi List...
OK, here's a weird question, or actually a request for comments.
Thousands of MVC brains is better than one!
My family may be moving into a new larger house in the same town (the
kids are growing too fast). The house has a great view of the SF bay
area and a huge shop.
It has a lot more parking space than our current house, so the deuce
could get its own permanent space in the driveway. Yay! No more
pissed neighbors because of the deuce that roams the neighborhood
every 72 hours in search of a new parking space! ;)
But, it could get even better. This new house has a hill that goes
from the front driveway down next to the house into the back yard.
The area is about 20' wide and is about a 20-degree slope. This area
isn't suitable for a normal vehicle parking space, and is not used for
anything...is is bare dirt and too steep for any other use. So I was
thinking about parking the deuce there, on the slope, out of the way,
making use of otherwise wasted land. Otherwise I would have to park
the deuce up on the driveway and it would be in plain sight.
I'm not concerned about the slope as far as the deuce rolling out of
control because I will put large railroad tie stops at the bottom of
the space, pinned in place with steel rods driven deep into the dirt,
and back the deuce down right to the stops. That will make it easier
to drive it back up onto the driveway. Even without the parking
brakes, the deuce would be held from any possibility of rolling. The
slope is about a 35.5% grade, and the deuce is rated for a maximum 60%
grade, so it can definitely handle the climb in and out of the spot.
I have local access to a huge pile of very rusty steel military
landing mats (similar to these:
www.i10surplus.com/graphics/product11_fullsize.jpg) for just the scrap
steel price. I was thinking about laying about 30 of these landing
mats on the hill and interlocking them into a strip down the whole
hill and wide enough for the deuce, then pinning them into place with
steel rebar to keep them from sliding or shifting. I could then park
the deuce on them and even if the dirt got muddy I could still drive
the deuce up and out without ripping up the dirt hill. I could even
erect a canopy over this area to protect and obscure the deuce.
Has anyone every done something like this with landing mats, or have
any suggestions or comments?
Parking the deuce on this slope would put the deuce low and behind the
fence and out of sight from the street and the house. This means
happy neighbors and happy wife! ;)
Thanks!
--Jim "Ike" Newton
o 1984 M1007 CUCV Military Suburban 6.2 Liter (378 CID) Turbo-Diesel Engine 5/4 Ton Cargo Capacity, 4WD
o 1971 M35A2 Military Troop/Cargo Truck "Deuce and a Half" 478 CID Turbo-Diesel Multi-Fuel Engine Air Shift Front Axle 2 1/2 Ton Cargo Capacity, 6WD
See These Trucks at www.CUCV.NET Keyword Searching of 22,000 Electronic TMs at www.MILDOCS.com
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