From: David Cole (DavidCole@tk7.net)
Date: Tue Jun 08 2004 - 20:14:20 PDT
They are two very different trucks.
For just about anything I can think of for a typical person (however - are
any duece/ 5 ton owners typical??), the 2 1/2 tonner is plenty big and
impressive, etc. If all you are going to do is drive it around empty,
don't waste your money on fuel, buy a duece. If you are going to drive it
off road empty, buy a duece. 5 tonners are heavy - heavy vehicles like to
sink in soft stuff. And when a 5 ton gets buried, you had better call the
Caterpillar distributor for a rental..
Fuel usage is quite a bit different. A 5 ton truck gets semi tractor mpg.
A duece can do quite a bit better consistently. I keep hearing 8 and 9 mpg
sometimes if not going too fast. That is a dream for a 5 ton owner.
Capacity is quite a bit different also. If you are going to haul steel,
concrete castings, gravel, rock, sand, etc in the largest quantities
possible - get a 5 ton. My M51 has had 25,000 lbs in the bed and the
springs and tires looked like they could handle a lot more. And 25,000 lbs
of rock dumped on the ground doesn't look like much. When I had to haul a
number of loads, I quickly figured out why 5 axle dump trucks are popular
with the commercial haulers.
Don't do that with a duece (;->)
My M51 gasser will do about 50 mph comfortably ( comfort is relative in MVs
) beyond that and it sounds like the engine is about to blow. 55 mph is
really not practical with a gas powered 5 ton, maybe for a diesel.
Finally, the towing capacity is very different. My M51 is rated for 30,000
lbs max towing load. The duece is a lot less.
Regarding the CDL, if you are going to haul commercially, you need one
anyway. If you are an occasional non-commercial driver heavy truck driver,
there are ways around the CDL thing. Legally, there is a lot of confusion
because not many people want to drive heavy trucks for fun. However, you
can drive a 80,000lb motor home without a CDL. If you are a farmer (what
exactly is a farmer anyway??) then you can drive a full tilt semi loaded
with your stuff for up to 200 miles or so from your "farm". I have had my
M51 in Indiana for 6 years now and I have never been questioned about if I
had a CDL or not. My vehicle is licensed as a historical vehicle. That
does not mean that I cannot haul stuff in it. It is simply a form of
license plate. Also, some states such as Indiana have special provisions
for civy owned MVs.
Both the duece and the 5 tons are made like tanks. However, they wear out
tires quickly. If you drive a lot tires can add up. 11x20 tires are a lot
more than 9 x 20 tires.
Insurance for a 5 ton can be a bit more challenging than for a duece.
However it is obtainable.
The big question is what do you want to do with it and if you haul stuff
how much will your loads weigh?
My M51 gasser gets 4.5 to 5 mpg loaded or not and weighs about 23K lbs
empty, that's why it has 100 gallons of fuel tankage. I understand that
diesel 5 tons get about 6 mpg. But if you want to haul the heavy stuff,
there is no substitute.
Dave
On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 17:56:46 -0700 (PDT), Jim Zehr <jimm1009@yahoo.com>
wrote:
> I came across a M54W but I did not get a chance to
> write the NSN down. What is the "W"?
> It is in the civilian world and now has a water tank
> on back. The tank does not look military and probably
> was added by the current owner who paves roads for the
> county.
> It does have the multi-fuel engine, power assist
> steering, 11:00 x 20 tires, and a manual shift
> transmission. No winch or winch provisions.
> My question to the guys with experience in both
> trucks.
> If a newbie was interested in a 2.5 ton and/or a 5 ton
> which would be best to have of the two? I would not
> want one with an automatic tranny due to cost of
> repairs.
> For the money what would be better to have for a
> collector / occasional driver / rarely a work truck?
> Are there more more costs for one than the other. Are
> parts about the same in availablility and cost?
> It appears that the 5 ton is a little faster on the
> road unloaded but I am still comparing opinions and
> -10s. Looking for experienced opinions from the
> experts.
> Thanks as always,
> Jim
> jimm1009@yahoo.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- Dave
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