Re: [MV] best year of M-35a2 to get?

Henry & Kate Cubillan (cubillan@earthlink.net)
Sat, 07 Aug 1999 10:08:40 -0700

Kerry Vanderzalm wrote:
>
> I am looking to buy an M-35A2
> Are any years or engines better than the others and why?
> Are these trucks reliable enough to take on long adventure type trips
> such as Mexico or Central America?
> Has anyone here ever done it?
> I hope to equip one with camping gear and take my son on an adventure.
> It is important that we have a heavy-duty BUT reliable vehicle.
> I was thinking that the M-35s would be easy to get spare parts for.
> Am I correct?
> I am open to any advice.
> I don't want to perminantly alter or damage the truck.
> I was thinking of possibly bolting or strapping an axleless camping trailer
> to the bed and sort of making a moter home/camper from hell.
> What do you think?
> Is this the right truck for such a task?
> Thanks for any help.
> Kerry

Kerry, you might run into a LOT of problems driving through these areas
in a Military vehicle of this kind. In some Latin American countries it
is illegal to paint a vehicle OD green or camouflage, these colors being
reserved to the armed forces. In others, military vehicle ownership by
private citizens is strictly prohibited.

If you're planning on heavily modifying your M35, then ignore the
paragraph above. Hose it down with a different color paint for the trip,
and make sure you swap seats. Latin American roads can be hell,
especially with a couple of inches of canvas convered foam and heavy
duty springs between you and the road.

I used to be an expedition guide in Venezuela in a former life, and I
DID see some heavy duty and even military-spec trucks in the outback. I
used to run into German and Italian "Overlanders" in their heavily
modified Unimogs, and the PREFERRED vehicle for delivering cargo into
the remote areas of Venezuela are BEDFORD lorries with agressive tires
(like Michelin XZL's).

HTH!

Henry Cubillan

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