What Truck

[BulletToothTeddy]

Not exactly a truck, but I would recommend a 1999-2000 Jeep Cherokee. Incredibly reliable and strong 4.0L inline six that has been proven for decades. Rear wheel drive for normal road conditions that can be shifted into 4x4 on the fly when needed. Enough power and torque for towing. These Jeeps will go 300k miles without needing a thing and countless more with routine maintenance.

For these reasons and many more I have two 99 Cherokee Sports - one with 63k miles and the other with 175k miles - both run like new and both have many more years of life left.

 

[cookie]

Ya know guys if it gets that bad will there be gas ,diese, wasteoil or biodiesel or even open roads? How bout tires and batteries?

 

[The Heretic]

Ya know guys if it gets that bad will there be gas ,diese, wasteoil or biodiesel or even open roads? How bout tires and batteries?

My basic theory is that if SHTF is bad enough to bug out permanently, then I am going to bug out and then more or less stay put. I won't be driving around much, if at all. My diesel truck has been sitting in my shop since I move up onto this mountain 1.5 years ago and I have put less than 100 miles on it (I drove it to work once when it snowed the first winter because I didn't have my little pickup yet). It still has plenty of fuel in it.

If it is TEOTWAWKI then I pretty much only need enough fuel to get to wherever I am bugging out to and then pretty much stay put. I might need to drive once or twice a year - maybe not.

Right now my truck will be used this winter by myself and my neighbors to cut up some firewood on our private road. It probably will see at most one mile of travel moving sawn timber from one end of our road to the other a few times, and then mostly because it is just more convenient than using a hand pushed cart.

OTOH, if SHTF is not all that bad, or things gradually go bad, then fuel might be scarce but available. In which case I would be on diesel being around and given priority in the refineries instead of gasoline because crucial transportation services such as public mass transport (buses, trains, etc.), cargo ships, trains, trucks, etc., and other services (utility repair, etc.), deliveries and so on - mostly run on diesel. Agricultural, industrial, etc., vehicles and machinery that isn't electric, mostly runs on diesel.

There would be a black market if there is any fuel production and fuel is reserved for critical services, in which case it will mostly be diesel.

 

[SheepDog223]

Get a ford with a 7.3 idi non turbo. 5 speed. They are cheap, powerful, get 18mpg in a 3/4 ton 4x4, and will run on used engine oil mixed 50/50 with diesel. They will run on straight used motor oil but it will cost you engine life. Oil burns hotter than diesel.

 

[oregunbob541]

I've got a '98 GMC Sierra 3/4 ton 6.5l turbo diesel 4x4 extra cab long bed with 120k on it. Picked it up for under $4k and its just broken in. Did a PMD relocate on it a couple weeks back and it should be rock solid for the next decade . 6.5 isn't a cummins or duramax, but the price was right and it can tow anything I need. Sucker gets about 20mpg too...not bad

 

[winchester270]

so I have only spent a minute reading over what others have discussed, but from what I have read a lot were talking of large diesels which is great but from where I live in Oregon a great big truck can greatly limit your access to a lot of areas off road just due to their size and weight. In my personal budget I can only afford one truck and for that I chose a 93 4x4 ext cab ranger. nothing fancy at all, but i can go just about anywhere i want in it. may be taken out by an EMP but that's pretty extreme in my opinion. I am not ruling it out but I think there are many other disaster situations that will be more likely, or come first.. If the roads are taken out, damaged, washed out, or have trees/ cars blocking them a smaller vehicle with maybe a small lift will be more likely to be able to slip by. Also heavy trucks suck in mud! mud is everywhere in Oregon.
in my opinion.... my 2cents

 

[bmgm37]

For me it is the M35A2 in a bobbed variety. Some will say maintenance is high on these but that is not true...it may be at first but you have to remember that many of these truck saw very little use and sat most of the time. First to go are seals and the brake system but parts are plentiful and not expensive. One poster mentioned removing wheels every thousand miles for maintenance but that is not true. I get approximately 9 mpg running WMO. Then you have the Multifuel motor that will pretty much burn anything, diesel, waste motor oil, tranny fluid, brake fluid, aviation fuel, kerosene, you name it. In a SHTF situation every abandoned vehicle will have crankcase oil or tranny fluid, easily filtered with a bag filter setup. They can still be picked up reasonably priced but are getting more popular. They are not hard to drive and are not much wider than my Superduty and actually turns sharper in the bobbed configuration. All the military TMs are available online in PDFs and really dumbs down any work that needs to be done on these trucks and goes through any type of work step by step. Personally I think it is the perfect rig plug it is a blast to drive, I have gotten everything from WTF looks to being saluted by a 90 yr old veteran

PS if anybody is interested I know of a good truck for sale in WA.

 

[bmgm37]

Also heavy trucks suck in mud! mud is everywhere in Oregon.

Not necessarily so, in this video an M35a2 easily goes where many struggle. It's a long video but the M35 is in it many times.

Sweet Home Mudfest 2013 - YouTube

 

[winchester270]

yes as long as you take the weight into consideration and compensate with better tires and plan accordingly. Also if you do get stuck it is going to take much more work to get yourself out.. larger winch, better anchor points, and mostly time

 

[Spielmannsfluch]

In and around OC the past couple of days....the m1009 has had no problems at all in the snow. I was worried that it wouldn't start, but three or four tries with the glow plugs each time was enough. Takes a few minutes to warm up, but after about a half hour driving, I had to unzip my jacket and role down the window it was pumping out so much heat.

In 2WD, I had a little spinning around corners and from a stop. In 4WD I had absolutely no issues anywhere. I found some back streets that hadn't been plowed and some well packed secondary roads. No issues, felt very confident this truck would handle anything out there.

I even got some karma points by pulling a Mini out of a snowbank, uphill on a freeway ramp.

Off road and mud concern me. With a truck weighing 6k lbs, are chains a good option in 4wd with mud?

 

[trainsktg]

I been doing a little research on diesels since this thread started. A Cummins is certainly highly desirable, but the price reflects the market desire and some consider them over-valued. The 7.3l idi seems to be the best option when considering their high longevity vs. the relatively low cost to get into one. The GMCs are apparently giveaways, but for a first-timer they also seem to be a good way to enter the diesel world too.

Another absolutely top notch low price vs. high reliability option appears the Ford 4.9l I-6, said to be Ford's best motor ever and as close to a diesel a gasser can get. Vehicles so equipped are very very inexpensive. I've got Jeep's 4.0l I-6 equivalent in my Wrangler, and the darn thing can nearly crawl up a tree in 4L, so I expect that a 300CID version could probably pull stumps no problem.

Keith

 

[bmgm37]

I been doing a little research on diesels since this thread started. A Cummins is certainly highly desirable, but the price reflects the market desire and some consider them over-valued.

Keith

Another option to consider is the very popular 4BT, all I know it's all my son talks about Do a search and you will find lots of info.

 

[trainsktg]

Another option to consider is the very popular 4BT, all I know it's all my son talks about Do a search and you will find lots of info.

Its so CUUUTE .

There's lots of devotees to these smaller inline engines. I read up alot this weekend on fordsix.com. Proving that it doesn't take a $50k 400HP phallic substitute to be a powerful 'package'.

Keith

 

[Spielmannsfluch]

I wanted the m1009 for its simplicity. Every day driver is the cheapest Mercedes they have through a special lease where I work. The drive by wire, while a technical marvel, scares me. I grew up working on cars in the 80's and I wanted something polar opposite from the daily driver. A cucv fits the bill very well. And that it's a Detroit Diesel also is important because there's a Mercedes connection.

EMP proof? Maybe. But that's planning for something I don't want to see. Overengineered behemoth? I'll take that....

 

[derrickd95]

Ive been reading the posts and I am on board with the whole cucv thought. The M1009 has the highway gears....3.08 I think and 10 bolt axle. The m1008 had the heavier duty axles and more hard core gearing....4.56 plus a locker but top speed lacked. If you want room then the M1010 is the way to go. Some of them were ambulances and some radio rooms but they are tanks. All had th400 trans. They also only have one alternator. They are all 6.2 diesels but you can upgrade them with a 6.5 turbo but they do the job fine with out them. Very simple to work on and they have a diagnostic port for the STE/ICE under the dash and if you ca read the codes they work pretty good. I had a m1009 for awhile and still wish I had it but life got in the way. As far as fuel I would suggest investing in a centrifuge and storing in 55 gallon drums. Wolverine technologies made the best one I could find for cleaning up WMO. As of now my Bug out is a CJ5. Its small but that 258 with a ford top loader does not die.

 

[jp1985]

Ive been reading the posts and I am on board with the whole cucv thought. The M1009 has the highway gears....3.08 I think and 10 bolt axle. The m1008 had the heavier duty axles and more hard core gearing....4.56 plus a locker but top speed lacked. If you want room then the M1010 is the way to go. Some of them were ambulances and some radio rooms but they are tanks. All had th400 trans. They also only have one alternator. They are all 6.2 diesels but you can upgrade them with a 6.5 turbo but they do the job fine with out them. Very simple to work on and they have a diagnostic port for the STE/ICE under the dash and if you ca read the codes they work pretty good. I had a m1009 for awhile and still wish I had it but life got in the way. As far as fuel I would suggest investing in a centrifuge and storing in 55 gallon drums. Wolverine technologies made the best one I could find for cleaning up WMO. As of now my Bug out is a CJ5. Its small but that 258 with a ford top loader does not die.

I cannot agree more! I had a 1982 civilian version and thy thing was unstoppable. I once backed into a concrete and railroad sized post that ar used for holding wire fences in. It was during a scouting trip I was taking during a flooded day anyhow it got under
My bumper I went forward and tore that thing out of the ground.
It was the exact same as the military one only not camo.
Man I wish I had a time
Machine I would never sell it!!!! I got pressured into it . Now

Guess I will add it to my regrets and mistakes pile.

Jp out

 

[Martini_Up]

1973, Chevrolet 3+3

 

[trainsktg]

Good for a few hours of fun: go to the portland.craigslist 'for sale' section, type in such words as 'classic' , 'military, or 'diesel', and watch what interesting items pop up. Not just neat old vehicles either.

I don't have a big enough garage .

Keith

 

[The Heretic]

There is a reason the Cummins 6BT costs more - higher demand. Some people go so far as to swap out the Ford diesels (regardless of which on it is) and put a Cummins in.

You can order an F650 with a Cummins.

That said, for the smaller vehicles, Jeep, compact pickup, etc., the Mercedes diesel (OM 617) is better as a daily driver. My Big truck has the Cummins, the Toyota will get the MB diesel eventually.

 

[The Heretic]

And yes, weight does matter off-road.

There is a reason in any given class of off-road competition, the lighter vehicles do better than the heavier vehicles, all else being equal; gravity.

Physical laws mandate that it takes more traction and more power to climb a hill with more weight.

Also, weight works against floatation, causing more drag when trying to move through deep snow or mud or sand.

There is also the problem of COG - many heavy vehicles have a higher COG, causing problems on sidehills and other off-road surfaces.