These vehicles were used in the military from the 50's onwards in many different ways. The truck body, the Deuce and a Half, was just the frame work. The box on the back, the M-109, is simply one of the endless variants that can be easily added or removed from the back of the truck. Ours, the M-109 variant, is an electricians box van. It came pre-wired with electrical outlet strips along the top of the box, an exhaust , six windows with screens and eight 24 volt lights. In addition to being used as electricians vans they were also used as mobile offices for high ranking officers. This original set up makes the Deuce a perfect option for an RV conversion.
In the months following the MV rally Chris continued to educate himself on everything Deuce and began the hunt for our new toy. His search took him to southern California where, after a horribly long day of plane and bus travel, set his eyes on the beast. It was a 1970 that had been decommissioned over 10 years ago and had been sitting ever since. After signing some papers and forking over the cash he installed 2 new batteries, changed the oil and fired the old girl up, heading north. The journey was supposed to take roughly 3 days, but a cracked fuel injector line in Fresno, CA held up the trip while a fellow Steel Soldier member over-nighted the rare part. After getting back on the road Chris roared into Multnomah Village with our new home.
After the arrival of our Deuce, Chris spent countless hours planning and researching everything about the truck. He made a rough route for us to take, downloaded the amazingly detailed military manuals and scoured the internet for parts and information to help us along the way. He tinkered on the engine and began learning how all of the systems in the truck worked - not an easy task for a non-mechanic computer geek!
In June we took our pride and joy north to Washington for another Steel Soldiers truck rally. There were about 30 MV's of all varieties there; jeeps, fire trucks, 5 tons, flat beds, trailers and a few M-109's. This gave us the chance to not only show off our new beauty but to get even more questions answered. Below are some pics of the rough camping set up that we had in the Deuce for our 2 night camping trip at the rally. We put the fold out couch in the back as well as a table with a gas burner and a few lawn chairs. It was very basic, but pretty comfy! While we were in Washington we even found a local high school fundraiser to give our truck a bath!
Excited faces!
Our "roughin' it" camping set up
My handsome chauffeur
Wanda gets a bath
Around 2 months before our projected leaving date the shit started to hit the fan. Both of our procrastinating ways caught up with us and we spent the next 2 months running on energy drinks, cigarettes and no sleep to get the truck road ready.
This is what the inside of the van box began as - rough wood flooring and bland army green metal walls.
The first order of business to get things rolling was to take down all of the electrical strips, window screens, light fixtures, middle support rail and miscellaneous other small bits that were attached to the walls and ceiling. I painfully recorded where everything came from in order to easily re-install it once the wall panels were back in place; man am I glad we did that!
The next step was removing the interior panels in order to address some rust issues we had on the roof as well as install new wiring and insulation. This process proved to be quite difficult since roughly 1/8th of the screws were rusted to the point that they wouldn't turn at all. With the help of an impact driver, a hammer and a chisel we were able to get the rest of the screws out, but what a pain! These pictures are of the interior walls and ceiling after the panels were removed and the nasty fiberglass insulation was removed.
Chris loves insulation! Look how amused he is!
Next came patching the numerous patches of rust that were in the outer panels. The roof and rear corners were by far the worst, but there was surface rust all over the truck. This process was long, hot and frustrating! Chris had to identify, cut out, sand, prep, weld patches, bondo and paint all of the large rust spots you see below. On a health and safety note the paint on the truck is called Carc. It's a highly carcinogenic military paint that is made to resist chemical weapons. This, obviously, should not be inhaled. Chris and I both spent weeks covered in a fine layer of said carcinogenic dust, so hopefully we don't start growing extra limbs.
In the midst of doing all of the above work on the truck Chris and I were both still working full time. On my last day at Renners, Marshall and the crew threw me a going away party. Marshall made posters which, when he sent them to me, almost made me cry. All of the regulars came in to bid me well and chow down on some food that Marshall and Mrs. D set out for us. Chris brought the truck down and took up then entire street in front of the bar. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing the truck and it was great to have everyone see in person what I had been talking about for the past few months. After my shift ended at 9 it was MY turn to party! We had a bunch of friends come down to join us for some drinks, food and ridiculous times. We had a great time and would like to thank Marshall, Mrs. D, the Renners crew and regulars for coming down to make my last day memorable!
With A LOT of help from our family, friends and neighbors we began pecking away at our horribly long to do list. Chris' brother Ryan stopped by to help out with the wiring on the box, Rob installed the Fat Mat in the truck and was Chris' little helper on 1,000 jobs, Robin was the much needed masseuse, mover and cleaner, Tim gave us tools, advice and a helping hand, Catherine cleaned the carpets and was a super packer, Hilly was an all around godsend with her multiple days in the C&S work program, Lammy helped Chris with the god awful panel re-installation and bed building, Johnny lent a hand with a slew of projects, Steph rocked the window screens, Sam dealt with my storage unit melt down like a trooper, Jodi lent us her trailer and our neighbor Danny gave us more tools and advice than you can even imagine. We truly could not have done this without them! We love you all!!!
Ryan doing the wiring.
Rob installing the Fat Mat
Johnny doing... something?
Hilly and Rob using their butts! :)
Lammy helping with the floor installation.
So after very little sleep, countless energy drinks and pack after pack of cigarettes we were ready to hit the road. Some of our friends joined us for one last night in Portland at the Acrop followed by the official christening of Wanda with a $5 bottle of champagne. (pictures to follow)
The next morning we got up, finished the last bits on the truck and house and headed out. We had to make a pit stop in NE Portland to have the motorcycle rack welded on then we hit the road towards Crater Lake.
I would again like to thank all of the amazing people that helped us along the way. Your kindness, generosity and friendship means so much to us both and won't be forgotten. xoxo
