Technically, even a F550 is not good enough. I believe that the F550 is a 2
ton truck. You'd probably have to go to a International 4700 or Ford 7000
series truck to get the same weight rating. Both of which come in 4x4 and
6x6 models. All military trucks are rated at their off road capacity. That
is a 2 1/2 ton truck can carry 5 ton or 10,000 pounds on road and a 5 ton
can carry 20,000 pounds on road. How much do you think a F550 can handle off
road? I think that the reason the military rates the vehicles as such is
because of the twisting motion of the frame in cross country driving. If you
had 10,000 pounds in a 2 1/2 ton truck you multiply the chances of damaging
the truck. This could be anything from a twisted frame to busted drive train
parts. BTW, Isuzu does make military trucks for the Japanese military
defense and they look a lot like M35's. I'll dig up the picture and email it
to anyone interested. Just give me a couple of days to find the book that
the picture is in.
Ken Weiss
1953 XM211 2 1/2 ton troop/cargo truck "Deuces are Wild"
1954 XM105E3 1 1/2 ton cargo trailer
Secretary, Newsletter Editor, and Webmaster
Lone Star MVPA and "The Transfer Case"
Check out our new web site
http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/pit/4393/index.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Cole <davidacole@juno.com>
To: 1sgd6508@unixstew.tstc.edu <1sgd6508@unixstew.tstc.edu>
Cc: mil-veh@skylee.com <mil-veh@skylee.com>
Date: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 8:30 AM
Subject: Re: [MV] S&S FMTV
>You have missed my point.
>Change that analogy to a Ford F550 with 4 wheel drive. It costs 35-40K
>and is still made in the USA.
>
>The FMTV's cost 3-4 times that much and should outperform a new cheap
>civy Ford in all respects, right? I would expect it to.
>
>>The Army cannot purchase foreign vehicles, and the ISUZU truck it not
>>as
>>rugged or durable as a S&S FMTV is. It is limited to mostly onroad
>>driving,
>>the FMTV, on the other hand, can go a lot further offroad than the
>>Isuzu.
>>>
>>>This is my perpective: if an ISUZU cabover 2 1/2 ton truck can
>>maintain
>>>65-70 mph forever until it runs out of fuel and cost about 35K, and a
>>>specially designed 2 1/2 ton truck is made for on and off road work
>>and
>>>costs 80-100K or more, then wouldn't the typical person expect it to
>>be
>>>able to maintain well over 45 mph indefinitely? I would.
>
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