Posted by David Sherman on Monday, July 28, 2003 at 11:01AM :
In Reply to: 2 1/2 ton Question on Axle posted by Willy-N on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 0:27AM :
I would not be comfortable with 15,000 lbs on a deuce on any kind of rough roads, hills, etc. If you air the tires down to 35 lbs as recommended for bad roads, that's definitely too much weight. The front tires of an M35 are pretty well maxed out load wise anyway just carrying that heavy engine. I used to always put the weight as far forward as possible, but now try to center it just slighly ahead of the rear bogie. Presumably the water tank was done right, has baffles, etc. but I think it should go on a 5-ton. As others have pointed out, plenty are available cheap.
I also wonder about licensing an M35 with a 15,000 lb load (27,000 lb GVWR). I was told at the courthouse that you can't buy gross weight fees for more than the design limit of the truck, which would be 23,500 lbs for an M35.
As for the lack of interaxle differential, I usually pull the interaxle driveline in the spring and put it back in in the fall. That cuts down on tire wear and improves speed and fuel economy a tiny bit for long highway trips on dry pavement. It's not that hard to take it out and put it in using the onboard air compressor and an impact wrench. I keep the driveline under the seat and tools on board in case I should unexpectedly find a big mud hole in the middle of I-90 in July. With the interaxle driveline out, the rear tires will tend to hop and skip when going unloaded up a steep road with many rocks or loose gravel, but simply engaging the front axle solves that problem. Arthur Bloom's solution is obviously better, but my "field expedient" gets the job done.
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