1500 Miles in a Surplus Humvee

[Ben]

For a while, a ways back, I had it in my mind that a really cool adventure would be picking up a surplus RKLmobile, HMMWV, Growler, or similar vehicle out of state and then driving it home on the backroads, camping out and stuff along the way. I never did it, and watching this guy, it probably worked out for the best. 

It's a two part video of this youtuber picking up an HMMWV in California and driving it back to Kansas. He adds/makes a few problems just for showmanship I guess, but still, the road trip doesn't look to be as much fun as I thought it would be. If I were to do this now, a military surplus place is 30 minutes up the road from me, and that now sounds like a long enough trip. 

https://youtu.be/gvWZgD5w8iw
https://youtu.be/te0LrPCz1h4

[Andiron]

Hope that guy is 5'9" or he's going to hate life in a short amount of time.

Those things are lots of fun if you're not paying to maintain them, and are of average height. 

"I found one that was the MARINE CORPS's humvee!"   Do you not understand how we run *expletive deleted*it?  lol

[Frank Castle]

I spent way to much time in HMMWV, including a 1000 mile round trip to Texas, for the flood.

No way, will i ever own a HMMWV, or volunteer to ride in one.   

[Bogie]

There is an entire culture made up of guys scrounging replacement parts.

[cordex]

There is an entire culture made up of guys scrounging replacement parts.

Why?  Can’t they just go to their local auto parts shop and pick up whatever milsurp parts they need?

[Andiron]

I spent way to much time in HMMWV, including a 1000 mile round trip to Texas, for the flood.

No way, will i ever own a HMMWV, or volunteer to ride in one.

That fat bastard isn't wearing armor either.  EVERYONE knows it's not safe to drive the stupid thing without flak and kevlar...

[RoadKingLarry]

I don't honestly think I would survive a 1500 mile trip in my M715.
I think the farthest I've actually driven it in one trip is maybe 20 miles one way and I regretted not having hearing protection long before I got to my destination. "Comfortable" cruising speed for me is between 40-45 Mph.

[Ben]

I don't honestly think I would survive a 1500 mile trip in my M715.
I think the farthest I've actually driven it in one trip is maybe 20 miles one way and I regretted not having hearing protection long before I got to my destination. "Comfortable" cruising speed for me is between 40-45 Mph.

We had a 5/4 CUCV at work for a while, and of course I liked driving it around town because [makes Tim Allen noises], but yeah, that sucker was LOUD. Also it had a suspension designed for a bajillion ton payload, so if you hit any pothole when it was empty, you were jumping around the road like you were on a trampoline. 

[HankB]

There is an entire culture made up of guys scrounging replacement parts.

I believe it.

I've read that suspension & drivetrain parts are hard to find and hideously expensive when they do turn up, and someone experienced with diesel engines (I think it was someone on this forum) wrote a while back that the designers of the Humvee's diesel made nearly every wrong decision possible.

But until reading this thread, I didn't know that the H1 was designed for short people. (When I was shopping for a new SUV back in 2006 I sat in a civilian H3 and thought it had plenty of room, but didn't buy it because of other design issues I didn't like.)