Here's an update on the LMTV adventure. After a discussion with my friend in Hawaii I took his advice and decided to drive the Jeep over to Seattle to pick up the beast. I modified the tow bar that another friend gave me to work with existing mounting points on the Jeep aftermarket bumper, and ordered a Curt 3" I.D. Lunette ring so that I could pull the Jeep behind the LMTV which has a massive pintle hook. I welded a plate to the tow bar and mounted the Lunette ring to the plate with 3/4" grade 8 bolts.
It was one heck of a trip. I left Kalispell around 3pm on Thursday afternoon and drove for 9 hours (with one stop for fuel) and got to Tacoma around 10pm local time. Next morning we were at the docks around 8am to pick up the trucks. I could have been heading back within an hour of getting to the dock since my LMTV ran like a top, but the individual picking up the other two LMTVs was set on the idea of us "convoying" back to Spokane.
We were on the docks until 7.30pm, long after they'd closed, messing with his two LMTVs. There were tools and parts strewn all over the deck, and the lack of a logical, methodical approach to get on the road ASAP, combined with a fatigue/dehydration splitting headache had me very frustrated. Thinking that it was going to be a quick turn around I (we) didn't have any water or food. When we finally pulled out of the shipping company gates we only managed to go a mile or so before the idea of a "convoy" crashed and burned. His "working" LMTV couldn't pull the other one so ultimately he asked me to follow him to a storage yard to drop off his two LMTVs. So now his Subaru is in the parking lot at the shipping company, and his two LMTVs are joined together and parked outside a storage area 3 miles from the docks, and partially blocking a coffee hut drive-up window lane!
He had decided to unload all of the parts and tools from his Subaru into the back of the LMTVs since he didn't want "extremely desirable" LMTV parts and his tools stolen. Once the plan changed for me to taxi him back to Spokane we had to move all of his stuff from the back of his LMTVs to the back of my LMTV. We finally left Seattle around 10:30pm facing a 300 mile drive in the dark.
This is where I may have screwed up. My LMTV was initially driving well on the way out of Seattle, but I was so frustrated with the congestion, the individual in question, the hills, the cramped roads etc., that I decided to wait to fill up until I was out of the city and on I90. I think I ran the tank low enough that the fuel filters became clogged to the extent that I could only maintain 25mph climbing many of the hills on I90. What should have been a 4-1/2 hour drive became an 8 hour drive with no sleep. My convoy companion managed to sleep in the passenger seat, and when I asked him to drive proclaimed that he was too tired to drive, but I insisted. After 15 minutes behind the wheel I decided that the two times he nodded off followed by me yelling "watch out" was enough excitement for me and asked him to pull over at the next rest area. At the next stop we replaced one of the fuel filters (the second and finer filtration one) but didn't have a replacement for the primary filter and water separator. We also changed drivers and both changes seemed to help. I was now able to maintain 35 mph on the big hills, still not good but an improvement.
We arrived at my passenger's home around 6am but even then there was drama. We had to unhook the Jeep since there was no way to turn around or back up at his place. He even managed to leave his phone in the Jeep so I'll need to FedEx that back to him today.
So there I was having not slept in over 26 hours, and after a 9 hour drive out to Seattle the day before I was exhausted but heading to a good friend's place in Kettle Falls, WA. He's only an hour and a half north of Spokane and it was a lovely drive even though I struggled to stay awake. I spent the rest of the day with him and his 93 year old mother and they took great care of me. I got to sleep for a few hours after arriving, I got to enjoy a couple of beers by the lake, and his mum made us dinner. I got to sleep for 11 hours or so before waking up to a great breakfast.
The drive from Kettle Falls through Priest River, ID and Sandpoint, ID was spectacular. I even got to meet up with one of our moderators (great guy) and his lovely dog for a second time. As we stood by the LMTV talking, a couple of young guys approached us all excited about the truck. The truck got a lot of attention on the way back with fist pumps, lots of waves and lots of looks.
Now the LMTV is home and I will start to address the fuel system and any other issues. The locking mechanism for the cab release needs to be overhauled since it's leaking badly and won't allow the air over hydraulic system to build pressure to release the cab. It's a simple o-ring swap but necessary before I can get easy access to the engine and filters. Overall I'm amazed by how well this beast drives and handles. I think it's going to be a lot of fun to own and to use. Here are some photos from this past weekend's adventure.
LMTV ready to be picked up.
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Jeep hooked up and ready to go.
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Overnight stop in Kettle Falls.
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Modified tow bar with Curt Lunette ring.
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Stop in Sandpoint, ID for fuel and to meet a fellow OTT member and moderator.
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A final stop at Loon Lake, MT to take a photo.
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