CUCV or Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle

As I had mentioned earlier, I hate cars, but love trucks. I feel for country use, for any practical means that require hauling something, even a jack, a pick up is a nice means of utility. I've always loved the United States military trucks. Basically a civilian pickup built heavy duty to handle a morbid of things, including rough handling. I'm not one of these fellas who likes teal colored trucks with shiny chrome bumpers that require washing every weekend to look nice and appealing. Frankly, to me a truck is built to be run into the ground until you cannot drive it anymore. Unfortunately though, tough trucks that are still made of steel are hard to find. But, the military CUCV has a lot going for it that makes it often over looked. For instance, it's all American with parts made in the states. It's a diesel for the most part, thus very reliable and can even be submerged deeper than say fuel injected. Too bad though that most folks want to buy something within 5 years old and well, the CUCV trucks are from the 80's. Most see them as fixer up trucks, ugly, gas hogs, not worth even a look....exactly what I want.

I love how these trucks don't say "Steal Me!" but instead say "yes, I'm ugly, move on"...the paint on these trucks are also rust proof. One doesn't need wax to keep it looking good. One doesn't have to worry about scratches...just spray with krylon and you're good to go. I don't care much for camouflage clad vehicles, but if I was to get one, it would be in Olive Drab or Tan/Sand color. Of course I'd fix it up a little, but nothing more than $300...mainly on tires and then attach either fog or driving lights. The idea is to keep it stock, while also upgrading it so it performs better on road.

But what is the cost of these vehicles? Depends. If you want a full restored version, you're looking at around $10,000 depending on where you buy it from. If you buy one that is in working order, but needs repairs, one can buy for around $5000. If you want to go cheaper, then I could buy one for close to $2000 but I'd prefer getting one in good shape and drivable from the dealer.

So where do you find such trucks? Sometimes answering this is difficult because there are not many dealers that work with these unique machines. One has to do a lot of searching both on-line and off. Some links that I have found, and one that was given to me (thanks Ray) are the best places to start, including that of a forum called "Steel Soldiers" which deals with all military vehicles.

http://www.vintagemilitarytrucks.com

http://www.steelsoldiers.com

There are also different models. For instance, M1008 is a pickup and the M1009 is a blazer, however, the model M1010 is an ambulance which I think would make a dandy camper if you had the known how on creating such things from scratch.