What would be the best bet for a BOV.

[tompnoid]

I guess this would probably differ for each of us depending on weather terrain knowledge abilities ect.

i am thinking qualities motor horse power weight capacity

1. 4 wheel drive utmost here in the woods and mountians
2. carbureted emp hits this will still run and with minor modifications it will run on alcohol or kerosene
3. has to be a 350 ci motor at bare minimum
4. for me gas mileage matters but not as much as the ability to haul large loads or push other vehicles even tow capacity
5. has to hold 2000lbs easily
6. ground clearance minimum 18 inches
8. i want it made of steel don't care that it is heavy
9. i want a positronic rear end this means wheel goes flat it will still go forward
10. i want room in the engine bay to work on it if you cant reach the alternator or water pump life becomes alot harder if it breaks down.
11. i want it to be a common vehicle chevy preferably gmc i dont drive rice and think ford sucks balls
12. i want the heater to work.

[cwconnertx]

18 inches ground clearance is a lot!, you probably need to scale that back unless you can run portal axles or 44 inch tires. To clear with a normal truck axle you will need 44 or 46 inch tires to clear 18 inches.

There is no such thing as a positronic rear end, I would consider a detroit locker.

You really ought to consider gas mileage, when leaving houston for hurricane rita many many people ran out of fuel.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Not many vehicles with 44 inch or larger tires can hold 2000 pounds easily, and none of them are common vehicles, you
will really need something un-common to get everything you are requesting. Something like a deuce and a half has many of those qualities, but not all.

I can make a few recommendations, scale the ground clearance back a bit, and look at a 12 valve, manual transmission four wheel drive dodge diesel, 89 - 97
would be the target years. The drive train is great, but the rest of the truck not so much, but it fits the bill in many ways
As a gasoline powered option to get out of electronics you'll need to go older, consider a 73-80 chevrolet 3/4 or 1 ton, with either 350 or 454 engine. Get a manual or turbo400
automatic, both are rock solid. Suburbans of the 3/4 ton variety from these years also work.

What you probably mean by positronic rear end is a positrac year end, which is a type of limited slip. A detroit locker would be available for either of these vehicles, so
that is a better stronger more reliable choice. Also more predictable, some people say a mechanical locker is bad on snow and ice, but in my experience they work fine and are
more predictable because you know they will lock, as opposed to a limited slip which has more "play".

Do some research, you will make a better choice if you learn a little more about vehicles, particularly drive train and suspension.

[Sniper-T]

Well said cwc...

From the sounds of things... you want a mil-spec humvee, or at the very least a first edition hummer. but even at that, you'll still have to do some extensive modifications. ie make a hauling truck out of a people carrier. The other issue, is that even those only had 16" clearance, and the wheel well is almost full. If you want to stretch that to 18, you'll need a serious lift kit.

And if you want to add that kind of capacity, you'll need to redo the suspension too.

Hummer H1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[hank2222]

I guess this would probably differ for each of us depending on weather terrain knowledge abilities ect.

i am thinking qualities motor horse power weight capacity

1. 4 wheel drive utmost here in the woods and mountians
2. carbureted emp hits this will still run and with minor modifications it will run on alcohol or kerosene
3. has to be a 350 ci motor at bare minimum
4. for me gas mileage matters but not as much as the ability to haul large loads or push other vehicles even tow capacity
5. has to hold 2000lbs easily
6. ground clearance minimum 18 inches
8. i want it made of steel don't care that it is heavy
9. i want a positronic rear end this means wheel goes flat it will still go forward
10. i want room in the engine bay to work on it if you cant reach the alternator or water pump life becomes alot harder if it breaks down.
11. i want it to be a common vehicle chevy preferably gmc i dont drive rice and think ford sucks balls
12. i want the heater to work.

18 inches ground clearance is a lot!, you probably need to scale that back unless you can run portal axles or 44 inch tires. To clear with a normal truck axle you will need 44 or 46 inch tires to clear 18 inches.

There is no such thing as a positronic rear end, I would consider a detroit locker.

You really ought to consider gas mileage, when leaving houston for hurricane rita many many people ran out of fuel.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Not many vehicles with 44 inch or larger tires can hold 2000 pounds easily, and none of them are common vehicles, you
will really need something un-common to get everything you are requesting. Something like a deuce and a half has many of those qualities, but not all.

I can make a few recommendations, scale the ground clearance back a bit, and look at a 12 valve, manual transmission four wheel drive dodge diesel, 89 - 97
would be the target years. The drive train is great, but the rest of the truck not so much, but it fits the bill in many ways
As a gasoline powered option to get out of electronics you'll need to go older, consider a 73-80 chevrolet 3/4 or 1 ton, with either 350 or 454 engine. Get a manual or turbo400
automatic, both are rock solid. Suburbans of the 3/4 ton variety from these years also work.

What you probably mean by positronic rear end is a positrac year end, which is a type of limited slip. A detroit locker would be available for either of these vehicles, so
that is a better stronger more reliable choice. Also more predictable, some people say a mechanical locker is bad on snow and ice, but in my experience they work fine and are
more predictable because you know they will lock, as opposed to a limited slip which has more "play".

Do some research, you will make a better choice if you learn a little more about vehicles, particularly drive train and suspension.

My first bug out vehicle was a 1980 chevy suburban that lift about 2.inchs to put a bigger set of tires and the whole thing was reworked front to back with diff items we would have need to get home to Az from any miliary base we where stationed at .My farther put it togerther to get the wife and kids home safe he found it in a dealer ship here where the person order it and never came and picked it up and the person at the time put some extra things into it

Here is a partial list of things we had did to the vehicle to make it more useable for us as a family leaving the area we where stationed at .
4.wheel drive
automatic transmisson for the wife to be able to drive it
skid plates on the enigne and transmisson
heavy duty front bumper with bult in ram bars and bult in wrinch set up
heavy duty rear bumper with bult in ram bars to push things out of the way
multi lights on the vehicle to light up the night for driving
roof rack with ladder
extra fuel tank add to the vehicle to extend the range
metal bars and thin wire mesh over the gas tanks to protect them .The unit where design to come off as it was need to make repairs to the gas tank
dark green color
wire mesh screens we could put onto the windows to help protect them from dirt or rocks along with all the lights having mesh screens .the mesh screens rode inside the truck in the rear of the vehicle cargo hold in there own special carrying system to hold them
all weather tires on heavy duty military truck tire rims set up with two spares .
dual battie system to use it as it need
dual front bucket seats with rear brench seating .We could make the brench seating set up a flat bed unit with a piece of plywood to let the kids lay down on and sleep on if need when driving long distance ..The mesh screen in the rear cargo layed flat after it was unhooked from the sides of the truck and it made part of the platfrom that was used for sleeping on
bult in console with diff radios and control switchs for all the items we had on the unit

my dad completely went through the vehicle to make sure it would get us home in a time of need .He felt that if we had to run it was going to be bad and wanted something that would get us home.That truck is still on the road and one of the kids has it right now in Nc area where they are stationed at and it looks like a daily driver and it get ok gas milage but it was design to get them home if needed .

[Sniper-T]

Tom, It sounds like you're wanting something like this:

4x4 Bus | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Personally, I'd go with more reasonable tires, but this thing would be the ultimate hunting buggy!

[Dropy]

PERSONALLY i would go with a doge power wagon with just about ANY dodge motor in it. Another consideration on my list is a ford 3/4 ton or larger. If ya go with a half ton or grab a full size bronco then a 300 straight 6 would be a helluva motor to have in it.

I am a ford guy, cant stand anything chevy....worked on too many. They just dont do it for me. Have never had a ford or dodge let me down other than a few VERY simple minor easily fixxed issues.

But no matter what you buy do research and build her right.

[Echo2]

[Fatty]

thats looking pretty good echo!

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

ECHO2
Sweet, I like that, it says "KISS" all over it! Does it still have the throttle body or did you modify it? The spare tire rack, how does that work? I'm looking for one that will swing out to the right. That "Urban Assault Vehicle" sure looks stout. "BZ" man!



Be safe.............the night is your friend.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

I guess this would probably differ for each of us depending on weather terrain knowledge abilities ect.

i am thinking qualities motor horse power weight capacity

1. 4 wheel drive utmost here in the woods and mountians
2. carbureted emp hits this will still run and with minor modifications it will run on alcohol or kerosene
3. has to be a 350 ci motor at bare minimum
4. for me gas mileage matters but not as much as the ability to haul large loads or push other vehicles even tow capacity
5. has to hold 2000lbs easily
6. ground clearance minimum 18 inches
8. i want it made of steel don't care that it is heavy
9. i want a positronic rear end this means wheel goes flat it will still go forward
10. i want room in the engine bay to work on it if you cant reach the alternator or water pump life becomes alot harder if it breaks down.
11. i want it to be a common vehicle chevy preferably gmc i dont drive rice and think ford sucks balls
12. i want the heater to work.

This almost fits your criteria:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Yes, it's almost done........bleed out the brake lines. Re-tourque the U-bolts on the rear differential. At's about it. I had to do a "Complete" rebuild on the rear end. New carrier, detroit locker with limited 1/4 turn slip. It saves your rear end from destroying itself (axles, side gears) when you have dual tires. New 4:10 Ring and Pinion all Bearings and brakes. Don't ask how much. I was doing everything just fine until I got to installing the new carrier. I wasn't going to spend $350 on a one time tool (differential spreader) so I just dropped it (rear end)and took it in and had them finish it for me. Balanced the drive shaft while I had that out too. I have a set of General Grabber AT2's at the ready to throw on right now. Then back to road warrior road testing.
NOTEPositraction is great if you're planning on mudding all the time. But you have to put things in to perspective, on the road, short turn radius, making any urns for that matter. The more meat (rubber) you put on the pavement, the more strain you put on those axles in a tight turn, you need some sort of give/slip. What is your reality driving like? The one I have will give a 1/4 turn and then grab. Pretty sweet.


Be safe.............the night is your friend.