A Little off topic but still IH

What I have found is a 1952 IH R-185 or R-190... not sure which. Red Diamond engine (not sure which displacement) 5 speed with 2 speed rear axle. Ex fire truck so it has 7,600 original miles and appears to need nothing immediately.

It does have the fire apparatus still on it which I would remove and go with either a dump bed, stake bed, or flatbed. I should be able to go with a 12 to 14 foot bed which ever way and the thing has a 22,000 pound gross.

AND...guess what..its RED!

Am I out of my mind or does this make sense? Price $2200. Ya can't hardly buy anything for that price much less a really big truck with low miles and excellent maintenance. The only real problem is finding a place to park it...my toys keep getting bigger.

Anyway...fire away...I need someone to shoot me down or give me the magical words I need when I tell my wife what I am planning.

Thanks...BB

Incidentally I kinda went down the same path as you - was looking for a 3/4 or 1 ton PU and trailer to haul my Farmalls to a few local shows and pulls. I however stumbled into a deal on a larger truck already equipped with a beavertail equipment rack - for a fraction of the cost of a used pickup. It needs some cosmetic work but mechanically it's in excellent shape. Fortunately also I've got the CDL to operate it legally. Only downsides are it's not an IHC, and my wife won't allow it in the driveway!

• Bob M's tractor hauler

BB

But...here is where a little knowledge can get dangerous. My understanding (based on a conversation with the friendly DMV folks in Alabama)was that if the vehicle had hydraulic and not air brakes, a commercial ticket wasn't needed. After all this talk about gross vehicle weight, it seems I now remember something about a 15,000 GVWR being max. I know I would be above the limit in Alabama.

Not real sure about the other states I will ferry through (Arkansas, Mississippi). Can anyone help me out on the various requirements here? I know the truck won't be near the 15,000 limit on the scales, but the Mfg tag is a dead give-away.

I'll call DMV tomorrow and see what Alabama says.

Thanks for the "heads up".

Although fire fighting is a noble cause and we owe a great debt to those men and women, my passion is antique vehicles (and somehow they all end up being IH if you excuse the JD M I had for a while and the JD LX178 I still have but would gladly trade for a good Cub Cadet.

Water weighs 8.3 lbs. per gallon, so multiply the capacity of the on-board water tank by 8.3 and then add some for the pumps, hoses, ladders, fire body, etc., and that'll give you an idea. Even if it only has a 500-gallon tank, you're looking at 4150 lbs. in water weight alone, so I'd say you're OK.

The only thing I'd be wary of is how much sitting it did ... if you start using it on a regular basis, any dried-out seals may start leaking like crazy.

I'd love to have such a truck, but I can't get one into the parking garage at work. :-(

Thing can carry a few tons of water, huh?

Magic words: Honey, if you think the drought was bad this summer, you ain't seen nothin' yet. I'm gonna get us a truck so we can haul water up from the river next summer. We'll keep the toilets flushing and the kids and us from dying of dehydration! Meantime, I may use it to do some haulin' here and there.

Heck, that's a better excuse than Y2K was for buyin' all sorts of generators, pumps, farming equipment and other toys.

good luck with the tall tales!

Steve

Any grass that doesn't grow I can just park the truck on top of it and no one will notice!!

Glad the idea got you goin'.

We Hoosiers are always mighty proud to offer opinions and think up tall tales! Mostly about white guys playin' basketball (heck they made the movie "Hoosiers" about that) but we get enough practice during basketball season to last all year 'round.

Steve