★ ARMY TRUCK Conversions! Military Vehicles Transformed Into Survival Rigs, Overlanders And Off Grid Homes ★

ARMY TRUCK Conversions! Military Vehicles Transformed Into Survival Rigs, Overlanders And Off Grid Homes
Graphic © off-grid.info. Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-J6K6cDFOc

For when that Mercedes Sprinter isn’t quite cutting it… 🙂

Following on from my detailed post about How To Turn Your Truck Into A Kickass Survival Vehicle, which mainly deals with 4X4 pickups + a full equipment list for kitting out your bug-out vehicle, I decided to dive deeper into the awesome topic of military vehicle conversions.

There are a growing number of people purchasing ex-military vehicles, often via military surplus auctions and converting them to various types of “off grid vehicle”.

★ Army Truck Pros And Cons ★

Pros:

Army trucks have some distinct advantages that make them very good candidates for your dream post-apocalypse rig:

1) Built super tough: In general, military hardware is overbuilt on purpose, because it’s expected that it’s going to have to take significantly more abuse than your typical vehicle. Compare with your average RV, many of which are as flimsy and lightweight as can be (as well as completely useless in more than 3″ of mud).

2) Serious off road capability: Military vehicles don’t just have “some” off road ability… they are expected to be spending much of their life off road and potentially dealing with every type of rugged terrain imaginable. Steep inclines, deep mud, trenches, rubble, logs, bomb craters… you name it, a military vehicle has to deal with it. Army trucks typically have strong axles and drive train, “wedge” shaped front and rear end to facilitate greater ability to go over obstacles, good ground clearance and ultra-heavy duty tires to give strong resistance to punctures.

Combine this with a DC cable winch setup (such as this highly rated 12,000lb WARN) + a pair of bridging ladders and now you can truly go where others cannot. This of course has further SHTF advantages in that you can get further away from Dodge than most will be able to. “The end of the road” for them and for you are now two different things. Just make sure you stow enough fuel to make it where you need to go and back…

Many of the bigger vehicles such as the MAN HX60 and Oshkosh units will also have CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System) that allows you to “air down” from the cab at the turn of a switch, enabling a larger footprint and therefore better grip on soft terrains.

3) Full all-wheel drive and diff lock: Many army trucks have full differential lock (both left-to-right and inter-axle) as well as low range.

4) Deliberately kept mechanically simple and not over-reliant on sensitive electronics, so that they could be “field repairable”. Imagine the situation; you are in warfare and an important electronic component fails, leaving you stranded. Not good. If at all possible, the vehicle needs to be able to survive explosions, gunfire, insane terrain and still keep moving. Life or death! All of this of course translates to more rugged capability for off road and wilderness adventures.

5) Designed to give protection to the occupants.

6) Potential low usage: Ex-military vehicles can often be obtained with extremely low mileage, sometimes even unused. Military contracts will specify a certain number of vehicles “just in case” and sometimes this equipment sits in storage waiting for a day that never comes. After a certain amount of time has passed, the equipment will be decommissioned and replaced with new kit so as to not leave the military with “ancient hardware” – however sometimes it can be in amazing condition. I’ve seen army trucks at MOD (Ministry of Defence) auction sites in the UK that looks almost flawless, with only a few hundred miles on the ODO despite having a manufacture date of, say, 2012.

7) LOTS of space up top! You have the possibility to create a big rooftop deck that can be used for luggage, multiple solar panels, as a sleep area and of course for watching sunsets and views with a beverage of your choice. Living large!

8) Livable Potential: The cost of some of these vehicles is somewhat high, however when compared to the costs of suburban living, it starts to make more sense. When you think that a typical urban apartment in many parts of the first world might now cost $2000 per month, maybe more, to be stuck in the city – with bills on top – you can see why there are many looking for an exodus from this lifestyle…

You might easily be sinking $30,000 per year into rent and bills, or mortgage repayments and find yourself “on the hamster wheel” – working your life away just to exist… Compare this with the cost of acquiring the vehicle, running costs and camp sites and you might find that after a few years you are significantly better off. Suddenly that big truck and conversion starts to look like it might be the better option – as well as giving the potential for a genuinely adventurous lifestyle with much more freedom! If you can work remotely or for example run a Youtube channel or other social media business (like I do!) then you have a way of doing it…

9) Looks imposing: There’s an obvious association in the public mind between military vehicles and combat ability. I think it’s fair to say that you are less likely to be messed with if you drive one of these and people are just generally going to assume you are a total badass. Fine by me.

Cons:

1) Vehicles that were “Specially Designed for Military Use” may require export licenses: This is because there is a black market for this stuff in the world and governments must make efforts not to allow such equipment to fall into the hands of those who might have undesirable uses for it. In most cases, the export license is a formality and simply requires paperwork, presumably with some declaration of intended use and which borders it will cross (I would expect that border crossing would require that the the paperwork matches the border, with detainment if something is amiss). More info here https://www.modsurplus.co.uk/index.php/information/export-licensing

2) Big army trucks can be notorious gas guzzlers: 8-10mpg or less is not uncommon and the bigger the vehicle, the more extreme it gets. With the really big stuff such as the Oshkosh M1070, 2.5mpg is reported – although one military user reported actual mpg in use to be around 1.5! Of course that depends significantly on load and terrain. This doesn’t seem to deter everyone – and if you don’t think that someone would be nuts enough to convert such monster vehicles as the M1070 and beyond, well, watch some of the videos I will link below! 🙂

Overlanders will often fit serious fuel tanks, even up to 1000L (220 UK Gallons / 264 US Gallons) to vehicles such as the MAN 6×6 – giving them a range of thousands of miles, however each fill-up is going to be a wallet-wrecker, possibly well over $1,000 per refuel… (still cheaper than city rents though!)

Speaking of which – when talking about post-SHTF use, it’s worth bearing in mind that if the “stuff” really hits the fan, one of the first things to fail would likely be the gasoline supply, at which point your magnificent million-dollar overlander becomes a tin shed and a sitting target for whatever… you might be better off with a dirt bike! 😉 Which leads me on nicely to…

3) Parking Hassles: Big rigs can present a parking challenge in town; what we typically see with off-grid/van life folk is parking up on the outskirts of town, perhaps in a semi-industrial area where a big truck doesn’t look so out of place (and also won’t have so many looky-loos and people spilling out of the bars); with an e-bike being carried on the rig to use for those missions into town. This is a good way to go and the truck+ebike combo is a sensible one.

4) Extra Driving Licenses May Be Required: In the UK, many of the bigger ex-MOD vehicles will require an HGV license to drive: Vehicles from 3,500kg to 7,500kg come under category C1 (LGV, light goods vehicle), anything over 7,500kg requires category C (HGV). To put that into perspective, the MAN HX60 is 9,200kg unladen, the DAF 2300 4×4 is 7,938 kg. I don’t know for sure, but the HGV classification of the vehicle might also affect your ability to purchase the vehicle as it may need to be linked to an actual commercial venture. More info on the UK C1 license here and UK category C (HGV) license here.

In the USA (correct me if I am wrong) you can drive vehicles up to 40ft in length and up to 26,000lbs (11,793kg) on a “standard” class D license. The Land of the Free wins this round…

Different countries have different restrictions so make sure you know the rules and do things correct!

★ What Equipment Does Your Off Grid Vehicle Need? ★

I covered this at length in my post How To Turn Your Truck Into A Kickass Survival Vehicle, which gives a full rundown of kit that you might want to include.

★ Military Truck Conversion Examples ★

You can learn a ton about these rigs from the various Youtube videos. I’ve collected some awesome examples (as well as some that are just complete craziness) and will add to these over time. If you have any more examples you think I should see and possibly feature on this page, send me an email!

Approximately starting with the smaller ones and going through to the biggest…

Above: LMTV 4X4: The LMTV (Light Medium Tactical Vehicle) is a very popular choice as a base for an overlander or survival truck; a step up in ruggedness from a regular civilian vehicle, while also being of a manageable size.

GovPlanet Auctions – example page of LMTVs (Light Medium Tactical Vehicle) at very reasonable prices, possibly under $5,000.

Above: Stewart and Stevenson M1078 LMTV 4X4: Another LMTV. One thing I love about this one is that they did not spend megabucks, with a total cost of $37,000 including the vehicle purchase price.

Above: M1079 4×4: After previously living in the Yukon in a school bus and getting stuck in the mud, he wanted something that could actually handle real wilderness adventures in all climates. The M1079 is extremely capable, while not being insanely oversized – although the 12ft box he fitted is going to be a bit small for most. He installed a composting toilet which means being able to be off grid 1-2 months without having to go to a dumping station. This guy is a “real” overlander, who does serious mileage and didn’t spend megabucks on a bourgeois palace on wheels – but built his own for a very affordable price. Respect to that.

Above: Steyr 4×4: This is a great “pro build” from EXCAP with all the mod cons. Full teardown and renovation of the original Steyr chassis. He has 600L of fuel capacity that gets around 2,500 km. 1,150W of solar panels, 600Ah of lithium batteries. My fav feature is the climb-through panel between the cab and the box.

Note also the ground clearance and in particular the height of the box above ground level. This gives added security to the occupants as it’s difficult for any intruder to climb on board (and you can poke them down with a broom. 🙂 )

Above: M1087 4×4: This couple did their own conversion, and with an engineering background designed some incredible features into this rig. They both work remotely and live full time on the road. I especially love the slide-outs, a feature most often seen on RVs of course and a way to expand the living area significantly.

Above: MAN HX60: A popular choice. There are a number of these with very low mileage currently for sale via UK military surplus: example. The above video is not a rig rundown, but has some interesting footage of dealing with a muddy hill climb; interestingly the high range was needed in order to get through the mud, as the low range gave insufficient momentum to power through the soft areas. Which leads me to an interesting point: Driving skill and knowledge of how to use the vehicle’s various off road features is just as vital to all terrain driving as having a capable rig; you can have the right truck and still screw it all up, if you don’t do things right! If they had gotten seriously stuck here, they might have been in trouble: None of those cars is going to be able to tow that truck out, and it doesn’t look like there is anything nearby that they could attach a winch to… what would you do?

Above: Another MAN HX60: This is a very detailed and excellent rundown of the conversion of an HX60 purchased from military surplus in the UK and given “the works” – full teardown and chassis restoration, followed by a custom build. The MAN HX60 ex-military models come with a 300L fuel tank – and overlanders typically upgrade this.

A further benefit of a big fuel tank is that a good supply of diesel has a second use: Diesel heaters – which are used to keep toasty in winter conditions! These use a very minimal amount of fuel and you could probably make it through a winter super-easily without using a fraction of one of these mega fuel tanks! Serious survival benefit.

Above: Stewart & Stevenson 6X6: This is a seriously amazing conversion and the owner has been living in it full time. Not by any means his first rodeo, this is a simply fantastic build with a ton of elegance and functionality. This guy has it seriously dialed in – from the custom touch screen electronics to the Starlink dish to the fancy ceiling. But it’s the real shower that’s the “take my money” feature. He built it in 3 months of 18 hour days… note also the motorbike for those runs into town.

Above: MAN TGS 33.540 6×6: The MAN 6X6 is a popular choice for the more upscale overlander conversions. Fresh from an Alaska adventure, the owner gives us a rundown of this serious 18-tonne beast.

The MAN trucks are serious stuff: The 12 litre engine on this one delivers 540HP, with a 32-speed gearbox + 4 reverse gears. He has a 15-tonne winch on the front that he’s used to pull several other vehicles out of sand. They have a CTIS (central tire inflation system) which allows custom control of tire pressure, enabling you to deflate when going over terrain that requires greater traction. These monster tires look like they are about 44″ and are so heavy that they need a winch system to bring down the spare. These tires also have a bead lock system which allows run-flat.

He has 175 gallon freshwater capacity and 1000L (270 gallons) of fuel capacity, which is around £1,400/$2,000 per fill-up! This estimated gives a 1865-2485 mile range.

Above: M939 6×6: I love this one. The owner cut a 40′ shipping container in half and mounted it on the flatbed. Serious ingenuity with the interior features such as the hot water system, as well as a kickass sound system with 4×18 subs!

Above: Arctic Kamaz 6×6: Meanwhile, in Russia…. this Kamaz looks to be a prototype. A serious monster designed for Arctic use. No CTIS – but once you are on snow, you are on snow. Huge tires (nearly 2m) that look to be optimized for snow / mud with the wide gaps between treads. No problems at all fording water that looks to be about 4ft deep. Does not appear to be in current military use but will probably find its way into such applications.

Above: MAN KAT 8×8: This one looks imposing AF on the outside… just so gothic I almost expect it to shoot flames… but on the inside it’s all natural wood and wholesome-looking. She has 9 full-size solar panels up top, looks like about 2.5K-3K of panels! so there’s absolutely no power shortage! It’s a pro build, with custom control systems, wooden interior features and soft-close drawers that lock with a push-button to prevent spillage when in motion. It’s in German, I’m seeing quite a few of these overlanders are German or Swiss, so it seems to be a bit of a thing over there.

Above: The incredibly badass Oshkosh M977 HEMTT 8X8… these are serious beasts. In this video a new owner gives us a detailed rundown of the vehicle. Scrolling the comments under Youtube videos you can see tons of rave reviews from military users.
They are known for being relatively easy to repair (as this is an essential in the combat environments for which they were originally designed).

There are variants of the HEMTT that will load a shipping container – so it seems like a logical choice for a monster rig. Aside from your gas mileage, which is going to eat money like crazy. But this looks fun as hell. I’ve linked (above) to the Oshkosh website so you can explore the various HEMTT A4 variants.

Above: Another HEMTT 8X8: And then, finally, I found a converted one… someone had to do it! The thumbnail of this one gives you an idea just how big these are. Huge! If you had to buy new tires for these it would be a serious expense, but the owner reports that he is able to pick them up from military surplus with 90% tread left on them for around $500 a pop, which is similar to big truck tires. Each tire weighs around 550lbs. This one has a 150gal diesel tank. Found the truck’s IG account: https://www.instagram.com/hermtthemtt/

The old versions were powered by the Detroit Diesel 8V92, but the up to date models feature the 500-horsepower Caterpillar® C15 engine.

These are not cheap: I can see a 1984 M977 with 8,353 miles on the clock currently for sale from C&C Equipment (Indiana, USA) priced at $69,999.

Above: Tatra 8X8 Overlander: Just some footage of a Tatra 8×8 handling some seriously rugged terrain without any problems (aside from rearranging the interior!)

Above: Oshkosh M1070 Camper… Didn’t think I would see a camper conversion of an M1070 but “there’s always one”… complete craziness, gets about 2.4mpg – so as an SHTF vehicle it doesn’t make a lot of sense unless you have your own fuel tanker and team… this seems to be just Mad Max style monster truck fun really – but makes one heck of a statement and a sure fire way to one-up everyone at those overlander gatherings…

Above: Oshkosh PLS M1075A1 10X10: Now this is beyond extreme. I LOVE it. Completely nuts. The tires are 53″ and each wheel weighs over 800 pounds… don’t let one fall on you. Note also the hefty D-ring shackles in the thumbnail pic, it’s hard to guess the size from the pic but they might be 1.5″, which are typically rated for 17 tons or 2″, which are rated for 35 tons. Serious beast…

Outside of military use, these trucks are mainly used for either recovery or container transportation (it will carry an 8x8x20′ ISO container) – but of course, someone out there is going to do a conversion… The owner is a very cool and knowledgeable dude, and it turns out he not only uses the machine for recovery but also runs an overlander conversion company – Couch Off Road. He gives us a brilliant rundown of this rig with some great stories – and yes, a conversion is being planned. Looking forward to seeing that. Biggest drawback? It gets 2.6mpg… the word “guzzoline” springs to mind. Speaking of which…

★ Fun Fact: ★

Turns out that some of the larger vehicles in the Mad Max: Fury Road movie were built on top of military trucks! “The Excavator” was built on a MAN 6×6; “The Doof Wagon” on a MAN 8X8 and the tractor unit of the “War Rig” was built on a Tatra 6X6. Extraordinary creativity and wild inspiration for your next mutant vehicle project… have fun! 🙂

★ Final Note ★

Before you get into overlanding type pursuits, consider the needs and wishes of local people where you will be traveling. I came across this insightful video from a man in Norway, where off road driving is illegal, yet where certain international tourists seem to be causing problems. Monster trucks can be fun but there are clearly situations where it’s “a flex too far”: