CUCV?

I was looking thru a government auction site and I have seen a bunch of vehicles called CUCVs for sale for damn near nothing. They all seemed to have the 6.2 diesel. What can GRM tell me about these trucks?

I have an 84 m1009, which is the Blazer. Diesel 6.2, th400 HD, 10 bolt axles front and rear with the gov lock in the rear. I really like it and the 12v/24v electrical system isn't bad once you understand it.

If you plan to drive it much the blazer is the way to go because it's actually geared for highway travel. The trucks were geared really low...I think 4.56 compared to 3.08 in the blazer.

They may be cheap on the site now, but once it gets close to the end bidding will shoot up. It's hard to get a decent deal on these right now. You can find much better deals on the non military trucks and blazers and they have a lot more creature comforts, so it depends on what you're after. I have both....the cucv is louder, slower, and less comfortable that my 91 suburban with a tbi 350, but it's still a lot of fun. Also, the rear roof section on the blazer is removable.

steelsoldiers.com is THE site for these rigs...go over there and get ready to spend hours....just don't ask any dumb questions and always search first...they can get a little cranky.

I talked to my friend who buys stuff off those government auctions and said they go for like $1500-$2000 which is a lot more then I was expecting.

I drive the CUCV Trucks almost every day. The ones I drive are uprated with the 1/5-Ton suspension for carrying a shelter on the back. Hitting any significant pot hole is a bad idea...it won't hurt the truck!!! It will ride pretty good with 2k lbs in the back. I get about 17mpg at 35-50mph (top speed limit on the base is 50). It has been very reliable. The thing can sit for weeks and still start. Very basic in the cab with wipers & heat if they work. Mine barks the tires in 2nd due to hard shifts at part throttle but they are NOT fast or quick, just very loud (I always wear ear plugs when driving them).

i want one really bad.

there's nothing particularly heavy duty about the blazer ones, but the pickups are pretty tough. i talked one of my friends into getting an M1008. he found one that had an NV4500 swap for $2500.

I have put some time in behind the wheel of those many years ago, not bad for what they are.

One thing, ALL of the Army ones had the same lockset. I have 3 or 4 keys with my Army stuff at home.

never mind

Ooooh, I like this thread!

I was looking at these before I bought my Trooper; in hindsight it was probably a better choice for a daily driver, but I still think M1009s are cool!

They jump things VERY well . . .

belteshazzar wrote: there's nothing particularly heavy duty about the blazer ones, but the pickups are pretty tough.

same non egr 6.2, hd th400 and transfer case (np208).....different axles and suspension.

gearing is 3.08 in the blazer vs 4.56 in the truck.

The military CUCV Blazers had 3/4-ton suspension, the civilian K5 Blazer had 1/2-ton suspension. The CUCV pickups also had uprated suspension, don't remember if they were 3/4-ton or 1-ton. Stiff though. And could handle some weight. They were a stop-gap between the old M151 1/4-ton Jeeps and M880 Dodge Powerwagon the military had and the HMMV (Humvee) they have now.

According to Wikipedia (under "CUCV")...

The M1008 was the basic cargo truck, the M1010 was the ambulance and the M1009 3/4 ton utility rig, which was a stripped Blazer uprated to 3/4-ton capacity. With the exception of the M1009, the trucks were all rated as 1-1/4 ton (commonly called a “five-quarter”), even though some of them had payloads in excess of that.

between a "1/2 ton civilian model" and a "3/4 ton CUCV m1009", there's not a lot of differences.