Diesel vehicle for SHTF?

[TFOGGER]

They used to offer them for civilian use, but all of their production is currently allocated to the US military (mostly the Marines). If I recall correctly, they are rated at 78 dB, so a bit quieter than current production streetbikes. You can still find them occasionally on eBay, but they tend to command a premium price. Essentially, the chassis and such are all Kawasaki KLR650, with HDT's engine. If I recall correctly, the MSRP on the civilian version was ~$8000.

[jerrymrc]

Do you guys know anything about the M1008? These are the older US Army trucks, started with diesel GMC pickups that they made into 5/4 tons with the heavy duty axles, etc. Seems like a great SHTF vehicle. Don't have to worry about EMPs as they are all mechanical. Older means simpler and easier to work on. Should also be easy to find parts.

They come up for sale quite often. I know a few people with them and they have been happy. Do understand that they are powered by the 6.5 non turbo and have had there own set of issues. My dad has an 86 GMC with that in it and it has not been trouble free.

[sniper7]

It ain't a truck, but it's a diesel. The Marines have been using these for years for scouting and courier duty. 100 mpg would sure stretch the fuel supply.

http://m1030.com/vehicle-m1030-m2.php

damn that is awesome, where can we get one? price?

[cowboykjohnson]

Cummins (by far) > Navistar (aka Powerstroke) > Isuzu...err, Duramax. From a shtf stand point I'd stick to a mechanical type like the 4 or 6BT. They're cheap and easy to work on, parts can be found just about anywhere, and easy as hell to pull a little extra power from. The problem with them these days would be ULSD. Sulfer in diesel aids in lubricating critical engine components (in fact most IP's souley depend on it for lubrication and is in most cases one of the more pricey repairs to a deisel engine), in the ULSD fuel it's obvious that an additive would be needed. The other problem you face with diesel is gelling, this is a problem here in Colorado. If you can get winterized fuel you'll be okay to a certian point, bc it too can gel. My hat goes off to the 6BT, I've had lots of time working on them amongst many others and I have yet to see anything take the abuse they can, I've seen first hand that they're hard to kill. I had one that ran for weeks 10qts low on oil, I repaired the leaks (ft main seal, pan, side cover gaskets) and the thing ran two more years (5-700mi per week), when it came time to pull the truck from service I drained all fluids and pulled it outside and watched it run for three more hours until it quietly died out, I let it cool for another hour and the sob started right back up and idled until it killed the remaining fuel. So long as the fuel is in good shape I never have any cold start issues with the 6BT, and guess what? No battery killing heat grid or glow plugs, every other truck with them does need a little kick in the ass to start in the cold.

I love deisel, it has a longer storage life over gasoline, better at making serious torque, and there are alternative means to fuel diesel engines as the op stated.

The Power Stroke is manufactured by Navistar International Corporation (International Truck and Engine Corporation). These engines are built in Indianapolis, Indiana and Huntsville, Alabama. Plus Ford isn't ownded by the government or Fiat! Diesel is wonderful. I ran mine on a qt of ATF fluid to get to the gas station when I needed to. Plus I'm putting out 420hp and upwards of 800ftlbs of torque and still get 20-21 mpg.