Humvees

Factual Questions
1

Ok, you’d think I should know the answer to my own question, since I live in THE place where Humvees are manufactured: Mishawaka, Indiana.

But I don’t know the answer. :o

Here’s the question:

Can civilians buy military-grade Humvees?? If so, are the “special features” removed prior to re-sale??? (IOW “demilitarized”)

I know there a gov’t. auctions that sell off stuff possibly such as this. I don’t think the civilain model Humvees are armored nor have as many special “invincibility” features as a military grade Humvee.

I DO know, that military grade Humvees are virtually unstoppable, in non-miltary action. For example, if some criminal had a military grade, weaponless, Humvee on one of those “wildest police chase” videos, the cops would never stand much a chance of catching the fugitive. A militarized Humvee would eat stop sticks and spike strips for breakfast lunch and dinner, and keep on going. They’d be a bitch to push off the road with a standard cop car. I saw a documentary on TLC not long ago, where they said Humvees can keep going with basketball size holes in the tires and they are very well armored.

If I ever lose all sanity and will to live, and decide to go on a bank robbing spree, I want a military-grade Humvee as my getaway vehicle. :eek:

BTW: It’s pretty cool to have the Humvee plant here, cause whenever I see a Hummer in a movie or tv show, I always think “HEY that Hummer was made HERE in MY hometown!” Mishawaka gets to be a tiny piece of Hollywood, quite often! :smiley:

Humvees aren’t much to look at, but they still are pretty damn cool.
[Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor] RRR! RRR! RRR! [/Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor]

2

Well, a couple of things. The tires aren’t so much “armored” as the truck has a CTIS, Central Tire Inflation System. There’s a compressor onboard, with fancy linkages so the driver can literally inflate and deflate the tires on the move.

Now, I don’t know how much air the compressor can put out, but the “stop sticks” the police use have hollow spikes that break off. Enough of these in the tire and the compressor is working full time just to keep the rim from rolling on the ground.

Also, keep in mind that “armored”, doesn’t necessarily mean “bulletproof”. The Military hummer has additional panels of Kevlar and such in the doors and cab panels, but they don’t necessarily have bullet-resistant windows.

Next, realize that the top speed of a Humvee is about 55 or 60 mph. Some kid in a '73 Pacer could outrun you.

And last, the Hummer may well be a big truck, but enough roadblocks and anything can be stopped.

You DID happen to see the chase involving the stolen tank, didn’t you?

3

A couple of years ago, I heard of some guy who bought old military hummers and made them street legal (installed seatbelts,
amongst other things).

These hummers were the first-run units with 6.2 naturally
aspirated diesels and 3 speed autos.

4

A high powered rifle bullet through the windshield would take care of things pretty quickly if the chase was on roads a cop car could travel. The cop car could easily pass the sluggish Humvee on paved roads and inflict damage on the driver and vehicle from at a safe distance at will.

5
      • I don’t know, but I kinda doubt that any military HMMV’s have ever been sold to the public, for two simple reasons: the first is that they aren’t very old, and the military is still using all of them (except perhaps for a few that got totaled). The second reason is that the military no longer sells any vehicles that can be made street-legal, (at least in the US), and hasn’t for several decades.
        ~
  • Even if, military HMMV’s aren’t much different from the civilian versions, and the civilian versions are known to be dogs, performance-wise. Neither HMMV’s nor Hummers are considered to be armored vehicles. Compared to a Chevy Suburban, Hummers have slower accelleration and braking, worse cornering and much less interior room, even though Hummers weigh 2000 lbs more than Suburbans. A jarhead buddy tells me that HMMV’s work great in two-and-a-half feet of mud, but they aren’t real good for anything else. If you gotta make a quick getaway with lots of loot, you’re better off taking a big-block Suburban than you are a Hummer. - DougC
6

Save your Humvee (militarized) for the following:[ul]
[li]gettin’ away from the revenoors in the swamp[/li][li]mounting TOW missiles[/li][li]carrying large numbers of grocery bags (their decks look generous)[/li][li]looking very cool, and that’s what it’s all about, really[/li][/ul]

If you’re seriously into deep-woods recreational driving (or escaping), it can’t be beat. But for any other civilian use, including bank robbery, you can find someting better.

7

I suggest heading to www.humvee.net
Their FAQ has this to say…
“Lately, some military Humvees have been sold to dealers, then to the public. They’re still not “cheap” and need money invested to make them roadworthy. … If you’re looking for a Hummer for dirt cheap, don’t bother.
Civilian models have only been available since 1992 … The bottom line is that Hummers aren’t cheap in any way, shape or form.”

I would love one with a pto hookup (don’t know if it’s available, used to be on the jeeps). Even without being able to license it for the road I could find plenty of uses for it around the farm.

8

Ahem, I work on HMMWVs for a living. I’ll refer to them henceforth as “hummers”, cause its easier to type.:slight_smile:

Anyway, someone mentioned that Hummers have a compressor on board that can inflate the tires. Not on any model I’m aware of. Many military vehicles have that system, but not hummers. What hummers have is a “run flat” tire, which is a heavy solid rubber “doughnut” on the inside of the tire. If the tire should go flat, you can run on the rubber insert, but not for very long.

I must agree with whoever said Hummers aren’t very fast. I used to take them out on the highway to road test them before we serviced them. Most of them had a hard time doing 50-55. On a few occasions I’ve even drove new ones. These were a bit faster, doing about 60.

As far as them being sold to the public, yes they are. You’ve just got to look around and find the dealer. I know some time ago we sold about 80 of them to a dealer out of Riverside, California. I’m not sure if he was supposed to scrap them out, but I did hear that he was auctioning them off. A lot of these would be very good deals too, because I’ve seen Hummers get turned in that only had several hundred miles on them, with nothing wrong with them.

Also, a couple of years ago, they came out with a new improved Hummer, so all the old ones are slowly being turned in and replaced. I would wager that many of these end up in the civilian market. Theres really nothing street illegal about them either, as they already have seat belts , lights and turn signals.

9

I read in Humvee in Action (pub. Squadron/Signal) that some HMMWVs have compressors for inflating and deflating the tires. This is not for protecting against flats, but for traction. In soft sand the tire pressure can be reduced remotely. Once the vehicle gets to a harder surface, they can be remotely re-inflated to the appropriate pressure. Before, a crew had to go out and manually let air out of the tires, then pump them up later. Much better to have an onboard compressor. But it’s not for flat protection, and it’s not on all of them.

I’d really like to have an HMMWV. I know they’re slow, but they’re just neato-mosquito! I don’t want a civilian one because I don’t want a padded dash, etc. It doesn’t look right. Besides, civilian ones don’t have a carrier for my AR-15. If I have one I want to get it muddy and dirty and wet, and just hose it out later.

10

Hmm, well I guess Hummers aren’t all that I had believed they were after all. 55-60 mph tops, that’s just sad! Oh well, it’s still cool have them mfd here.

11

Hummers are waaaaay over-rated, imo. I’ve managed to both damage the military version and get them. They are no where near as tough or powerful as most people seem to think they are, and, as has been mentioned, they’re slow. Also, they’re extremely uncomfortable.

That said, although I’ve never been in a civilian version, a couple people in my area own hummers and they look very cool.

12

More uncomfortable than this? :smiley:

I’ve had my Jeep up to 60, but it’s really whining there. 45 is about the fastest you’d want to drive it. (After driving it as fast as I could for about 50 miles, I broke the crankshaft; which was annoying and expensive.) From what I’ve read, the HMMWV tops out at 65. I’ve seen them do 55 on the freeway. I’ve seen Hummers go faster.

No, HMMWV aren’t as “awesome” as most people think. (Of course, I’ve never driven one; I’m just going on what I’ve read.) My 56-year-old Willys can go places a HMMWV can’t. But humvees are awesome looking, and they can carry more than my CJ2A.

An ex-military humvee is slow and lacking in creature comforts. On the other hand, I don’t want a humvee because it’s fast or comfortable or has a great stereo and air conditioning. I want it for the same reason I wanted my Willys: for driving around and having fun in.

Now a queation: Do the military humvees have a 28-volt electrical system? I talked to a Hummer dealer once years ago and he told me I didn’t want a humvee because of what I mentioned before, plus I’d never get a good stereo or anything because it has a 28-volt system. No, I wanted the civilian version with the leather interior and padded dash and a good ol’ 12-volt system. Feh. My Willys has a 6-volt system, and it hasn’t bothered me yet! If I want to listen to a stero I’ll drive the Cherokee.

13

Hummers have a 24 volt system, with 2 twelve volt batteries providing the power.

Also, we have several of the old M151 jeeps in our shop, which we use to cruise around in. Its amazing how little the jeep changed over the years from WWII to the early 80s when they came out with Hummvees. I rather like how the jeeps drive, although they do have a nasty reputation for rolling over, due to their short and narrow wheelbase.

14

Stuck, I have gotten them stuck. Grrr . . .

And no, Johnny L.A., they’re probably not more uncomfortable than that. Of course, I’ve never driven a Jeep (at least not that I remember), so I can’t be positive. Neither vehicle was exactly a triumph of ergonomic design, though.

:slight_smile:

15

You’ll get a UNIMOG!

16

Weeks is right. I’ve seen a Unimog pull a hummer sideways through axle-deep mud, and it didn’t even act as if it were straining.

Plus, the 42 degree sideslope capability may be the best in the industry, it always amazes me how they managed to get the center of gravity so farging low. I have a 1967 Land Rover- tyre on the bonnet and all that- and I’d ONLY trade it for a Unimog.

b.

17

Actually the M151 was quite different from the Willys jeep/Jeep. A little (very abbreviated) history…

Just before WWII, the army decided it needed a reconaissance vehicle. Several types were suggested, including one called the “Belly Flopper” that mounted a machine gun and was driven in the prone position. After American Austin, which had been building under license a version of the British Austin Seven, reorganized under the name of American Bantam Car Company in 1936, they were visited by an Ordnance subcommittee in 1940. The army decided to have a competition to decide who would build their scout car. Only Bantam and Willys entered.

Jumping way ahead, the competition was held. Bantam ended up submitting 70 prototypes. The next step was for the army to order 1,500 improved prototypes. It was thought that Bantam would not have the manufacturing capacity to build large numbers of vehicles, so Ford and Willys were “invited” to produce test models – after having been given ample time to study the Bantam.

Bantam had developed the jeep into a viable vehicle only to have it snatched from them by Willys and Ford. (The army threw Bantam a bone, however; Bantam got the contract to make trailers for the jeeps. After the war, it was decided that the jeep program was wrongfully taken from Bantam; but by then it was too late and Willys trademarked the name “Jeep”.)

What came out of this were the Willys MB, and the Ford GPW. (“Jeep” did not come from “GP”. “GPW” means “Reconaissance vehicle, 80-in. wheelbase, Willys pattern”.) After the war and in the decades following, Willys made the CJ2A, the CJ3A, the CJ3B and the CJ-5. All of these vehicles had (at least originally) 4-cylinder engines and solid front and rear axles.

The M151 “Mutt” (Mobile Utility Tactical Truck) was supposed to be a better version of the venerable jeep (called M38, M38A1, etc. in the military). The M151 was developed by Ford and had independent suspension on all four wheels. This caused problems because the wheels could “tuck under”. Several people were killed in accidents. Eventually an improved version, the M151A1, came out. Interestingly, ford did not build all that many MUTTs; the contract went to Kaiser-Willys.

Man, that’s a lot of writing for a minor nit-pick! Sorry about that!

18

Our brigade commander was killed when his Jeep rolled over. They are so damn easy to roll.

19

I hope this doesn’t turn this into an “SUVs are bad” thread, but I had to comment on this.

Once upon a time Jeeps and what we now call SUVs were working vehicles. People who drove them realized that they were not cars, and drove them accordingly. With the SUV craze people started buying the things and driving them the same way they drove their sedans, not taking into account that SUVs and jeep-type vehicles are designed with high ground clearance that results in a higher center of gravity. High CG = higher risk of rolling over.

Back to the M151, I think its suspension (which as I said was very prone to rollover – especially before the -A1 came out) is what cause the government to require that they not be sold to the public. Some did make it into civilian hands, most of which are “re-welds” unless I’m mistaken. IMO the HMMWV was designed wide to make rollovers less likely.

20

Maybe you would prefer to go this route

http://www.worldwidearmor.com/vehicles.html#custom

they will even do new VW bugs