Military Vehicles Magazine • OCTOBER 2019 45
may have convinced me to buy the Power Wagon,.
I made an offer, and it was accepted. Now, I had to decide
how to get it home. I considered using a tow bar or renting a trail-
er, but I had doubts about my truck’s ability to tow the weight.
I tried some of the online transportation companies, but that
opened a whole can of worms. I learned that the bids I received
were not worth the air they were spoken with. Most companies
did not want to go so far off of the main Interstate highway to
pick up this truck. I had calculated the cost of me going up to get
the truck, so I could compare to the cost of having it hauled, but
most bids were too high.
I fi nally found an individual who was willing to get it, but the
price was still higher then my estimate for me to haul it. Regard-
less, I felt it was safer to have it shipped. This cost was not in my
budget, but if I was to buy it I had to get it home.
While waiting, there was still the problem of a bed to ad-
dress. I had been talking to a man n Texas who had a nine-foot
utility bed from a government truck. After some discussion, he
decided he wanted to keep it. I saw a nine-foot Dodge step-side
bed in California, but it sold fast.
I had always had a plan “B” in mind. A couple of years ago,
I spotted a military steel bed in a junk yard on the other side of
the county. I stopped in and asked if I take measurements. It was
nine feet long. I determined it was probably off a Chevy G-506
one-and-a-half-ton truck. He gave me a price that I felt was not
unreasonable.
So, I had a line on a bed to fi nish the truck. Now I had to get
the truck ready to receive the bed.
I spent the summer preparing the truck to get it licensed and
ready to mount the bed. The brakes were fi rst, with a new master
cylinder and one wheel cylinder. I sanded and wire-wheeled the
frame to prime and paint it in preparation for mounting the bed.
I took the seat out to work on the interior of the cab. The main
issue was the transmission cover. It was held on by just two bolts.
I removed it and cleaned off all the oil and grease before priming
and painting it. If found the clips that allowed me to attach the
cover in place with all twelve bolts. This really cut down on a lot
of the cab noise!
I had a new exhaust system installed along with a new alter-
nator and voltage regulator. Four new 900x16 tires would guar-
antee a smooth, safe ride. Before installing the bed, I painted the
cab and front end in Air Force strata blue, being careful not to
cover over the original Air Force markings.
Finally, in September 2018, I was ready to drive it the sixty
fi ve or so miles across the county to install the bed. I had some
trouble on the way over. I thought I had fl ushed out the gas tank
but, when I fi lled up the tank on the way out of town, it broke
loose lots of rust that kept clogging my fuel fi lters. When I fi nally
arrived at the junk yard, the fi rst thing I had to do was remove
a gas tank someone had mounted under the bed, then take off a
couple of pieces that would have punctured my fuel tanks. To do
this required me to cut off a couple of bolts. It was a very hot day
and I came close to heat exhaustion requiring me to go into the
yard offi ce and sit in front of the air conditioner and drink lots
of water!
With the bed stripped, they lifted it up with a lift bucket and
placed it on my truck’s frame rails — a perfect fi t! I bolted it in
place with the brackets I had made. By late afternoon, it was
fi nished, and I was ready to head for home.
Once home, I pulled into a car wash and washed all the mud
and wasp nests out of the bed to get it clean ready for painting.
I had a week to paint it and get it ready for a small car show that
some members of our military vehicle club were going to attend.
It felt good to drive the Power Wagon to a show to display it.
It stood out next to the MB Jeeps. It was unique: half military
and half civilian.
As I was preparing to leave at the end of the show, a man
came up to me and said he just arrived. The fi rst thing he saw
was my truck standing out of the crowd. He said he had to see it
fi rst because he liked “real trucks.” I replied, “Yes. This is a real
truck, all truck, and nothing but truck.” It’s funny how there is
usually that one visitor that makes all the work worth while!
So what is important about saving some of these “boring”
administrative vehicles? Because there aren’t any more of them.
Some years ago, the military lost their ability to purchase
their own administrative vehicles. The General Administrative
Services (GSA) that had bought vehicles for other government
agencies, took over supplying administrative vehicles to the mil-
itary, as well. Now, if any of the services need a sedan, van, or
truck, they order them from GSA. They can get any color they
want as long as it is white. They are prohibited from adding any
markings or decals. They keep the vehicle for about three years,
and then turn them in for a replacement. GSA sells the used ve-
hicles on the commercial market. This is supposed to be a great
savings for the government.
Of course, there are exceptions. If the ordering service has
a special need, they can get a waiver from GSA to buy special
vehicles. It is hard to do, however.
I am happy to have my ex-Air Force Dodge Power Wagon
and am looking forward to equipping the truck properly. I am
sure it probably had a spotlight on the roof and a yellow fl ashing
light on the cab.
One last thing about colors: I remember some fl ight line ve-
hicles were bright yellow with red markings. In addition, fi re,
crash, and emergency vehicles were often red with some being
white or chartreuse — some were even yellow or black. So, keep
in mind: There is some room for some color in this hobby of
ours! ✪