Mega 4WD - A Five Ton Tonka Truck
For decades, militaries across the globe have relied on heavy duty vehicles to transport troops and cargo over all types of terrain, in all kinds of weather. In the early 1980’s, a new series of 5 ton, 6x6 military trucks were being built for the United States military. The trucks came in many models such as a cargo, dump, wrecker, and more. However, I don’t think that the United States military heads could have ever envisioned a time in the future when a father and a son would buy a bobbed version of the 5-ton, paint it purple, and tow trailers for Mardi Gras with it! That is exactly what Maurice Brown did. For those, like myself, who have no idea what a bobbed 5-ton is, here is a quick rundown. A 5-ton, while in service, will typically have tandem rear axles, hence the term, “6x6”. Some guys, after the vehicle is taken out of service and sold, they cut the rearmost axle off of the truck and then roll the other axle as far forward as they can. Essentially, the truck turns from a 6x6 into a more “practical”, but extreme, 4x4 truck.
Monstrous Madness
Maurice Brown explains, “I have always thought the bobbed 5-tons look cool. It is like a big Tonka truck. And the reason I wanted a 5-ton, instead of the deuce and a half, is because the 5-ton has an automatic transmission, power steering, and true air brakes. It is just a badass truck. So, I was looking for a 5-ton that was already bobbed because I didn't want to go through the trouble of bobbing one. After talking to several people I found this one. When I bought it there was camo on the front, the bed was tan, and the wheels were two different colors.”
This modified, 5-ton uses an M105 trailer bed as the new cargo bed. An M105 trailer is a commonly used military trailer that can be towed behind Humvees. If you have watched any military movie or played a military based video game you have seen this trailer. When done right, the M105 trailer bed fits snug up against the cab of the 5-ton, and the wheel wells line up exactly, making for the perfect, new cargo bed.
Purple People Carrier
With the 5-ton being a rainbow of colors, with a pot of rust at the end instead of gold, Maurice began to take it apart. The bed was removed to expose the frame, which was then prepped for paint. Countless days were spent sanding the truck, which is the prep work that needs to be done to ensure the proper foundation for a stunning paint job. The cab was sprayed with several layers of primer, with flat black, base coats being layered on top, then the glossy purple top coat. The bed of the truck was sprayed a deep rich gold and various other pieces were left black. If you Google, bobbed 5-tons, you will see many that are green, camo, tan or black. You might even see a red one here and there, but you will be extremely hard pressed to find any other one that is purple. Hell, you would be lucky to find a car this color on the road, let alone a 5-ton, purple, people carrier rolling down through the city streets!
You might be asking yourself, “why this color combination”? Being from Louisiana, Maurice pulled some inspiration from his community “The black is actually mostly to break up the purple. The purple is mostly for Mardi Gras time, because I tow a trailer with it during Mardi Gras parades. Purple and gold are Louisiana State University colors and the official colors of Mardi Gras, so purple is kind of a dual theme color. I also wanted it to be like a Chameleon. I don't know if you can tell too well in the pictures, but it kind of changes shades as you walk around it in the sunlight.”
Other additions to the truck include color changing LED lights, a train horn because a purple, 5-ton needs to be even more in your face, and a 20,000 pound winch. The drive train needed no upgrades as it is a beefy, turbocharged, 8.3L Cummins, straight six, mated to an Automatic Allison 560 transmission. All that power is needed to turn the four, fifty-two inch tall tires that are a 1600R, 20 tire size! If that tire size isn’t enough to get out of a mud hole the truck also has high and low gears. If Maurice is ever really stuck, he can pop the removable steel roof off.
A truck of this weight and size seems like it would be a beast to drive, but Maurice says “It rides a little bumpy because everything is so stiff. It drives fine, it drives tight. With the power steering and an automatic (transmission), it really isn't hard to drive. But stopping takes quite a bit more room than anything else. The backend seems to lock up because there is no weight back there.”
Future Plans
“Right now we are really just having fun with the Instagram page. We are going to take it to Baton Rouge to take some pictures at some local landmarks. We may take it to some LSU games plus we will be towing the Mardi Gras trailer with it. We also talked about mounting a fake, 50 caliber gun on top, but I'm not sure how I would do it. I would also like to put air conditioning in it in the future. Maybe some cup holders and a radio; just small things. Plus the inside is still green, and it is just too green! I still need to decide what we are going to do there. Another thing we just did with the truck makes for a funny story. The other day I had a big crane set up in the yard. I said, “today is the day”, so I went and got my truck, and we hooked up to it and picked it up 300 feet in the air. You don't see that everyday! Everybody across town was freaking out. I was getting all these texts and calls saying what the hell are you doing. I just said, ‘I don't know; making a flying truck.’
This 5-ton Purple People Carrier is truly an over the top toy, a real life Tonka truck. Kids love it, adults love it, everybody loves it because why wouldn't you?!
Thank you for reading! Don’t forget to share with a friend!
Link Garage
Follow Maurice:
Instagram: mega.4wd
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