Minuteman Missile Truck Converted Into Grain Truck

Minuteman Missile Truck Converted Into Grain Truck GRAIN HANDLING Wagons (63E) 19-4-37 Here's an inexpensive - if unusual - way to haul as much as 1,350 bu. of wheat at one time. I converted a truck designed to haul Minuteman Missiles into a 650-bu. grain truck that I use to pull a 700-bu. bottom-unload grain trailer. I bought the Minuteman Missile carrier truck from a local Air Force base for $2,400. The 5-axle truck was equipped with a flatbed and fifth wheel hitch. The missile extended out over the top of the cab which is only 6 ft. off the ground. I cut off part of the frame and replaced it with an aluminum truck box. The truck and trailer together are 93112 ft. long. It looks a little different, but it's a cheap way to haul grain. The bottom of the cab is only 1 ft. off the ground so when I drive I sit at about the level I'd sit in a car. I bought $3,600 worth of new tires and paid $3,000 for a hoist to dump the box, $900 for roll tarps, and $1,200 for the flatbed. I paid $300 for the trailer, but I had to buy new front and rear axles and new brake hubs for it. My total cost was less than $15,000. A new comparable capacity tandem axle grain truck sells for about $40,000. It has so much capacity that with my 4,000 acres I really don't have enough use for it unless I ever decide to do custom grain hauling. The missile trucks were built in 1960 for $150,000 apiece. Only 14 of them still exist. The Air Force used them for 30 years, then put them up for sale when they came out with new trucks. The V-12, 702 cu. in., 270-hp GM gas engine is original and has two carburetors and two intake manifolds. It has a top speed of 55 mph. The truck has two drive axles in back and a tag axle. The two front axles are used for steering. (Rudy DeBruycker, Rt. 2, Box 6265, Dutton, Mont. 59433 ph 406 476-3406)

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