Govt surplus auction vehicle

[benyflyguy]

Anybody here ever purchase a vehicle through a govt surplus site or auction??
I am looking for a used truck to put a plow on and haul coal ashes. I used a family member plow truck that they recently moved and sold.
Being in the market for a used truck is worse than looking for a home right now. Just nuts.
looking for 3/4 ton and prefer diesel. Hi
(The HUmvee’s look super cool but not street legal)

 

[Jim K]

The US government kindly took the depreciation on this one for me:

Govplanet has the contract to sell all vehicles. I've been watching pickups, but there isn't really any bargains as far as I can tell. I want a square body in the worst way, but the ones in restorable shape bring crazy money. I bid on a '98 Chevy a few weeks ago, but it went for more than double what I was willing to pay. Medium & heavy duty trucks can be bought pretty reasonably, but I yet have seen any bargains on pickups.

The process to get signed up and approved to bid is pretty easy. Actually picking it up is a process, but not terrible. If it's not drivable it would be a lot trickier as most sites won't help load. I drove the truck above home from Ohio. The vast majority of the pickups on there are rusted out, worn out, or both. Now if you would consider an LMTV, you can get a LOT of truck for your money. Might be hard to buy a plow for, but if you could rig it up, it'd be unstoppable. Great visibility, too.

 

[KSCessnaDriver]

Anybody here ever purchase a vehicle through a govt surplus site or auction??
I am looking for a used truck to put a plow on and haul coal ashes. I used a family member plow truck that they recently moved and sold.
Being in the market for a used truck is worse than looking for a home right now. Just nuts.
looking for 3/4 ton and prefer diesel. Hi
(The HUmvee’s look super cool but not street legal)

Humvee's being street legal depends on the state you live in, for what it's worth. Or rather, where the vehicle is titled.

 

[Ted]

The US government kindly took the depreciation on this one for me:
View attachment 99106

Is that an AM General M915? With our discovery of how much we enjoy boondocking and want to boondock in more remote places (i.e. more unimproved roads), we've been thinking that our next RV should be a converted 6x6 military vehicle. This would be a long, long term project not to be undertaken until after some of the others are completed. But M916s (the early AM General variants, not the later Freightliners), HEMTTs, and 5-tons are all things that looked like they could fit the bill well.

 

[Jim K]

Is that an AM General M915? With our discovery of how much we enjoy boondocking and want to boondock in more remote places (i.e. more unimproved roads), we've been thinking that our next RV should be a converted 6x6 military vehicle. This would be a long, long term project not to be undertaken until after some of the others are completed. But M916s (the early AM General variants, not the later Freightliners), HEMTTs, and 5-tons are all things that looked like they could fit the bill well.

Yes. For a farm truck that never goes more than 40 miles from home and sees a lot of fields and ditches it's perfect. If I was building an RV I wanted to go some distance with, I wouldn't recommend the m900 series. It's loud and not what id call comfortable. At least it has "cruise control".... top speed is 60 and you can wedge your foot against the firewall to keep the pedal mashed down.

The first one I bought from https://www.ranchers-supplyco.com/ and loved it. He shipped it to me and it was ready to go to work. The second one, pictured above, I bought myself on the auction. By the time I paid the fees, spent a day retrieving it, and put batteries in it, I had as much money in it as I spent on the one from the dealer.

 

[weilke]

The first one I bought from https://www.ranchers-supplyco.com/ and loved it. He shipped it to me and it was ready to go to work. The second one, pictured above, I bought myself on the auction. By the time I paid the fees, spent a day retrieving it, and put batteries in it, I had as much money in it as I spent on the one from the dealer.

An entire cottage industry of refurbishers who buy off the .gov auction, do the paperwork and re-sell. They also have the benefit of showing up with a repair truck and a low-boy to pick up their purchase.

Though the state, we can get surplus vehicles for the fire department. Two years ago we received two forklifts. The first was in parade visual condition, but someone at the AF apparently used soapy water instead of hydraulic fluid so the entire hydro system was trashed. The second one looks like trash but is mechanically sound.
Iow its a roll of the dice. For the reseller, if one of 10 in the lot has a trashed engine, he still makes out ok.

 

[benyflyguy]

An LMTV would be pretty boss but I’d be out of my league when the thing breaks down. Could always learn as I go but it would be a steep learning curve. Going to check out some of the sites that refurb these a bit for u though

 

[benyflyguy]

The US government kindly took the depreciation on this one for me:
View attachment 99106
Govplanet has the contract to sell all vehicles. I've been watching pickups, but there isn't really any bargains as far as I can tell. I want a square body in the worst way, but the ones in restorable shape bring crazy money. I bid on a '98 Chevy a few weeks ago, but it went for more than double what I was willing to pay. Medium & heavy duty trucks can be bought pretty reasonably, but I yet have seen any bargains on pickups.

The process to get signed up and approved to bid is pretty easy. Actually picking it up is a process, but not terrible. If it's not drivable it would be a lot trickier as most sites won't help load. I drove the truck above home from Ohio. The vast majority of the pickups on there are rusted out, worn out, or both. Now if you would consider an LMTV, you can get a LOT of truck for your money. Might be hard to buy a plow for, but if you could rig it up, it'd be unstoppable. Great visibility, too.
View attachment 99107

Is that your LMTV?? I was looking at that and they are a lot of truck for the money. Cheaper then the HMMWV and they seem less beat. A plow can be fashioned to work. Is it a pita to get someone to work on it?? I am willing to learn and am quite stubborn when starting something new like this. But I would be in over my head from the get go!

 

[Jim K]

Is that your LMTV?? I was looking at that and they are a lot of truck for the money. Cheaper then the HMMWV and they seem less beat. A plow can be fashioned to work. Is it a pita to get someone to work on it?? I am willing to learn and am quite stubborn when starting something new like this. But I would be in over my head from the get go!

Not mine, but I've certainly considered it. A good site for military vehicles is https://www.steelsoldiers.com/ . Lots of help there. Most military trucks use common commercial parts for everything but the body. They also have comprehensive manuals written for 18 year olds mechanics with minimal training. With average mechanical skills and a willingness to spend some time on Google, they're pretty easy to care for.

 

[Daleandee]

We used to list our items for sale on https://www.govdeals.com/

Some of it was worn out but there were some items that were hardly used because too much was bought and the newer tech stuff sometimes got there before the older stuff got used a lot.

Many of the lightly used items would come from schools i.e. shop & gym classes.

Sometimes you can find a deal on a great drill press, valve grinding machine, air compressor, vehicles, and grounds equipment such as backhoes, bobcats, lifts, etc.

 

[benyflyguy]

We used to list our items for sale on https://www.govdeals.com/

Some of it was worn out but there were some items that were hardly used because too much was bought and the newer tech stuff sometimes got there before the older stuff got used a lot.

Many of the lightly used items would come from schools i.e. shop & gym classes.

Sometimes you can find a deal on a great drill press, valve grinding machine, air compressor, vehicles, and grounds equipment such as backhoes, bobcats, lifts, etc.

Have been looking. There are deals to be had. Going to talk to a couple local shops to make sure if I get in too deep someone can help me in my area. A plow will be the deal maker if it can be outfitted reasonably.

 

[3393RP]

Speaking of government auctions...

In 1963, my Dad bought a black 1957 Ford sedan delivery from an auction at Sandia Base, located in Albuquerque. It had a 312 CI Y-block engine, in a factory version that was quite rare. The engine had a Paxton supercharger, a four barrel Holley carburetor, and was rated at 300 HP. It also had a Warner T-85 three speed overdrive transmission. I believe this combination was only available in Thunderbirds, but also in special government spec vehicles like the car Dad bought.

When Dad went to pick up the vehicle after the auction ended, he was told the vehicle was used to transport material to and from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Sandia, and also Kirtland AFB for air transport to and from Oak Ridge, TN, and Hanford, WA.

I was a small kid at the time, but remember riding in it. My Dad still has pictures of the car and engine. This is a photo of the engine I found online. The supercharger is mounted at the right front of the engine. Comparing it to a standard 312 CI, the supercharged version has 2" radiator hoses instead of 1½", and a four row radiator rather than the stock three row.

 

[GaryM]

When Dad went to pick up the vehicle after the auction ended, he was told the vehicle was used to transport material to and from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Sandia, and also Kirtland AFB for air transport to and from Oak Ridge, TN, and Hanford, WA.

That's one 'hot' car!

 

[SoonerAviator]

Speaking of government auctions...

In 1963, my Dad bought a black 1957 Ford sedan delivery from an auction at Sandia Base, located in Albuquerque. It had a 312 CI Y-block engine, in a factory version that was quite rare. The engine had a Paxton supercharger, a four barrel Holley carburetor, and was rated at 300 HP. It also had a Warner T-85 three speed overdrive transmission. I believe this combination was only available in Thunderbirds, but also in special government spec vehicles like the car Dad bought.

When Dad went to pick up the vehicle after the auction ended, he was told the vehicle was used to transport material to and from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Sandia, and also Kirtland AFB for air transport to and from Oak Ridge, TN, and Hanford, WA.

I was a small kid at the time, but remember riding in it. My Dad still has pictures of the car and engine. This is a photo of the engine I found online. The supercharger is mounted at the right front of the engine. Comparing it to a standard 312 CI, the supercharged version has 2" radiator hoses instead of 1½", and a four row radiator rather than the stock three row.

The car didn't happen to glow in the dark did it? Set off the Geiger counters when you drive through town?

 

[pfarber]

Buying an ex gov vehicle is simple. I got a 1966 M35a2 for $1600 in the mid 2000s.

Parts can be hard to get and PMs are something you have to do to keep it running.