Flat-Towing Your Historic Military Vehicle
Back in the early 1970s, I purchased a 1944 Dodge 3/4-ton carryall from a Navajo school in northern Arizona. The school had acquired the vehicle through government surplus in the 1950s, and though originally con›gured as a Signal Corps truck — having a 12-volt electrical system, a massive 8D battery in a box on the right side running-board, and a voltmeter in the dash in addition to the standard ammeter. The only civilian modifications were two rear bench seats and a school-bus yellow paint job. The truck was otherwise original, even retaining its blackout light system. The truck had been sitting for several years before I bought it, but it started up willingly and was in good running condition. Aside from removing the rear seats, installing an 8-track stereo, and painting the truck OD, I made no other modifications except adding a mattress in the back for desert camping.
The truck served me well for about a year in Arizona, then I moved to Mariposa, California, driving it over Tioga Pass in the Sierras. I had a few adventures with it while living in the mountains, including the salvage of a Caterpillar Thirty that had thrown a track and been abandoned in an almost inaccessible canyon. However, in February of that year I had a chance to buy a Kaiser M715 and, needing money, I sold the carryall through to a gentleman in St. Louis, Missouri — with the stipulation that I deliver it.
