Blowing the whistle on those Dodge Cummins Aircraft Tugs

[BobS]

There have been other discussions on the forum about those Dodge Cummins powered aircraft tugs. One recently appeared on the Gov Liquidation auction site and figured since it appeared to be one with an accurate hour meter and odometer that it might be worth noting as an accurate typical example of of one of these pieces of equipment.

Here is the link to the example that I am referring to:
http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/view?id=4959141&convertTo=USD

This link will disappear sometime in the near future so here are some of the references as specified in the link:
1990, Dodge D-350, Wheeled air tractor, hours shown on meter: 4,093, mileage shown on meter: 12,912, both front tires flat, equipped with Cummins, 5.9L, 6cylinder, Turbo diesel engine, automatic transmission, running condition unknown, VIN# 1B6LE3681LS7577XX
I replaced the final two digits in the VIN number with XX. Miles shown is corrected to show what was actually in the picture that was included with the sale.

Closing price: $2,072.00 (per lot) This is slightly higher by a few hundred dollars than what they were bringing the last time I checked which was about two years ago. This was the only one being offered which may have resulted in higher price based on total availability. There is a auction buyers fee of ten percent which adds $207.20 to the sale. If there is a title requested then there is another additional fee that is usually less than $100. As I understand it there is a state sales tax charged based on the location of the item and will be on your invoice. If you are a registered dealer in automobiles you may file an exemption to the sales tax before the auction ends. This would not apply the people who are not engaged in running a resale business so figure on an average of at least 15% added to the sale's closing price plus the title fee.

Tug histories:
These equipment tugs were purchased under the US National Stock Number 1740012856403 as a TRACTOR,WHEELED,AIRCRAFT TOWING and were manufactured by NMC-Wollard http://www.nmc-wollard.com. They also produced a Second Gen Dodge Cummins version and are currently producing a GM Duramax version. I don't know for sure but the switch to GM was likely influenced by the GM bailout and repayment process similar to what took place back in the 1970's when the government bailed out Chrysler and all the Dodge 4WD trucks showed up as military vehicles.

So how does the vehicle identification number (VIN) break down?
1 Country of Origin USA
B Make Dodge
6 Type of Vehicle Incomplete or Incomplete Vehicle W/O side airbags
L GVWR 9001-10000#
E Truck Line 2wd
3 Series 350 or 3500 for 94 & later or 3500 less dual rear wheels
6 Body Crew Cab or Conventional Cab for 90 & later
8 Engine 5.9L Diesel (Cummins)
1 VIN Verification
L Model Year 90
S Assembly Plant Warren Main Plant or Dodge City for 88 & later
7577XX Sequential Serial Number

Note the "6" in the VIN as Type of Vehicle being Incomplete or Incomplete Vehicle W/O side airbags.
Since this is a 1 ton truck it may or may not have any effect on doing a chassis conversion to the vehicle. As I understand it some of the D350 could be ordered without beds and could be considered as an incomplete vehicle until a bed was installed.

So the next real point of interest is how accurate is the odometer on these tugs and how does it relate to an average 1990 Dodge that has been highway driven?

The answer is yes it is accurate to the number of miles the vehicle has been driven. This would apply primarily to the chassis of the vehicle. These miles do not indicate how long the engine has been run. This is indicated by the hour meter. If you divide the miles driven on the odometer by the hours you should end up with a number that is less than 12 which was the average a few years ago. In this example the number ends up at 3.1546 MPH.

So how do you translate hours into miles?
The industrial standard used most commonly is HOURS x 45
This has also been confirmed on the third gen Dodge forums where the hour meter in the speedometer can be accessed. So in this example you need to multiply 4,093 x 45 which equates out to 184,185 equivalent highway miles on this "low mileage" tug's engine.

So how do you translate "tug miles" into highway miles?
If you divide the above example of 184,185 miles by the odometer reading of 12,912 miles you get a factor of 14.265 So to convert "tug miles" on the odometer you need to multiply the tug miles x 14.265 to get the highway miles.

Is advertising a tug motor as being a low mile engine for resale accurate or inaccurate?
Yes and no! It's legally accurate as far as being removed from the chassis but does not reflect the wear and tear the engine has experienced due to the run time hours. Think of it as somebody advertising a Cummins powered air compressor or pump with 9000 hours as being advertised as an engine with with zero road miles.

No, I didn't buy one of these vehicles. In my opinion they generally cost more than what the sum of the parts are worth. Just beware of these "low mileage" engines when they appear for high dollar values. A good buyer or seller is an informed buyer or seller.

[ahale2772]

Great info Bob, thanks

[PToombs]

I knew there was a lot of idle time on them, but actually figuring it out and see what it is is shocking!. I remember when these were going for $12-1300.
Good work Bob!

[dweller]

The M880s were produced from 75-78. The bailout was 79...

[CumminsPower59]

I have personally seen one of those tugs in use in Iraq back in '03, it was being used at Baghdad International Airport, they were moving a C130 around with it, poor little guy sounded like it was getting its guts ran out ...even though it was moving at half the speed of smell

[PToombs]

...even though it was moving at half the speed of smell

You haven't been around Bill much, have you? Smell isn't that slow........

[CumminsPower59]

Pete, my nose hairs are still curled from SOP...

[kbhblazer]

Intrersting, they must be running out of them though I havent seen any posted in a while. Thank for the info

[Dieselwrencher]

Intrersting, they must be running out of them though I havent seen any posted in a while. Thank for the info

They (Government) probably can't afford to buy new ones!

[CumminsPower59]

Oh, Uncle Sam is still buying the tugs, at the flight facility that I go to weekly, they have 24V and Dmax tugs. Dont know why, all they have there are Chinooks and Kiowas