Morning Symphony: An M1070 HET’s Screaming Detroit Diesel As It Inches Up A Jungle Road


Morning Symphony: An M1070 HET’s Screaming Detroit Diesel As It Inches Up A Jungle Road

550 horsepower, 1,470 ft/lbs of torque and a curb weight of over 22 tons before any trailer is applied. The Oshkosh M1070 Heavy Equipment Transporter is one big mother…and it had to be, because this is the U.S. Army’s tank hauler of choice. It’s stuck with schlepping around 68 tons of M1 Abrams battle tank. This is a vehicle that pretty much always wears “WIDE LOAD” banners wherever it goes. Driving one isn’t for the faint hearted…you need spotters, you need an assistant, and you need to be absolutely sure that somebody’s Pontiac Sunfire isn’t parked too close, unless you don’t mind using the little machine as a chock block. I’ve only seen HETs haul tanks and loads that would tax a HEMTT. And that’s saying something about what’s on the trailer.

What you’ll see here is a HET finding out a weakness…which appears to be a jungle road somewhere. The trailer and load shouldn’t even be a chore for the 8V92-TA Detroit Diesel, but gravity and slick mud combined with an operator unfamiliar with the CTIS tire inflation system and the locking differentials means that you’ll get to hear that two-stroke sing it’s lungs out as the driver works Big Bessie here to gain every last inch of forward momentum. That, readers, is the sound of pure grunt at work. Bless those who designed the cooling system…it got a workout that day!


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4 thoughts on “Morning Symphony: An M1070 HET’s Screaming Detroit Diesel As It Inches Up A Jungle Road

  1. Gary

    Momentum is your friend. As a former military vehicle operator instructor, I’d have to say he wasn’t carrying enough of it approaching the hill. He should have been going faster…

    1. doug gregory

      I want to know who checked him out on driving that thing in those conditions. Epic fail. Every military vehicle I drove either required a training class or I had to be checked out by someone in the motor pool to ensure I knew what I was doing.

  2. Jeff

    Obviously the lack of a real load caused the lack of traction. But the operator hasn’t a clue how to use the throttle to keep it moving by giving it short quick wackes to regain traction and momentum.

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