The MLVW was not plagued with problems in my books. They are now 33, and still going for another 5 years possibly. In many cases, problems experienced in the East were applied to the whole fleet. Here in the west we did not suffer from things like the rusted out rims, or the levels of corrosion on the bodies. We did run a V8 where the US ran the 6 cylinder, and perhaps that is what contributed to some of the suspension problems.
The original tenders to replace the MLVW was going to be a sole source for the Stewart Stevenson. They came n two sizes, and were basically the Steyr HLVW truck with a North American engine and transmission, in different chassis and load configurations.
The sole sourcing had two problems....the S-S was nearing the end of it's service life in the US, and many companies complained because they were not going to be able to compete in the competition. Eight years later we still have no replacement, although the militia did manage to get the International Defense trucks.
There were programs announced recently that will replace the LSVW, the MLVW, and the HLVW fleets in the next 7 years. One has to remember that every time these trucks go to the field, they are driven to the maximum of their capabilities. The fact that we get decades of service from them is impressive.
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