1974 Dodge D200 5/4 ton

[maple_leaf_eh]

Jason:

In my youth, I watched a succession of light trucks come through 'the Pearly Gates' of the William Street Armoury. The Sherbrooke Hussars had M37 3/4s, which were getting pretty tired by 1976. Then there were Dodge 1 tons for the summer Olympics. These were followed by GM 5/4 tons maybe two years later. Certainly we had 5/4s by 1978.

I recall the Dodges weren't much help. For example, 12v systems meant no chance of mounting our tactical radios. The solution was to hang a manpack on the back racks and carry on. There was no SMP lighting or slave cable plug. The chrome trim wasn't very practical, and it probably was just painted over. I really don't remember. The 4wd was done with front locking hubs. The interior wasn't outfitted for any practical purposes. For some reason, I remember the bigger boys saying the bench seat was handy for entertaining girlfriends. All in all, the Dodge "Powerwagons" were a really interim step between proper military trucks, and the military needed reliable vehicles during the Montreal Olympics. Full stop.

[Ed Storey]

Here is a rear view of 21853 which was a 1975 D200. I can confirm the images were taken at Rockcliffe.

My records show that DND purchased 213 1974 Dodge D200 1 1/2 ton Trucks. I have photographs of D200s being used as both base and Reserve unit vehicles augmenting the Chevrolet 1 1/4 ton Trucks.

With a VIN I can provide the CFR for the vehicle.

C38-32 1975 Dodge 1½ ton Truck-rear view, 21853 ECC 142106 CFB Rockcliffe, 1981 - Copy copy.jpg

[Jason Ginn]

Thanks Gents! Absolutely outstanding help!

Ed the VIN is W24BE4S143785

Thanks! Again!

[Frank v R]

I remember these trucks , they were all replaced in 1981 by the 1981 Chevy 1 tons 4x4 , 350 with a 4 speed stick, a buddy had one of the Dodges and I owned one of the Chevy 1 tons , both tough trucks the Dodge being more thirsty than the Chev. well Jason is there any hope for that Dodge?

[Jason Ginn]

Originally Posted by Frank v R

I remember these trucks , they were all replaced in 1981 by the 1981 Chevy 1 tons 4x4 , 350 with a 4 speed stick, a buddy had one of the Dodges and I owned one of the Chevy 1 tons , both tough trucks the Dodge being more thirsty than the Chev. well Jason is there any hope for that Dodge?

I hope there is Frank! I must admit that I wasn't looking for it but was looking at something else on the farm. The heavy chassis caught my eye and some snooping paid off!

If all goes well I will have it out of the dirt next week and we will be able to see if the frame is still intact. If so I think it might be saveable. The motor turns over and it was parked 5 years ago when a lock hub blew so fingers crossed!

I must admit it's kinda neat!

[Ed Storey]

Jason: Are you sure about the VIN, it does not match anything I have.

[Jason Ginn]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

Jason: Are you sure about the VIN, it does not match anything I have.

HI! Is the format correct and just the last part different or is it a different format?

Have a pic of the door tag and the Registration paperwork and it matches. The truck has the DND Cloth tag on the sun visor. It sometimes has the CFR but it was written in blue pen is pretty faded.

I'll double check everything

[rob love]

My initial drivers course was on those Dodges along with the Deuce in 1978.

By what I saw, the Dodge Powerwagons were primarily a reserve truck. On replacing the 3/4 ton M37, a good portion of them may well have been used in the Olympics much as the M151A2s were....on the world stage they wanted us to look modern, and not driving 20 year old trucks.

Eventually when the chev 5/4 ton came out, they went to the regular army, while the reserves primarily got the Dodges. The reserves did get the odd 5/4 ton where they required a special platform such as the CPs or line trucks.

If memory serves, there was an ambulance version of the Dodge. While the bulk of the Dodge fleet was replaced by the chev 3/4 ton in 81, the ambulances remained in reserve at air force and militia units until eventually replace by the CUCV fleet around 1986. We still had a Dodge cargo converted into a tow truck when I was in Cypress in 89, but it was de-commisioned and replaced by a Hino that year. I personally removed a lot of the equipment like the Warn winch and moved it over to the Hino.

Funny thing was that while the reserves were getting fresh trucks every 6 or 7 years, the regular force milked along with the 76 5/4 tons from 1974 until almost 94/95. Of course, until the CUCV came along, the commercial trucks the militia used did not have 24 volt capability so things like a heater for the back or a radio could not be powered form the truck.

These commercial fleets were just a cheaper replacement rather than buying a full fleet of expensive SMP (yes, the chev 5.4 was considered a SMP) for both the regular and reserve forces. While that changed somewhat with the LSVW, the reserves did get their silverado milcots instead of G-wagons for the most part.

On a larger size, the same is done today where the International Defense MSVS was the militia replacement for the MLVW, and the regular force was supposed to get their true SMP replacement around the same time. However, with the almost decade long delay in replacing the MLVW, many of the MSVS have migrated over to the regular force to cover until the Mack/Volvos eventually get delivered (2017?)

[Ed Storey]

My records show that 64 D300 Ambulances were purchased in 1975.

1975 Dodge W300 Ambulance 23258 ECC 142119 copy.jpg

[rob love]

A friend bought one of the surplus Dodge Ambulances. Extremely heavy duty truck with, I believe, a Dana 60 and Dana 70 axles. The regular force 5/4 tons always suffered from the light duty Dana 44 front axle, which was more suitable for a Jeep.

[Jason Ginn]

Vincent Tinguley posted these excellent pics on FB of the Dodge Ambulance in Cam!