In Support of LMTVs: Ideal Bugout Rigs for an Uncertain Future

For more articles in focusing on the civilian uses for surplus LMTV, check out our series!

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We’re back at it again, talking about the surplus army trucks. This time, it’s exclusively the Light Military Tactical Vehicle (LMTV). And in particular, we’re looking at what the LMTV can do as your dedicated bugout rig. Why shouldn’t it be? The LMTV was built to handle the harshest conditions on the planet and come back for more. Also, they are conveniently easy to find and find parts for. 

But here’s the deal: surplus army tactical vehicles, which the LMTV is, are not sold with a street-legal title. You might be stuck with a big ol’ paperweight without the right paperwork. Let’s take a look at what the LMTV offers preppers, where to find one (or more), and how you can title it once you have it.

What Is Bugging Out?

Thanks to a string of popular shows on prepping, the phrase ‘bug out’ has become fairly common and doesn’t need much introduction. 

The premise of bugging out is that we will eventually face a complete and total societal collapse, and when that happens, the best thing to do is grab your pre-packed bug-out gear and hit the road. Bug-out bags are all the rage, and they aren’t a bad idea at all. But your Toyota Camry might fall a little short in getting you to high ground, so to speak. 

Jeeps and pickups are popular for this use and are certainly a good start. Of course, they are limited by the fact that they can only use one type of fuel. See, army trucks are designed to handle a variety of fuels because you never know what will be available. Kerosene, Jet-A, etc., will all work just fine in a surplus army truck. Small rural airports are plentiful across the U.S., most of which keep a stock of jet fuel, and quite a few keep kerosene as well. 

When the pumps shut off, your Jeep Renegade is SOL. But a Jeep or a lifted Tacoma with an Overlanding trailer is still a far piece better than getting stuck three feet off the interstate when your Civic gets high-centered. That won’t bode well for your long-term survival. But a well-equipped bug-out bag is still better than nothing.

What Is ‘Shtf?’

We assume you know what the acronym SHTF means. Oh, you don’t?

Sh*t hits the fan. 

That’s it. 

SHTF when the balloon goes up. That’s another idiom from a war-torn era, World War I. The history stems from when balloons would go up to signal the start of a battle. These balloons were also used as primitive anti-aircraft devices. See, they had steel cables hanging from them that would tear airplanes to pieces. People knew an air raid was imminent when the balloons went up. And now you know. 

In modern terms, it could mean anything. But it is most widely accepted that it will involve all services and the grid going down, which would be a good time to have an LMTV bugout rig at the ready.

Where Would I Go in a Bugout Rig?

This is a reasonable question and it pertains a lot to what kind of vehicle would be best suited for this need. Where would you go? Well, you should only use private land if you own it. So, buying private land is a good start. That may only be somewhat feasible. You can always try to work out a bug-out location on someone else’s private land, though. 

Water is your #1 priority if you have to bug out. You might start making relationships with landowners where you could hunker down. This is better than public lands, which could quickly get crowded, especially if it is public land near any water source. So maybe start by saving up for a rural piece of land (you won’t need much) with either access to water or where a well can be dug. 

Ma-Deuce not included

If you have to use public land, you should avoid deserts. You need water, and your freshwater tanks will run out faster than you think they will. Trust me; I learned this the hard way after spending three weeks in our travel trailer. Obviously, the fewer people you have, the longer it will last, but you need water available. The mountains are great places to hunker down, but the Western ranges are dry as a bone. 

Food is #2. If you know how to hunt and fish, you have an advantage. But you want to be somewhere fertile where you can grow your own food or easily find roadside vendors selling their goods. Again, not the desert. But for short-term bugging out, there is a lot of wide open Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Western states. You should take your bug-out rig to some potential locations first to get the lay of the land. Find water and food sources. Figure out beforehand exactly how long your water tanks will hold out.

Wherever you end up, you may not want to be dependent on roads to get you there. So now not only do you need to carry food and water – enough to survive a significant amount of time without having to replenish it – you also need ground clearance, and when the going gets tough, four-wheel drive is a must-have as well. Reliability is important too, because you don't want to be rendered immobile from breaking down in the bush more than you absolutely need to.

Could I Get a Commercially Available Truck?

You certainly can get a commercially available truck. There are some decent options, but remember a couple of things:

1. Commercial trucks are less robust than LMTVs. 

2. Commercial trucks, even 4x4 models, are largely made for paved roads. It will take extensive modification to get a factory-produced truck anywhere near as capable as an LMTV you can readily buy from IronPlanet. Facts are facts. 

3. No pickups can come close to an LMTV's payload capacity or durability. A fully loaded F-450 will be a hundred grand, need another $25,000 of aftermarket parts to be off-road reliable, and have less than half of the payload of an LMTV. 

Commercial Pickups Are Too Light.

I already touched on this, but commercial trucks are too light. We’ve all seen the images floating around of the 1-ton trucks on the side of the road with broken frames. Does this happen often? No. But it does happen often enough to know that it happens.

Here’s the hard truth: a well-equipped and stocked bug-out rig is heavy. It’s got water. It’s got living space. It’s got guns, ammo, fishing gear, tools, cookware, people, pets, and more. 

There is an old adage about it being better to loaf around with a big engine than overload a small one. This is truth. 

You are better off having a big truck that isn’t struggling than a small truck under constant stress. Eventually, it will break. Not good if the balloon has gone up.

How About a Surplus Army Truck? 

Army trucks are great solutions. They are cheap, plentiful, and tough as nails. They come from the field with features that will cost you thousands of dollars to add on to a civilian truck, like snorkel kits and multiple-fuel options. Even if you did those things to your commercial truck, it still wouldn’t be as durable as an army truck.

Which Should I Get?

There are a lot of options. We like the LMTV for a few reasons:

1. It’s easy to find and buy, and parts are widely available. 

2. Reliable and durable Cat 3116 6.6l turbodiesel. It’s a common engine with plenty of parts, and all diesel shops are familiar with repairs. 

3. LMTVs are shorter than previous army truck models to fit on ships better. This means they are also easier to drive in traffic and park in Walmart parking lots. We expect Walmart to survive the apocalypse. 

The LMTV is the 2 ½-ton version of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles. It has a single rear axle and makes for a much more compact vehicle than the previous family of 2 ½-ton trucks, the M35 family. If you need something larger than a 2 ½-ton, the MTV is the 5-ton version. It also has the cab-over configuration but instead uses the larger 7.2l C7 engine from Caterpillar.

These trucks all come in a wide variety of base configurations. The best option for a bug-out rig is the van configurations. These are usually used for mobile command and control, so they are already equipped with ingress and egress, windows, and even power ports.

Where Can I Find Them?

IronPlanet and GovPlanet are the best places to look if you want to buy one that has never been in civilian hands. 

You will get a bill of sale; if you want, you can also request an SF97. These forms are issued in lieu of a title because tactical vehicles are not street-legal by definition. Not to worry; our military vehicle service program will get you a title, tag, and registration in no time. This is particularly important in Colorado and California, as these states (and many others) will not title surplus military vehicles as street legal. 

How Much Do LMTVs Cost?

It all depends on the auction. Since IronPlanet and GovPlanet are auction services, it just depends on the demand. 

If you set up an account with them, which they will verify, you can see what other vehicles have sold for in the past. Generally, the price points are between $10,000 and $20,000, which is crazy affordable considering what you get. Oh, and peep those odometer readings. Those aren’t misprints. Tactical vehicles don’t get a lot of miles put on them. You can pick up a used bug-out rig with less than ten thousand miles on a Caterpillar engine for about the price of a well-optioned Ford truck. Wild.

The Titling Process With Dirt Legal

Once you get your LMTV, sometime during the bugout conversion process you will need to make it street legal. It will be sold to you with a bill of sale. You can also get the SF97, and we highly suggest this. 

Once you have your paperwork (which will take a little time; you aren’t going to drive it home from the auction lot so make sure you get transpo lined up), we will handle the heavy lifting. 

All you need to do is select the Street Legal Military Vehicle Service, select what current proof of ownership you have, and follow the simple steps from there. Once you get through that portion, we’ll send out the paperwork. All you have to do is review it, sign it, and send it back. 

You’ll get your title, tag, and registration in a few weeks. Oh, and we can take care of annual registration if you want. That would be the last time you ever had to think about your LMTV’s title or registration – set it and forget it.

Parting Thoughts

Surplus army trucks can be an awesome addition to your fleet, especially if you are looking for a dedicated bug-out rig. We don’t like to dwell on it, but societies have collapsed before and certainly can again. If this worries you, using a surplus LMTV as a bug-out rig might be a great option to ditch the burbs for higher ground. It’s certainly sturdier and more capable than anything aimed at consumer markets.

Of course, if you try to roll out without a valid tag and registration, you might have a big old target on your back.

Dirt Legal has been helping military vehicle owners get their rigs titled and on the road for a while now, and we are glad to help you get your bug-out rig on the road, too! Consider our Street Legal Military Vehicle Service and contact us if you have any questions.