Civil Vehicles in Military Use Query

[scooter]

I can remember Army doing crazy things such as paying manufacturers to remove radios which were standard fit from their sedans or station-wagons or utes because they were deemed "frivolous" only to then, when a case was made for "long-distance driving" allowance to pay to have an after-market radio fitted!   Same went for Roo-bars, windshields, etc.  That all stopped in the late 1980s when it was deemed "standard sale items will remain in place" - again to enhance resale value.

All the blue fleet vehicles we had when I was a USAF cop, had at least AM/FM radios.  And some Suburbans we had for the ICBM cops were AC equipped.  Now everything is equipped with AC.  And yes, USAF-owned vehicles are, unless they're police cars or ambulances, painted blue.  The GSA (Gov't Services Administration) fleet are whatever are picked up at the local dealers.

None of the CUCVs we had in the Army Guard were equipped with radios or AC, and I remember talking to guys who used to mount aftermarket radios and speakers in their M-151 jeeps.

[Hobbes]

several interesting mods -- re-inforced (thick) roof, rollcage, larger solid area behind side window.  As these Brixmis vehicles had 3-man crews, was there a third seat in the middle rear so the guy could see out front without leaning to one side ? (bench seats are no good as on rough roads the standard seat-belt was no good).

Brixmis preferred RangeRovers to Landy's because they blended in with civvy vehicles better on the roads -- they switched to the G-wagen because the Leylands were built like crap & kept falling apart.

I don't think the roof was reinforced, just lifted a bit. They just used armoring on the bottom, to protect the mechanical bits from rough terrain. In the G-wagens, they replaced the normal seats with 3 rally-style bucket seats, and the rear one would be in the middle. The RR may have used the same arrangement.
Land Rovers were only available with small engines, the RR had a V8; that might have been a factor in choosing it over the LR. 

[rickshaw]

None of the CUCVs we had in the Army Guard were equipped with radios or AC, and I remember talking to guys who used to mount aftermarket radios and speakers in their M-151 jeeps.

Many of our GS vehicles have removable, privately owned radios and speakers in the cabs.  I remember one particularly luxurious arrangement in one of the old Thorneycraft tank-transporter prime-movers.  He had carpets fitted, fridge, etc.  All could be stripped out in about 15 minutes if/when he was told he had to.

[scooter]

Many of our GS vehicles have removable, privately owned radios and speakers in the cabs.  I remember one particularly luxurious arrangement in one of the old Thorneycraft tank-transporter prime-movers.  He had carpets fitted, fridge, etc.  All could be stripped out in about 15 minutes if/when he was told he had to.

ROFL!  I'm the Vehicle NCO in my unit, which means I'm in charge of the fleet (which are mostly Humvees).  I told my alternate that when we get our MRAPs, we're putting in floor mats.  And since they have 12v power ports all over the place, it won't be too hard to mount in iPod power adapters, speakers, and a couple of 12v coolers.  Convoys will be much more enjoyable then.

[raafif]

quote from Hobbs ...
          I don't think the roof was reinforced, just lifted a bit.

here's the gen on the Rangy roof-height from a Brixmis veteran ....
            "the flat part of the roof was about 50mm higher than the actual roofline,the sunroof wasn't built up for obvious reasons, the whole thing was made out of braced alloy,with non slip daubed all over it.

The grill slopes forward due to the power-winch behind it"

[scooter]

BRIXMIS had some Range Rovers:



Otherwise not too many units would use the expensive Range Rover over a milspec Land Rover Defender.

Hobbes, you forgot the landing.

[P1127]

In Gulf War I, the UK got hold of a load of Toyota Land Cruisers which were suitably camouflaged and used for rear echelon type duties.

Somewhere I have a photo of an RAF VW Beetle in Germany in the 50s/60s.