Despite their limitations, the Humvee is an iconic military vehicle, and even though it’s being replaced in frontline service by the JLTV, Miles Fiberglass’s Humvee composite panel reinforcement kits are helping them last longer.
The Army’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, first appeared in 1984. It was a major improvement on the classic military jeep. Contact Street Legal Exports now!
The military’s Humvee has conquered foreign battlefields and suburban soccer fields alike, but it’s now reaching a critical crossroads. It’s being replaced in frontline military service by newer models designed for the asymmetric warfare of the 21st century.
In the 1970s, the Army realized that it needed better vehicles to transport its troops. It wanted a “jack-of-all-trades” light tactical vehicle that could fill the roles of several existing trucks, including its Vietnam War-era M151 Jeep and the M561 Gama Goat.
AM General, Chrysler Defense and Teledyne Continental all submitted prototypes for testing. Eleven of these were tested across a range of conditions, from desert to Arctic climates. AM General’s design was the clear winner. It won a contract in 1983 to build 55,000 HMMWVs (Humvees are known by their official name, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle).
AM General’s Humvee was powered by GM’s 6.2L diesel engine with a Turbo-HydraMatic 400 transmission that delivered 850 lb-ft of torque. Its independent suspension and portal axles lowered the center of gravity, giving it 16 inches of ground clearance. It also had the ability to climb a 60 percent incline, traverse a 40-percent slope and drive through 2.5 feet of water with a snorkel.
The Humvee proved itself during the Gulf War, with its able to traverse challenging terrain and carry a hefty payload. Its popularity soared, and civilian adaptations such as the Hummer line were born.
Over time, however, the Humvee became less and less effective as an armored vehicle. The truck’s aluminum body proved to be tissue paper against roadside improvised explosive devices, and even with add-on armour, the Humvee wasn’t protected enough in urban combat.
Off-Road Capabilities
Since its introduction in 1983, the Humvee has conquered mud, sand, rocks, snow and more. It’s driven around the world on deployments, ridden inside CH-53 helicopters and sat on decks of Marine Expeditionary Units.
The military light truck has a lot to offer off-roaders and can be customized with various exterior and interior accessories. Aftermarket armor kits add protection for the vehicle’s occupants, while winches and climate control systems improve recovery and comfort. Interior upgrades like sound deadening reduce noise and vibration, improving the ride quality.
The HMMWV’s off-road capabilities come from the combination of a powerful engine, independent front and rear suspension and advanced shock absorbers. This allows it to tackle terrain that would stop other four-wheel drive vehicles in their tracks. The aluminum body is another key element, keeping the weight down while allowing the chassis to flex and reducing corrosion risk.
Despite their reputation as the ultimate offroading machine, military Humvees do have some limitations. They don’t have the same offroad flex as more agile SUVs, and they can easily get high centered or sink in water. They’re also not designed to rock crawl or jump dunes, and they can only carry two to ten US military men.
However, if you’re prepared to deal with some specialized maintenance and higher fuel costs, a Humvee for sale can open up a world of outdoor adventures. You can customize the truck to meet your specific needs, whether it’s a cargo hauler or a family vehicle. Just be sure to check with a specialist such as Street Legal Exports to ensure your Humvee is street-legal for use on public roads.
Armor
While the Humvee is an excellent off-road support vehicle, when it comes to urban combat, the aluminum body and frame don’t hold up to ballistic and IED attacks. When commanders assessed the needs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, they determined that the open-air vehicles needed some additional protection for troops on patrol or convoy duties. Rather than converting the trucks to armored combat vehicles, contractors began developing add-on armor kits for use on Humvees. Aberdeen’s Humvee Armor Survivability Kit (HASK) is the best known and is designed to protect against RPGs and IEDs by adding armored doors and windows, seatback protectors and steel plates on the hull and frame.
The Army’s Rock Island Arsenal also has a start-to-finish factory for producing armor kits for Humvees. Workers at the facility produce the HMMWV’s from the chassis up and are the only Humvee manufacturer to offer an entire armor package that can be installed on a regular Humvee without having to strip it down.
In addition to the HASK and the armor packages from Battelle and other companies, some Humvees can be equipped with the new Expanded Capacity Vehicle (ECV) system. Unlike the HASK, the ECV is fully modular and can be installed on Humvees with or without the aluminum hull. The ECV is intended to provide protection against IEDs and rocket-propelled grenades and can be fitted with a range of weaponry, including the Browning M2HB.50 caliber heavy machine gun and the Mk 19 40mm automatic grenade launcher.
Other modifications are available for Humvees, including acoustic insulation, more comfortable seats and internal garments and fixtures and a comprehensive Hi-Fi sound system. Even after all the combat upgrades, however, it is still possible for a terrorist to sabotage an up-armored Humvee by attaching explosive devices.
Seating Capacity
The HMMWV (abbreviated Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive military trucks and utility vehicles. Designed by AM General, it has largely supplanted roles previously performed by the original jeep and other military vehicles, including the Vietnam War-era M151 Jeep. While typically seen with the United States military, the HMMWV has also been deployed by various other nations and organizations, as well as used for civilian adaptations.
The number of people a Humvee can carry depends on the model and configuration. The most common model, the HUMVEE, holds a driver and a squad leader in front seats with two passengers in the rear. However, other variants of the vehicle, such as cargo, ambulance, and machine gun, can hold more passengers.
In a combat engineer variant, the Humvee can carry up to five soldiers. The HUMVEE 4-CT is an expanded capacity version that can be used for a variety of missions, from command and control to armed patrol. It can also be equipped with a weapon mount and turret for additional protection.
The HMMWV M2A1 is capable of carrying six infantry soldiers in full combat gear and a crew of three. The vehicle is designed for use by infantry soldiers who are trained in exit points, fire drills, and rollover training. Soldiers who ride in the vehicle should have their rucksacks strapped to the outside of the vehicle, to minimize the risk of them being lost during the course of a mission. A HMMWV M2A2/ODS or M2A3 has benches in the troop compartment, which reduces the seating capacity to four soldiers. A HMMWV M3A1 is equipped with a turret, which further decreases the seating capacity to three seats.
Fuel Economy
The Humvee, or HMMWV, as the US Army calls it, is one of the most versatile light military vehicles in the world. While it’s primarily used by the Army, the vehicle is also used by other militaries and even in civilian adaptations. It has largely replaced other military vehicles, including the Vietnam War-era M151 Jeep and its M561 “Gama Goat” ambulance version.
The vehicle was designed to be as fuel efficient as possible, and it succeeded. The standard model has a diesel V-8 engine that produces a scant 113 horsepower and is paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. This powerplant is sufficient to move the vehicle at highway speeds. But it’s hardly enough to haul the 13,000-plus-pound curb weight of an armored Humvee when fully loaded with weapons, communications gear, and other necessities.
To address this issue, the Army has been developing a new generation of Humvees with improved powertrains. It’s latest prototype, the FED Bravo, was displayed at the Society of Automotive Engineers’ annual show in Detroit. The vehicle features a Ford diesel hybrid-electric drive system that uses a rear electric motor to drive the wheels and an integrated powertrain to help propel the front axles.
The vehicle’s redesigned powertrain and chassis are intended to improve on the performance of the original Humvee, as well as other JLTV entrants from Lockheed Martin, Oshkosh, and AM General. In a recent study, the Army and Marine Corps tested 22 up-armored Humvees alongside Oshkosh’s JLTV entrants, and the up-armored Humvees were the most reliable of the bunch, averaging 7,051 miles between operational mission failures (defined as a vehicle failure that prevents it from accomplishing its assigned mission).