Troop seats and bows

[Latrech]

I was wondering if anybody has taken the time to draw up either as a sketch or in CAD the M715 troop seats and bow kit. I know both of these are hard to come by and I wanted to see if somebody had done it yet. I know reproductions will be expensive to make but, thats the world we live in.

P.S. I just started a M715 project with the goal of a modern drivetrain with as close to original look and feel as possible. To that end my tail gate is trashed beyond repair but I'm having the tailgate drawn up in CAD if anybody wants a copy of said files let me know.

[Beast]

There is no need to fabricate reproduction pieces as most all of it is standard military parts and pieces. The uprights for the troop seats are the same design as the those on the M35 deuce. You just need to modify the middle one because of the short stake pocked due to the wheel well. And the bow corners are the same as the deuce and many other trucks. (but are different than M37s and M101 trailers) You just need to cut the wood for the slats to the lengths needed for the M715. All those lengths can be found here on the Zone. Also don't count out finding an original set for the M715. I've bought and sold several sets over the years. Finding them in military swap meets or in parts lots.

[Barrman]

There have been several threads that list out the stock troop seat dimensions and bows. The hardest part seems to be getting the correct dimensional lumber of the proper wood type.

There have also been a few vendors selling tail gate build your own kits. JEEP is a very protected trademark that can not be duplicated unless you want lawyers at your door.

Others of us just made our own tailgates and cut down M35 troop seats/bows to get by.

Welcome to the Zone and good luck with your project.

[Don Cavey]

There have been several threads that list out the stock troop seat dimensions and bows. The hardest part seems to be getting the correct dimensional lumber of the proper wood type....
Welcome to the Zone and good luck with your project.

I have been down this road and had excellent results. The wood was originally white oak. I made mine out of red oak. Poplar or pine won't cut it because you need the strength of oak.

Here is some very excellent information that I just did a copy and paste from some previous threads:

"This is an email I got from Gary a while back in regards to the troop seats:

"The planks are 3" tall by 3/4" thick and the total length is 87"
The screws that attach the planks to the brackets are countersunk by a 11/16th" hole.
The center off the mounting screws are roughly 1 1/2" from the ends of the planks.
The top two planks have screws/bolts (measuring from inside of the bed behind the drivers side) at 1 1/2" - 41 1/2" - 45 1/2" - 85 1/2"
The third rail on down has centered screws/bolts at 1 1/2 - 43 1/2" - and 85 1/2"
The tabs that hold the seat up are 2 3/4" in from the ends."

I used a forstner bit when making the holes and the carriage bolts just fit perfectly. I got my oak from Lowes. I explored using wider boards and cutting them down. But it turns out that the 4" boards, cut down just worked great. The thickness of the wood was exact. I did use a router and put a bull nose edge on the boards and it looks original. I sprayed each board first and then assembled the entire seat.

Check this thread and sorry for Photobucket's damage to the pictures.

Yet Another Troop Seats Question Please

This should get you started.

[Latrech]

There have been several threads that list out the stock troop seat dimensions and bows. The hardest part seems to be getting the correct dimensional lumber of the proper wood type.

There have also been a few vendors selling tail gate build your own kits. JEEP is a very protected trademark that can not be duplicated unless you want lawyers at your door.

Others of us just made our own tailgates and cut down M35 troop seats/bows to get by.

Welcome to the Zone and good luck with your project.

Yeah, I am planning to cut out my tailgate's lettering and reuse it. From what I am led to understand is that as long as I'm not reproducing the stamped Jeep logo but reusing them for personal use then TM shouldn't apply.