Carrier buyers guide

[Russell_Sprout]

Hello all,

The universal carrier has always fascinated me for as long as i can remember but i've always dismissed the thought of owning one due to the hassles of operating a tracked vehicle. Can anyone list any pointers on the down side of carriers??? parts availability etc??? what to look for in a possible purchase???

Thanks,

Russell.

[rob love]

There is no downside, other than the possible divorce(s) that will occur in the future, but the same holds true for any hobby which is allowed to get out of hand.
The carrier is nice in that it fits in a garage, can be moved with a 3/4 ton truck and 10,000lb trailer, and most of the drivetrain parts are similar to the trucks. The first time you take one cross country, you will forget all about the pinched and torn fingers, and enjoy the ride that can only be had from a tracked vehicle. And the impressive look of a carrier with it's Boyes rifles, 2 Brens, Enfields, stens, smoke discharger, and flare pistol, make it look like a small gunship.

The first road test for my first carrier was with 4 police motorcycle escorts from Kapyong Barraks in Winnipeg to Polo park. From there, she later drove to a downtown parade, and then to the Forks, and finally back to Kapyong, for a total of almost 20 miles. What a hoot. Made all those 2AM bedtimes worth it.

[alleramilitaria]

down side?
none. they are easier than a jeep to keep up, they are easy to transport, thay are great at events, the people that have them are for the most part are great to hang around with. we all help each other out, and the price is going up on them so they are a good investment. and its just about the only pice of armor you can tow on a trailer with a pick up truck. i cant think of any part i cant trade for, buy NOS, have made, or just plane rig up myself. they are simple. i would personaly get a MKI carrier if its your first one, stay away from the T-16 unless you have money and can find one all together. by the way i have one FS running for $16.000.00

and yes you do get a divorce out of it from time to time

[Tim Sullivan]

Okay, so you've heard from the biased carrier owners, now you can hear from one who doesn't own a carrier.

Cons:

You can't just hop in and take it for a ride, not street legal, so you're limited as to where you can drive it

You have to trailer it pretty much everywhere you go. Unless you get a special permit for road use, you're stuck with a trailer. So add the cost of a pickup and trailer to any cost of a carrier, unless you have several acres to play wtih.

If you're taller/bigger good luck driving it easily. Sure taller drivers fit, but it's not as easy as the little guys who just hop right in.

Parts are harder to find than other MVs, but not impossible. This forum is a great place to find them.

Pros:

As was pointed out, they're a pretty small vehicle, so pretty much the only fully tracked armour that will fit in a regular residential garage, and that you can easily transport with a truck and trailer

Come on, it's a universal carrier! They have that functional ugliness that is so beautiful to all British MVs

Depending on where you live, they aren't that common. There are a ton in S. Ontario, but when you go from there, they get rarer and rarer.

As was pointed out, there is NOTHING like a ride in a carrier, cruising across a field with the tracks slapping against the fenders, and every bump passing smoothy underneath.

All in all, if you have the room to drive it, and a vehicle to pull it I don't think there are many other vehicles that I'd reccomend. *I* personally would never own one, but then again I have two or three friends who already do, and who don't mind sharing

Tim

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally posted by Tim Sullivan
You can't just hop in and take it for a ride, not street legal

You can, as it is where Russell lives...

H.

[42mk1carrier]

I think the Guy's covered just about everything, I am a BIG Guy
300lbs and I do fit in my carrier a tight fit for sure.
A Jeep is more practical ----BUT--------- there is something about tracked armour My wife says I care more about "MOLLY" My carrier than I do her
BIG Steve

[WOODBEAVER6]

Stay away from the T16 unless you have $money and can find one all together???? I gather that you don't care for the T16 LOL

The biggest downside to the T16 is that to do a decent restoration you have to remove all of the Swiss modifications and fabricate the missing parts.

I just found a very complete T16 manufactured in Dec 1943
The vehicle has never been modified and still has all of it's original US Specs factory stowage bins and boxes, Original paint and markings are intact and most of the vehicle tools were still in the hull storage bins.
At some point in the future I'll probably look at reproducing all of those boxes and bins that were removed when the vehicles went into Swiss service.
Kration

[alleramilitaria]

dont get me wrong i would like a T-16, but only if its all together and at a great price. its just that i can get 3 good bren carriers and have them all running for the price of getting 1 T-16 running thats all. and the bren carrier has a better overall design for us civ personell that cant go to the S4 and get the stuff off the shelf.

[horsa]

Dave with AllEraMilitaria only has a dislike for the T16 because he had to stand in hot sun and help me tear apart the engine housing on one so we could extract the engine and tranny

All the bolts were rusted and had to be broken individually so the process took a long time. He prefers the smaller British/Canadian carriers since they are easier to break down for working on.

That said, parts for the USA made carriers are readily available for the most part since they are the same as used on standard Ford trucks during the time period and the tracks are the same as other wartime carriers.

But unless you have a good place to get out and run the beast, I'd stay with something that is street legal in your area. I've still got my '41 Willys Jeep and can drive it anywhere, on or off road. The carrier is a longer term restoration and not meant to be a replacement for my main WWII ride.

[alleramilitaria]

yes dave thats part of my liking the U/C vrs the T-16. but also i can reeinact the entire war .

no i dont have a dislike for the T-16, i just like the U/C more.

and may i sugest that removing a motor from a T-16 would not be that big of a problem..... if you had tools and didnt have to make 4 runs to home depot for a "realy great cutter"!!!!.

[horsa]

Yep, I agree. Tools and their availability in Arizona sucks. Much happier being home in Texas with the carrier now where I have reliable stuff.

Speaking of which...going back to help Brennon pull his parts for longer term storage in a few weeks. Will be interesting to see if our skin peels off after touching the metal surfaces out there.

[alleramilitaria]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!
GOOD LUCK, LMAO..... no really what are you doing????

please leave sanaty here and pick it up on the way back.
qustion. why not just go and get the carrier and be done with it????

dave

[horsa]

At the moment, he has no place to store it in Texas....

Last hull has sold out there and Brennon needs to get the wheel assemblies off it as they go with his T16. We're just flying out and back for an overnight trip. Gives me a chance to shoot some photos of other things while I'm there.

Two hour flight sure beats the 18 hour drive we had to do in May. Think Brennon will be contracting you to haul his carrier back to the Republic of Texas after the New Year. Should be on wheels since that's part of what we'll be doing out there later in the month. So you won't have the loading problems we went through. No point repeating that learning curve again

[alleramilitaria]

lost your number, give me a ring

[Russell_Sprout]

Dave,

I've been trying to contact you referance bren POL carriers, can you please PM if you have anymore for sale??

Thanks,

Tim.

[alleramilitaria]

sorry tim i have been in hospital, i will check if i hav any in stock.
thanks
dave