We started to research trucks in early 2020 and soon learnt about the T244. Living just outside Seattle, the US Military LMTV was an obvious choice. However, the cab is slightly smaller, and we needed room for two adults and two children. We have also learnt over time that the LMTV is technically much more complicated, (which has both advantages and disadvantages) and is about 59% less fuel efficient (6mpg vs 14mpg).
We thought we’d end up buying one in the UK and importing it, but we got lucky and discovered one had just become available in Canada.
Of course, the world was in the middle of the pandemic, and the US-Canada board was shut. So, we were unable to go and check it out in person. Fortunately, we found someone who had driven her, and we got lots of a great advice on what to check before committing. With only 59,000 km on the clock, she was still in great condition.
So, on the 18th of August 2020, we became the new owners, paying just $7,500 USD! But next came the challenging of getting her home.
After more research, we found Nationwide Transportation Services and Border Buddies. They took care of hauling the truck the 700 miles across the border (which was only open for commercial traffic), all the logistics of importing it and getting it registered with the Department of Transportation.
All this left one final challenge, driving Eva for the very first time, off the back of the low loader. This was honestly a terrifying experience, fortunately I had read the manual the previous day and had a vague idea of what I was doing.
So finally, on the 9th of September, the next phase in our adventure would begin, converting Eva into an Overland Truck.