Mark's Mail Jeep

I drive a surplus AM General 1983 DJ-5L dispatcher mail jeep; this is similar to the jeep CJ-5 but has a different body.

Parts sources

• Mac Motors (1-800-MAC-4-AMG) sells parts for mail jeeps.
• Leon Rosser "Think Jeep" (1-800-633-4724) is supposed to be a good source of parts for mail jeeps. They also have a page at 4x4 4U that neglects to link back to their own domain. They sell a catalog for $7 that actually has very little in it for mail jeeps but if you have the mail jeep parts manual (which they do sell), you can order mail jeep parts from them by number.
• Jiepz Only, Inc is a salvage yard in Bedford, Indiana specializing in jeeps.
• www.ultimatejeep.comhas links to various vendors.
• www.thejeep.com(Turner 4WD Parts Co) has mirors, tow bars, and other parts.
• Brians 4wd Parts and Literaturesells parts for jeeps.

Modifications

The jeep has very limited cargo space, by my standards. I have added a roof rack and a 2" receiver hitch to improve the hauling capacity.

The gutters on the mail jeep won't work very well with standard gutter mount cargo carriers so I have added 4 eye bolts for tie downs and have a roof luggage rack attached to them. I have some more ambitious plans which might happen this summer.

I wanted to add a 2" receiver hitch to my Mail Jeep. Unfortunately, it is pretty hard to find even a drawbar hitch yet alone a 2" receiver hitch. The bumper on the mail jeeps is a very weird angled design, so most bumper and even many frame mount hitches for a CJ-5 are not likely to work. I ended up taking a simple receiver hitch from walmart and adapting it to fit the bumper by making angled standoffs. I haven't finished reinforcing the bumper, yet. The bumper's poor design makes it very week when a torsional load is applied, as would be the case if you have a very canteleivered load such as a hitch haul. Warning: this vehicle is not rated for trailer towing. It should be ok to tow a small trailer or carry a small load on a cargo platform, however, provided many factors are taken into consideration.

Below are some links related to my search for hitch information:

• Valley Industrieshas a web site with information on hitches
• Wal*Mart has a selection of hitches.
• 1-800-HITCH-IT
• Hitch-Web
• HLSM carries ACME brand hitches, the same brand sold at Wal*Mart at much higher prices, but they do have pictures. The last 5 digits of their part numbers correspond to the walmart sku.
• Masterbuilt makes the Hitch Haul carrier.
• Cavalier Camping Center, Inc. (804-977-6650) is located out 250 E towards Xion Crossroads. They have 2" receiver tubes (weld on, without all the additional hardware) for $18.

Carrying cargo on the roof, on a hitch platform, or towing a trailer may be dangerous, particularly on a vehicle like this which is also unstable. If you are not mature enough to drive carefully or do not have a good understanding of physics (particularly force, leverage, friction, stiction, acceleration, center of gravity, centrifical force, moments, and sheer) and how to apply these to a vehicle then don't try it.

What matters, is not the weight of the vehicle but the relative weights of the vehicle and trailer (both actual weight and tongue weight), the type of hitch, and the vehicles handling charcteristics. The jeeps high center of gravity and short narrow wheelbase will tend to amplify the effects of forces applied to the hitch by the trailer compared to other towing vehicles of the same weight. The drum brakes which tend to pull to one side don't help either. Far less important, there is the capacity of the engine and transmission to handle the sustained loads imposed by the additional rolling resistance and air resistance as well as the peak demands of accelerating and hill climbing.

But a file cabinet on a hitch platform should be ok. And a couple sheets of 4x8 plywood probably are less likely to cause loss of control on a lightweight trailer than they would up on the roof where they would have much more mechanical advantage.

FAQ

• Q. Why do you drive a mail jeep?
  A. Because I couldn't get a femail jeep or an email jeep.
  
• Q. Do you work for the USPS?
  A. Absolutely, positively, not!
  
• Q. Are you a rural mail carrier?
  (This question is usually asked by rural mail carriers.)
  A. No.
  
• Q. How did you get it?
  A. I rolled a mail man :-).
  Actualy, I bought it from a friend.
  
• Q. Would you like to sell it?
  A. No.
  
• Q. Whats it like to drive on the right hand side?
  A. You make up for it by driving on the left hand side of the road. :-)
  
• Q. Can you deliver this letter for me. Ouch! %$%@#$%@#$
  A. There. Delivered.

Note that it has been pointed out that this is a 1982 model year jeep even though it was manufactured in 1983. The DJ-5L was apparently only made in 1982-83, and there was only a 1982 model.

I have had reasonable success getting engine parts (like an air filter) for this jeep by saying I had a 1983 CJ-5 with the 151 engine. Transmission and many other parts would not be likely to fit. It does take the same size windsheild wiper blades as the CJ-5.

Related Sites

Visit The Postal Jeep Page.

Join The Postal Jeep Webring
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Misc

The incompetant folks at the Virgina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) have a web page. And you can use their email link to get all kinds of misinformation.