Photo By Keith Hayes | Charles Allen is a heavy mobile equipment mechanic working on the LVSR AMKR line at...... read more read more
The Logistics Vehicle System Replacement, or LVSR, is a line of massive trucks currently being repaired, upgraded and up armored at Production Plant Barstow, Marine Depot Corps Maintenance Command, aboard the Yermo annex of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.
Kenny Phillips is the branch head at PPB for the LVSR line.
He said the newer version of the more than 22 ton vehicle is taking the place of the MK48 line of vehicles which were less armored and were less versatile to the warfighter, especially in theaters where mountainous and rugged terrain made operating traditional military equipment problematic.
James Stradling is the heavy mobile supervisor for the LVSR line and has worked at PPB for 34 years.
“To me it’s a big Tonka toy. It’s massive, it’s strong, you can abuse it and it’ll keep on trucking,” Stradling said. “It’s designed to go off-roading and be abused. You can take it into any type of terrain you’re willing to take it to so you can get equipment and supplies to the warfighter.”
Otoniel Avalos, a native Barstownian and the LVSR work leader at PPB, said the capabilities of the LVSR line are impressive.
“It comes in three different configurations,” Avalos said. “The AMK18 (Armored MK18) cargo version is capable of lifting and carrying up to 20 foot long containers that weigh up to 50,000 pounds, like the kind you find on cargo ships or being hauled by a semi. You can put a flat rack on it so you can haul vehicles. It has a boom on it and hydraulics that allow it to pull out vehicles that are stuck. You can also put a troop carrier on the back capable of carrying up to 20 people.”
Charles Allen, a native of Harrison, Mich., is one of the heavy equipment mechanics working on the LVSR line.
“The (Caterpillar Inc., built) engine is a 600 horsepower inline six twin turbo with direct fuel injection, and that creates a lot of torque (pulling power),” Allen explained.
He said there are also features on the LVSR to get personnel out of problem situations.
“The engine, transmission, transfer case and the hydraulics for the suspension and the boom all run on the same 15-40 oil that makes it very versatile to maintain in the field.
“In case you have a disabled LVSR and the boom is stuck out or you need to get a container deck off, you can attach this LVSR to another LVSR to run off their hydraulics to complete the mission,” Allen said.
If there are no other LVSRs around, Allen said a hand crank can also be attached to allow for limited operation.
He said all of the LVSR AMKR equipment is interchangeable across all branches of the military.
“The LVSR is used by the Marine Corps, the Air Force and the Navy, so parts from one LVSR can be used on another LVSR with no problem,” he said.
“The suspension is self-levelling and adjustable by the driver in the cab,” Allen said. That feature goes a long way in eliminating the tipping problem which was a concern with the top heavy MK 48 line.
“The CTIS (constant tire inflation system) allows the driver to inflate or deflate the tires from inside the cab to handle any terrain,” he said.
“I love these vehicles. Their capabilities are awesome,” Allen said. “They’re the largest vehicles I’ve ever worked on. Their versatility, the armor, and the suspension are all state of the art.”
Avalos said the most important aspect of the more than 100 upgrades they were making to the LVSR is the heavily armored crew cab which allows a much better chance for surviving an improvised explosive device (IED) blast.
“The cab has full wrap-around armor and weighs about 5,500 pounds itself,” he said. “We’ve just installed egress windows in the cab, too. If for some reason the personnel can’t get out through the doors they just pull up on the handles and the windshield pushes out.”
“The cab has a feature that allows for a gunner’s turret mount where you can put a machine gun on top of the cab,” Avalos said.
Stradling, who is originally from Williams, Az., said the safety of the crew is the highest priority and it shows in the design and operation of the LVSR.
“The most important job we have is to make sure that everything that goes out to the Marine Corps and other branches of the military makes the occupants as safe as possible,” he said.
“All of the artisans have the single minded goal to make sure that it works the way it’s intended to” he said. “We put out a quality product so that the Marines that go out to the field come back alive.”
When the 31 members of the LVSR line first get a damaged vehicle in to the plant they begin what is called the “inspect and repair only as necessary” process, or IROAN.
“We disassemble it all the way down to the bare frame,” Stradling said. “We inspect the chassis. It gets steam blasted, painted and corrosion checked. We check the frames and make sure they’re straight and then build them back up. We start with the suspension and pull all the hubs off and rebuild the entire vehicle.”
“The LVSR crewmembers know that what they do here reflects out in the theater and they take pride in doing the work properly,” he said.
Phillips said desert war has taught the military and the manufacturers a lot of important lessons.
“The thing we have learned in Afghanistan and Iraq is the way they fight over there,” he said. “They have IEDs. That means the blast comes up from underneath. That’s what inspired the armored crew capsules.”
Phillips concluded with a sentiment shared by the other members of the LVSR crew.
“All the people that work here come in every day so that we can send the warfighter the gear that allows them to survive and come back to their families,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 02.23.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.23.2017 12:44 |
| Story ID: | 224468 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Hometown: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Hometown: | WILLIAMS, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 905 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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