Does anybody know where I can find a used/surplus mail truck? I've been scoping the Govdeals website and Craigslist, but no luck.

You're right, I've never seen one either. Maybe they go straight to the crusher like UPS trucks?

I don't think that they are actually street legal in private hands, as they get to avoid a lot of the safety standards. They probably get scrapped.

Ill ask the vmf guys tomorrow.

They pop up from time to time.

https://www.govdeals.com/?fa=Main.Item&itemid=6463&acctid=357

So..... Is this the beginning of the Challenge Mail Truck class?

I have always wanted one of these. I think it would be a silly fun daily driver.

S-10 chassis I believe...?

In reply to Ross413:

I think it's a S10 with a half ton axle on the back.

Woody wrote: I don't think that they are actually street legal in private hands, as they get to avoid a lot of the safety standards. They probably get scrapped.

That would be a major bummer! Maybe the body on a civilian S-10 chassis?

I work for USPS.

Yes, the LLV (long life vehicle) is an S10 based chassis with the Iron Duke/Tech 4 engine. No airbags, no ABS, no traction control, aluminum body with almost zero roll over protection. The drivers door is heavy but I doubt it would hold up in a side impact.

I'm not sure they get sold in my area. They're actually in tight supply here since they've been recently assigned to rural mail carriers to replace their privately owned vehicles. I have seen some completely rebuilt with new frames and refurbished engines, tranny and rear ends placed under used or refurbished bodies. I doubt they'd do that if they had a lot of extra LLVs to choose from. There is no replacement vehicle in the pipeline right now so I would expect USPS to hold onto all of them to replace wrecked ones.

BTW, the front track is narrower than the rear and they handle oddly. I've never been able to get one to go much faster than 75 or 80. The aerodynamics seem to be the limiting factor.

I know for a fact that they've sold some to private indiviuals. A few were actually traded in under cash for clunkers.

They made a second, newer version called the FFV, flexible fuel vehicle. It's based off the Ranger platform and I'm fairly sure that those have airbags. I'm not as familiar with those at all aside from what I've learned talking to other postal employees.

Both are scheduled to be replaced in the future. While mail volume (letters, magazines and catalogs) has gone down, package volume is up significantly. The current trucks cannot hold enough parcels to deliver an entire route on a typical day. I'd expect to see a ton of postal trucks for sale once the replacements start entering the fleet. I know that a request for prototypes was sent out a while back but I'm not sure on what was submitted for testing or evaluation. It will be a long process before any new vehicles are actually delivered so don't expect to find LLVs as plentiful as P71s any time soon.

In reply to jimbob_racing:

They just bought 9K ram Promasters to help tide them over the highest package volume areas. Agree that the LLV will be around for a while. They only take them out of service when something is very very wrong.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20150929/RETAIL/150929815/postal-service-to-buy-9113-ram-promaster-vans-for-large-package

I was a USPS VMF mechanic for 7 years.

They are indeed S10 chassis with Astro van rear axles.

Made from 1987-1994. Most had the Iron Duke 2.5, but the last two years had the 2.2 engine.

You can always tell what year a postal truck is by the truck 7 digit number (over the windshield on LLVs). The first digit signifies the year model...eg. 7XXXXXX would be an 87. 0XXXXXX would be a 90. 4XXXXXX would be a 94 model. etc...

They're good solid trucks.

So there you go, just buy an S-10 and a camper top for that drivetrain...

Looks like they are very hard to come by. Still if they were cheap surplus I would love to have one.

They're looking to begin replacing the fleet next year. A lot of people in the comments had some suggestions, ideas, and information jalopnik did an article about the hunt for a replacement last year. Once the new fleet is out, government auctions should sell some off, they have in the past at least.

Link also contains full text and requirements for companies to submit vehicles for consideration

I'm not so sure they'll all be replaced .... I had involvement in the recent past on a replacement engine program for the current vehicles, which ended up being a new from the ground up design. USPS stipulation was that all current infrastructure to support servicing the current engine would need to be usable to service the new engine, ruling out a more logical (to me, anyway) adaptation of a current powertrain into the existing chassis. Based on what I saw, I believe it is gasoline fueled, not a move to a diesel. So, we may see the LLV's on the road for many years to come if this program remains active.

I worked as a carrier for a few years. You couldn't get me back in an LLV now if you tried. I'll never get that exhaust drone out of my head.

They are trying to push the LLV's to Rural routes now. Was just with a guy from USPS HQ yesterday.

My rural carrier just went over to an LLV in the past 6 months.

I would want 2. One lowered, and one lifted 4x4.

My city carrier has a Dodge mini-van.

bastomatic wrote: I worked as a carrier for a few years. You couldn't get me back in an LLV now if you tried. I'll never get that exhaust drone out of my head.

I only hear that done as they deliver and I hate it. Can only imagine driving it.

Brian wrote: My rural carrier just went over to an LLV in the past 6 months. I would want 2. One lowered, and one lifted 4x4.

With airbags, you could have both!

This Retired USPS Delivery Truck With an LS V-8 Swap Was Built to Haul More Than Mail

LuxInterior said:

So..... Is this the beginning of the Challenge Mail Truck class?

Clavinmobile, please.  "Mail Truck" sounds so pedestrian.

Seems like an ideal vehicle to run on batteries. Slow moving short routes. Parked every night.