Poll #2

[OLD DODGE]

Here is our answer

A: This argument is a non-sequitur. You might as well ask, "How is it that snakes do not have legs, but dogs and cats do?" Snakes are not dogs or cats. The Earth is not a star or the moon. It does not follow that each must have exactly the properties of the others, and no more.

Therefor...

You can't compare Power-Wagons to Jeeps because a PW is not a Jeep. It does not follow that each must have exactly the properties of the others, and no more.

It should all make sense now.

[gmharris]

We need another poll (or, maybe we don't). The question should more correctly be whether "FFPW" or Flat Fender Power Wagon is the appropriate term to refer to a WDX-WM300.

Flat fender can refer to Jeeps and other flat fendered vehicles. Power Wagon can refer to several Dodge trucks. But, Flat Fender Power Wagon can only be correctly used to identify the WDX-WM300 Dodge four wheel drive trucks. As such, the term is eminently useful and correct.

[Longhunter7]

Military Flat

When I try to check my oil or otherwise work on the engine in my M37-B1, there is this big flat curved thing in the way!

The part that is mostly in my way sure is flat. I sure wish it wasn't curved and flat, my tools keep sliding off the dang curved part!

I do consider all the military Power Wagons as "flat fenders"!

[Frank Irons]

When I try to check my oil or otherwise work on the engine in my M37-B1, there is this big flat curved thing in the way!

The part that is mostly in my way sure is flat. I sure wish it wasn't curved and flat, my tools keep sliding off the dang curved part!

I do consider all the military Power Wagons as "flat fenders"!

That's an M37 not a Power Wagon!

Frank

[Longhunter7]

Military Power Wagon!

Do the research! The Dodge M37 is a Power Wagon!

It is different from the civilian trucks by having a one piece hood and a shorter bed.

[Frank Irons]

Where are the hood badges? The M37 has never been called a Power Wagon.
I own both and do not consider the military truck a Power Wagon. Also it is not a flat fender. It is a G741 military vehicle that is related to the Dodge Power Wagon.

Frank

[Longhunter7]

M37

Here you go!

http://www.powerwagonadvertiser.com/...1&d=1299894700

[Frank Irons]

Similar, but not a Power Wagon! Power Wagons are badged as such. Clint, help me out here.

Frank

[Kevin Mienke]

This is exactly the kind of thing that gets started innocently enough and snowballs to the point where nobody knows what their truck really is. WC’s are not Power Wagons. M37’s are not Power Wagons. As Frank said, they are all closely related and that’s it. Dodge never called the military trucks Power Wagons. The information you posted doesn't actually say that the M37 is a Power Wagon, so it is all good.

Unfortunately, misinformation runs rampant on the internet. People now days are calling them all Power Wagons and tacking the slang term flatfender on the WDX-WM300. It’s not your fault Rick. It’s the people that circulate this stuff.

Worse yet, if we can’t fix it on the Power Wagon Advertiser forums, we won’t be able to fix it anywhere. It’s out of control and it’s going to take a lot of backtracking to bury these issues.

We could have started with this poll, but that’s not looking too good.

[Clint Dixon]

Wikipedia - a classic example

This is exactly the kind of thing that gets started innocently enough and snowballs to the point where nobody knows what their truck really is. WC’s are not Power Wagons. M37’s are not Power Wagons. As Frank said, they are all closely related and that’s it. Dodge never called the military trucks Power Wagons. The information you posted doesn't actually say that the M37 is a Power Wagon, so it is all good.

Unfortunately, misinformation runs rampant on the internet. People now days are calling them all Power Wagons and tacking the slang term flatfender on the WDX-WM300. It’s not your fault Rick. It’s the people that circulate this stuff.

Worse yet, if we can’t fix it on the Power Wagon Advertiser forums, we won’t be able to fix it anywhere. It’s out of control and it’s going to take a lot of backtracking to bury these issues.

We could have started with this poll, but that’s not looking too good.

I never trust the information from Wikipedia and this is a classic example of the reasons why.

I don't claim to know a whole lot about M37s or their variants, but in my continued search for information on the T137 Power-wagon, there is always some M37 information filtering in along the way. Just in that first paragraph about the M37 on the Wikipedia site, I see at least six instances of, lets just say, less than accurate information.

The one example of inaccuracy from that paragraph (shared from Wikipedia by Rick above) that best fits in context to what we are discussing here is found in the last sentence. It reads: "Outside of the fenders, there were sheet metal differences between all of the vehicles." Based upon the structure of the sentence and its placement at the end of the paragraph, it implies that the author is referring to all of the vehicles mentioned earlier in the paragraph.

It is correct, to some extent, in that all of the vehicles mentioned definitely wore sheet metal unique to their model that set them apart from others and helps us define them today. Where it falls apart and looses all credibility is in the first four words: "Outside of the fenders..."

The fenders are but one example of components that ARE NOT shared between the vehicles discussed in the paragraph. Fenders of the M37 and its variant models are unique and will not bolt directly up to any of the other vehicles mentioned. Neither will fenders from any other of the vehicles bolt directly to the M37. It takes an educated eye to see these details.

I believe Gordon will agree that when he and I first found ourselves interested in the trucks we revere here, there was bewildering array of vehicles that all appeared to have a military heritage. They looked somewhat the same, yet different. We did not have a lot of available good information out there to learn from. Consequently, we did not have a lot of bad information to weed through either. Those who tried to help us, and gave us bad information in the process, did so unintentionally.

Take a minute and look at the number of revisions that wiki link has progressed through over the years. I imagine that some of these authors are considered experts on the truck. I have no doubt that the original author had every intention of sharing only correct information. I would not be surprised if some overlooked bad information got corrected or removed by others over time, but I am convinced that some incorrect information was added along the way and probably some correct information removed. Any reader has the ability to manipulate the information on the site whether they know what they are talking about or not. This unaccountability is common throughout internet websites and published books are not immune to misinformation either.

Today, we have the advantage of good, correct, historically accurate, information gleaned from a hobby that has accumulated knowledge through nearly 40 years of existence. If we fail to be diligent in our quest to dispel the half-thruths and misconceptions then we are just acting lazy. The new people coming into this hobby look to us for answers. Remember, to them there may appear to be a dizzying array of trucks out there, some loosely related to one another, and a few whose fenders clearly will not interchange.

[Clint Dixon]

Yeah, what Frank said.

Similar, but not a Power Wagon! Power Wagons are badged as such. Clint, help me out here.

Frank

And real Power-Wagons are GREEN.

I tried, Frank. Did it help?

[MoparFreak69]

And real Power-Wagons are GREEN.

Mine isnt Green, nor will it ever be as long as I own it. It did however come from the factory wearing badges on both sides of the hood that states 'POWER WAGON' and is, therefore, a 'real' Power Wagon.

But like others have mentioned, I am big into Jeeps and whenever I hear the term 'Flat Fender' the first, and only, thing that comes to mind is the MB and the GP series of Jeep vehicles. Those fenders are truly flat, in all aspects. They are not a curved flat fender, they are a flat flat fender.

Maybe we could call the 'FFPW' the CFFPW or Curved Flat Fender Power Wagon!

[Chewie]

Just call it a WDX and be done with it.

39-47 one tons were WD's and the X meant special equipment. So what's wrong with calling it a WDX? Sure sets them apart from the Power Giants, the Sweptlines, the M37s, the Lifestyle trucks... and yes, the Jeeps, too.

[BrightRanch]

Wow!!! Celestial mechanics, The flat earth theory, to dusty nomenclature from books dating to WWII.
You guys keep this up and I am going to start coming to the Rally's.
This is more fun than going to the coffee shop and asking a bunch of old cowboys which is better a Angus or a Hereford?

[Bob2]

Wm300

Quote
"39-47 one tons were WD's and the X meant special equipment. So what's wrong with calling it a WDX? Sure sets them apart from the Power Giants, the Sweptlines, the M37s, the Lifestyle trucks... and yes, the Jeeps, too".

What about the 48-71 power wagons are they considered WDX-WM300 Power Wagons or just WM300?

It's all so confusing it makes my head hurt, I need to go work on my WM300.