The M-880 is a Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (CUCV pronounced "cuck-vee"), a military modified Dodge pick-up truck, procured in the mid-1970s to replace the Kaiser M715 5/4 truck and any remaining M-37 Dodge trucks in military inventory. The CUCVs were an attempt by the U.S. military to use COTS (commercial, off-the-shelf) vehicles with minor modifications in non-combat roles. After the M880 series, the U.S. military procured the M1008 - M1009 - M1010 Chevrolet CUCVs as a second try of the COTS concept. This effort to save money was not very successful and eventually all CUCV units where replaced by HMMWVs.
4th Platoon, 295th Military Police Co. with Truck, Cargo, 1 1/4 ton, 4x4 M-880, Seneca Army Depot, Romulus, NY, 9 May 1984.
The M880 cargo truck (pick-up body) (NSN 2320-00-579-8942) is the base model of the M880 Dodge Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicles (CUCV) series of trucks. The linked page provides more information on the general characteristics of the Dodge CUCV trucks and a directory of links to Olive-Drab.com pages for other models of the series.
Tabulated data for the Truck, Cargo, 1 1/4 ton, 4x4 M-880 CUCV:
Engine
318 cid gasoline V8, 150 bhp @ 4000 rpm, 230 ft-lbs torque @ 2400 rpm with 2 bbl Carter or Holley carb
Transmission
Chrysler Torqueflite 727 Automatic, 3 fwd, 1 rev
Transfer Case
New Process NP203, 2 speed, full-time 4x4, chain drive
M-882 Truck, Cargo, 1 1/4 ton, 4x4 w/60-Amp and Communications Kit. Photo: Courtesy of Brian Redick. Thanks to Bart Schiks for correcting error in weight class.
Dodge M-880 Truck, Cargo, 1 1/4 ton, 4x4 crossing stream at Venado Beach, Army Tropic Test Center, Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, August 1984.
