Joe has a keen eye for Jeep trucks and is always on the look out for his next big find. Being a fan of JeepTruck.com for sometime now he admits spending allot of time on our site which we are greatful for. As luck would have it Joe was able to purchase this gem which adorns these pages. Follows is his story:

Story by: Joe Angelino, Norwich, NY
Edited by: Mark Smith, JeepTruck.com

The truck was purchased new by the Maybrook, NY Fire Department and put into service as a wild-land forest fire truck [brush truck]. It remained in service with them until approximately 2009-2010. I did NOT get the "great deal" buying the truck as surplus from the F.D. I bought it from the guy who got the great deal. The truck had about 19,000 miles on it when it left the F.D.
The truck is almost completely stock with the exception of the fog lights on the bumper and a Eldelbrock 4bbl carburetor. The truck has NO rust and was undercoated when new. It also spent 28 years inside a heated F.D., rarely driven, but washed and maintained weekly.

The truck was ordered as a heavy 3/4 ton, which was then the equivalent of a 'camper special'. Instead of 16 inch wheels, this truck has 16.5 inch wheels. It wasn't easy finding new 16.5 tires, but I found five in a warehouse in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

This truck is my 4th J-truck. I currently also own a 1963 J-truck with a Willys data plate and a very low VIN number. In the past I have owned a 1973 J4000 and 1979 J20. I also had a 1979 Cherokee Chief with a 401ci.
I'm 54 years old now, and since I was 18, I have owned continuously some sort of vehicle with a Jeep name, mostly a slew of CJ's. My wife currently drives a 2012 Grand Cherokee.

Specs:
Owner: Joseph Angelino
1982 Jeep J20
360ci V8
Auto trans with Quadra-Trac Full time 4X4
Radio delete
8400lb GVWR
VIN 1JTNA27Y5CTxxxxxx
Factory ordered Warn 8724 winch and bumper w/Jeep data plate in place of Warn data plate.

Right now the truck has 21,7xx miles on the odometer. The truck carried a 150 gallon water tank [1 gal water = 7lbs] so it carried 1050 lbs of water. It also had mounted in the bed a gasoline powered pump and 100ft of hose. With no weight in the back this truck rides like a buckboard - very rough.
photo courtesy of Maybrook FD
Photo by Michael Prohira
Thanks Joe for sharing your story with our readers and for preserving these great looking Jeep trucks for all of us to enjoy.