Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
Junkman ◊ 2006-02-11 20:36	U.S. Army M274 Mechanical Mule. Several Varieties of Mules were made by Willys, Bowen-McLaughlin-York, Baifield Industries & Brunswick Corp.
antp ◊ 2006-02-11 20:41	I really did not think that it could be identified
antp ◊ 2006-02-11 22:39
ArnaultL ◊ 2006-02-12 19:05	Look at the "Bic" truck. I never heard about Bic export on USA Now, I'm know, bic as been exported on USA -- Last edit: 2006-02-12 19:05:36
antp ◊ 2006-02-12 19:30	It is also with this movie that I discovered that
dwd4x4 ◊ 2006-03-01 03:34	I thought that gun thingy was some kind of AM-General or Hummer army car/gun
dwd4x4 ◊ 2006-03-01 03:35	Ya, cause its gotta be ancient to by made by Willy
dwd4x4 ◊ 2006-03-02 22:36	Man, those things must of sucked in war. Man, I mean there is like no sheild and no protection. Just like those awsome Jeeps used in the army before HUMMER. HUMMERs at leats had decent coverage. Although in my opinion HUMMER sucks big rocks.
dwd4x4 ◊ 2006-03-02 22:37	I wonder what that yellow rig is...
dwd4x4 ◊ 2006-03-22 03:05	International maybe? (I am refering to the yellow cabover)
Junkman ◊ 2006-03-22 03:27	The yellow cabover is a GMC Astro 95. The Mechanical Mule was more useful than you think it was. First of all, you could drop it from a Helicopter or airplane on a parachute to assist infantry landings. Second, you could swivel the steering column to a position that enabled you to walk beside the Mule, which was creeping on in low gear, thus carry considerable loads through the heaviest of terrains on your own. As I said, we used one to bring supplies to our ski cabin for the Winter. Without the Mule, we would have been forced to carry all the stuff (read: beer kegs) up the mountain on our backs. The Mule made it quite easy actually and no other vehicle was able to go there. I learned that the Mules were of invaluable help in the Vietnam jungles and swamps.
dwd4x4 ◊ 2006-03-22 05:07	Well, you learn something new every day!
truckface ◊ 2006-03-22 13:55	It must be some kind of practice vehicle. I mean, who places a M60 that has live rounds on a bar and on a Willis M274
Junkman ◊ 2006-03-22 14:12	truckface wrote It must be some kind of practice vehicle. I mean, who places a M60 that has live rounds on a bar and on a Willis M274 They did see action in Korea and Vietnam, even with missile launchers mounted onto them. They were combat, not practice vehicles. Here are some examples that illustrate the versatility of the thing: Link to "www.mechanicalmulesofamerica.com" http://www.transchool.eustis.army.mil/museum/MECHANICALMULE.htm -- Last edit: 2006-03-22 14:19:41
truckface ◊ 2006-05-17 11:57	I like this one, but it seems to be missing the driver-seat.
Mr. Metalhead ◊ 2006-06-13 01:35	It kills Hendershot, three truckers, the bitchy waitress Wanda June, and the vehicle itself gets blown up by Bill. -- Last edit: 2006-06-13 06:58:28
2491tj ◊ 2006-06-13 03:37	weapon is a 7.62mm M60 General Purpose Machine Gun..i know someone who has one of these Mechanical Mules..he uses it to collect cockles off the local beach!!!it still has its US Marine Corps livery,data plates and serial number,missing its seat tho.
cieraguy ◊ 2006-09-10 08:05	I always wondered what they called the overgrown Radio Flyer was called.
4x4peru ◊ 2007-01-08 04:38	The Mule is rated at 1/2 ton off road capacity, it can haul more than twice its own weight!!! Twice the load of a jeep. That is like a Dodge Power Wagon carrying 7-8 tons! It is small enough to fit into a pickup bed. No suspension therefore quite rough riding. The steering wheel brace unlocks allowing the steering column to fold forward. The foot pedals can then be used as hand controls allowing the user to walk behind (or be pulled along the ground) when reverse gear is selected. The unit now is a motorized self propelled "Radio Flyer" carrying 1000 lbs of front line material with only one soldier crouched near the ground. A generation earlier 1000 pounds of ammo to the front line would require many more troops to be exposed. Rather genius when you look at it. Low profile, high carrying capacity, single unit operation, and speed (15 mph)were the goals. Later models were 4 wheel steer for remarkable agility. They are great fun to drive...sort of 30 years ahead of the ATV craze.
Q-Ball ◊ 2007-03-13 14:02	I saw the scene where the MULE shoots up the Dixie Boy, then communicates in morse code with its horn. Why would an Army vehicle built for silent operations have a noisy horn, and how would a jeep learn morse code?
pacerace ◊ 2009-06-19 22:59	it learned morse code becuase it was in the military i guess, being an army vehicle thats just something they thought would make it cool or something, lol, and the horn is a good question.
truckface ◊ 2009-06-21 13:55	People, look at the wheel-base and the platform on the main picture. It strikes me as very fake. Makes me wonder if this M274 was made for the movie. I guess it is radio controlled, hence the weird wheel base. -- Last edit: 2009-06-21 14:47:17
eXAKR ◊ 2015-01-28 15:57	truckface wrote People, look at the wheel-base and the platform on the main picture. It strikes me as very fake. Makes me wonder if this M274 was made for the movie. I guess it is radio controlled, hence the weird wheel base. I'm inclined to agree. They probably hid to automation stuff underneath the platform and disguised the antenna into the gun mount. If it's radio-controlled it probably had controls to control the horn and the swivel/firing of the gun as well.
truckface ◊ 2018-11-07 19:22	eXAKR wrote I'm inclined to agree. They probably hid to automation stuff underneath the platform and disguised the antenna into the gun mount. If it's radio-controlled it probably had controls to control the horn and the swivel/firing of the gun as well. Confirmed on the latest BD-release: The undercarriage actually contains the real, human driver, all tucked away and operating the mechanisms from within. -- Last edit: 2018-11-07 19:22:46
RAS1 ◊ 2020-08-05 20:40	Huge News!!! The "Leader" has been found!!! Just in case you were wondering, it survived being blown up by Emilio Estevez! I found the original M274 Mule "Leader" actually used in Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive. After careful restoration, it is now on display at Rockford Army Surplus in Rockford, IL. The mule was taken apart and scrapped after being blown up, and the bed survived, being transferred to different Mule parts dealers, until I discovered it in June, 2020, in a stack of about 15 mule beds. You can see the movie modifications done to the mule, and if you so desire can see it in person at Rockford Army Surplus. The Comet must have passed, as the "Leader" is no longer under alien control, and remains quietly attached to the wall. But who knows. I am being very careful not to upset him. See the Youtube video: https://youtu.be/evdM27LgaIM Some interesting details on the "Leader". If you watch in the beginning of the movie, the machine gun mount is bolted directly to the bed, and is vibrating all over when the mule drives. It must have broken off, as they welded it to a huge steel plate, visible at the end of the movie. (still on the leader). Under the gun mount, below the bed is a electric servo motor that spun the M60 machine gun around. You can also see the hole where the foot basket was torn off to be positioned about 12" lower, so they could fit a driver between the bed and the undercarriage. Also, in the beginning of the movie, the mule does not have a horn button installed, you can see the normal steering wheel nut, and then it appears on the mule later in the movie when it starts using Morse code to communicate to the humans at the Dixie Boy Truck Stop. (M274 Mules never had any type of horn in the military service) Dave -- Last edit: 2020-08-05 20:50:09
Bray7 ◊ 2022-07-27 04:32	I think I got some more information about the Mule, mostly about it's whereabouts before filming began. Apparently the mule came from the North Carolina National Guard station in Raleigh, the station had about 10 of these that were retired and were being sold as surplus. (I think at least, I haven't found the reason why they were there to begin with.) Some records on the Mules seemingly have survived, and of the 10 that were on site: 3 were from 1959, 1 from 1960, 2 from 1962, and at least 1 from 1969. (I couldn't find any info on the other 3.) Some accounts say the Mules were in rather poor condition, some not being operable. Somehow the movie crew ended up getting one of these, and had it shipped about 2 hours from Raleigh to Wilmington. You can read about it's story after filming from Dave's comment.
Bray7 ◊ 2022-07-27 04:34	My best guess is that the Mule is one of the 1959's. The ones from the 1960's had curved handrails, which the Mule doesn't have. Plus the movie crew probably would've bought the older ones as they would've been cheaper and less costly to modify. If any military equipment specialists can correct/confirm this then the Mule is probably a 1959 Willys M274.

Advertising

Last completed movie pages

Willys M274 Mechanical Mule

Willys M274 in Maximum Overdrive, Movie, 1986

Comments about this vehicle

Add a comment

Advertising

Watch or buy this title via JustWatch

Advertising