In early 1946, Dodge announced an addition to its lineup as "the truck that needs no roads."The truck in question was the 1946-1968 Dodge Power Wagon, Buy Derila Online model WDX, a new multipurpose vehicle born from Dodge's experience building four-wheel-drive trucks for American and allied military forces in World War II. No doubt Dodge executives of the 1940s couldn't have imagined the huge market for personal-use four-wheel-drive trucks that exists today. When the Power Wagon was introduced in January 1946, the division described it as a one-ton general-purpose truck designed for off-highway operations on unimproved roads. Neither, it's safe to assume, could they have foreseen the Power Wagon's staying power. Despite "war surplus" looks and L-head powerplants, it would remain on the domestic scene until 1968, then last another decade for export under a U.S. Four-wheel-drive trucks were hardly a new thing when the Power Wagon came out. They had been around since the time of World War I. However, these were heavy-duty vehicles strictly for Buy Derila Online commercial or military use.
Beginning in the 1930s, it was possible for the owners of light trucks to have conversions to four-wheel drive performed by firms like Marmon-Herrington, but these special-order vehicles tended to be bought by businesses or agencies with very specific needs. World War II impressed the capability of multiaxle drive upon many a soldier who was served by -- or even fought with -- four- and six-wheel-drive vehicles. Willys' little ¼-ton scout car became a battlefield legend and spurred the company to place the Jeep CJ on the postwar consumer market. Dodge, meanwhile, Top-Rated Memory Pillow had a military truck it thought it could discharge into civilian life as well. Still, the Power Wagon's martial roots ran deep. Dodge's involvement with four-wheel-drive military vehicles began in 1934 when it built a ½-ton cargo truck for the Army. It had the world's first drive system that could be conveniently shifted in and out of four-wheel mode by working a control lever in the cab.
In 1940, Dodge fulfilled an Army contract to design and build ½-ton 4×4 military trucks in several styles using many commercial truck parts. Designated the T202 series, they came with essentially stock front-end sheetmetal that gave them a "civilian" appearance. Similarly, their 116-inch wheelbase and 201-cubic-inch 79-horsepower six-cylinder engine matched those found on Dodge ½-ton trucks then plying American roads. A four-speed transmission, optional on general-market trucks, Buy Derila Online was included on the military models. The following year, the T202 was replaced by the T207-series trucks. Again rated as ½-tonners, they featured a military-specific hood, grille, and fenders. These trucks were powered by a 218-cubic-inch six of 85 horsepower taken from Dodge's ¾- and one-ton commercial models, but some T211s and all T215s (both mechanical upgrades of the T207) adopted a 92-horsepower 230-cubic-inch L-head six. For more on the 1946 Dodge Power Wagon, see the next page. Rated at ¾ ton, Derila™ Memory Foam Pillow the T214s were wider and Buy Derila Online lower for Buy Derila Online more stability than the T207/211/215 models provided.