…in the beginning was my homepage mainly an album on my WW2 Dodge Weapon Carrier WC52 that I bought in June 2012 in France and then on the Dodge WC51 I bought in spring 2013 in Munich as my second Dodge WW2 3/4 ton 4×4 truck.

This private homepage is dedicated to all the Americans that bought war bonds to collect money for the military vehicle production, to the men and women at the production line in Detroit in WW2 that built those outstanding military vehicles with pride, to all soldiers in the field that used them to free Europe from dictatorship.

–And especially dedicated to all vintage Dodge Truck owners, sharing the same hobby with me: to preserve those outstanding WW2 vehicles and their heritage for generations to come.

*** LATEST UPDATE:29.08.2026. ***

Reasons to buy a WW2 Dodge Truck:

After more than 20 years with Land Rovers Series 4x4s (mainly ex. MOD 109 models from Series II to III FFR) I have been about 6 years without a real 4×4 (modern SUVs don’t count!). So the idea came up to buy a Dodge WC Series Truck from WW2 because of its very similar technical design and its much higher historical value.

At that time the pricetag of a Dodge in turn key condition was about the price of a similar Series Land Rover – so I had to sell my beloved Mazda MX-5 NA Roadster to make this plan possible. But every thing „has it’s time“ and after 9 years and the loss of my old garage it had to go…

So I’ve been looking at first for a Dodge Ambulance (Link: Ulis WC54) since late summer 2011 in central Europe – but found no vehicle in a sound condition at a reasonable price. So the WC51/52 type was the second best option and I drove in spring 2012 twice to the Netherlands and once to Belgium to see several WC52’s for sale.
 

My Dodge WC52

After more than 2,000 km on the road I found my WC52 on a French online market site. It has been rebuilt from about 2004 to 2006 by a French Willys Jeep owner and his son as a budget project, but the latest French owner did not do anything since the last 5 years of ownership. So I fixed most of this „70% done project“ and brought it back on the road. Some photos of my former Dodge WC52 (now sold to a collector in Russia) at several events & locations can be found here (notice: click on „next image“ on top of the photos to open each next photo in the gallery):
Link: My WC52 photos.
Photos on the rebuilt of my Dodge WC52 can be found here:
My Dodge WC52 rebuild photos.

Dodge WC51

In early 2013 I bought my second WW2 Dodge WC 3/4 ton light truck (Link: Wiki Dodge facts) in Munich – this time a WC51 built on the 7th of Dec. 1942 – in olive drab. The WC51 had been rebuilt frame off in 2009/2010 by the Austrian Military Vehicle specialist CAMO, but needed because of the previous owner some TLC and repairs.
All details on the rebuilt can be found here (notice: click on „next image“ to open the next picture in the gallery):
My WC51 rebuilt photos.
In late 2024 my Dodge had a fatal engine breakdown, after having been on the road  across Europe at plenty Military Events and Commemorations with WW2 Veterans. In addition I lost my garage under very bitter circumstances so the decision was made, to sell the truck because of the lack of a Plan B and budgets… A bittersweet moment: I was driving this truck more than 11 years and 15.000 kilometers – a strong bond with so many touching moments and friendships. To let this great truck go after all those years was a somehow hertbreaking thing.
In the end my Dodge was sold to a MV dealer in the Netherlands and I think the truck is now on the road under dutch ownership somewhere in the Netherlands. And yes: someone stated „we never own things – we are allowed to preserve them for a while…“ So true. And yes. I miss that great workhorse and all the great moments I had with this Dodge. Except of the logistics – simply a nightmare, because a Dodge is by weight and size no Jeep, but a real truck, making thing’s complicated and expensive if you have to bring it 1,000 kilometers to Normandy. I did that 3 times and if you are not Bill Gates it’s bringing you to the limits. Anyhow. Great times I will neber forget.
KEEP THEM ROLLING!

A compilation of some of my WC51 pictures can be found here (notice: click on „next image“ to open the next picture in the gallery):
My WC51 photos.

Above: My WC51 at the Berlin Airlift 70 anniversary 2019 at Wiesbaden Army Airfield.
Below: At Utah Beach 2014. Source: Archive Joakim Steinweden.

Dodge WC51 fact sheet

The technical facts on my Dodge WC51 at a glance can be found here:
technical data fact sheet (German only).
More background informations on the Dodge Weapon Carrier Trucks can be found at wikipedia:
Link: Wiki Dodge Weapon Carrier facts.

My previous 4×4 vehicles at a glance

If you are interested in my „virtual Garage“ with pictures of my previous vehicles have a look here:
Link: „My virtual Garage“.

My Historic Military Vehicle Clubs Mememberships

Joint Events, convoy driving and much more is part of the hobby, beside of preserving HMV for generations to come. Actually I’m a member of the following Clubs and Associations:
 
Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA), USA: largest MV owners Club in the States, founded in 1976, with more than 8,500 members nationwide and abroad.
Link: Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA)
 
Military Vehicle Collectors of California (MVCC), USA: one of the most active HMV owners Clubs in the States and MVPA partner Association.
Link: Military Vehicle Collectors of California (MVCC)
 
WW2Dodge.Com Forum, International: largest virtual plattform worldwide for owners of WW2 Dodge trucks. About 980 registred members around the world (incl. about 150 „heavy users“).
Link: WW2Dodge.Com Forum

…And after all: Keeping the WW2 history and heritage alive might help to give generations to come the opportunity to learn from history. – And to avoid the bloody mistakes in the past.

– Thank’s to all Military Vehicle owners and friends for their support, advise and help to „keep my Dodge truck’s rolling“.
– For the great Events and moments we could share in peace across Europe together with the Vetrans of World War 2.
-For the friendship with so many outstanding persons as COL. Gail S. Halvorsen (dec.), Mrs. Helen Patton, LTG (ret.) Ben Hodges and all others that are simply too many to be listed up here.
– Special thank’s to Kevin Engels from Mission-Webstyle for his „helping hand“ during the re-launch of my WW2 Dodge truck homepage.

And – of cause – thank you for visiting my WW2 Dodge trucks homepage!

Keep them Rolling and lest we forget,

Joakim

Latest update: 29.08.2026