1995 Grumman Long Life Vehicle: Regular Car Reviews

A legal-to-own mail truck!

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New 2nd channel "Regular and Roman"

[davidolson]

As a 29+ year USPS mail carrier, I can say with confidence that if the guy who owns this one actually got it up to 90, he should get the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

[twotailedavenger]

Grumman missed a brilliant opportunity by not calling this the Mailcat.

[LiquidRetro]

For me it's the unique sound of the LLV, I can listen for when the mail is coming, the short bursts of near full throttle for 2-3 seconds before hitting the brakes for the next mailbox.

[navywolf]

"It is exactly 7 feet by 7 feet by 14 feet and meets minimum federal requirements"
This vehicle really is the physical manifestation of government regulations

[Cokecanninja]

I'm a mail carrier so I drive these all the time and love them. There is no better vehicle in existence for carrying mail, and no worse vehicle for driving

[barbararichards]

I started as a carrier in 1993, I drove a jeep for 2 years before they finally gave me an LLV it was a brand new one that only had 12 miles on the odometer. I drove that vehicle for over 20 years and put over 400, 000 miles on it before it finally died. I drove a city route and don't remember ever going over 50 miles an hour in it. I'm retired now and every once in a while I catch myself trying to get into my personnel truck on the passenger side. Anyway, I loved my LLV and our Postmaster even sprang for shelves in the back, not too many offices had those.
I also caught my finger in the door more times than I like to remember. My feet would freezer in the winter because the heater sucked and in the summer the fan on the dash just blew hot air around the cab but I could make a U-turn on a narrow city street. I knew everyone on my route including their children and grandchildren nowadays you get a different carrier everyweek and they don't care about delivering the mail like my generation. The Postal Service will never be what it once was, unfortunately.

[PostalDog]

Thank y'all so much for coming out and reviewing my LLV, I had a blast. I've been smiling all morning since seeing the video's release :D

[mathewhumvee]

Driving this at 90 MPH must feel like your re-entering from orbit.

[gamingwithmurphy]

90 mph in a LLV?!!! You deserve a trophy for sure. Once I got about 45 MPH on the freeway I got a bit nervous. On strong windy days that thing would shift about 2 feet over. Fun part though during the winter they can drift easily. Congrats on securing this vehicle!

[brianwilhelm]

As a former Postal employee and mail carrier, I can tell you that these little vehicles, despite their many faults, served me as loyally as my dog once I learned to speak their language and carriers all over the country can attest that the humble LLV, heater running and waiting for our return patiently, was a welcome site on many a bitter cold morning after walking a loop. No, you weren't supposed to leave your truck running when unattended but those of us who delivered in small towns where you could trust the people on your route did it anyways. My little LLV buddy will remain a pleasant memory for the rest of my days. Unless you lived with one on your daily route, you can never truly understand how utterly wonderful the Grumman LLV is.

[slinginghotlead]

The fact that any citizen can buy military surplus vehicles up to and including a tank but not a surplus mail truck is baffling.

[ian]

Damn this turned from a review of an LLV to an unsettlingly deep essay on nostalgia and the past.

[Matteo_Licata]

"You get horny for the past in a way that eliminates all of its faults." A fine point well made, Mr. Regular. I come for the cars (and mail trucks!), but I stay for the writing. Keep it up!

[DanTheMailman]

I've driven one everyday for 15 years. Mine was built in 1989. The motor pool guys can swap a new long block from Jasper into them in about 1.5 hours. It's like driving a storage unit. The frames are rusting apart now but the usps found a source for fully boxed chevy s10 reproductions.

[stevencimini]

As a 29 year postal employee I drove one of these every day. I had also driven its predecessor the Jeep CJ. The LLV was a much more practical vehicle that carried a much larger volume of mail than the CJ. My LLV also had two shelves in the rear which made it very convenient for staging parcels. Out of all the postal vehicles I had driven (Jeep, LLV, CRV) the LLV was my favorite.

[christopherscott]

Another fun fact about Grumman: If you're at all outdoorsy you've probably encountered aluminum canoes that carry the Grumman logo. Seems after WW2 ended, Grumman, being one of the largest makers of warplanes, suddenly found themselves with a crapload of aluminum and no more airplane orders. Some enterprising Grumman engineer proceeded to invent the aluminum canoe which became a staple of American campgrounds for decades after.

[eagletalon]

Droves these for 3 years when I worked for the postal service. These things are genuinely terrible but they did have their own charm.

[davidrichardson]

I went to a taco truck last night and there was a small emblem on the side that said Grumman Olson. It was funny because I immediately thought of this video. The taco truck looked like one of those bare bones basic 80s/90s box trucks/step vans. It looked like a llv that got blown up with air. I really like the simple, bare bones, practical utility of vehicles like this.

[someguyontheinternet]

I'm getting dressed to go to work. A mailman truly on the brink of going postal. Alas, a beacon of dopamine blinks from my bedside table. A new video from RCR! Maybe today will be okay after all.

Then the ultimate betrayal. Lure me with hope and crush it with another LLV. IT NEVER ENDS!

[man_on_wheelz]

This is to many of us today, "THE" mail truck. Anything else with a USPS logo on it is purpose built (Semi's and bigger box trucks meant for distribution center transports for example) otherwise, THIS is THE mail truck. Amazing how absolutely governmentally utilitarian this thing is.