HIMARS: PM Help

Photo by Cpl. Stephen Wright

Dear Editor,

We’ve come up with several tips to help HIMARS stay on the road and on target:

Make sure the seat belt is completely inside the cab before closing the door. Otherwise, the door can damage it.

Make sure seat belt is inside before closing door

Drain the air and hydraulic tanks after operations, but do it slowly. Moisture builds up in the tanks and leads to corrosion if not drained. Open the valves slow and easy. If you twist them open quickly, they spew hydraulic fluid everywhere. That’ll ruin your day.

Drain tanks slowly to avoid shower

At shutdown, double-check that all three radio switches and the battery switch are turned off. If you forget, the radio drains the batteries while your HIMARS sits. You have to recharge the vehicle batteries before the next mission. Batteries can be recharged only so many times before they have to be replaced, and they aren’t cheap. Plus, if the radio is left on, voltage spikes can damage it next time you power up.

Check the battery terminals for tightness during PMCS. Vibration can loosen the terminals. If they get loose enough, they can be damaged. Just feel them for looseness. Report loose terminals to your maintenance.

Battery terminals tight? They should be

Use the correct lube on the ball screw actuators. They should be lubed monthly with dry lubricant MS-122AD, NSN 9150-01-528-5824.

Don’t use the HIMARS to raise an armored cab. It’s too heavy. Either take the APPLIQUE armor off first or ask maintenance support to use a wrecker to help lift the cab.