HILL AIR FORCE BASE — More surplus military vehicles, previously unavailable to civilians, will be up for bid during an online public auction set for Wednesday.
On Jan. 7, a company called GovPlanet — an Internet-based marketplace for buying and selling used government assets — will auction off hundreds of surplus military vehicles including five-ton cargo trucks, tow and recovery trucks, tractors, rough terrain forklifts, scrapers, excavators and trailers.
Several of the auction items are being stored at Hill Air Force Base. A full list can be found at
govplanet.com. {edit: link fixed}
Items already listed for sale at Hill include several cargo trailers, cargo trucks, tractor trucks and wreckers. Currently, the most expensive item for bid other than the Humvees is an AM General Wrecker, which starts at $7,000. Winning bidders are responsible for picking up the vehicles.
In mid-December, GovPlanet held an online auction that allowed customers to view and bid on 25 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, more commonly known as Humvees. The Humvees, built between 1987 and the mid-1990s, were all stored at Hill. Opening bids on the Humvees started at $10,000, but nobody paid that price. The vehicles, which are only legal for off-road purposes, sold for between $21,500 and $41,000.
Approximately 4,000 of the troop transporting vehicles and thousands of other old military machines will be sold to the public as part of a Defense Logistics Agency plan to turn retired military vehicles into assets, rather than just scrap them, as has been the past procedure.
GovPlanet’s parent company, IronPlanet, was awarded a DLA contract to manage and sell Department of Defense surplus assets in July. The contract has a base term of two years, with four one-year renewal options. The company estimates it will get its hands on $50 million to $70 million worth of military surplus each year. The contract requires the company give 75.29 percent of sales revenue to the DLA.
Hill inventory in the Jan. 7 auction doesn’t include Humvees this time, but IronPlanet Senior Vice President Randy Berry said additional auctions, where customers can bid on Humvees and a host of other military vehicles and equipment, will be held throughout 2015.