Fiberglass M416/M100 Military-style Trailer Tub Kit
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
MORryde is a great company to work with, but fiberglass parts isn't something they do.
I am working on a slide-out kitchen design with MORryde right now though, it's intended to be used on small expedition trailers like the M416, Dinoots and others. (MORryde will be doing the manufacturing for this new kitchen, but it's actually for an expedition trailer company who's name I can't reveal just yet but they're well known).
If another company/person is interested in bringing the fiberglass military trailer lid to market I'd be happy to discuss it with them.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
I don't bring anything to market or make anything to sell myself, I just design these things for my own use and enjoyment. If anything I design is going to come to market some company or person would have to take the design or mold from me and manufacture and market it.
I don't think the basic chuck wagon top is a candidate to be a production product because it's so simple - I made it out of plywood and some 1x2 lumber to frame it. I think I've shown everything you might need to know to build it earlier in this thread but happy to answer any questions about it that I didn't cover earlier here.
As for the fiberglass lid, I believe that would have potential as a product for both M100/M416 owners and Dinoot fiberglass M-series kit owners. I've got the mold so more can be made, but as I said I don't sell anything. If there's a company or person who wants to bring the lid to market I'll be happy to explore it with them.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The trailer made a trip to overland East this weekend, borrowed by Overland Outfitters to serve in their booth.
The trailer was just there to carry products for Overland Outfitters, but it was pretty popular itself... if I were in business to sell things, I could have taken orders for about a half dozen of the lids on this trailer in the first two days of the show. It seems were lots of M416/M100 owners at the show and many want lids like this for their trailers. I had to apologize and tell them I don't sell anything.
I have been helping a trailer company with the design of a new type of kitchen for trailers and the company debuted the first preproduction prototype of the new kitchen design Friday at Overland East. The company is Tentrax and the kitchen is called the Trax Kitchen. It's designed to be mounted on the tongue of most trailers (and in other locations too), and includes a fridge, a sink with running water, lots of counter space and an integreated battery and power system. I took these photos in their booth at the show.
In this first photo, the kitchen is deployed, it slides out of the enclosure box mounted on the tongue. The water supply for the sink is the Rotopax mounted on the Tentrax storage box (the storage box is not part of the kitchen). The sink in this photo has an optional cutting board on top of it. The fridge is a "drawer style" fridge from the marine/RV market and is the stainless steel drawer on the end of the pull-out cabinet.
In this next photo, the fridge is open, it's a 30-qt. Dometic. Engel also makes a compatible drawer units which also can serve as a freezer. The cutting board is off the sink, revealing a collapsible sink.
Not shown in these photos, the driver's side of the enclosure contains a cargo slide tray, which slides out of the enclosure for easy access to cargo stored on the tray. On both sides are weatherproof doors, they hinge at the bottom and hang down when opened and close when the kitchen is slid back into the enclosure, making the entire thing weatherproof.
Everything stowed:
The fridge end. Visible are the Dometic drawer fridge, the power monitor (volt and amp displays), 1 extra power outlet, two USB outlets, and the utensil drawer.
A video showing how quickly the kitchen deploys:
The trailer was just there to carry products for Overland Outfitters, but it was pretty popular itself... if I were in business to sell things, I could have taken orders for about a half dozen of the lids on this trailer in the first two days of the show. It seems were lots of M416/M100 owners at the show and many want lids like this for their trailers. I had to apologize and tell them I don't sell anything.
I have been helping a trailer company with the design of a new type of kitchen for trailers and the company debuted the first preproduction prototype of the new kitchen design Friday at Overland East. The company is Tentrax and the kitchen is called the Trax Kitchen. It's designed to be mounted on the tongue of most trailers (and in other locations too), and includes a fridge, a sink with running water, lots of counter space and an integreated battery and power system. I took these photos in their booth at the show.
In this first photo, the kitchen is deployed, it slides out of the enclosure box mounted on the tongue. The water supply for the sink is the Rotopax mounted on the Tentrax storage box (the storage box is not part of the kitchen). The sink in this photo has an optional cutting board on top of it. The fridge is a "drawer style" fridge from the marine/RV market and is the stainless steel drawer on the end of the pull-out cabinet.
In this next photo, the fridge is open, it's a 30-qt. Dometic. Engel also makes a compatible drawer units which also can serve as a freezer. The cutting board is off the sink, revealing a collapsible sink.
Not shown in these photos, the driver's side of the enclosure contains a cargo slide tray, which slides out of the enclosure for easy access to cargo stored on the tray. On both sides are weatherproof doors, they hinge at the bottom and hang down when opened and close when the kitchen is slid back into the enclosure, making the entire thing weatherproof.
Everything stowed:
The fridge end. Visible are the Dometic drawer fridge, the power monitor (volt and amp displays), 1 extra power outlet, two USB outlets, and the utensil drawer.
A video showing how quickly the kitchen deploys:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Yesterday I went over to the Tentrax booth early to talk to them about something; the Tentrax folks would surely be there because they were sleeping in one of their trailers in the booth overnight. When I got there they were up and fixing breakfast on the new Trax Kitchen. I had to ask how they ever managed to make breakfast before they had the kitchen 
.
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
Did about 800 miles round trip with the military trailer the other day picking up some new furniture (actually "new to us" antique furniture); we encountered heavy thunderstorms on the way home and the "covered wagon" top kept the furniture inside dry - this was the first time I pulled the trailer with that top any distance in a heavy rain.
As long as I had the trailer out, after unloading the furniture I tried the MORryde Trail Kichen in it for size; I hadn't tried the kitchen in this trailer yet.
The Trail Kitchen (and even most popular fridges even without slides) are a bit tall to it fit in a small military trailer, so one way to set up a military trailer for camping use with a fridge or kitchen would be to build a "chuck wagon" top for it. Something like this concept image:
I built a proof-of-concept of that design a while back, this was before I designed the Trail Kitchen so there's no kitchen in these photos...
Anyway just posting this FWIW to show some ideas in case anyone is planning to use a military trailer as trail camper with RTT and a kitchen.
As long as I had the trailer out, after unloading the furniture I tried the MORryde Trail Kichen in it for size; I hadn't tried the kitchen in this trailer yet.
The Trail Kitchen (and even most popular fridges even without slides) are a bit tall to it fit in a small military trailer, so one way to set up a military trailer for camping use with a fridge or kitchen would be to build a "chuck wagon" top for it. Something like this concept image:
I built a proof-of-concept of that design a while back, this was before I designed the Trail Kitchen so there's no kitchen in these photos...
Anyway just posting this FWIW to show some ideas in case anyone is planning to use a military trailer as trail camper with RTT and a kitchen.
The basic shell of the chuck wagon is assembled. It bolts together in the corners so it can be disassembled and stored flat.
Jeff, first, thank you for these threads. They are so helpful!
My question is about the chuck box frame. How are the panels joined? Did you use some kind of threaded insert in the panels?
jscherb
Expedition Leader
So I designed a fairly simple DIY-welding-project tailgate to demonstrate how they could get the styling they wanted...
Jeff, had another question come up re the tailgate above. Is it 1/8" angle? And what gauge tubing? 11? 16? Something in between?
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The 1" steel angle is 1/8" thickness; I don't recall exactly but I believe the square tubing was 12-gauge wall (basically 1/8" as well), I've got a lot of that on hand so I think that's what I used.
Over the 58 pages I couldn't find this but someone has had to have asked; what are the panels made from? Solid Fiberglass, glass encapsulated plywood? I would like try and build something like this to put kayaks and paddle boards on with a 2" hitch in the back for a bike rack.