Bantam T3-C Hybrid Build

[drunkenmonke]

Hi everyone. I originally had a beautiful M-416 trailer that I spent alot of time on and then sold. I missed it so much that I searched almost daily to find another military type trailer. Here are 2 pics of my original:.

I eventually found a Bantam trailer that was probably built in the 1940's but was in pretty bad shape. The pics show how it looked when i brought it home and they do not show how bad it truly was. .

The frame, bottom sides of the tub, and floor were rotted beyond repair. The original owner welded a floor on top of the original. I probably shouldn't have bought this but on the way there to buy it a rock kicked up and gave me a spider crack in my windshield on my brand new 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, it started pouring as i got closer to the address, and my neighbor taught his grandson that I was working on "junk" when I got it home and began the project. I put it up for sale on this forum but had many views and could not get it sold. Because of of all of the negativity it almost became personal for me to prove everyone wrong and make this into a gem!

 

[drunkenmonke]

So I began...

 

[drunkenmonke]

I dismantled it as much as i could.

 

[drunkenmonke]

The sanding/wire-wheeling begins..

 

[drunkenmonke]

I bought new u-bolts and did a spring over lift when I put it together. The only real bad part of the frame was the rear most support. That is why in the pictures i haven't done anything with it yet.

 

[drunkenmonke]

 

[drunkenmonke]

The original hitch on it was 1 7/8. I wanted a pintle and I also wanted to be able to remove it for safety or switch it with anything that fit inside the receiver. This seemed to be the best way and it made it longer than the original setup. I welded it even though I feel that the two original bolts alone would suffice.

 

[drunkenmonke]

I realized that the metal on the front was in bad shape so I modified it again. The landing leg was in great shape but the v-bracket was broken on the bottom so i could not lock the landing leg in the up position.

 

[drunkenmonke]

After many days of work I got the entire frame and drivetrain to where I was happy with it. Having to redo the hitch part because of rotted metal made it a little shorter but still longer than original. I also cut off the rear most support for now.

 

[drunkenmonke]

I cut about an iinch aroung the entire tub to remove the rot. While I would love to be a purist and restore this trailer to it original specs, I decided to make it bolt on like an M-416. I only cleaned up the area that will be mounted to the frame for now.

 

[Mark Harley]

I like everything except the space between the 2" tube and the V mount on the tongue.
I just see side to side movement there when backing up or off camber. I would have but welded the tube to the nose.

Aside from that it looks good. A rear bumper with hitch and recessed tail lights would work great.
Are you going with the original fenders too?

 

[Arlo]

Well done!

Just one question:

why do you want to restore the upper part?

It's your free inspiration to create the distance between the frame and whatever you will put on top of it!

Form follows function!

Fenders have to be insides the body!

:wings:

 

[drunkenmonke]

Mark,
I didnt like the original setup was about as long as it is now with just a bolt inbetween. Instead I used the 2 bolts on V bracket whic I feel was just as strong as the original setup.

 

[jscusmcvet]

Like it. Gives me inspiration for the bantam I am currently using for garbage dump duties.

John

 

[hidefxj]

Great job so far! All that prep is such a PITA but so worth it in the end. Keep up the great work!