CDN M101 Trailer Project #TheOutSideInn

Every "build" that get posted on here seems to be given a name these days, so from this point forward I will be calling this the #TheOutSideInn as the end goal is to have a trailer that we can live out of for extended periods of time that my GF will be more then content with and I won't be asked to spend a night a week in a hotel!

After spending 4 weeks on a overland/road time this summer we quickly realized how much better things would have been if we never had to break down camp every time we wanted to drive our truck somewhere. This is where I planted the idea of some form of base camp, the RTT mounted on a trailer.

Fast forward to a week and a half since we have been home and that being you to last Thursday the 28th, we picked up a new to us Canadian military M101.

We got this unit with a bunch of mods done to it already at a fair price, but it still needs a bunch of work if it's going to work for our Overland trip planned for next fall.

Here she is 15 min after we picked her up:
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As you can see there is some minor work required to get this little gal to look at home behind my T.

The pervious owner sand blasted the whole thing, built a lid and got it all Line-x'ed inside and out, top to bottom with a two tone black on top maroon on the bottom. After that he decided to add a tailgate which required the re-location of the brake and signal lights and for a bunch of the line-x to be removed off the rear (both still need attention) also leaving a nice sized hole to fill!

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The next area that needs attention will be the hinges and the latches.... The hardware chosen by the PO belong in a wood working shop and have no business holding and pivoting this lid!

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I am going to be welding three of these in its place, which should have been done right off the bat IMO

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After that I will remove all of the external tie downs the PO installed. You can see the shining in the pic below

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I then moved the Thule bars into the correct spacing and mounted the CVT tent, so at least it's now functional....

I plan to put OEM 16" wheels with matching tire size to the T... And already did a SOA swap so it's now sitting level

Then I plan on building a simple rear bumper for this beast to house the tail and signal lights and a hitch receiver to do some light duty work (haul bikes or something)

As I will be adding reverse lights to the rear of the trailer I will be upgrading the 4 pin trailer connect to the 7 pin (or is the round one 8?) which will also provide charging to my house battery which will be houses in the tongue box up front.

Lastly I will be building a kitchen that pulls out solitary to this:
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Then it will be re line-x'ed all black and ready for years for adventure!

More to come as it progresses!

Cheers


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silvrzuki77

explorer
Subscribed! Through the expo guys I found electric brakes with the manual hand brake option be great up grade when you switch to 6 lug.
 
Last night I was able to track down some shock absorbers at a local parts supply so I got that bolded on which has improved the way this little trailer tows.

I ended up going with a Rancho Shock (even though I dislike the companies quality) which was PN: RS5119 for future reference if anyone needs it.

Ps. Napa has a shock that would work as well according to my research and that would be PN-94038)


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Quick update:
Before taking the trailer out on its inaugural run I quickly wired up some marker lights for the side and switched the wiring from a 4 pin connector to a 7 pin connector cleaned up the wiring and then took a spare battery I had and wired it up temporarily as well.

When it came time to wire up the new plug I found this diagram very helpful so I figured I'd share it
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So far the trailer has been towed approximately 600km's on pavement, 280km's on forestry roads and about 20km's off-road. It's handled well, but one thing is for certain.

I NEED to get rid of the pintle hitch setup or the banging and constant, but slight, wobbling will drive me insane on any long trips! Let alone one trail I plan to take it down that cross crosses a river bed 20 times each way with thousands of pintle hitch rattling boulders along the path.... Nope not going to happen! So I believe I will be placing an order for a Max Coupler soon.

This trip was a great shake down weekend to get familiar with how we would like to finish our setup:
1- there is plenty of room under the trailer for a water tank, with a skid of course

2-am a little disappointed in the fact that I discovered that an awning won't work with my current RTT setup as the tensioning rod that holds up the rain fly is in the way and the fly is much too slack without being setup.. Plus I like being able to open up that panel and allow a cross breeze to flow through the tent

3- As mentioned the pintle hitch HAS to go

4-running matching tires and rims will gain me so much extra space with the spare removed from the tub

5- proper latches and straps with be a welcomed addition to the lid and tail gate (already had plans for that)

6- better weather stripping is needed to keep the fine dust

With that said, here are some pics!
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Camped on this little peninsula:
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This was our view out the RTT
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Lastly I ordered up the required 10" brake electric brake assembly and the correct drums to match my bolt pattern, now just trying to track down a set of wheels and tires!
 

silvrzuki77

explorer
I had purchased the lock n roll hitch after my buddy had the max coupler. The problem we saw with the max coupler unless you slide the entire receiver out of the hitch it was a nightmare trying to realign it. The lock n roll just drop into place. But at least you are getting out using it!
 
I had purchased the lock n roll hitch after my buddy had the max coupler. The problem we saw with the max coupler unless you slide the entire receiver out of the hitch it was a nightmare trying to realign it. The lock n roll just drop into place. But at least you are getting out using it!

I was wondering about that. I also saw that you can order the lock n roll hitch with different tube lengths at the trailer side, which would be nice to have the option to adjust the length shorter or longer depending on the situation and how it might benefit you!

They are both about the same price... I liked how the max coupler looked more simple and robust when everything is attached... But you right getting hooked up would be a pain... Hmmmmm


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silvrzuki77

explorer
Once you see a lock n roll it pretty damn stout and really is simple. I am ordering another setup for my tent trailer and trying to figure how I can convert just my pintle hitch on my military trailer to use one.
 
As mentioned earlier in this thread that I wanted to build a counter for on top of the fender to give us more food prep and cooking area than just the tailgate.... What a pain in the ******** that was!

I wanted a solid way of mounting that table,but also wanted something so simple that the GF could do it herself if she needed to.

I ended up using item "J" in the image below. These trick piece of hardware were ordered from Lee Valley Tools:
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How they fit together:
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It is slightly tapered and the further they slide in to each other the tighter they get

Then all I had to do was measure and mount each side so it all lines up
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And there you go, it can't twist or lift up and it's K9 approved
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60Dan

Explorer
Looks great so far! You have some good ideas. I like how you mounted the table. Looking forward to seeing your kitchen setup.

BTW, where did you get that counter top?
 
Looks great so far! You have some good ideas. I like how you mounted the table. Looking forward to seeing your kitchen setup.

BTW, where did you get that counter top?

The ikea as in section, it must have been for a kit that they couldn't use... $15

Thanks!


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fubar

Adventurer
Looks like a terrific project. One suggestion. I wouldn't go with black Linex. It will make the box an oven. I put their standard light grey on my Conqueror roof. Works and looks great.
 
Looks like a terrific project. One suggestion. I wouldn't go with black Linex. It will make the box an oven. I put their standard light grey on my Conqueror roof. Works and looks great.

Good call, it will get re-painted/sprayed, but I haven't mad a decision if it will get linex again or just a durable paint.... I was thinking of going all white with the trailer, but haven't made that final decision yet as I won't be painting it until spring
 
Just an update, ordered the following parts today:

Paddle latch to cover up the hole in the tailgate and replace the cheesy pins with these lockable latches:
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Then to properly secure the lid down I ordered some adjustable draw latches:
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And I picked up some proper stainless steel hinges:
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I hope to make some serious progress over the xmas break!
 

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