M1102 conversion to Expedition trailer

[ShamusTX]

I got the bug to do an expedition trailer and purchased a 2005 Raytheon M1102. Picked the trailer up in July from Fort Hood.


I wanted to use the wiring that was already on the trailer so I removed the MIL plug and replaced it with a standard 7 pin trailer plug. The removal of the MIL plug was real simple


I replaced all the 24v lights with LED lights and repacked the bearings with a high quality marine grade grease, as the trailer will see beach time. I checked the brakes and discovered that the pads were brand new.



Then I had to come up with a design that I think should work for what I want the trailer to do. I am not planning on replacing the MIL tires on the trailer at the moment, they are brand new tires. I wanted a design that was simple and easy to build and allowed for a roof top tent plus fishing platform with rod holders for Surf rods. The size of the trailer, 7 feet across, allows for an RTT and 3' about of space. I was planning on making the frame that covers the trailer 20-22" tall, which with the current height of the trailer would give 72-74" to the top of the trailer. The sides and rear walls of the trailer would be vertical and the from would have a storage area and sloped wall.

I am planning on having doors on both sides that are ~36", this is to span the 4 bolts in the center of the rails that I used to holed the top down. There would also be a rear door that would span the entire tailgate.

A PDF drawing is attached

The frame is going to be 1x2" 14ga steel for the sides and rear. The front is going to be a mix of 1x2" and 1x1" 14ga steel. Two of the top support spans will only be supported on the ends and I will use 1x2" 11ga steel mounted with the 2" dimension being vertical.

The first step was to make the base of the top that mounts to the trailer. This required that ALL the preexisting bolt holes be found and drilled in the steel. I just did not want to drill a hole and feed a bolt though as the steel would compress and deform. So I made sleeves that I welded in to the holes then drilled the sleeves out to 7/16" to allow for 3/8" bolts to have some wiggle room. I am planning on using 22ga sheet metal for the sides and possibly 20ga for the top.



Of the 24 bolt holes I only missed 2 that I could not get the bolt to align with hole on the trail. I don;t think that will be an issue.



My next step is to do some type of roll on bed-liner to protect the inside of the trailer. I need to do this before I get too far along on the frame for the top.

Open to comments, suggestion and additions to the design.

 

[ShamusTX]

Work Continues

Finally got time to work on the trailer over the past two weekends. First worked on the vertical supports on each side of the trailer.





Side supports back on the trailer





Cross members placed but not welded.

 

[ShamusTX]

Work Continues

After working on the vertical supports I found an issue with the forward support. It needed to be set back 1" from its location. So I cut the weld, which allowed me to see if the weld was any good and moved the post back.



Next worked on the front storage area with supports.



Then welding the top members. The two cross members spanning the center have not been done yet. Trying to decide if I am going to stick with 14ga 1x2" and put in a couple for 45degree supports or use 1x2" 11ga with no supports. These supports will be aligned with the 2" side vertical.



Made a good stopping point as I ran out or 1x1" steel to complete the front storage area and the 45degree slope in the front.

 

[steelman]

interesting. ill be following.

im looking for M1102 as well. would you mind telling what the approx. price of a trailer in similar condition? i have looked for 6 months off and on and have not found one for sale in my area. (ohio)

thank you.
jim

 

[cyclic]

I gave $750 for mine, pretty much new tires. Great condition.

 

[ShamusTX]

I got lucky and found one at Fort Hood on government auction site. only 60 miles from my house. I was willing to pay more as I would not have to travel to Kansas, where I've seen most sold at. I paid 1K before registration and fees.

 

[Scrapdaddy]

Steelman,

Here's 13 of them coming for auction on April 6th. http://www.govplanet.com/jsp/s/search.ips?ct=31&l2=USA-OH

ShamusTX, very interested in seeing what you're coming up with and sorry for the hijack.

 

[biskit]

Good work Shamus, look forward to the build.:ylsmoke:

 

[ShamusTX]

Finally was able to get back to working on the trailer and finished up the frame.

A couple of views from the front of the trailer.



This picture shows the front storage area that does not have the steel mesh flooring installed.


A couple of views from the side





Next to work on the side doors and rear door. The plan on the side door is to use 3/4" square 14ga tubing. I will have to see if there will be too much flex using the same with the rear. If it needs to be stronger I will use 1" square 14 ga tubing instead.

Also need to come up with a mounting system for the RTT and other accessories. The objective is for it to be removable so it is not in the way when using it as a fishing platform.

 

[ShamusTX]

Did some work on the doors recently. Pictured below is the framing of the two side doors.



Mocking up the triple point t-latch


Adding sheet metal supports

 

[ShamusTX]

Adding sheet metal to the side doors. I used 20ga cold rolled sheet metal. To mount the doors to the trailer I drilled 8-9 holes and inserted 10-24 Nutserts into the trail and did the same for the door. I also used 2" stainless steel piano hinges for each door. The triple point T-latch is also stainless steel.





Finished the installation of the side doors and modified the trail for the triple point T-latch








The only thing I need to do for the side doors is to take them down and put them back on the welding table clamped down. Then heat/cool rapidly the sheet metal to get it to shrink a little to remove some of the waves. Plus straighten one of the latch mounts that got a little warped. Over all I am happy with the doors. The rear door is going to be a little harder to do in order to keep the sheet metal from becoming wavy.

 

[AA1PR]

nice work subscribed

 

[ShamusTX]

Started work to finish up the rear door. Added a number 1/2" square tubing supports to support the 20ga sheet metal. Also did some minor tweaking on the latch area to straighten it out.



Completed the door and sheet metal work. Needed to do a little straightening (aka dead blow pounding) on one end to remove a bend and a slight twist. Also installed the triple point latch.



Overall the door turn out fine and almost aligned perfectly back up. A little more tweaking should get it right.

 

[ShamusTX]

Towing a big Air brake around is just not practical. So I decided to get the front sheet metal on to improve the aerodynamics.



I did not want to try and weld a large piece of sheet metal on. So the lower pieces of sheet metal are cut into panels and then bent tabs in to them. The tabs help to strengthen the panels. The panels are tack welded from the back side and the tabs are welded in the front.




The upper panels are bent to have two 45 degree angles in them. This also help to strengthen.



All the panels are installed.





Will grind the welds down and fix any issues at a later time. Before the top gets to heavy, currently around 160lbs without the doors, it needs to come off to sand the trailer and install the MonstaLiner.

 

[ShamusTX]

Ah the 4th of July weekend. Time to do a little bed lining of the trailer.

I purchased 2 gallons of Monstaliner


To start with I had to power wash the trailer, then wait for it to dry and wipe it down with MEK. Then I have to Sand with 120 grit paper / scuff with the supplied pad the entire trailer. After that power wash again and do a Final MEK wipe down

That is a whole lot of work. After wards I had to mask off anything that I did not want coated and wipe any areas i touched with MEK





Finally had to turn the garage into a paint booth. That was enough work for a Saturday.