jscherb
Expedition Leader
The tub for this kit is fiberglass and is made up of four pieces - two end panels (either can be a tailgate end or a solid end) and two side panels. They are made from fiberglass only, no plywood is inside the fiberglass.
Fiberglass M416/M100 Military-style Trailer Tub Kit
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
The original prototype for this kit is still going strong; these days Overland Outfitters is borrowing it a lot to haul merchandise to the Jeep shows they're exhibiting at. It was at the Bantam Jeep Fest two weeks ago and this photo was taken at the Adirondack Jeep Invasion last week:
SO just hand laid layers of glass and epoxy over a set of moulds or plugs? I thought about mocking up a design using coroplast and then fiberglassing layers over it since it won't stick to it. You probably don't want to talk too much about how you made it because it's your business; it makes perfect sense. Will visit your site and see what what you have to offer. Nice work
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I don't have a web site and I'm not in business, I'm just a guy who wanted a fiberglass military trailer so I designed and built one. After I finished it, a company contacted me and licensed the design from me and they sell it. I don't sell anything.
I think many of your questions will be answered in the first 10 pages of this thread, but I'll summarize here.
I started by making mold masters out of wood. There are only two parts for this tub, the sides and the ends, so I only made two masters. Both are shown in this photo before I put a nice finish on them:
The master for the side panel with a final finish on it:
Once those were complete, I made molds on them.
Once the molds were cured I popped them off the masters:
The molds were then prepped with mold release:
Then I shot the inside of the molds with gelcoat and laid up fiberglass over the gelcoat. The first two parts out of the mold, they're slightly green because the mold release hasn't been washed off yet.
The first set of parts clamped together:
BTW the tailgate end panel was made in the same mold as the solid end panel, an insert was placed in the mold to form the tailgate opening.
The process for making the fiberglass lid is also in the thread.
I hope this helps. I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have. All of the photos above were posted in the first 10 pages of this thread, there's more info there.
I actually did find it in the first dozen or so pages but I missed stuff because I picked up more from this, so having it outlined here is helpful. I also did some searching on how thick it should be and the answers I found seemed a little thin lol; but I will continue reading your old posts before I ask any more questions.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I'm downsizing my Jeep, trailer and offroad stuff because we recently made an offer on a new home several states away from where we live now; the offer was accepted so it's time to get rid of stuff we don't want to move and/or won't need in the new place.
I've decided to offer the military replica trailer that's the subject of this thread for sale. I will sell it with three toppers - the hinged hard lid and the covered wagon top plus a soft tonneau cover. I also have rounded M100-style wide fenders I would offer for an additional price.
Optional M100-style wide round fenders:
This trailer was the prototype for the Dinoot M-Series, after I built it Compact Camping licensed the design and has marketed the kit ever since: https://compactcampingstore.com/products/dinoot-m-series-tub-kits.
You can tow this away for $2500.
Also I plan to get rid of the mold for the hard lid. More lids can be made in this mold and lids for M416/M100/M101 military trailers could also be made in it.
I've decided to offer the military replica trailer that's the subject of this thread for sale. I will sell it with three toppers - the hinged hard lid and the covered wagon top plus a soft tonneau cover. I also have rounded M100-style wide fenders I would offer for an additional price.
Optional M100-style wide round fenders:
This trailer was the prototype for the Dinoot M-Series, after I built it Compact Camping licensed the design and has marketed the kit ever since: https://compactcampingstore.com/products/dinoot-m-series-tub-kits.
You can tow this away for $2500.
Also I plan to get rid of the mold for the hard lid. More lids can be made in this mold and lids for M416/M100/M101 military trailers could also be made in it.