BANTAM Blasphemy?!

[Bonked]

Long overdue build/restoration thread here....

Background: While lurking for about a year, drooling over all the great trailers on this site, my desire for a small trailer began. Well, upon returning from a four-week camping / adventure trip to Glacier National park last summer, I began looking for an M416 when I came upon a Craigslist ad for a Bantam trailer. Without any knowledge of the Bantam History, I began to research and eventually bought my Bantam from a guy in AZ:

Day I bought it: 194? Bantam Trailer (never have been able to figure the exact year...details on that upcoming)....no numbers anywhere on frame???

As it sits today: :wings:

The BAD:

1. I overpaid by a hundred or two...once I had learned a lot about these trailers. My plans really could not include a restoration back to original due to some bubba modifications by one of the previous owners (angle iron welded to frame along the sides to support a galvanized "patch" in the rusted floor)

2. To make a lid work, I had to have some fab work done to the top rails. They were bent at some point in the trailer's life, probably due to overloading.

3. My wife wasn't too happy about the purchase just days following my 5,200-mile road trip last summer, so I had to agree to let it sit from August purchase date until the first of the year. It was tough (and what does my wife know about how long restoration and fab work really take!?)

4. I have no welding ability, so I'd have to find a fab shop. After some CRAZY expensive quotes (one local shop quoted me $1,000 to extend the tongue and skin it in sheet metal!). So I looked toward the shop that built my front bumper: Outdoor logic in Riverside, CA. I knew I'd have to take it in several times because I could only afford to do the fab in stages. Even though the shop is 45 minutes away, Jimmy and the other guys there are easy to work with, reasonably priced, and creative.

Believe me, the trailer tear-down began January 2, 2012! By this time, my boys were ready for action, especially after showing them so many of YOUR trailers on this site!

Underside. Notice the "patchwork" in the floor area (the welding and patch work were totally unsightly but functional. cutting it all out wasn't really worth the effort, so I decided to have a new sheet applied on top of the existing floor. Now the interior is new looking. Notice the front edge is out of square: maybe I should have taken the time & money to have all that unsightly patchwork removed...but I was limited on both time and money!

All the "down" months allowed for some research on the Bantams and I soon realized that some people would consider any mods to this trailer to be...well...BLASPHEMY!

My conscience was eased, though, once I realized that this was no '57 chevy with a bit of surface rust...Restoration was not really an option. Title had been revised to read, "1974 Homebuilt" trailer. Previously mentioned bent tub rails, tailgate bulged, rust through in tub:

Some nutty tongue fab here! Sheesh!

Sandblasting quotes were also NUTS! $300...no way...so I gave the power washer a try:

Pretty good results: from this

to this:

Phase one of the build, in order of importance to me: 1. Extend tongue to allow for better handling & tongue storage, fab new tailgate, fab new front panel to remove cancer, skin the floor

A huge bonus was having Jimmy from Outdoor logic negotiate sandblasting from his powder coat guy....$65???...do it!

I considered POR 15 rust converter when I came across RUST SEAL on a forum for classic car restoration. http://www.kbs-coatings.com/RustSeal.html

I am glad I did because this product is great! Self-leveling, super tough, and easy to apply. The prep called for a product called AquaKlean: KBS RustBlast is a powerful rust remover and zinc phosphate pre-primer and metal etch. RustBlast effectively dissolves rust, corrosion, metal oxides, and tarnishing from most metal surfaces, while providing extended protection against flash-rusting thanks to KBS' unique Oxygen-Block technology

I made a quick spray booth in my garage and got to priming the trailer: two coats (first a self-etching primer, grey):

March 2012: At this point I was really itching to get it on the road: New springs, u-bolts, shackles, hardware...but time and money was tight. MORE to follow.

 

[hesterj]

Any new news on the trailer?

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Looks good.

I would say, regardless of what you are doing to it...you have saved it from a fate far worse than modification. It will be loved, cared for and will last longer than it would have in its previous state. I have a 1992 CDN M101 (based off of the M416 which came from the Bantam) and I am modifying it. Some people call that sacrilege, me... I feel like I am saving it from a rusty demise. Not to mention its mine to do with as I please! lol

I like where you are going with this, nice work so far!!

 

[Mark Harley]

Great save, I think you got a good one, I have seen guys start with much worse.
I like the family project with the boys, now for some great camping.
What does your wife think about this little gem now?

 

[jeepfreak81]

That was actually a really nice clean Bantam. A easily $8-900+ trailer around my parts. That said, there isn't a lot of people restoring trailers, and in stock form for the rest of us they are useful stock, but much more useful after some modifications. I am battling the same thing with my M416 as it is one of the straightest and cleanest I have ever seen. That said, the stuff we have welded on can easily be cut off, and I think i found a mod for the tongue that will be a bolt on affair.

I think you did good though, it is a nice looking rig. (you should see what someone did to the Bantam that my dad has, it doesn't even look like a Bantam anymore)

 

[Bonked]

Looks good....I like where you are going with this, nice work so far!!

Thanks Greg! I am really pleased, so far. I have more plans upcoming: rooftop tent, slide-out kitchen drawer, on-board water tank...

 

[Bonked]

What does your wife think about this little gem now?

Mark, my wife sees dollar signs most of the time, but she was pretty impressed with the compliments from many people we came across on our latest trip. I get thumbs up from drivers on the road, too, which usually results in an "I-told-you-so" grin from me!

the stuff we have welded on can easily be cut off, and I think i found a mod for the tongue that will be a bolt on affair.

I think you did good though, it is a nice looking rig.

I thought about a bolt-on tongue extension, but once I was honest about how much I will add to this baby over time, it was obvious to me that this Bantam will never be returned to stock...at least by me! Thanks for the kind words and good luck with the 416!

 

[Robert Bills]

Nice work!

 

[McZippie]

Well done! Have fun with it and Fam. I noticed too that hooking my Bantam to our Jeep draws a lot of attention.
It's like there's something deep in our man genes, that sez, now that's the way a trailer should look.

 

[jeeperwilly]

By chance do you remember how much Rust Seal you went through on the frame? I'll be ripping apart my 416 this weekend and I'm thinking that Rust Seal will do nicely on the frame. Trailer looks tops by the way and thanks in advance for the answer.

 

[Bonked]

Robert Bills
Nice work!

Thank you. Your trailer was one of the first (and best) Bantam restorations I came across early in my research.

McZippie
Well done! Have fun with it and Fam. I noticed too that hooking my Bantam to our Jeep draws a lot of attention.*
It's like there's something deep in our man genes, that sez, now that's the way a trailer should look.

You are right about that! When a project takes a while--even waiting to refund--it gives us time to ponder the build and make change after change....ha, ha! BTW your build caused me some moments of regret because it could have been easier to build a replica. Oh well, It's also nice to know I've given new life to an old relic.

 

[Bonked]

By chance do you remember how much Rust Seal you went through on the frame? I'll be ripping apart my 416 this weekend and I'm thinking that Rust Seal will do nicely on the frame. Trailer looks tops by the way and thanks in advance for the answer.

I ordered the KBS All-in-one chassis kit http://www.kbs-coatings.com/chassis-paint-kit.html:

--quart of rust seal (in satin finish--i was surprised at how shiny the satin came out, really. I couldn't imagine how shiny the gloss finish would be!). This product is great. Believe the instructions about not over applying because a little goes a long way. I not only coated the frame, but the underside of the tub, top and bottom of the tongue, and even the outer tub wheel-well area since that area seems to be prone to paint wear. oh yeah, I also double coated all the spring hangers/brackets. I experimented with cheap brush and cheap roller--both disposable because you only get one use for application, then you got to throw away. Product worked equally well with brush or roller.

--pint of "Black top" :UV protection for the exposed outside of frame and tongue. This is the only product I wasn't happy with. Maybe I received an old can, but a lot of thinning was necessary, and even then, the ease of spread, and self leveling is nothing like the rust seal.
--Aqua clean:according to KBS, a water-based cleaner is necessary. This cleaner is legit, and I'll use it for other applications in the future
--Quart of Rust Blast: A Rust Remover & Zinc Phosphate Metal Prep. This is also a great product...no priming necessary.

A quart should do it. Like most paints, though, a half-gallon size would be more cost effective because you could really double coat everything. Of course, you'd have to order a gallon. This is not the kind of product that will sit well on the shelf. It will harden in the can.

good luck. Let me know how it goes!

 

[Scott Brady]

Every time I see this thread title, my mind actually sees:

BATMAN Blasphemy

Sorry. . .

 

[I Leak Oil]

Batman blasphemy...That's a good one!
The trailer was originally a civi model so I'm sure there's no blasphemy involved...Chop away!

 

[Bonked]

You guys are too funny! I was trying to explain the meaning of blasphemy to my son. I was going the usual route...you know, sacrilege & all that...but a PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 WORDS!

:victory:

HA HA!