Emerson's Trailer Build

[EmersonHart13]

A while back I bought one of these... M101A2 bed on an M101A3 chassis with the intention of eventually seeing some our natural treasures.

Work progressed slowly as they often do with these builds. Eventually I sold the canopy, sides, axle, and wheel/tire combo. Original tow vehicle pictures in the background.

3500lb axle with electric brakes and parking brake option. I upgraded the axle tube so it would bolt right in. Tires are Kuhmo Road Venture ATs with a Severe Snow Rating. I have Duratracs on the tow vehicle and the size is an exact match but saved a few bucks going with these. I went with MS wheels so I could share the spare.

Next up was removing surge brakes and getting tongue set up right. My cousin is a professional welder so I let him take care of this part.

I also added a rear hitch

I needed a tongue jack as you can see. I went with the DLX from a company in Nebraska named Dutton-Lainson that makes these in the ole US of A

Next up was electric. I welded on some generic tail housings and then re wired the whole trailer.

Then it was time to finally make it look not so crappy. Originally I had a idea to make a rack that went up and down but I never got it to work and finally I threw in the towel and went with a bolt on ladder rack. I was going to keep it tan but we sold the Montero and found out I could get grey bed liner for free so I went that route:

The tow vehicle is now a Chevy Colorado Z71 in red. We once again upgraded to duratracs and the overall tire size is the same as trailer so after a wheel swap I can once again do shared spares.

 

[EmersonHart13]

So finally it was time to mount my tent!

And the annex, my wife really likes this part.

I am a tall guy, 6'6" and I am happy to report I can stand in the annex.... And of course a selfie is needed:

Next up was the big ARB awning (2500x2500):

Also my aero mud flaps got added, new data plates (I elected to go with both A3 plates just to make them match and the shorter one should be on the tongue but I'm not a purist), tongue box, and some trailer security. I put Bolt locks front and rear on the hitches.

I just need to adjust the brakes, do some paint touch ups and go camping. We have a short shakedown trip somewhere local in a couple weeks and we can't wait.

I am working on a tarp to cover the bed but that won't be done as I am waiting for the order to be made and shipped.

Thanks for reading!

 

[EmersonHart13]

We were able to do a test run in this over the weekend. Other than it being so HOT everything went well. We made a list of things we need to add in and small changes.