What To Look For When Buying a M416 and pricing range???

[TheJosh]

i finally got to the point of where im tired of packing my truck completely down with gear on every offroad trip so i want to build up a trailer for my needs. ive always like the M416's but i dont know what to look for when shopping. what price range should they be at for original shape?

i found this one for $1000 and wanted to get some opinions on it and what i should be looking for

thanks

 

[TexasTJ]

I bought two for $1200 last month. One was in great shape like that one the other in good shape with a tailgate cut in. Think how much money it will take to do your restore too. That being said I
Got lucky. You might try to get him down to $700 $800.

 

[Mark Harley]

It looks good for that price.A better tongue, little rust, semi straight, sold rear panel
A media blast, some new paint, roll on bedliner on the inside and you should be good to go.

I am cheap so I would take 10 hundred dollar bills but only pull out 7 to start.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[TexasTJ]

Marks Right dont feel bad about paying $1000 for that trailer but try to work it down.

 

[TheJosh]

Thanks guys, well the price started out at $1200. I haven't seen it in person yet but he sent me like 20 pictures. It's a 6 hour round trip trip that I plan on making tonight after work. I'm really excited and I really like this one. With the exception of the dent in the rear panel if seems really straight - what would you guys suggest for that dent in the rear?


Ill probably be starting my build thread shortly... Hahah

 

[Mark Harley]

What would you guys suggest for that dent in the rear?

A rubber mallet: Metal has a memory, it should pop back to shape easy.

 

[TexasTJ]

Try and get the fire pit in it too! :REOutCampFire03:

 

[shogun]

Two major issues with old 416s;

cutting tailgates in them and ball hitches.

When nobody wanted these things they went mainly to, well, folks who werent interested in structural integrity or off-road ability or vintage value. They also tended to populate the rust belt areas of the country. The tailgate thing is an absolute deal killer. The ball hitch might be acceptable if it can be returned to pintle configuration.

This trailer looks to be in good condition with the exception of the hitch. Just how much of the front frame was cut/replaced to get that ball hitch on there? If it was cut way back to the box I would be suspicious of the frame integrity. The forward portion of the frame takes alot of stress during off-road operations. This is a problem with the 1011 (HMMWV) trailers in that they were experiencing failures of the forward frame/hitch. They required a TCTO fix for that but nobody wants to talk about it on the used market, but I digress.

$1k for a stock and good 416 is OK. Any disfunctional issues like compromised frame or box due to rust will require repair ($) and reduce the price. Just how much those repairs/fixes cost will determine how much to reduce the price. Stop in at a local welding/fab shop and ask how much to replace/repair the non-standard frame/hitch. $1k for a very un-stock 416 is out of line, it has no collector/vintage value, its just a small trailer that May be more durable than a home depot trailer.

 

[TheJosh]

Thanks you so much for the input guys, I really appreciate it.

I would want to eventually change the hitch to a multi axis coupler but I am concerned about how the front frame will connect to the rear. I will ask for some more photos today prior to me making the drive and I will post them up

 

[AA1PR]

personally I think $1k is a bit too much & all the rust

here you can get them cheaper http://store.colemans.com/cart/¼-ton-trailer-p-14.html?zenid=h7tjaitsch02c2pnl13vl6bka3

if you are going to do all that work on it anyhow, these ones are not perfect but will help you be more frugal though

 

[Mark Harley]

Try and get the fire pit in it too! :REOutCampFire03:

Halloween is close, you could use it as a witches cauldron.

 

[Mark Harley]

The tongue looks stout and appears to be in the factory location.
U bolted in the front and in the rear spring eye pockets.
Cut the 2" tubing off close behind the current receiver and weld on a
2" receiver tube with pin hole.

 

[TheJosh]

personally I think $1k is a bit too much & all the rust

here you can get them cheaper http://store.colemans.com/cart/¼-ton-trailer-p-14.html?zenid=h7tjaitsch02c2pnl13vl6bka3

if you are going to do all that work on it anyhow, these ones are not perfect but will help you be more frugal though

Thank you for the link, those are some rough trailers! I'd much rather spend more for a straighter box and this one I found is driving distance. I'd hate to have to figure out how to get a trailer that is in Pennsylvania to my home in California.

 

[TheJosh]

Picked me up a trailer!

Got him down to $900

 

[Mark Harley]

Nice score and a good price too!
Looks good under the light.
Pressure wash it and start the build.

No Fire pit with the deal?