1947 Bantam T3-C Expedition Trailer

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

Thanks. The specs on my struts and related hardware came from another guy here on Expo with a Bantam trailer. All parts were sourced from McMaster-Carr:
- Gas Spring with Threaded Ends 150 Force, 26.38" Extended Length, 10.24" Stroke (part #9416K212 x2)
- 10 mm Ball Socket, M8 Thread, Steel for Gas Spring with Threaded Ends (part #9416K79 x4)
- Ball Mounting Hardware Steel, Flat Ball Bracket (part #9512K91 x4)

My only change would be to upgrade the strut lifting force to 175# or 200#. But the other guy had a flat lid with less bracing than my lid, so the additional lift required to lift my heavier lid makes sense. In hindsight of course.

 

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

The trailer is home for now...and was able to get some test color sprayed on it. And I set the Ford Expedition roof rails and Ford Aerostar roof cross bars on top of the lid to get an idea of what was going to be needed to install these parts and how much length I'll need to cut off each cross-bar to fit.

Still filling a few small holes in tailgate...so no paint yet on tailgate.

For now at least, I'm going to paint the tub this color. Will mask it off and paint the frame and tongue rails semi-gloss black as well as the roof rails.

Haven't decided yet what color to paint the lid. Would prefer to paint the lid the same color as the tub, but the sheet metal in the angled lid sections has waves in down the entire length of the lid. Painting the lid anything other than flat black will just amplify the waves. Probably going to ask the fab shop to re-skin the angled sides again or lay another section of flat sheet over it to smooth/straighten it out. We perhaps should have gone thicker than 16 gauge sheet, but with a heavy duty frame (stout enough to support a large 3 - 4 person RTT) we were trying to minimize overall lid weight via thinner sheet.

Still have the awning frame and mounting points plus rear landing leg to do.

The tailgate can currently be opened with the lid locked and closed. For those of you with one of these trailers, how often do you need/want to access inside the trailer without lifting the lid? The more I think about it, I'm leaning towards welding 2 or 3 tabs or a long section of angle across the back of the lid to prevent it from being opened unless the lid is open too. Thoughts?

 

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

Wow. More than 2+" additional height with the new tires!

 

[Mark Harley]

This will lift the trailer 1" higher. How is the fender clearance?

 

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

Fender clearance is ok. Loaded it full of gear last weekend and it pulled smooth. If I add a RTT and a tub full of gear to the trailer it's going to need some new springs.


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[LakeNorman_FJ40]

So I've had a chance to slap the first coat of paint on the tub. While not intentional, it came out rather "military" looking and close to olive drab...but it is "Antiqued Bronze" by Rustoleum.

Really like the wheel/tire combo as I think it looks correct for a 1940's trailer. The tires pull so smooth compared to the old 1970s cupped mud tires that were on it. Lol.

Decided to go really basic on the jerry can holders and bought these for $29 each from Summit Racing. Fortunately I have almost a dozen jerry cans laying around b/c these only work on the "old school" military cans. None of my newer Sceptre plastic, British water, or new fuel cans will latch down securely.

Haven't done anything with the lid yet. Want to figure out a way to smooth out the ripples/waves in the top side of the lid skin (16 gauge steel pulled tight to the lid frame). Will probably re-skin it with a sheet of thicker aluminum. Then will need to spend time prepping and painting the underside of the lid.

 

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

Oh and I forgot the pic of the trailer table my son and I made for it. When the lid was being made I had them weld tabs to the side, so it bolts at the back of the table and sit on the fender. Will use PVC pipe to make legs (attached with PVC flanges) to stabilize the front of table.

 

[Robert Bills]

Very nice.

 

[100acrehuphalump]

Lid latches

Oh and I forgot the pic of the trailer table my son and I made for it. When the lid was being made I had them weld tabs to the side, so it bolts at the back of the table and sit on the fender. Will use PVC pipe to make legs (attached with PVC flanges) to stabilize the front of table.

Where did you get your lid latches and are they padlock able? Brain dead...vocabulary drain. I like the antiquated bronze color.

 

[100acrehuphalump]

Jerry mounts

So I've had a chance to slap the first coat of paint on the tub. While not intentional, it came out rather "military" looking and close to olive drab...but it is "Antiqued Bronze" by Rustoleum.

Really like the wheel/tire combo as I think it looks correct for a 1940's trailer. The tires pull so smooth compared to the old 1970s cupped mud tires that were on it. Lol.

Decided to go really basic on the jerry can holders and bought these for $29 each from Summit Racing. Fortunately I have almost a dozen jerry cans laying around b/c these only work on the "old school" military cans. None of my newer Sceptre plastic, British water, or new fuel cans will latch down securely.

Haven't done anything with the lid yet. Want to figure out a way to smooth out the ripples/waves in the top side of the lid skin (16 gauge steel pulled tight to the lid frame). Will probably re-skin it with a sheet of thicker aluminum. Then will need to spend time prepping and painting the underside of the lid.

I may have to borrow your idea of where to mount the Jerry cans. If I don't mount them to the tongue box, I may adapt them to the bumper .....hhhmmmm. Thanks!

 

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

Regarding the lid latches...go to the McMaster-Carr website:

Exposed Adjustable Draw Latch
Zinc-Plated Steel, 1100 lb Work Load Limit, 2-5/16"-2-3/4" Distance
Part #13435A33
$24.11 each

These latches will take a padlock with a 3/8" lock shank.

Make sure when you install the latches that you can fully latch the handle down AND install a padlock. For some reason I can't get a lock with a 3/8" shank on the latch, but that big of a lock is complete overkill.

And notice how my lid handles were installed OVER the latches. This was so any dumb thief that comes along cannot hammer down on the latches to try and break into the trailer. Still not fool proof, but a deterent.

On the hinge side, I'm going to replace the middle hinge bolt with a trailer receiver lock. That way the opposite side can't be unbolted to gain access.

 

[scramfan01]

And here's a teaser shot...a little bit of Bantam T3-C trailer porn...16" Willys combat rims on new Military NDCC tires:

Paint was simply rattle-can Rustoleum. Wanted wheels to be darker than the tub, but I think I like the color so much it will be the color of the tub too!

BEEE-U-TEEE-FUL !!!

 

[100acrehuphalump]

Wish my lid was as nice as your lid

 

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

Scramfam: Thanks! I'm really stoked at how the wheels and tires turned out too.

100Acre: What are you talking about? Your trailer build is awesome! And the top of my trailer lid has just as many waves in the metal sheet skin as your trailer lid. In fact, I might use your aluminum sheet idea. But another idea I came up with instead of using aluminum sheet is installing FarmTex flooring on the trailer lid's top surface between my roof rails that run front to rear. It's the flooring used in this roof rack:

This way I don't have to worry about the waves in the top surface AND as I load/unload/carry stuff on top of the lid as I don't have to worry about scratching the paint. Thinking I'll just paint the entire lid semi-gloss black.

 

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

Minor update:
- replaced the wheel bearings
- painted the lid (flat black in the center...top coated with bed liner around the exposed perimeter sections of the lid)
- installed Ford Expedition roof rails
- installed FarmTex flooring to the center top section of the lid
- fit left-over FarmTex flooring to the floor of the trailer (just used treated 1x2s underneath to space off floor in case of leaks)
- installed some cheap $10 foam rubber strips (from Lowe's) as a lid seal
- retro-fit a Land Rover Discovery I spare tire carrier to the front...cut and re-drilled lugs to fit Willys wheel
- installed a spare 16" Willys wheel & tire
- installed a spare tire bike rack

Been using the trailer like this all summer. Pulls really, really smooth behind either of my Rover or FJ40. Really suprised at how leak-proof my cheap foam rubber seal works (tested during a really bad coastal GA storm). With a family of six, this trailer is invaluable on a family vacation.

Still need to finish installing the awning mounts, a permanent rubber lid seal, and leveling jacks.