And so it begins....

[CodyLX450]

Today, 9/16/07 - I drove out to the AZ/NM border to pick up my military trailer.

Its a 1952 M100 that I picked up slightly rough, but at a nice price and perfect for me since I have a lot of plans for it.

The bonus is it was already converted to 6 lug, and came with nice Toyota steelies and brand new tires!

 

[CodyLX450]

I have the standard pintle setup, and I had it on the location which is level with the original receiver.

At that height, the trailer was about level, a little higher than as pictured above.

 

[CodyLX450]

Of course, excitement got the best of me, and about 30 minutes later I did the SOA swap...

Now I'll have to lift the pintle hitch up 1 or 2 slots to level it out.

 

[CodyLX450]

Time for some test fitting.....lol....

 

[CodyLX450]

Fun with numbers....

Thats a 48" Hi Lift jack:

 

[CodyLX450]

I should have plenty of clearance, especially with no diff back there....

 

[CodyLX450]

I'll have to do some measuring tomorrow, but I'm going to end up with either 2" or 3" spacers on each wheel to try to match the truck's trackwidth.

I already have another set of 4 matching tires coming in so I'll have my trailer tires and a spare for the vehicle and trailer.

I'm going to want of research ways to mount the roof top tent onto the top of the trailer.

Folded up, the length matches the trailer exactly. (72")

The width of the tent is 3" less than the trailer top width, so I'll have 1.5" extra on each side.

The stock fenders won't work with the big tires. I don't want to modify them since theyre in great shape and original - but I found a local trailer shop that has fenders of all sorts of sizes and widths. If possible I'd like them to look like the originals in the round design, but wide enough to cover the tires to save my rear window.

 

[Desertoutpost]

Dude go to bed your neighbors are going to get pissed!


Kidding, nice, I want one! :drool:

 

[tjbliley]

Looks sweet. I have a few buddy's around here that are working on the same thing.

 

[adventureduo]

Lookin good Cody. I wonder how much air your gonna have to run in those huge meats on the trailer. Probably 3psi? Or else that trailer is gonna be bouncin' around like mad no?

 

[mountainpete]

Lookin good Cody. I wonder how much air your gonna have to run in those huge meats on the trailer. Probably 3psi? Or else that trailer is gonna be bouncin' around like mad no?

Good question - I was thinking the same. Without any weight back there it must be all over the road!

With some weight and the right tire pressure, it does look like a nice system :wings:

 

[ntsqd]

Lookin good Cody. I wonder how much air your gonna have to run in those huge meats on the trailer. Probably 3psi? Or else that trailer is gonna be bouncin' around like mad no?

FWIW I towed the TrailBlazer (33-12.50's) about 300 pavement miles with less than 10 psi in them. Where's the red-faced smilie? Couldn't tell the difference when I ran them up to 30 psi.

After towing the trailer a mile or so out onto the Oregon Coast sand, still at 30, I'm beginning to think that same size tires on the trailer is unnecessary. It's a nice thot and were I going somewhere where tires are extremely rare I might feel differently, but for NA travel I don't see the need. So while the tow rigs have 285's and 33-10.50's the TB will be getting 33-9.50's as soon as these 12.50's have a new home.

 

[CodyLX450]

The trailer itself is pretty light. The buyer's said as it sat in the first pic they had it weighed and it was just about 500lbs.

I would have figured it even less than that, as its ridiculously easy to grab the lunette ring and roll it around, even uphill.

I also attached it to the hitch and to straighten it out for pictures, I just grabbed the 2 "man-handles" on back and picked it up and moved it straight.

The new tire/wheel combo is going to add a LOT more weight to the bottom of the trailer - and I might end up keeping a spare inside the trailer bed too. (at least until I start accumulating too much gear to need all the space inside).

The trailer definately pulled like nothing was there at all - uphill, offroad, stopping, etc.

 

[Willman]

Very nice Cody!

Keep us posted on your build!

What did the trailer cost ya???......Don't remember seeing it in your thread....

Might be time for a bigger hi-lift eh!

 

[CodyLX450]

The trailer in rolling shape as in the first pic with a newly obtained title was $600. There are some small holes in the tub which will be repaired.

I've seen a lot of trailers available on MUD and EXPO which are quite a bit more expensive, but also quite a bit more finished.

For me, I wanted a project I could build up instead of a ready to go unit, so this worked perfect for me.

As I type this, I have the POR 15 drying outside :jumping: