Barn Fresh Bantam!

[davis31052]

Not sure of the year. Any Ideas? Single left tail light, stake pockets in bed, hitch ball coupler, no brakes of any kind. Needs everything!! Luckily I have a tub from a 416 I can use for parts. Build up coming in a few months. From what I read, the lug pattern is 5 on 5.5, can anyone confirm this? I kind of want to use the original wheels with spacers to widen the track. Spare rim was included with sale, but I definitely want to know what wheels options are available in the event the wheels are unserviceable.

Right now I'm thinking of just sanding off the loose paint, fixing the floor and doing a mat clear coat. Rat Rod style.

 

[rnArmy]

Yes; 5 on 5.5". They match the bolt pattern of the Willy's military Jeeps (and all CJ's up until they went with the 5 on 4.5 with the Jeep YJ). It is also a common Ford and Dodge bolt pattern.

 

[davis31052]

Thanks!!

 

[Robert Bills]

Congratulations! You have a 1946 or later Bantam T3-C, the civilian version of the Bantam T3 military 1/4 ton trailer manufactured during WWII, which was substantially the same as the MBT 1/4 ton trailer manufactured by Willys. Your trailer appears to still have the original zinc data plate riveted to the front of the tub. If you are very, very careful you may be able to clean it up enough to get the serial number which will be the only way for you to zero in on the year of manufacture.

These sites will help you get started determining what you have and what parts you may need:

http://bantamt3c.com/

http://bantamt3c.com/images/hubbard/pages/bantam.html

https://www.dlbensinger.com/index.php?cPath=51

http://jeepdraw.com/Trailer.html

http://www.g529.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QokOlheJqmM

Here is my 1946 Bantam T3-C (with original 1946 California trailer plate) :

 

[davis31052]

Hey Robert,
Yes, I did clean the plate and my serial number is 2167 or 21676. There is some corrosion there so I can't make out for sure what the last number is or if its just a bad spot.
Thanks for the web links. I had found many of them yesterday and registered at some. I plan to get started on this build in a month or two.

 

[davis31052]

Bantam Trailer

Question for anyone who has rebuilt and converted one of these small trailers into an expo trailer; "What did you do regarding adding any newer style coupler"?


I want to extend the tongue to allow for 90 degree parking with the tow vehicle, when set up to camp and also plan to add a removable bicycle carrier to the rear, which slides into a 2.5" receiver hitch. I'm thinking the best route is to weld in a "backbone" using a single 10ft piece of tubing.


One issue that I see with that already is the area where the factory bantam coupler mates with the two diagonal frame rails. The bantam coupler is cast or milled an angle on each side to accept the frame rails. Obviously I will have a gap there running the tubing straight thru. Any suggestions for filling the gap besides having custom wedges milled?

 

[Robert Bills]

Your issue is easily resolved with a "shoe" that fits over the existing yoke.

I trailer came equipped with the same yoke and 1 7/8" Fulton coupler. I fabricated a "shoe" from 2" receiver tube that slides over the yoke and uses the existing holes. My thought at the time was to retain the ability to return my trailer to 100% original so I designed all modifications accordingly. The receiver tube was "sliced" and the top and bottom pieces removed in order to make "wings" at the appropriate angle to slide over the existing assembly, reinforced with the strips removed from the top and bottom of the receiver tube. I then measured how long the removable coupler needed to be in order to clear my tow rig when at 90 degrees. I am able to interchange the ball coupler with a Lock N Roll coupler.

Your trailer coupler:

Admittedly this method precludes running a 10' piece of receiver tube from front to rear, but I didn't think that was necessary. Instead, I built a bracket with leftover receiver tube, angle and flat stock to allow a rear recovery point, bike rack, etc.

 

[davis31052]

Great!! Thanks again Robert!!

One other question..... I have the plate style shackles pictures below on my leaf springs. I notice you have the "u-bolt" style. Do you know if these two or two way interchangeable?

 

[Robert Bills]

U-bolt shackles are what came on the trailer. The plate style are aftermarket.

All of your suspension and axle parts are the same as on the early CJ jeeps - springs are the same as the front springs from early jeeps.

This list of axle parts and part numbers may be of help to you:

4 ea. - Cone and Roller Bearing - Timken 18590
4 ea. - Roller Bearing Cup - Timken 18520
2 ea. - Hub oil seal assembly - Spicer 17004
2 ea. - Outer wheel bearing washer - Spicer 17015
2 ea. - Outer wheel bearing nut - Spicer 17016
2 ea. - Outer wheel bearing nut lock washer - Spicer 17017
2 ea. - Wheel flange gasket - Spicer 17146

While I am thinking of it, be sure to check your wheel lugs on the left side. If they are original they have left-handed threads. (I saw a post recently where the owner of a recently acquired Bantam was unaware of this and twisted off the lugs on the left side of his trailer when attempting to remove the wheels and tires.)

 

[davis31052]

Once again Robert has the answers! Thank You ,Sir!

 

[OverlandKyle]

A fair amount of my Bantam build was inspired by Robert Bills, especially the front coupler set up..

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/134503-What-did-I-get-myself-into

 

[davis31052]

Hey Kyle!

Thanks for the link! I really like the build you did and had already planned to do a lot of my work the same way you did. In regards to your axle, do you remember what the hub face width and spring perch center measurements were? A local trailer company here, Redneck Trailer supply, can build to suit axles in any configuration I just need the specs. I plan to install a set of OEM wheels and tires from my 2016 4Runner.

thx, Eddie

 

[davis31052]

Got a little done on the Bantam today. Flipped it over, removed the axle to get proper measurements for the wheels and tires I'm going to run. Found a 3500 lbs axle with 6 x 6.5 hubs for $116.00. Should be here in a couple weeks.





Picked up a couple of Good Year Wranglers and had them mounted up on my OEM 4Runner Wheels.



Cut out the floor and and front panel from my M416 Tub to use in the Bantam and fab up a tail gate since mine was MIA.

 

[Flyfishjeep]

You are going top find that the M416 trailer is wider than the Bantam. I think roughly an inch or inch and a half. Sorry you had to cut up a perfectly good 416 tub

 

[davis31052]

Hey Jeep,

Yep m416 is wider and that's a good thing due to the floor having some rust thru. By the time I cut out the rot I'll have a relatively solid floor for the bantam. The tail gate for the bantam will be built from the front panel of the M416. What remains of the side walls will be used to fabricate various other add ons.