Dstock's M101A1 build... or the reality, I needed a new project!

[dstock]

Just thought I would give a small update. Not much added since my last post except led strip lights on the underside of the Diamondback cover to see in the bed since it blocks the ones on the rack (sorry no pics at the moment), otherwise everything else is as it was before, although by no means finished...never! Loving the Diamondback cover, so nice to have everything secure when we are away from camp plus I can actually see behind me when towing now that the tarp cover isn't billowing around.

We just got back from a few days at a campground in Pismo Beach, CA. My daughters require actual plumbing when camping so we do the campground thing when they are along. Our setup never fails to deliver entertaining comments from passers-by which is always fun.

From a beach lifeguard on a quad, "Nice setup bro!" combined with the appropriate "hang loose" hand sign.

From and elderly couple driving by "Does the trailer come with the tent?" "No, I rebuilt everything underneath the tent" followed by "ohhh.."

And one of my favs "I don't even know what that is, but it looks like you are doing it right!"

I like to think that is true.

Stay tuned for more improvements to come!

 

[Mlewis7]

Looks awesome, where did you purchase the pull pins from?

 

[dstock]

Looks awesome, where did you purchase the pull pins from?

Thanks, McMaster-Carr, they seriously have everything!

http://www.mcmaster.com/

 

[BioBum]

this has been an amazing build to get the creative juices flowing for me. I pick my 101A1 up this weekend and I am excited to get to work on it. I'm hoping to do a similar set up with the adjustable RTT platform, but it will be a test since I am sure my Fab skills are maybe a 1/3 of what yours are.

What kind of clearance do you have from the bed of your trailer to the rack in the "down" position and in the "up" position? I am hoping I can slide 2 dirt bikes in under the rack and subsequently lower it once they have been secured but I would need about 40" of clearance from the trailer bed to the bottom of the rack.

The other option would be to leave the rack in the up position during transport but seeing as I have a lead foot, im a bit hesitant to go that route.

 

[dstock]

this has been an amazing build to get the creative juices flowing for me. I pick my 101A1 up this weekend and I am excited to get to work on it. I'm hoping to do a similar set up with the adjustable RTT platform, but it will be a test since I am sure my Fab skills are maybe a 1/3 of what yours are.

What kind of clearance do you have from the bed of your trailer to the rack in the "down" position and in the "up" position? I am hoping I can slide 2 dirt bikes in under the rack and subsequently lower it once they have been secured but I would need about 40" of clearance from the trailer bed to the bottom of the rack.

The other option would be to leave the rack in the up position during transport but seeing as I have a lead foot, im a bit hesitant to go that route.

Thanks! Keep in mind I hadn't fabbed much of anything prior to this build so you might be surprised what you can accomplish.

I can measure at least the rack down clearance this weekend, I will do it from the bed rail as the Diamondback cover decreases that distance 3-4 inches. I should be able to do the math to figure out the lift height based on that as I won't have time to pull it out of the garage this weekend. I believe the bed walls are 19" from floor to top rail, so I am pretty sure you would have the 40 inches you need.

That said, traveling with the rack in the up position will put a bunch more strain on everything so you may want to build it extra beefy. I've used mine on streets raised up when moving some large items, but not sure I would want to travel off road that way. When mine is in the full lowered position, the inner struts are actually resting on the sides of the trailer if that makes sense, so there is no movement at all and less strain on the linear actuator mounts, etc.

I'll get back to you with the measurements this weekend. Congrats on the purchase!

 

[kurt765]

This trailer is all kinds of awesome.

 

[odjoe]

nice job

 

[dstock]

Thanks guys!

 

[dstock]

this has been an amazing build to get the creative juices flowing for me. I pick my 101A1 up this weekend and I am excited to get to work on it. I'm hoping to do a similar set up with the adjustable RTT platform, but it will be a test since I am sure my Fab skills are maybe a 1/3 of what yours are.

What kind of clearance do you have from the bed of your trailer to the rack in the "down" position and in the "up" position? I am hoping I can slide 2 dirt bikes in under the rack and subsequently lower it once they have been secured but I would need about 40" of clearance from the trailer bed to the bottom of the rack.

The other option would be to leave the rack in the up position during transport but seeing as I have a lead foot, im a bit hesitant to go that route.

Measurement for you:

floor to bed rail is 18"

Bed rail to rack(lowered position) is 10.5"

Total lowered = 28.5

Since I can't raise my rack fully without pulling out of the garage I had to calculate the rest for you. My linear actuators have a 16" stroke, so if you add 16" to the 28.5" you end up with 44.5 inches of room between the rack and the floor.

If you are going to travel with it raised that high to accommodate the dirt bikes, I would recommend using pull pins to secure the rack, otherwise all the weight of the rack and RTT will be put on the linear actuators and their brackets.

Again take all this for what it is, I have not personally tried it, YMMV and all that stuff!

 

[BioBum]

Dstock -- You are awesome, Thanks for letting me know those specs! Definitely gives me a better perspective on what I'd be looking at clearance wise. I have the same issue with getting it in and out of my garage, so I'll have to get creative. I've been toying with the idea of a 3 tier vertical slide (with pins) but we will see how it all works out.

Once I get a final plan in place I'll shoot ya a link to my future build thread

 

[dstock]

Dstock -- You are awesome, Thanks for letting me know those specs! Definitely gives me a better perspective on what I'd be looking at clearance wise. I have the same issue with getting it in and out of my garage, so I'll have to get creative. I've been toying with the idea of a 3 tier vertical slide (with pins) but we will see how it all works out.

Once I get a final plan in place I'll shoot ya a link to my future build thread

No problem, my pleasure. Without all the help from this forum, I wouldn't even have begun to think about building a trailer. Happy to pay it back! Look forward to seeing what you come up with!

 

[dstock]

A couple minor additions

I've been pretty swamped with life as of late so I haven't really done much on the trailer. Finally this past weekend I was able to get a couple things done, one functional, one aesthetic.

First the aesthetic, since so many people ask, I thought I'd help them with a bit of nomenclature:

And the functional addition, our tailgate was a bit beat up between the slats and we use it as our "Kitchen" so I wanted a nice level "countertop" to prepare our meals, etc. I glued some whiteboard together and treated it with a stain/poly coating. Then I used riv-nuts in the middle to attach it so there wouldn't be any visible bolts coming through the tailgate, and hid the other regular bolts under the bed rail at the top. Pretty happy with the results. I was going to go with Red Oak but it would have made the tailgate ridiculously heavy.

Still more in the works as soon as time allows, but at least we are pretty much ready for ExpoWest!

 

[outpostphx]

Awesome thread, you are building an absolute beast. I'm just getting started with my M101A3 build so thanks for all the inspiration! I was going to do a budget build... but you got me thinking about all the toys and cool stuff now!

 

[dstock]

Awesome thread, you are building an absolute beast. I'm just getting started with my M101A3 build so thanks for all the inspiration! I was going to do a budget build... but you got me thinking about all the toys and cool stuff now!

Thanks! I've been checking out your build thread as well, you are off to a good start. The nice thing about these trailers is you can add to them as your budget allows, which was my method of thinking when I started the build. I wasn't sure how much we would like it, so I started off small and then added things as needed. I still have lots of other plans but just doing them as time and budget allows.


An added note for all, we're headed to Expo West this year with it, so if you see it in the camp area stop by and say hi!

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

I've subscribed to about every M101 thread on here and stealing ideas from everyone. My topside is going to be a bit different but the tongue, frame, and axle ideas will work. I'm doing a M116A2 trailer (flatbed version of a 101) with a short aluminum comm shelter (48" tall). I'm going toward a Turtlebackish layout but will need a different kitchen layout due to smaller door. Hopefully it'll turn out half as good as yours.