Dstock's M101A1 build... or the reality, I needed a new project!
- Thread starter dstock
- Start date
SoDakSooner
Adventurer
nice....
dstock
Explorer
What a coincidence, I'm working on some updates to my M101A3 as well. . . .
Nice boat towing that trailer!
Hmmm....I wonder what those updates could be? :sombrero:
AllTerrainJK
Weekend Warrior
Hello, I have read your thread beginning to end ( a couple times actually), very nice build. I'm converting an M116A3 into a RTT trailer. Reading though several threads I've noticed most builders don't mention what size tubing they use for their rack or how much overlap there is between the upper and lower vertical supports when in the extended position. Could you post your dimensions or did I miss it? Thanks, Bruce.
dstock
Explorer
Thanks! I'll get back to you on the tubing size and see if I can figure out the overlap. I know I have enough overlap for the pull-pins to engage. I want to say the upper supports are 24 inches. Tubing wise I believe I went 1 1/2" for lower tubes and 1 1/4" for upper supports and the rack. Still, it's been a bit, so let me double check and get back to you.
Did you also want the dimensions of the rack itself?
AllTerrainJK
Weekend Warrior
If it's not to much trouble, I'll take any dimensions I can get. You don't have to figure your overlap, I'm going to have 5". Do you think that's enough?
dstock
Explorer
I think that's about what I have, if I remember correctly I was shooting for 6" I'll still see if Ican figure it out, you have me curious now.
dstock
Explorer
Ok, I have some dimensions for you, but I'd only had one cup of coffee this morning when I measured so please use as a guide!
The Rack:
Width 73 1/2"
Length 72" long
Made with 1 1/4" square tube.
Rack crossbars 24" on center from ends of rack
RTT cross bars are 15 1/2" from ends on center
Vertical supports:
Inner support is 1 1/4" telescopic steel 25" long.
Outer support is 1 1/2" telescopic steel 18" long (was longer before welder messed up, see thread)
Linear Actuators have 16" travel. Pull pins are 3" down from the top of the upright, so I believe I have about 4" of inner support still in the tube at max height. I rarely have to raise it high enough for the linear actuators to automatically shutoff.
Front upright is 31 1/2" on center from outside of front bed wall.
Rear upright is 21" on center from outside top of bedrail at rear.
Distance between the front and rear uprights is 44" on center.
Again, I took these measurements quick and dirty before work this morning. I can measure other things if needed. Hope this gives you some ideas.
dstock
Explorer
Hot Water!
Water -
This is one of those upgrades I went round and round on trying to make up my mind. Our average trip duration is 4 days. We carry 15 gallons in 2 Scepters and one Frontrunner Jerry can that has a tap on it. I fill these using an RV water filter and an RV water hose I purchased on Amazon. We do still bring bottled water as well. We also have a Nemo Helio shower we use for dish clean-up and of course, showers. Being that we live in Southern California, we get a ton of sun pretty much year round. The Nemo heats up the water pretty quick via the sun, or via heating water on the stove to add to it. While it was not the perfect solution, it worked in the interim while I decided how I wanted to proceed with a more permanent water solution.
My main plan was to go with an Ecotemp instant water heater, a 25 gal water tank, and water pump route. I was going to mount the tank under the bed above the axle because I didn't want to give up any bed space. This would keep the center of gravity low. After shopping around a bit, it became pretty obvious I would need a custom tank to fit in the space above the axle. After hanging with a couple folks who have Ecotemp heaters, I started to doubt my plan. When they worked right, they were great, but they didn't always work right ,and at times, a lot of water was wasted waiting for it to get hot. In addition to the the water plumbing and power for the pump, it also requires propane plumbing. The more I looked into it, the more complicated it became and I started to question whether it was worth it.
I was on another forum checking out some gear reviews when I was reminded of a product I'd seen a few years ago. The Roadshower. I'll jump ahead for a second as a picture speaks volumes:
So this is one of the latest models, the Roadshower 4, the details of which can be seen here : https://roadshower.com/roadshower4.html
The short: This model holds 7 gallons of water and can be pressurized via a garden hose or air to 65 psi. It's an aluminum tube heated by the sun and/or you can add heated water to it. It can heat water to 120+ degrees (yikes) and manages to hold on to heat for several hours after the sun goes down. The also have a 4.5 gallon and a monster 10 gallon. It comes with a hose and sprayer attached which clips and straps to the side of the tank during travel. I'm going to move the outlet to the end of the tank by the tailgate so we can easily do dish cleanup.
I have an ARB compressor on the Jeep already so pressurizing is not an issue, and once pressurized to 65 psi it will drain the tank. It just arrived this week so I haven't used it on the trail yet but I really like the simplicity of it. It's basically just the Nemo Helio on steriods without all the possibilities of things to go wrong, electrical, propane etc. I also like having multiple water containers instead of one big one.
I did test the lifting ability of the linear actuators prior to ordering the Roadshower to make sure they could handle another 75lbs of weight and there was no apparent issue. Time will tell of course.
The addition of the Roadshower meant I had to move the Maxtrax mounts to make room:
I was all set to cut the mounts off and relocate them when I realized one pair of the existing mounts were perfect for mounting the Roadshower. It has T-slots on the bottom and the sides for ease of mounting. It then became apparent all I really needed was brackets for the Matrax to attach to the other existing mount, so I made some up out of 3/16" steel:
It was all a little too easy and I should have suspected something was afoot! I pulled everything apart to paint the new mounts and then went to bolt it all back together. That's when one of the nyloc nuts on the Maxtrax pins stripped going back on and is now stuck on the pin:
I was able to back it off a bit before it froze in place. This was Sunday evening and I basically decided it was time to walk away. I will try some heat next, it's hard to tell but it looks like the nylon insert in the nut my have come loose and jammed itself in the threads. Hopefully I can melt it enough to get it loose without melting the plastic of the pins. If that fails, I will cut it off and clean the threads on the pin, as the threads are way longer then I need.
It's always the easy part that takes much longer then you would expect!
Water -
This is one of those upgrades I went round and round on trying to make up my mind. Our average trip duration is 4 days. We carry 15 gallons in 2 Scepters and one Frontrunner Jerry can that has a tap on it. I fill these using an RV water filter and an RV water hose I purchased on Amazon. We do still bring bottled water as well. We also have a Nemo Helio shower we use for dish clean-up and of course, showers. Being that we live in Southern California, we get a ton of sun pretty much year round. The Nemo heats up the water pretty quick via the sun, or via heating water on the stove to add to it. While it was not the perfect solution, it worked in the interim while I decided how I wanted to proceed with a more permanent water solution.
My main plan was to go with an Ecotemp instant water heater, a 25 gal water tank, and water pump route. I was going to mount the tank under the bed above the axle because I didn't want to give up any bed space. This would keep the center of gravity low. After shopping around a bit, it became pretty obvious I would need a custom tank to fit in the space above the axle. After hanging with a couple folks who have Ecotemp heaters, I started to doubt my plan. When they worked right, they were great, but they didn't always work right ,and at times, a lot of water was wasted waiting for it to get hot. In addition to the the water plumbing and power for the pump, it also requires propane plumbing. The more I looked into it, the more complicated it became and I started to question whether it was worth it.
I was on another forum checking out some gear reviews when I was reminded of a product I'd seen a few years ago. The Roadshower. I'll jump ahead for a second as a picture speaks volumes:
So this is one of the latest models, the Roadshower 4, the details of which can be seen here : https://roadshower.com/roadshower4.html
The short: This model holds 7 gallons of water and can be pressurized via a garden hose or air to 65 psi. It's an aluminum tube heated by the sun and/or you can add heated water to it. It can heat water to 120+ degrees (yikes) and manages to hold on to heat for several hours after the sun goes down. The also have a 4.5 gallon and a monster 10 gallon. It comes with a hose and sprayer attached which clips and straps to the side of the tank during travel. I'm going to move the outlet to the end of the tank by the tailgate so we can easily do dish cleanup.
I have an ARB compressor on the Jeep already so pressurizing is not an issue, and once pressurized to 65 psi it will drain the tank. It just arrived this week so I haven't used it on the trail yet but I really like the simplicity of it. It's basically just the Nemo Helio on steriods without all the possibilities of things to go wrong, electrical, propane etc. I also like having multiple water containers instead of one big one.
I did test the lifting ability of the linear actuators prior to ordering the Roadshower to make sure they could handle another 75lbs of weight and there was no apparent issue. Time will tell of course.
The addition of the Roadshower meant I had to move the Maxtrax mounts to make room:
I was all set to cut the mounts off and relocate them when I realized one pair of the existing mounts were perfect for mounting the Roadshower. It has T-slots on the bottom and the sides for ease of mounting. It then became apparent all I really needed was brackets for the Matrax to attach to the other existing mount, so I made some up out of 3/16" steel:
It was all a little too easy and I should have suspected something was afoot! I pulled everything apart to paint the new mounts and then went to bolt it all back together. That's when one of the nyloc nuts on the Maxtrax pins stripped going back on and is now stuck on the pin:
I was able to back it off a bit before it froze in place. This was Sunday evening and I basically decided it was time to walk away. I will try some heat next, it's hard to tell but it looks like the nylon insert in the nut my have come loose and jammed itself in the threads. Hopefully I can melt it enough to get it loose without melting the plastic of the pins. If that fails, I will cut it off and clean the threads on the pin, as the threads are way longer then I need.
It's always the easy part that takes much longer then you would expect!
AllTerrainJK
Weekend Warrior
Ok, I have some dimensions for you, but I'd only had one cup of coffee this morning when I measured so please use as a guide!
The Rack:
Width 73 1/2"
Length 72" long
Made with 1 1/4" square tube.
Rack crossbars 24" on center from ends of rack
RTT cross bars are 15 1/2" from ends on center
Vertical supports:
Inner support is 1 1/4" telescopic steel 25" long.
Outer support is 1 1/2" telescopic steel 18" long (was longer before welder messed up, see thread)
Linear Actuators have 16" travel. Pull pins are 3" down from the top of the upright, so I believe I have about 4" of inner support still in the tube at max height. I rarely have to raise it high enough for the linear actuators to automatically shutoff.
Front upright is 31 1/2" on center from outside of front bed wall.
Rear upright is 21" on center from outside top of bedrail at rear.
Distance between the front and rear uprights is 44" on center.
Again, I took these measurements quick and dirty before work this morning. I can measure other things if needed. Hope this gives you some ideas.
Quick and dirty eh, it reads like a blueprint lol. All that on one cup of coffee. Seriously thanks it helps a lot.
It seems that I went a bit heavy on my structure. I bought 2 x 2 x 3/16 for my lower verticals, 1 1/2 x 1/8 for my uppers and rack. I'm curious, what was the reason for mounting additional tubing on top of the rack for your RTT?
dstock
Explorer
Haha, thanks! Glad it's useful for you. The only concern I would have with the heavier tubing other then the weight, is the amount of internal play between the uppers and the lowers. You really want that to be as snug as it can be and still move without resistance. That's the reason I went with the telescopic tubing which I purchased off ebay, which is just a fancy way of saying tubing without seams. The larger gap between the two will allow the uppers to bang around in the lowers possibly causing a failure and it also allows for dirt, etc., to get in there. Side note: I did drill a small hole in the trailer centered underneath the uppers as a drain hole, and it also serves a good lubrication point. I like to use Triflow, I just raise the rack and slip the red spray tube in the drain hole which seems to keep everything working smoothly.
I went with the additional tubing for a couple of reasons:
-I was and still am a beginning welder, so one of the reasons I went with additional crossbars for the RTT is that bars rest on top of the rack so the majority of the load would have the bars doing the work. The welds hold them in place versus the entire load being on the welds if I just attached the tent to the crossbars. This of course was just my reasoning and not based on any scientific theory or facts whatsoever.:sombrero:
- At the time of the trailer build start, I had a Gobi rack on my Jeep. I had purchased the adjustable cross bars for it with the idea that if we wanted to leave the trailer behind, I could just bolt the bars in place to the RTT while it was still on the trailer rack, raise the rack and just slide it across to the Jeep rack. After the first trip with the trailer however, this scenario never came to pass.
-In the early stages of the build, I was looking at how the Frontrunner racks had the option for a mount to hold a camp table underneath. If the roof top tent was bolted to the cross bars this would limit the under rack space for additional items because the RTT bolts would get in the way. Ultimately, I never did the table mount but ended up making sliding storage for (2) 100 watt solar panels which are in an earlier post in this thread.
- Lastly, they look cool! JK :wings:
That's about all I can remember at the moment!
aussieantics
New member
Hey mate,
loving the detail youve put into documenting all of this. I'm certain i'll be using your post for a few more quick referrals.
I was planning on attaching my RTT rack in a similar way to yours. What dimension steel did you use for the female end of your rack attachment. It appears quite sturdy just being directly welded onto the trailer at the lower edge and top edge? any stability issues with the weight of the tent on top?
This years project - http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/190860-Just-another-M101A2-with-RTT
Thanks in advance.
Rossco
loving the detail youve put into documenting all of this. I'm certain i'll be using your post for a few more quick referrals.
I was planning on attaching my RTT rack in a similar way to yours. What dimension steel did you use for the female end of your rack attachment. It appears quite sturdy just being directly welded onto the trailer at the lower edge and top edge? any stability issues with the weight of the tent on top?
This years project - http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/190860-Just-another-M101A2-with-RTT
Thanks in advance.
Rossco
dstock
Explorer
Thanks, if it wasn't for other threads like mine I would have never even dreamed of taking on this project. My way of giving back!
The lowers are 1 1/2" x .105 thickness, telescopic tubing purchased on Ebay from user "themetalmerchant". I've had zero issues with stability and we've been on multiple trips on some of the most horrible washboard roads without any issues.
Looks like you have a fun project ahead of you! It's addicting!
RogueWon
Active member
Water -
I was on another forum checking out some gear reviews when I was reminded of a product I'd seen a few years ago. The Roadshower. I'll jump ahead for a second as a picture speaks volumes:
Doooooooooood!
AllTerrainJK
Weekend Warrior
I'm really digging that road shower.
I'd like to draw upon your experience again if I may. This weekend I finished my rack, loaded the tent and did a test lift. I learned some things: 80 lbs gas struts are way too much. My wife and I had a heck of a time pulling it back down. They are also difficult to deploy alone. Rather than mess around with different strut poundage I've decided to go with the same linear actuators as you. Live and learn. Did you use a standard or momentary DPDT switch? Also before you installed the shower tank, were there any issues with having your RTT mounted to one side? Did the lighter side go up faster than the heavier side? Thanks.
I'd like to draw upon your experience again if I may. This weekend I finished my rack, loaded the tent and did a test lift. I learned some things: 80 lbs gas struts are way too much. My wife and I had a heck of a time pulling it back down. They are also difficult to deploy alone. Rather than mess around with different strut poundage I've decided to go with the same linear actuators as you. Live and learn. Did you use a standard or momentary DPDT switch? Also before you installed the shower tank, were there any issues with having your RTT mounted to one side? Did the lighter side go up faster than the heavier side? Thanks.