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

[dstock]

Update!

Got a bit of time last weekend to work on the trailer, not tons to report but got my new used springs and the new Dexter axle partially installed. Getting the new u-bolts attached to the old u-bolt plate/shock mount from the original axle was a pain, I didn't have any clamps with me to squeeze them together slightly, so I will have to finish up next time.

Also discovered that one of the flanges is slightly bent on my new axle, thank you Fedex!! I will have to bend it back, not a huge deal but a bit disappointed that Dexter doesn't use any packing materials when shipping.

Tires are getting mounted to rims today and should have my spacers by weeks' end so if I can get back up to the cabin to work on it, should have it rolling this weekend.

 

[RagnarD]

Where did you order your new leaf springs from?

 

[dstock]

I got the new to me (used) springs from saturnsurplus.com for $65 each. I believe they had a few sets. They came with OEM green paint, but I resprayed them black.

 

[dstock]

So I got a couple more hours in on the trailer this weekend, finished mounting up the axle, spacers and wheels and voila!

It was great to see after sweating all the measurements, etc., it all lined up perfectly. I went a little narrower than the JK as I wanted the wheels/tires to fall just into line with the edge of the trailer. With that said, I went with a 59" WHS to WHS axle, with 2" spacers from Adapt-it so my hub-centric wheels would clear the Dexter hubs without having to modify the dust caps.

The end result was just what I was looking to accomplish.

In retrospect, I should have ordered up the parking brake lever and hooked that up first before installing the spacers. Trying to tighten the spacer bolts to 95ftlbs when they want to rotate was not easy. I ended up having to throw one spacer wheel combo on temporarily and get one side on the ground to be able to torque the other side down without torquing the trailer off the floor jacks. This also involved the use of a pry bar and ratchet strap to hold the hub still, it was not pretty but it worked. Then I went back and re-did the other side, repeating the procedure.

Got the new shocks mounted up as well.

As mentioned previously, my goal is to get the trailer mobile and registered and then get it home so I have daily access to it. Next on the schedule is getting all the lighting wired up, same with the break-away system and electric brakes.

 

[Mark Harley]

Very nice results!

 

[dstock]

Very nice results!

Thanks Mark, without your input this project wouldn't have gotten off the ground!

 

[dstock]

lighting and wires and reflectors...oh my!

Got a little more done this past weekend, got the lights bolted on and ran the 7 wire cable for the lighting. Still need to do the actual wiring, the front running lights will act as turn signals as well. The back side running lights have the same feature but I think that might be a little too much going on. I have a junction box I will be mounting along with a battery powered brake-away system. I purchased the Harbor Freight tongue box (black Friday sale and coupon for 20% off) which is where the elcetricals will live, but I'm going to temp mount the brake-away system for now. Again, just trying to get this all done to get it registered, once it's home the bigger projects of painting, the RTT rack and conversion over to Max Coupler or Lock N Roll will be tackled. Oh and my early Christmas present of a Hobart Handler 140 arrived yesterday, let the welding begin!!

Rear:

Side:

Cable run, that's a thick sucker! :

Still trying to decide between Max Coupler and Lock N Roll. Price is about the same, I like the simplicity of the Max Coupler, but from what I have read it's not as easy to line up and connect as the Lock N Roll. I have to redo my hitch coupling area regardless and plan to put in a 2" receiver tube and add just a bit more length so the JK tailgate will still be able to fully open with the tongue box installed.

This is an older pic but shows what I am dealing with:

The horribly welded and rusted tongue jack will be removed and replaced as well. The welds on everything else appear to be solid and beefy so I may just alter/remove some of it to add my 2" receiver tube which could work with either the Max Coupler or the Lock N Roll.

Thoughts?

 

[UnlimiDozer]

If you're going to modify the coupler from original -- and clearly this one has already been modified -- I love the idea of the receiver coupler. Gives easy adaptability. (I stuck with the original pintle hitch for mine. It's a bit noisy, but simple and way overkill for strength.) I have no experience with the two couplers you are considering, so I'm sorry but I can't help you there.

Likewise, since the tongue Jack has already been modified, I would go with a side-mounted, pivot-up jack instead of a fixed position one. Too much chance of catching it on something offroad.

One thing I would suggest for your plans down the road is to install some sort of leveling system. That sounds way more complicated than it has to be. I don't remember if the a1 has the rear stabilizer jack or not, but that's better than nothing. For mine, I wanted the ability to truly level it. Plus, I have a utility shell mounted to the trailer on a 3"spacer and wanted an easy way to lift off the shell if I need to use it for a utility trailer.

My solution was to weld receivers made of 2-1/4" perf tube at all four corners, both in the spacer and under the tub of the trailer. I bought 4 side-crank, drop-leg tongue jacks from etrailer.com and welded a length of 2" perf tube onto each of them. Now I can level the trailer by inserting the jacks at the trailer tub receivers, or I can easily remove the shell by inserting them at the spacer. I also stow the jacks horizontally along the spacer by rotating them 90* and pinning in place from inside the trailer.

One other modification to the jacks was that I cut the crank handles off and welded a nut on the stub. This prevents the cranks from sticking out when the jacks are in the stowed position, and also allows me to use a cordless drill with a socket to take the labor out of "cranking" the jacks up and down. As a backup, i can always use a ratchet handle, break over bar, or a speed wrench if the drill runs down.

If you're not as picky about that sort of thing as I am, you could also just use a drop leg at the two rear corners and use your hi-lift to raise the lower side to where you want it. This, with your tongue jack, will give you a tricycle arrangement that will be fairly stable -- and actually easier to level than if you had four points of ground contact -- but not as stable as four.

One thing I have tried to focus on with mine, is to keep things out of harm's way. If it looks like it could get ripped off on something, eventually it will. I like your LED marker idea, and have intended to do this myself, but I would suggest the smaller, almost flush mount 3/4" round LEDs instead of the surface mount ones you have. If (when?) you do brush your trailer up against something, they'll be much more likely to survive because they can be easily pushed through their grommet mount. But they're still secure when nothing is pushing against them; they won't fall out from rough roads, etc.

Looking forward to watching your build!

 

[dstock]

If you're going to modify the coupler from original -- and clearly this one has already been modified -- I love the idea of the receiver coupler. Gives easy adaptability. (I stuck with the original pintle hitch for mine. It's a bit noisy, but simple and way overkill for strength.) I have no experience with the two couplers you are considering, so I'm sorry but I can't help you there.

Likewise, since the tongue Jack has already been modified, I would go with a side-mounted, pivot-up jack instead of a fixed position one. Too much chance of catching it on something offroad.

One thing I would suggest for your plans down the road is to install some sort of leveling system. That sounds way more complicated than it has to be. I don't remember if the a1 has the rear stabilizer jack or not, but that's better than nothing. For mine, I wanted the ability to truly level it. Plus, I have a utility shell mounted to the trailer on a 3"spacer and wanted an easy way to lift off the shell if I need to use it for a utility trailer.

Looking forward to watching your build!

Thanks for the advice. I am definitely going to go with the receiver option, still haven't decided how much I will be cutting away to do this and I do want the trailer to sit level while hitched, so all of those things will be factors when I re-do it.

The tongue jack is a joke!! Someone used a couple of bolts to weld it on there, and it will be replaced with something that swings up and detaches completely.

I have been looking at a variety of options for the stabilization issue, will probably go with the tripod effect. Have seen a couple that I could mount underneath and swing up out of the way like on a pop-up trailer but of course they are fairly pricey. Still researching them.

As far as the running lights, I almost went with the 3/4" flush mount lights but I was looking for a running light that also functioned as a turn signal light. As you know, the JK is lacking in this regard (I didn't do the side marker turn signal mod on this JK as I have the lifetime warranty) and with the combined length of the JK and the M101, I wanted an extra indicator of my lane changing intentions somewhere in the middle. Should I end up taking one out on the trail, I will likely revert to a flush mount version.

Fun stuff all of this, it's the project that in my mind will never be finished as I have a hard time not constantly refining things to improve them. Thanks again!

 

[dstock]

It's titled, tagged and home!

Thought I would give a quick update, I got the remainder of the work done on the trailer over the holidays to get it on the road.

Then it was off to the CA DMV. I had the day off from work and was pretty much resolved to just sitting there at the DMV for as long as it took. All I had was a bill of sale, not other paperwork and no identifying marks on the trailer of any kind. The lady at the DMV thought I had put a pickup truck bed on a frame, and I explained in very minimal detail that I believed it to be an old military trailer. I have learned over the years less is more at the DMV so I just let her sort of work her way through how she wanted to deal with it. She had a new VIN sticker in her hand so I wasn't about to correct her in any way shape or form, I just needed that sticker!!
Eventually, she decided to do it as a "specially constructed" trailer which means the title will have no make or year, but that was of little concern to me. End result after 3 hours of moving about like cattle in various lines, and a small fee of $79, I had my plates!! Did I mention she didn't check the lights, brakes, or anything else on the trailer? So much for safety!

It's about an hour and a half from this particular DMV to my home, mostly freeways and the trailer did great behind the JK. Hardly knew it was there, steady as a rock, and the electric brakes worked great.

Finally it is home!

Got a bit more accomplished over the holiday, so much easier having daily access to it! I had purchased a Harbor Freight tongue box a couple months back, so I decided to get it mounted up. This involved laying down my first welds. Not pretty, but I beat on them with a hammer and they held.

Then I got things painted up a bit around the box area...

and mounted the box and re-located the brake away battery pack to the front of the box

Next up is re-working the hitch area, Max Coupler has been ordered will be arriving next week. I'm going to have a professional do the welding, most likely will add a 2 inch receiver but need the Max Coupler to figure out the best way to get it level. Currently it's got about an inch or 2 of tilt forward, but it's easily fixed with the re-working. Will be getting rid of the jack as well, and going with a side frame removable one.

Ordered some telescopic steel to start on the RTT rack, which is the last major project, and then of course paint and other fun stuff to follow.

That's it for now!

 

[HAFICON]

Man thats cool.. I wanted one of these but they are so much $$$$ up here and rusted all to heck.

 

[dstock]

Man thats cool.. I wanted one of these but they are so much $$$$ up here and rusted all to heck.

Thanks! Yeah, I lucked out as this one is in pretty good shape and it was only $400.

 

[quickfarms]

Thanks! Yeah, I lucked out as this one is in pretty good shape and it was only $400.

$400 is what they were going for 20 years ago, you did luck out.

 

[Mark Harley]

Happy New year my friend!

The trailer looks great behind your Jeep.
Congrads on getting it road legal. Now to have fun and add all the extras.
Keep us posted on your adventures and additions.

 

[dstock]

Happy New year my friend!

The trailer looks great behind your Jeep.
Congrads on getting it road legal. Now to have fun and add all the extras.
Keep us posted on your adventures and additions.

Happy New Year to you as well!

Thanks, without all the help from you and this board this project would never have gotten off the ground.

I've got a mid-Feb goal of camping in my RTT on the trailer, so lots will be happening in the next month!