Fiberglass M416/M100 Military-style Trailer Tub Kit
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Very nice work!! Will definitely be looking at one of those lids once they are in production! Need one for my M416
Thank you! I think these covers could be a very good solution for M416 owners - they're lighter than metal covers, easier than building one yourself, they're plenty strong enough, and they should be pretty affordable. And they can ship UPS Ground, so it wont cost several hundred bucks in truck freight to have one shipped to you
.1. I have licensed the design to a company, and as soon as they to get their production molds made and produce a few tub kits for pre-production testing and detail finalizing, they plan to offer kits for sale.
2. They've posted some info here: http://tventuring.com/trailerforum/thread-119-post-2782.html#pid2782
3. Thank you very much
ONe last question: so the tubs will bolt directly on to an original M416 frame? I currently have one but the tub has a somewhat crushed corner that would take me more than it's worth to straighten out and is why I haven't begun a build out project. Thanks again
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Yes, the tub can be bolted to an original M416 frame.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
This morning's project - a rack that bolts to the cover. It's made completely from a bed frame I found by the side of the road on trash day, so I've got zero invested in it .
Here's the basic rack, it bolts to the four tee-nuts I installed in the cover for mounting the tent. (I'm taking the photos in the garage today, I don't feel like going out in the rain to take photos). It's still in it's original bed frame color, I haven't painted it yet.
The basic rack is pretty narrow, but there was plenty of bed frame material left over to make rack bar extensions, which widen the rack to about 52". They can be bolted on as needed:
I welded nuts in the rack so I can bolt the Harbor Freight rack basket directly to it. The HF basket mounts to it without removing the mounting hardware from the basket that mounts it to the XJ Cherokee roof rack on my Safari Cab, so there's no reconfiguration of the basket necessary to swap it between the Jeep and the trailer.
I also welded nuts in it in a 32"-square pattern that the tent requires so the tent will bolt to it as well. Haven't put the tent on it yet, I'll wait until it isn't raining.
One more shot of the HF rack basket with a little more load in it...
I'll take some better photos of it when it stops raining.
.Here's the basic rack, it bolts to the four tee-nuts I installed in the cover for mounting the tent. (I'm taking the photos in the garage today, I don't feel like going out in the rain to take photos
). It's still in it's original bed frame color, I haven't painted it yet.
The basic rack is pretty narrow, but there was plenty of bed frame material left over to make rack bar extensions, which widen the rack to about 52". They can be bolted on as needed:
I welded nuts in the rack so I can bolt the Harbor Freight rack basket directly to it. The HF basket mounts to it without removing the mounting hardware from the basket that mounts it to the XJ Cherokee roof rack on my Safari Cab, so there's no reconfiguration of the basket necessary to swap it between the Jeep and the trailer.
I also welded nuts in it in a 32"-square pattern that the tent requires so the tent will bolt to it as well. Haven't put the tent on it yet, I'll wait until it isn't raining.
One more shot of the HF rack basket with a little more load in it...
I'll take some better photos of it when it stops raining.
Last edited:
Jr_Explorer
Explorer
One more shot of the HF rack basket with a little more load in it...
I'll take some better photos of it when it stops raining.
Wow! Is that tire and rack being held up just by the gas struts? How hard is it to close the lid without a load on it?
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I have two sets of gas struts I'm testing. When this photo was taken, I had the weak set installed, so I needed a prop rod to hold up the lid, they weren't strong enough by themselves. I haven't tested this load with the stronger struts, they may hold a load like this up. I'm going to install the stronger stuts today before I put the tent on.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Ready for an overland adventure?
Trailer:
M72 fiberglass military style trailer kit
Rear bicycle carrier with two bikes
Roof-top style tent
Tow vehicle:
Wrangler Unlimited
Half doors with hard uppers/slider windows (in the back of the Jeep now)
Safari Cab hardtop with roll-up side curtains installed instead of hard sides
Roof rack with extra spare and Hi-Lift jack
Frame-mounted jerry cans for extra fuel on both sides
Trailer:
M72 fiberglass military style trailer kit
Rear bicycle carrier with two bikes
Roof-top style tent
Tow vehicle:
Wrangler Unlimited
Half doors with hard uppers/slider windows (in the back of the Jeep now)
Safari Cab hardtop with roll-up side curtains installed instead of hard sides
Roof rack with extra spare and Hi-Lift jack
Frame-mounted jerry cans for extra fuel on both sides
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thats how you should be traveling to Alaska!
For the Alaska trip I won't need the extra capacity that the trailer provides, so if I decide to take the RTT along, I'll just put it on top of the Jeep. I also plan to do the Alaska trip with the hard sides on the hardtop rather than the roll-up side curtains because everything I read says the bugs up there are unbelievable in the summer so an open vehicle isn't a good idea.