Fiberglass M416/M100 Military-style Trailer Tub Kit
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
Jeff, when you say both, would you use an adapter for the M416 like you described for your full cover, or would the length of the front and rear sections be adjusted to account for the M416 lip being on the outside of the tub?
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Could be done either way. I talked to a company that's interested in the new 4-piece + plywood design about doing different length parts for an M416-specific version and they seemed interested in the idea.
Background info for those who may not have been following the details here: the top lip on the fiberglass trailer tub kit faces inward and the lip on the original M416 faces outward, making the them slightly different dimensions. Here's a post I did a while back on how the first design cover I made could be installed on an M416: http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...y-style-Trailer-Tub-Kit?p=1380032#post1380032
With the 4-piece + plywood design it's simple to make slightly longer pieces so the cover is the exact size to sit on the M416 outward-facing lip. Whether or not a company decides to offer the parts in that length would be up to that company, there has been interest in both of these cover designs by companies but nothing's been formalized yet. So far these covers are still "hobby projects" of mine
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
A few photos of a 5'-long tub being built, this is to be towed behind a Suzuki Sidekick and the builder wants something a little more compact than a full 6' version.
Compared to a full-length tub:
Because of the modular design, these tub kits can be shortened to any length the builder wants. Shorten one to 4', for example, and it'll drop right on the Harbor Freight 40 1/2 x 48 1070-lb. micro trailer kit.
Compared to a full-length tub:
Because of the modular design, these tub kits can be shortened to any length the builder wants. Shorten one to 4', for example, and it'll drop right on the Harbor Freight 40 1/2 x 48 1070-lb. micro trailer kit.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Anyone out there with an original M416 a rusty and/or dented tub that needs replacement? This item was in the Dinoot email newsletter I got today:
Sounds like they want to do a showcase install of a fiberglass Dinoot m-series tub on an M416 frame, showing how the Dinoot easily replaces the original dented/rusted tub.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
All the way back to WWII, tarps have been used to protect cargo in military trailers. The original trailers have a series of hooks welded around the sides for tying down the tarp:
I've got a different idea I plan to try - what if the tarp extended down below the flared-out portion at the top of the tub and was held in place with a drawstring contained inside the lower hem of the tarp? The drawstring would be pulled tight, and since that would be around the narrow part of the tub, the cover would be secured. The tarp would be very simple to put on and remove because you wouldn't have to worry about hooking up the rope(s) to all of the tub tie-down hooks - you'd just throw it on and tighten the drawstring.
Here's a concept sketch:
The yellow dashed line indicates where the drawstring will go. To keep water from pooling on top of the cover, two boat cover bow sockets can be installed on the inside of the tub edge, indicated by the white dashed lines.
I'm going to make a prototype of this concept. I'll use a Harbor Freight camo tarp I picked up for less than $7.00, and some HF 3/8" camo rope for the drawstring (about $5), so it's a very low cost project.
It'll be a week or two before I begin work on this, I've got some work on another project I want to finish up first, but I welcome your comments and suggestions on this idea.
I've got a different idea I plan to try - what if the tarp extended down below the flared-out portion at the top of the tub and was held in place with a drawstring contained inside the lower hem of the tarp? The drawstring would be pulled tight, and since that would be around the narrow part of the tub, the cover would be secured. The tarp would be very simple to put on and remove because you wouldn't have to worry about hooking up the rope(s) to all of the tub tie-down hooks - you'd just throw it on and tighten the drawstring.
Here's a concept sketch:
The yellow dashed line indicates where the drawstring will go. To keep water from pooling on top of the cover, two boat cover bow sockets can be installed on the inside of the tub edge, indicated by the white dashed lines.
I'm going to make a prototype of this concept. I'll use a Harbor Freight camo tarp I picked up for less than $7.00, and some HF 3/8" camo rope for the drawstring (about $5), so it's a very low cost project.
It'll be a week or two before I begin work on this, I've got some work on another project I want to finish up first, but I welcome your comments and suggestions on this idea.
jtpaintball70
Adventurer
Just started reading this thread... but I want one lol
Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk
Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk
edlaffoon
Adventure Every Day
I've been following your build on tventuring, I haven't decided if it is for me yet but either way I love this project (I love all your projects, particularly the black Jeep) and I'm glad it is going to be produced for sale. Keep posting all your awesome improvements and I may have to buy one.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thanks. The company that licensed the tub kit design from me got them into production a few months ago, so if you have to buy one, you can do it any time you're ready
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jscherb
Expedition Leader
Way back when I first started this project, I made 1/4 scale models of the parts in fiberglass to test the assembly and fitting before going full scale (the larger of these tubs is 18" long and 12" wide):
Today I did the same thing for my first sewing project. To test the design and patterns I made for my drawstring cover for the military trailer, I printed the patterns out at 1/4 scale, and sewed up a cover. It's secured by a drawstring, just as the full scale one will be, and it's got support bows across the tub holding it up, also as the full scale one will. The cover is form-fitted to the corners of the tub, so there's no bunching up of the tarp like there is with the original military issue covers.
You can just see the drawstring peeking out of one corner in this next photo. The design concept is that the drawstring is below the flared out section of the tub, so when it's pulled tight, the cover can't come off.
The patterns appear to be correct and the design works, so now I'll make a full size cover. The model cover was made from some camo fabric I picked up in the fabric department of Walmart the other day; a $6.00 Harbor Freight tarp will be providing the raw material for the full scale cover.
Today I did the same thing for my first sewing project. To test the design and patterns I made for my drawstring cover for the military trailer, I printed the patterns out at 1/4 scale, and sewed up a cover. It's secured by a drawstring, just as the full scale one will be, and it's got support bows across the tub holding it up, also as the full scale one will. The cover is form-fitted to the corners of the tub, so there's no bunching up of the tarp like there is with the original military issue covers.
You can just see the drawstring peeking out of one corner in this next photo. The design concept is that the drawstring is below the flared out section of the tub, so when it's pulled tight, the cover can't come off.
The patterns appear to be correct and the design works, so now I'll make a full size cover. The model cover was made from some camo fabric I picked up in the fabric department of Walmart the other day; a $6.00 Harbor Freight tarp will be providing the raw material for the full scale cover.
Wow, I´m really, really impressed of your ideas and skills!
If you´re looking for an alternative design of the support bows: The french army developed one central ridge pole to allow water run off the cover
I love the "army-tent-look" given by the central pole which is just clamped on the edge of the tube so it can be removed in seconds if it´s not needed.
If you´re interested in the simple and very effective design, I can take and post some close-up pictures of the pole.
Greets,
Markus
If you´re looking for an alternative design of the support bows: The french army developed one central ridge pole to allow water run off the cover
I love the "army-tent-look" given by the central pole which is just clamped on the edge of the tube so it can be removed in seconds if it´s not needed.
If you´re interested in the simple and very effective design, I can take and post some close-up pictures of the pole.
Greets,
Markus
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Wow, I´m really, really impressed of your ideas and skills!
If you´re looking for an alternative design of the support bows: The french army developed one central ridge pole to allow water run off the cover
I love the "army-tent-look" given by the central pole which is just clamped on the edge of the tube so it can be removed in seconds if it´s not needed.
If you´re interested in the simple and very effective design, I can take and post some close-up pictures of the pole.
Greets,
Markus
Markus,
Thank you very much. It does have a nice look, but the fiberglass kit trailer has a tailgate - would a ridge pole that runs from front to back make it hard to open the tailgate while the ridge pole was in place?
I'm planning to use boat cover style bows that run from side-to-side. They'll go into these sockets, which could be screwed to the inside of the top rail of the tub, although I've got a design to make them "snap on" so they don't have to be permanently attached.
Jeff,
you're right, I didn't took into consideration that army trailers often have no tailgate. But as the pole simply clips on the border of the tub, it could be placed everywhere (or two of them could be placed left and right of the tailgate and support the central pole from there too.
This is how the french army designed it:
Markus
you're right, I didn't took into consideration that army trailers often have no tailgate. But as the pole simply clips on the border of the tub, it could be placed everywhere (or two of them could be placed left and right of the tailgate and support the central pole from there too.
This is how the french army designed it:
Markus
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Markus,
Thanks for the pictures. Seems much more complicated than some simple boat cover bows.
Today I made some some push-on boat cover bow socket brackets. They're just a piece of sheet metal bent in a "u" shape; the sockets are pop-riveted to them, and there's foam weatherstrip inside the "u" to prevent scratching the paint on the tub and to give them a snug fit over the top rail of the tub. I made these rather than drilling/bolting the bow sockets to the tub because I'm just doing this cover as a project to learn sewing and I probably won't use this cover much after I sew it and test it, so I don't really want to drill holes in the tub to mount the sockets.
BTW these push-on sockets wouldn't work on an original military trailer because on those trailers the lip on the tub faces outward. On the fiberglass kit, the lip faces inward, which makes stuff like this (and many other things) a whole lot easier.
