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Cargo Trailer General Service - 2-Wheeled Wide Track
When the 90, 110 and 127s came into service, the demand from the MOD was for a more up to date trailer which would match the new breed of Land Rovers, just as the trusty old Fixed Back (FB) had been the loyal partner to the Series Land Rovers. GKN Sankey came up with the winning design which stuck to the "little tub on wheels" look. When you get closer you can see that it is very different to its older FB brother. The WT design has been very successful and is still in service today. It has been improved over the years and there are three models—the Mk I, II and III. As you read this the Mk IV is being tested, but full details have not been released yet. It should be entering service in late summer this year.
The Mk I had a rather old-style jockey leg with a pivot foot on the bottom and this was bolted to the cross bar of the A-frame. This was very fragile if not respected, if it worked lose hitting the road while being towed it often resulted in serious A-frame damage. An improvement was needed and the Mk II entered service. The Mk II is basically the same as the Mk I with a few improvements, the most noticeable of which is the addition of a jockey wheel on the front A-frame. This is fitted to a raised "tomb stone" like plate on the outside of the A-frame just behind the towing eye. The Mk III was the biggest step forward, with the braking system going over to a fluid system with a reservoir fitted on the A-frame. The jockey wheel does not get missed out, it now has the ability to be swung so it's stored parallel to the A-frame when being towed. Also several new companies gained contracts to produce the Mk III, names such as Viking Trailers Ltd and Reynolds-Boughton.
Body and Chassis
The Wide Track has a welded steel body with internal wheel arches, the main body improvements were to increase the size of the tub and to give the long-suffering soldiers the addition of a drop tailgate. The tailgate is fitted with a small sliding plate which is for when the bowser tank is placed in the body and the tap fits through the sliding plate. Gone are the little J-bolts which held the body to the chassis on the FB, the Wide Track has the tub bolted down to the chassis with 10 steel bolts. The internal lashing eyes are much larger and more heavy duty with the ability to turn 360 degrees so they don‘t snap off like the old FB style. The exterior lashing hooks for load roping and for the canvas tilt remain much the same.
Lights
On the Mk I and II the lights are the standard military waterproof "bug eye" plastic light unit as found on Land Rovers. They have side lights at the front, and on the rear they have Stop/Tail, Indicator and Fog lights, also a number plate light along with red triangular reflectors, and a convoy light and panel fitted underneath. The Mk III has a totally different type of lights. They are more of a plastic and rubber design. The front side lights are smaller than before, the rear lights are also of a similar style all are produced by the Flexible Lamp Co Ltd, who produce light units used on many civilian trailers.
Towing and reversing
The WT NATO tow eye has a smaller brake damper than the FB, this is updated by the removal of the need to put a collar on the eye shaft when reversing. You now need to push a button on the top of the damper down and twist it so that it stays down, by doing so you lock the brake damper off. The NATO towing eye is of a fixed type, meaning that it cannot turn so the Land-Rover towing jaw should be able to turn. On the rear cross member a NATO towing hook is no longer fitted, but in its place is a pin and open jaw towing pintle, which is cheap to make but still functional.
Brakes and parking
The service brake is an over-run hydraulic type, while the parking brake is a hand operated mechanical connection to the over-run system. On the Mk I and II it’s still the traditional rod pull system, however the Mk III is a clean sweep from the rods. A fluid hydraulic system is in place, as mentioned before the reservoir is on the A-frame for easy checking and filling. For stability when parked, the trailer is fitted with a pair of stabilising jacks at the rear. The front stabiliser is in the form of a jockey wheel which can be hand operated to raise or lower the trailer to assist in hitching or un-hitching, and makes vehicle movement easier
Length: 2.850m
Width: 1.680 m
Height: 1.115m
Track: 1.420m
Wheelbase: 1.750m
Weight (unladen): 509kg
Thanks to: Steve Marsh
