Jevy's humble M-416 build thread

[Jevy]

I had a few minutes so I started on the side "bumpers and rear bumpers". The back isn't lined up all that well so I will likely be grinding off a couple tack welds and trying to straighten it up some. The rear "bumper" is 11" deep. I have a Honda generator that I plan on carrying back there so that's the reason for it to be 11" because that's the width of my generator. At this point I'm not sure if I will put a top on the side/rear bumpers. I'm debating between just expanded mesh metal(typically found on small utility trailers, some form of sheet metal or maybe aluminum diamond plate.

 

[M35A2]

I'm now debating whether I should be cutting in a CJ rear tailgate......anyone have thoughts on that??????

Without knowing your ultimate use for your trailer, I would say no. The M416 tub adds a lot of strength. Most importantly, perhaps, it is waterproof and will float if the two floor drains are closed. It's not like you will be driving a quad into the trailer - the liftover is not bad. So my suggestion is no tailgate.

 

[M35A2]

I had a few minutes so I started on the side "bumpers and rear bumpers". The back isn't lined up all that well so I will likely be grinding off a couple tack welds and trying to straighten it up some. The rear "bumper" is 11" deep. I have a Honda generator that I plan on carrying back there so that's the reason for it to be 11" because that's the width of my generator. At this point I'm not sure if I will put a top on the side/rear bumpers. I'm debating between just expanded mesh metal(typically found on small utility trailers, some form of sheet metal or maybe aluminum diamond plate.

Just say no to aluminum diamond plate! Too cliche, and you don't need aluminum-to-steel electrolysis (although there is probably not much salt on the roads by you). How would the military do it? Probably with sheet metal with a lot of brackets and cleats. Wooden decking might also be appropriate, especially if the wood repurposes to a table top or something.

 

[Jevy]

i think I've decided to scrap the shelves and fab up something out of smaller and lighter materials

 

[Jevy]

well after tripping over the jacks probably a 100 x's in the past couple days I went ahead and tacked the jacks up to get an idea of it will work the way I want.

 

[Jevy]

Took the Jeep out for the first ride yesterday and it had to be towed so I am going to be working on the trailer the next few days. I also received my RTT this week so it is now ready to install.

My wife picked up my tires/wheels and I got them installed this afternoon.

I also removed the rear framework I had installed and changed it to 1" tubing with 1/8" walls.

I plan on finishing all of the welding on the trailer in the next couple of days then I am going to get it painted. I'm sure I will be coming up with little extras here and there that I will want to add. I still have to service the axle but that will probably wait for a while until I get the rest of the fab work done.

 

[Jevy]

well today I got a bunch of stuff done. I finished welding up the add on brackets and jacks. Then I managed to get the lifting struts installed and set up. I put in two 250# struts and it takes some effort to close it without anything on the top. I would guess the top weighs around 100 lbs with the tubing frame installed inside it. The tent weighs like 130# so hopefully it will be just about right.

I also asked in another thread regarding mounting the tent to the top of the trailer and I took some peoples advice on ordering a yakima base system with crossbars to support the tent.

Here is where it stands now:

The struts were ordered for a place on ebay and I bought the highest weight lifting strength strut they had. I think they were 250# each. With just the top cover on it now it has a few pounds pressure wanting to open it up when closed. I hope it to be about right once the tent/rack system is installed

And the tent is sitting here patiently waiting to be installed.

Tomorrow I plan on finishing up on the primer for the trailer and painting the base frame and top in black. If everything goes as planned(which it seldom does) I will be putting the monstaliner on it Tuesday. I know I am going to monstaliner the outside body of the trailer but have not made up my mind whether to try to monstaliner the entire inside of the trailer or just to do the bottom. I think the liner in the bottom would make finding something in low light since it will be in yellow. Just not sure if I will add it to the walls as well. I'm tempted to just roll it as well as I can from outside the trailer and let it go at that. Any thoughts?

 

[DonBeasley]

Struts will probably work great once you get the RTT on. Mine was the same way. Before I put on the tent, had I let go while closing, it would have shot up and broke my jaw. Now that the tent is on, it is great.

 

[TheJosh]

very nice build!

maybe i missed this but what springs and shocks did you go with and where did you buy them?

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Hey Jevy, if you don't mind me asking, what eBay store did you get those gas struts from, and how much were they? I am pretty sure mine are too light duty, and I will need to upgrade them. If possible, what is the make/model number for a google search.

Looking good!!

 

[Jevy]

Josh I still have not bought the rancho shocks. The springs are just the stock springs that I took off hit with a wire brush on a hand grinder then repainted. I did flip the axle to under the springs though to make clearance. I have a part number stored somewhere for the rancho shock part number that will fit with the flipped axle. I'm going to try to order them in the next week or so. I will try to make sure I post up what I order.

very nice build!

maybe i missed this but what springs and shocks did you go with and where did you buy them?

 

[Jevy]

Greg.....I bought them from ebay seller randpcarriages. I found the struts I wanted but couldn't quite figure out which hardware I needed to mount them because the size of the ball it connected to wasn't every clear. I sent them a message through ebay and he actually put a buy it now package up so I would get everything I needed.

Here is what I ordered
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350387730767


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350564517503

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370607805998

Please keep in mind that I only went in for the absolute highest pressure spring that I could find. I don't know if the length/stroke is what you need. I just ordered the heaviest ones that they had and hoped I would be able to make them work. I found this ebay seller I believe from one of the builds on here. Honestly I didn't know anything about struts so just kind of put my faith in that I would be able to figure out how to make them fit.

Hey Jevy, if you don't mind me asking, what eBay store did you get those gas struts from, and how much were they? I am pretty sure mine are too light duty, and I will need to upgrade them. If possible, what is the make/model number for a google search.

Looking good!!

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Thanks man... much appreciated.

 

[Jevy]

no problem. After thinking about the inside of the trailer for the past couple of days I think I've decided not to monster line the interior. I would have to crawl inside to cut in the corners and it would just make a huge mess. Instead I have decided to paint the interior white. That should make finding things inside the tub while in use a little easier to find. I'm one of those guys that could have something right in front of my face and still not find it so the white would probably help contrast it. Plan is to get the interior painted today(fingers crossed)

 

[Jevy]

Yesterday UPS dropped off the rack for the top of the trailer. I went out this morning to put it on and after getting the base sliders in I opened the bars and they sent me square bars instead of the round ones and they won't work with my hardware. Looks like I'm in a holding pattern until I receive the round bars. Today I plan to order the latch hardware(still don't know what I'm going order) and a couple rotopax mounts for fuel/water storage. Guess it's time to start looking at what tail lights I am going to use and how I am going to mount them.