VicMackey
Adventurer
Long time lurker here.
I recently bought an M101A3. Interestingly enough, previously owned by two different E.P. members. I am the third owner since it left the military base. Unlike most A3's this does not have the flared fenders. I assure you that it is an A3 though, because the axle had the feature where it rises up in the middle for more ground clearance. FWIW, the plate says A3, but I understand that sometimes the plates can get moved around between trailers.
I really lucked out on getting the trailer. It was only 20 minutes from my house, and has had all the work done to it that I would have wanted.
Previous owner(s) set it up for a max coupler, removed the heavy axle and replaced it with a 3500 pound one, converted to 12v, installed a nice tongue box, and last, but certainly not least, they installed a nice cap from a pick-up truck bed. The cap will afford me security, because the doors lock, and it will act as a base for my RTT.
As far as future mods go: I plan to install a RTT, add license plate lights, and figure out some sort of way to mount a quick add/remove table to the side. I have access to unistrut at work, so the table should be a piece of cake. I am on the lookout for a nice piece of wood, or perhaps reclaim a piece of a kitchen counter from a remodel to use as my table top.
I will add lots of custom touches to make it "mine". But nothing major to the trailer as most things have already been done.
A few questions for the members here:
1. I am thinking of dumping the roof rack since I probably wont be able to mount the RTT on the rack as it is, and some stress cracks are starting to appear in the rack as well. Any reason why I would want to keep the rack on there?
2. Do I have a non factory tub on my A3, or were some actually made with the fender set-up I have now?
3. If I get rid of the roof rack, I will need two or three bars to mount the RTT on. Since I am simply going to mount the base/foot of the bars "flat" on the roof, I think I can simply come up with a home made solution as opposed to buying a Yakima or Thule part. In other words, I am not afraid to drill some holes in the roof, unlike most car guys who wouldnt want to shoot screws through their factory roof. So can anyone point me toward a "home made' roof bar set up that might fit the bill to mount a RTT on?
I sell electrical supplies for a living, so I have some ideas from the electrical end, but there might be something better out there to make a cross bar with some pipe and two feet.
Thanks in advance!
Here is a "before" pic.
I recently bought an M101A3. Interestingly enough, previously owned by two different E.P. members. I am the third owner since it left the military base. Unlike most A3's this does not have the flared fenders. I assure you that it is an A3 though, because the axle had the feature where it rises up in the middle for more ground clearance. FWIW, the plate says A3, but I understand that sometimes the plates can get moved around between trailers.
I really lucked out on getting the trailer. It was only 20 minutes from my house, and has had all the work done to it that I would have wanted.
Previous owner(s) set it up for a max coupler, removed the heavy axle and replaced it with a 3500 pound one, converted to 12v, installed a nice tongue box, and last, but certainly not least, they installed a nice cap from a pick-up truck bed. The cap will afford me security, because the doors lock, and it will act as a base for my RTT.
As far as future mods go: I plan to install a RTT, add license plate lights, and figure out some sort of way to mount a quick add/remove table to the side. I have access to unistrut at work, so the table should be a piece of cake. I am on the lookout for a nice piece of wood, or perhaps reclaim a piece of a kitchen counter from a remodel to use as my table top.
I will add lots of custom touches to make it "mine". But nothing major to the trailer as most things have already been done.
A few questions for the members here:
1. I am thinking of dumping the roof rack since I probably wont be able to mount the RTT on the rack as it is, and some stress cracks are starting to appear in the rack as well. Any reason why I would want to keep the rack on there?
2. Do I have a non factory tub on my A3, or were some actually made with the fender set-up I have now?
3. If I get rid of the roof rack, I will need two or three bars to mount the RTT on. Since I am simply going to mount the base/foot of the bars "flat" on the roof, I think I can simply come up with a home made solution as opposed to buying a Yakima or Thule part. In other words, I am not afraid to drill some holes in the roof, unlike most car guys who wouldnt want to shoot screws through their factory roof. So can anyone point me toward a "home made' roof bar set up that might fit the bill to mount a RTT on?
I sell electrical supplies for a living, so I have some ideas from the electrical end, but there might be something better out there to make a cross bar with some pipe and two feet.
Thanks in advance!
Here is a "before" pic.
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