DonBeasley
Adventurer
Sent you a PM on lid.
We are trying to get ours ready to go to Overland Expo in May if possible.
We are trying to get ours ready to go to Overland Expo in May if possible.
M416 Build to go behind my CJ
- Thread starter DonBeasley
- Start date
DonBeasley
Adventurer
UPDATE:
The trailer is finally seeing the light of day again!! It is hooked up to my son's Taco and being dropped off at Baertrax in Dallas to have the lid put on, minor holes in tub welded up and Thule rack put on. Hopefully we will get this back quick so we can break out the RTT and put it on there. Warm Weather is Here!!!!!!!!!!!!
The trailer is finally seeing the light of day again!! It is hooked up to my son's Taco and being dropped off at Baertrax in Dallas to have the lid put on, minor holes in tub welded up and Thule rack put on. Hopefully we will get this back quick so we can break out the RTT and put it on there. Warm Weather is Here!!!!!!!!!!!!
max.powerzz
Observer
Looks great, I dig the color. Ay pics with the rtt? Pics of how the lid is mounted wold be great too.
Mark Harley
Expedition Leader
ProCare Steve
New member
What did that lid cost, if u don't mind me asking?
That is something special your building.
That is something special your building.
DonBeasley
Adventurer
Color is powder coat primer on tub and basic primer on lid. I will put up pictures of lid and RTT as soon as I get this thing back again. I am planning on painting tub to match my jeep and lid will probably be black. Interior of lid is white and I will be mounting some LED's in the lid.
Bumper was made to match the jeep bumper which is from Wilderness Equipment.
Lid is from Sierra 4x4 and I paid $850 + $135 shipping. He may have gone up on lids. Check the site.
Off to work on my deer stands this week so hopefully the trailer lid will be installed when I get back.
Bumper was made to match the jeep bumper which is from Wilderness Equipment.
Lid is from Sierra 4x4 and I paid $850 + $135 shipping. He may have gone up on lids. Check the site.
Off to work on my deer stands this week so hopefully the trailer lid will be installed when I get back.
95RRC
Adventurer
Spring Over Conversion
Hey Don, thanks for the help so far!!
I want to do the SOA conversion as well on my M416...some Q:
1. Did you just turn the axle upside down?
2. If you did - do the brakes work? - Seems to me they would be upside down
3. Can you simply turn it upside down and then flip it left to right?
4. Did the Shock Hanger Plate mount on the bottom?
I am a newb to this - sorry - but I am trying to also use the original hardware it came with and not "fab" anything up. Did you do same???
Do you have any detailed pictures of the SOA you did I could use?
Cheers mate.
[EDIT] - In addition to above - what Shock did you use?
Hey Don, thanks for the help so far!!
I want to do the SOA conversion as well on my M416...some Q:
1. Did you just turn the axle upside down?
2. If you did - do the brakes work? - Seems to me they would be upside down
3. Can you simply turn it upside down and then flip it left to right?
4. Did the Shock Hanger Plate mount on the bottom?
I am a newb to this - sorry - but I am trying to also use the original hardware it came with and not "fab" anything up. Did you do same???
Do you have any detailed pictures of the SOA you did I could use?
Cheers mate.
[EDIT] - In addition to above - what Shock did you use?
Last edited:
DonBeasley
Adventurer
I will try to answer these the best I can.
This is probably how it looks now.
The axle currently has the spring pad on the bottom and the brake actuator above the axle. No matter what way you flip it, this remains the same. You want to keep your brake actuator above the axle but you need the spring pad on top as well. The easiest way I found was to leave the axle in exactly the same position so that the actuator is on top. The axle attaches to the brake assembly plate by 6 bolts. Remove the bolts and rotate the axle (but not the brake assembly)180 degrees; just a twist of the wrist. Now the pad is on top and so is the brake actuator as it did not move at all. Does that make sense?
When you do this, the cable is not long enough where it connects to the front cross member. I just cut some plate and bolted it to the crossmember but wider to the rear so the brackets for the cable now have something to connect to. I also now had to use an eyebolt on one end, a j hook on the other and an all thread adjuster in the middle so the hook can connect to the handle. This all sounds complicated I am sure as I am probably not explaining it well but is all simple. Here is an example.
The U bolts come up from the bottom and wrap around the axle, past the spring pack, and to the shock attachment plate on top. The spring/shock plate is on top of the springs. The picture below is like mine except that I switched the shock mount plate to the other side so that the shock post is in the back and not the front so the angle of the shock is less. Hope that makes sense.
I took measurements of compression and extension and ordered a Rancho shock that is similar to my jeep but was within spec for this setup. It is a RS 999120 compression is 9.91", extension is 13.44", and travel is 3.53". So far this is working for me.
This is not a great picture but here is what mine looked like after the springover with hub yet to be put on.
Sorry this was so long a reply.
DonBeasley
Adventurer
The saga continues:
Baertrax in Dallas has mounted the lid. In order to make it fit they welded 1" x 1" angle iron around the tubing. The tub is not square so it is close but not perfect. They did a great job. Everything is working great on the lid. The struts are extremely heavy (175 lb) and almost lift you off the ground when you open but I figured the 100+lb tent would fix that and I was right.
Have a few i-phone photos to share and more to come this weekend.
Tent as just out of box.
Tent laying on Thule rack but not bolted down.
Tent bolted down and open.
Closed and ready to travel.
Picture of lid and struts that hold it open.
Still lots to do but the tent will get its maiden voyage on the 14th. Just an overnight to a state park but a dry run for May at Overland Expo.
Baertrax in Dallas has mounted the lid. In order to make it fit they welded 1" x 1" angle iron around the tubing. The tub is not square so it is close but not perfect. They did a great job. Everything is working great on the lid. The struts are extremely heavy (175 lb) and almost lift you off the ground when you open but I figured the 100+lb tent would fix that and I was right.
Have a few i-phone photos to share and more to come this weekend.
Tent as just out of box.
Tent laying on Thule rack but not bolted down.
Tent bolted down and open.
Closed and ready to travel.
Picture of lid and struts that hold it open.
Still lots to do but the tent will get its maiden voyage on the 14th. Just an overnight to a state park but a dry run for May at Overland Expo.
Last edited:
95RRC
Adventurer
Thanks Don! Love the RTT...it looks like ARB, which model did you end up with? When I get home I will pick up my tub from the blasters, I had it blasted and primed. And I have finished the frame. Need to take the springs and brakes apart and then redo them...then put it all back together!
DonBeasley
Adventurer
I got the ARB Simpson III and was concerned about quality, given the price. Last night we set it up and down a couple of times to get familiar with it in the dark. I will set it up in the daytime Saturday and go thru it in detail. My initial opinion is very good, It is bigger inside than I thought and higher headroom than I expected. I cannot stand up or anything but I can get up on my knees without much problem and my head is just slightly bent (I am 5' 11"). At my age, the bigger the better as I don't get around as well as I used to.
Post up more of your build and keep the pictures coming. Always good to see another military trailer build.
Post up more of your build and keep the pictures coming. Always good to see another military trailer build.
DonBeasley
Adventurer
Thanks.
No pictures today but the tent, thule rack with tracks and all hardware is off the lid and it (the lid) was just dropped off at the body shop for seam seal down the middle and full paint on the outside. It is getting painted black. Inside of lid is already white. Should be ready Wednesday. We will remount with gasket on Wednesday night and start packing for camping on Thursday.
While the lid is off, I am taking the tub off and turning it over and using 3M undercoating on the entire underside of the tub. Hope to help seal some of the very small holes in the tub. If it doesn't rain, I should get all of that done and remounted by Saturday night. I will get pictures of that.
I have 99% decided that I need wider fenders so Baertrax in Dallas will probably do these in mid-April so that I can paint them black and have them ready to go for Overland Expo. They will probably be about 13" wide compared to the current 6" ones.
After that it is body work and paint on the tub and the trailer itself will be done. Next comes the power management center in the tongue box. Still working on the design on that. I am thinking 1 AGM 105 ah battery and some form of charger, a bunch of sockets (4-5) and a waterproof circuit breaker control panel. Still working thru that part so chime in with suggestions.
No pictures today but the tent, thule rack with tracks and all hardware is off the lid and it (the lid) was just dropped off at the body shop for seam seal down the middle and full paint on the outside. It is getting painted black. Inside of lid is already white. Should be ready Wednesday. We will remount with gasket on Wednesday night and start packing for camping on Thursday.
While the lid is off, I am taking the tub off and turning it over and using 3M undercoating on the entire underside of the tub. Hope to help seal some of the very small holes in the tub. If it doesn't rain, I should get all of that done and remounted by Saturday night. I will get pictures of that.
I have 99% decided that I need wider fenders so Baertrax in Dallas will probably do these in mid-April so that I can paint them black and have them ready to go for Overland Expo. They will probably be about 13" wide compared to the current 6" ones.
After that it is body work and paint on the tub and the trailer itself will be done. Next comes the power management center in the tongue box. Still working on the design on that. I am thinking 1 AGM 105 ah battery and some form of charger, a bunch of sockets (4-5) and a waterproof circuit breaker control panel. Still working thru that part so chime in with suggestions.
DonBeasley
Adventurer
M101 US?
Where are you finding trailers? They are getting scarce and pricey in Texas.
Good luck with the potential purchase.
I have found them to be like jeeps; a hole to throw money in. lol
Where are you finding trailers? They are getting scarce and pricey in Texas.
Good luck with the potential purchase.
I have found them to be like jeeps; a hole to throw money in. lol