M416 Build to go behind my CJ

[DonBeasley]

Don - I just noticed the square tubing on the rim...did you take off the original tub rim, that is round? Or bolt it on over the round rim? Intrigued by what you did...cheers.

As expected, a 46 year old trailer is not square and the top tube was not perfect either. To aid with sealing the lid to the tub, Baertrax of Dallas welded a 1" x 1" angle iron all the way around the trailer. We left the top tubing in place. The angle iron is squared to the lid as much as possible.

Thanks.

 

[KA5IVR]

That turned out great! I need to come by and see the details of the work.

 

[DonBeasley]

That turned out great! I need to come by and see the details of the work.

You bet. Just give me a call so I can let you know when I am in town. Josh and his crew did a good job.

 

[DonBeasley]

Update:

Well the tent was put on and tested.

Before the state park test we decided the tent needed lights so IKEA here we come. We picked up a $20 set of led lights with a 3 output box. We cut the transformer off the end of the cord and put a 10" LED light strip on each output and zip tied to the 3 cross bars of the tent. We ran the wire out of the side of the tent (at the hinge) and hooked to a small Optima battery in the tongue box. The light set has a toggle switch on the cord so we can turn them off and on in the tent. At night it is as bright as day in the tent.

Here it is at the state park. Nothing severe just a small level pad. We got rain and 31 mph winds on the second night. Everything worked great.

The small charcoal grill in the photo is a cheap setup from walmart and works pretty good unless the wind gets too high. It folds flat for the trailer.

This says it all--------ribeye, corn on the cob, baked potato and a beer. Life is good!

Next stop EXPO in May

 

[Cutlass327]

Nice job!

I have to ask though, as I cannot find the answer anywhere. When you went from the military wheels to the matching wheels for the CJ, did you have to change the studs? I know the nuts are a flanged style, and the studs seem a smaller diameter.

 

[skersfan]

Deleted.

 

[DonBeasley]

No I made no changes to the studs. I just slapped the CJ rims on and used acorn style lug nuts from Discount Tire.

Nice job!

I have to ask though, as I cannot find the answer anywhere. When you went from the military wheels to the matching wheels for the CJ, did you have to change the studs? I know the nuts are a flanged style, and the studs seem a smaller diameter.

 

[mep1811]

Did you use wheel adapters to fits these wheels ? If so do you have a part number ? Or the part number for the wheel ? Thanks

Part 3:

Since this trailer is designed to pull behind my jeep, I thought that it should look similar to it. Since I was buying new tires for the jeep, the trailer got its own set of BFG 33x12.5 with matching rims.

Here it is put back together and with the new wheels.

Since my son will be using the trailer behind his Tacoma, and he has several bikes, a bumper with d-rings and a receiver was needed. It is the same shape as the Wilderness Equipment bumper but I drew it in a scaled down version and had it fabricated to bolt on the back of the frame.

Our goal is for this trailer to be for overlanding/expeditions (ie camping) so we needed a front box that will eventually house batteries, 12 volt plugs, charger, etc. The box comes from harbor freight and fits as if it was made for the trailer. It is set forward enough so that the e-brake on the M416 still works.

Well with the frame and accessories pretty much complete for what I can do now, we turned our attention to the tub.

MORE TO FOLLOW

 

[DonBeasley]

Saw your comments over on the M416 axle thread, including talking to US Wheel Adapter. I know of one person locally (Dallas,TX) and several on the forum that have had them made there so I called US Wheel this morning. As you expected there is no standard part number. They have done several and are familiar with the axle but do not keep specs on hand.

The issue with using an adapter is the large hub on the early M416's. I am at my office so I do not have one handy to measure but it is large and so they have to mill out for this. Here is what you want to give to them:

Diameter of hub (from outside edge of ridge so adapter will lay flat)
Length of hub (how high does it stick up)
Stud size (are they 1/2" or 9/16")
What is the current pattern (should be 5 x 5.5)
What are you going to

With this data you should be able to get adapter for about $125. I have "heard" of other methods such as redrilling existing hubs,etc but have never seen anyone with these setups. On mine, since I use an old CJ7, the pattern is the same so no adapter is needed.

Hope this helps and just drop me a note if you need more info. I have the original axle on the trailer and an extra one laying in the garage.

 

[continentaldrifter]

Update:

WHAT SIZE ACTION PACKER TOTE BOXES ARE THOSE UNDER THE TABLE?

 

[DonBeasley]

Two 8 gals and one 24 gal

 

[Cutlass327]

Thanks for the info. I just thought they were a little on the small side, compared to the ones on the CJ, and didn't know if there would be an issue putting larger tires on it.

 

[DonBeasley]

Bigger tires just means a spring over

Thanks for the info. I just thought they were a little on the small side, compared to the ones on the CJ, and didn't know if there would be an issue putting larger tires on it.

 

[DonBeasley]

Just wanted to update my trailer work. When I bought my RTT I also bought the annex and it has just been sitting around due to it being too long. As you can see in the photo, even on my sloping driveway the annex is too long and the door opening is on the ground. I believe the room is designed for 6'+ of height above the ground and my RTT bottom is right at 5'.

I had decided not to make a lift for the tent as I was concerned with a high COG. I already have a springover on the trailer and did not want the tent any higher. So my plan was to shorten the annex. Yes that means I cannot stand up in it, except where the ladder comes down, but I can sit, put a cot, put the dog box, etc and still be out of the weather. My son is grown so small kids are not a concern.

My project was to find someone who could cut 10" off of the bottom of the annex and still make it look good. I spent quite a bit of time looking at the panels and determined that 10" would only affect the front door zippers and that could be modified as well. So after months of phone calls, emailing of photos, and talking with awning companies, I finally found someone who would do the job, Rainy Pass Repair. It took about 7 hours of labor but it looks like new. Everything is exactly like it was before the annex was cut. I have actually not seen it as it came in while I was out shooting prairie dogs this week and my son picked it all up and sent the pictures.

Here is what I have so far. I will set it up and look at it myself later this week.

 

[jeepfreak81]

Looks good, and the first time I have seen someone do it.

I have my lift set up to 6'8" when at camp, I can say it is not tippy at all, and we have been through 1 thunderstorm with it on the trailer with 20+ mph winds. It shook a little, but it was all in the wheels of the trailer. I locked the parking brake and it is actually more stable and moves less than when it was on the roof of our H3. When my lift is lowered it is about the same height as yours.

That said, not being able to get into the trailer without raising the lift is a pain sometimes, and the only way I have found to jack it up has been a bit of a pain too.