My M416 Build Thread
- Thread starter bigdog
- Start date
bigdog
Adventurer
Wheels and Tires
The wheels and tires arrived today. Of course moving to the 6 on 4.5 bolt pattern had the advantage of matching my truck, but the disadvantage of very limited wheel options. Ideally I'd like to have a set of Procomp 7089's on the trailer, but they are at backordered at least 3 months (in this bolt pattern). So I went with a set of black steelies (from discount tire) that were cheap and immediatly available, along with a set of Nitto Terra Grappler 2895/75/16 (which were not so cheap).
The Black Diamond shocks arrived too, so they are now mounted
and since that chassis is painted and the wiring complete, i've remounted the lights.
This is got a real nice wide stance now, so I figured I'd throw the fenders up and see what kind of clearance I have
and this makes me realize that I could make these fenders a couple inches wider, which would also allow me to make wider shelves/boxes on the sides. Anyway, now that I am back to a rolling chassis I can get some welding done. First step is the axle hangers and the new floor. I think I've settled on using diamond plate for the floor. Then once some of my "accesories" arrive I will begin working out the details of the side boxes, tongue box, and bumper.
The wheels and tires arrived today. Of course moving to the 6 on 4.5 bolt pattern had the advantage of matching my truck, but the disadvantage of very limited wheel options. Ideally I'd like to have a set of Procomp 7089's on the trailer, but they are at backordered at least 3 months (in this bolt pattern). So I went with a set of black steelies (from discount tire) that were cheap and immediatly available, along with a set of Nitto Terra Grappler 2895/75/16 (which were not so cheap).
The Black Diamond shocks arrived too, so they are now mounted
and since that chassis is painted and the wiring complete, i've remounted the lights.
This is got a real nice wide stance now, so I figured I'd throw the fenders up and see what kind of clearance I have
and this makes me realize that I could make these fenders a couple inches wider, which would also allow me to make wider shelves/boxes on the sides. Anyway, now that I am back to a rolling chassis I can get some welding done. First step is the axle hangers and the new floor. I think I've settled on using diamond plate for the floor. Then once some of my "accesories" arrive I will begin working out the details of the side boxes, tongue box, and bumper.
socaljeeper
Adventurer
That is coming along. My custom fenders for my M-416 should be done soon. I will post some pics when they are. Are you planning on extending the M-416 fenders, or make new ones?
bigdog
Adventurer
I am kinda torn on this. My initial thought was to add 3-4" to the existing ones. But I've also considered doing something from scratch. If I start from scratch then I can do something very differant, but then I've got to relocate fender mounts too.
I'd be interested to see what you came up with.
I'd be interested to see what you came up with.
You know,, if you want to do away with the spacers you can buy hubs that are blank,, and have a machine shop put in the 6x4.5 stud holes and studs for you,, would get the tires in a little closer.. I think the company that you got your axle from has these.. just an option,, otherwise it looks great soo far keep the work going and the pictures coming!
bigdog
Adventurer
Cruiser said:
Yea, I had heard that there was someone that could do that, but never found anyone. It may be because I was asking for 6 on 4.5. Everyone just laughed at me and then argued that my truck was not 6 on 4.5. After a while that just gets tedious, so I bought the axle 3" shorter then I needed and added the spacers.
socaljeeper
Adventurer
Here is a pic from my phone of the one of the fenders. I will post some better pics when i get back home. Used 1" tubing for the frame and 16 ga sheet metal for the fender covering.
7slotgrills
Observer
Nice Job These Trailers are great!
bigdog
Adventurer
socaljeeper said:Here is a pic from my phone of the one of the fenders. I will post some better pics when i get back home. Used 1" tubing for the frame and 16 ga sheet metal for the fender covering.
cool fender, how wide did you wind up going? Did you change the mounting locations on the tub?
At this point my thought is to slit the fenders and add about 4" to them. I could probably go out to 16", but I am thinking 14" is good and will leave about the same amount of tire overhang as my truck has. Then I am thinking that I'll put shelves in front of and behind the fender on each side. I've already ordered the AT can holders that will be mounted on the 2 forward shelves. They are 7.4" wide, so if I went to 15" I guess I could stack to jerry cans on each side. That is something to think about.
In the back locations, I'm thinking about more of a locking storage box. A "wall locker" is what comes to mind, maybe something made out of expanded metal to keept the weight down, or maybe a good place to store a spare battery.
bigdog
Adventurer
Martyn said:
I guess when I say ahead of, I mean closer to the tonque, but I will need to provide some side impact protection. There will definitely be a rear bumper and it will be wide enough to match the width of the trailers once the new fenders are installed.
The shelves will be very much like what bmonday has done here http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=262089&postcount=34, except propbaly 14-15" instead of 10"
Last edited: