My m416 finally finished - and unveiled! (not 56k-friendly)

[atavuss]

cool trailer, looks very functional! is that a Pioneer tool rack from a M37 on the rear panel?

 

[bmonday]

is that a Pioneer tool rack from a M37 on the rear panel?

Why, yes, yes it is. Good eye. There is a guy in Texas that sells them on eBay. That's where I got mine.

 

[Martyn]

Beau

I have had some inquires on who made the rear bumper on the trailer. Can you share the details.

How wide is the bumper, and given your new storage area behind the fenders how much wider could they be to offer protection?

 

[bmonday]

Beau

I have had some inquires on who made the rear bumper on the trailer. Can you share the details.

How wide is the bumper, and given your new storage area behind the fenders how much wider could they be to offer protection?

Hi Martyn,

The previous owner had the bumper made custom, and used it with a custom made landing leg to stabilize the rear of the trailer. Slee Offroad had a hand in a lot of the early mods on this trailer, and he may be the guy that did it. Maybe Sarge can chime in on this, or Slee if he's paying attention here.

The bumper is 55" wide along the top edge, and would need to be another 3" longer on each end to protect the shelves fully. I'd say 62" would be perfect.

The bumper is mounted to the frame along each side, basically with tabs that extend towards the front of the trailer, running along the outside of the frame, almost to the rear edge of the fender. The tabs also provided a location for the tail lights, but I had those relocated to the top of the bumper to make more room for the shelf there. The new shelf is bolted through those same holes, into the trailer frame.

I don't really have a good shot of this mounting prior to the new shelves. Here is a "before" shot of the trailer:

If you look closely at the area between the rear edge of the fender and the bumper, you can see a dark green strip. That's the mounting bracket for the bumper.

The bumper was also bolted to the rear edge of the trailer frame, with a bracket attached to the receiver hitch section.

In this picture you can see the original mounting location, as well as the extension and 2 additional reinforcement points added by my guy to beef up the bumper's strength. The black parts are new:

My trailer is very front-heavy with the addition of the fuel and water cans, and I plan to locate my ice chests to the rear of the trailer using a hitch-mounted basket. This gives me some balast on the rear end of the trailer, and reduces my TTB (time-to-beer) quotient to "nearly instantaneous".

I haven't found a hitch basket that fits right though, and is not utter crap.

 

[bmonday]

By any chance could you post some pics of the "A" frame from the underside?

OK, here is a shot of where the new tongue mounts underneath the trailer:

Another shot, including the mounting brackets for the tongue shelf that is located behind the tongue box. Note the small cut-out for the hand brake. I actually modified the brake slightly to move the handle closer to the tub, and give more room for the shelf.

Here's an image of the brake handle relocation. I moved the handle assembly to the inside of the bracket that attaches it to the trailer, and drilled a new hole in the lever plate to move the hook closer to the tub. The AT can holders would not fit behind the tongue box without making this change:

Someone asked for a pic showing the mounting mechanism for the side shelves, so here are those:

These are the side shelves towards the front, with the AT can holders bolted to them. The inner-most mount is bolted to the tongue, and the outer-most mount is bolted to the frame. There are also bolts attaching the rear edge of this shelf to the fender:

Here is the mounting of the rear-most side shelves. These are welded to the angle iron that holds the rear bumper to the trailer, and then bolted to the trailer frame through the side using those same bolts, and again bolts along the front edge where the shelf and fender meet:

 

[bmonday]

very nice job on this trailer!!
thanks for sharing pics and info!

Well, given that your project was the inspiration for my lid design, and you're the first one I know of who thought to mount AT can holders on the side there, I should be thanking you . I think I literally handed my fab guy a pic of your trailer, and said "I want a lid like this one"

So... Thanks Izzy, for sharing *your* pics way back when

 

[bigdog]

these are great detail picures, thanks for posting all of them!

 

[socaljeeper]

So it looks to me that the new tounge is bolted to the stock mounts and extends at the same angle as stock. It is just extended further than stock. Is this correct? If that makes any sense.

 

[bmonday]

So it looks to me that the new tounge is bolted to the stock mounts and extends at the same angle as stock. It is just extended further than stock. Is this correct? If that makes any sense.

It's definitely using the stock tongue mounts, but since I never had the stock tongue, I can't comment on angles, or how much longer it currently is.

What I can tell you is that the distance between the front of the tub and the tip of the lunette is 63".

Hope that helps.

BMonday

 

[Cruiser]

Thanks for the picks of the A frame,, it looks like its spaced out with washers/spacers to give it a softer angle(if that makes sense) and thus making it longer when the two parts/sides of the A meet.. I just didnt thing such a slight change would make that drastic a difference.. And the U bolts look stock, but might be over from stock location. My 416 has several holes there and could easily be done..
Thanks again,, and again you have one very nice 416! I'll be modifying mine this weekend.. aint called LABOR day for nuttin...
Steve

 

[Sgt Grunt]

Nice work B!!! You really took it to the next step.

When I was putting the trailer together the one idea that I kept going back to was to keep the weight on the trailer and a proportional amount on the truck, that way I could still manage it by 1 Marine power. I knew that if I got things to heavy I could get myself into trouble on the trail if I had to disconnect, turn the trailer around by hand and move the pull vehicle back around. My average tongue weight was probably 150 to 250lbs.

Just a side note, the rear bumper was built by my Dad and I in the garage. The trailer was built prior to me knowing Christo probably 8 years back or so.

I am so glad it went to someone that will use it and not tear it up, that was a rare trailer. It was a 1987 vintage m416.

I have a different trailer for sale if anyone is interested....

Thanks for sharing Beau!!!!:jump:

 

[RJ40]

How has that diamond plate worked out for you? It has always been such a pain to keep looking good on my rig....

I love your mods and design...I will surely copy some of it!

Cheers!

 

[willyswagon]

Thanks for posting great pics and discriptions. I'll be using some of your ideas on my newest toy. Picked up a Can M101 yesterday.
I had to drive 4 hrs to get it but it was in great shape.
Stored indoors until 2yrs ago:Wow1:

Must focus... finish the wagon first

 

[bmonday]

How has that diamond plate worked out for you? It has always been such a pain to keep looking good on my rig....

I love your mods and design...I will surely copy some of it!

Cheers!

No problems so far - Looks fine. Though I don't often carry anything on it, so it's doesn't get rubbed on much.

 

[RJ40]

Have you added any gas struts to open the lid assembly with? If so, can you show the mounting and comment on how heavy they are i.e. how many lbs. are they designed to lift? Again, very nice build and design...

Cheers!