No.5 1965 Australian Army Trailer

[Steve F]

Rewired my 160w folding panel so the two panels are wired in series and now charge through a Victron 75/15 controller, starts producing power earlier and more of it, much better than with the original PWM controller and wired in parallel.

Also added a simple external table using an aluminium extrusion designed for it.

Solar regulator and wiring sorted and mounted. Works great.

Aluminium strip attached above the guard and painted black to blend in a bit.

Other half of the extrusion on a piece of flat pack do it yourself kitchen, stuck some rubber on the underside to stop it from sliding in the track and to take up the little bit of space the extrusion needs.

Done

Did a weight test on the table, solid as a rock with a 5.5kg (full) gas bottle on it.

Takes up very little room in the trailer and is perfect for small jobs like making lunch etc. The table sits on top of the fridge when in transit.

Cheers
Steve

 

[VicMackey]

I don't always agree with the things people do to their trailers. In your case, everything you have done has been great. Quality work, and very creative too.

I am new to the military trailer game. Can you please tell me what that black "welded on can of soup" thing is in the center of your rear bumper. It is in picture 2 of your first post.

 

[Steve F]

It used to be for connecting multiple trailers together, but it was cut off for civilian sale Some have them, some got cut off.

Cheers
Steve

 

[VicMackey]

OK, makes sense. Thanks Steve.

 

[46flattie]

Great awning...like the shade idea for the trailer contents when not in normal use.

 

[Steve F]

Found some more info on my trailer I had all its history back to '74 but missed out on the interesting stuff before that.

I now know it was in South Vietnam up until 27th of Feb 1970 where it was loaded on the HMAS Sydney at Vung Tau and returned back to Sydney (via Fremantle) with 5RAR (Knowing this made it easier to find some relevant pics) and got there on the 10th of March 1970.

It was back in Sydney until the 2nd of April 1971 where is was loaded on the freighter Jeparit and went off to Singapore (Most likely as part of ANZUK) eventually coming back to Sydney sometime in 1974 and doing the rounds until I got it in 2016

I even found some pics of HMAS Sydney coming into Sydney on the 10th of March 1970 but of course none of the cargo, as expected, as it was a welcome home for 5RAR

Cheers
Steve

 

[indiedog]

Nice to know the history of your trailer Steve. Good find.