So I have this M416.......

MoGas

MoGas

Central Scrutinizer
And it is stock except I put normal tail lights on it. I use it here and there for different tasks and I am at sort of a crossroads with it.

I have 3 kids, a wife and a dog.

We like to get out and do stuff.

Can I make this trailer more useful to our family or would I be better off selling it to get a pop up?

I already own the following camping gear that normally rides in the trailer:

Coleman 3 burner stove
3-5 gallon water jerry cans
4-5 gallon fuel NATO fuel cans
Family size tent
Air mattresses
Sun Shower
Port a Potty
Coleman camp table
4 post awning thing

We can all fit in the tent for now except the dog (dogs and tents don't mix) so he sleeps in his travel crate outside if it is nice or in the cruiser if it the weather is bad.

If we got a pop-up it would probably still not have a bathroom unless we got a monster sized one. A pop up would have heat and maybe A/C. A pop up would be more comfortable, but at what cost? A pop up would not be able to go on the trails, but I'm not planning on going anywhere that that would be an issue.

I'm just thinking aloud, so this may sound like rambling.

Any opinions are welcome.


Dave
 
MoGas

MoGas

Central Scrutinizer
Oh yeah.....pics.

5595ebd3.jpg

871b3cf9.jpg
 
dennisuello

dennisuello

Adventurer
Sell it to me. :)

But, seriously, you've got it all set up, the trailer holds all the gear, so why bother changing, unless you really wish for a comfort of a pop-up trailer.
 
arcteryx

arcteryx

Adventurer
If you don't want the trailer, let me know. Seriously.

Now, you can put on a lid on it and mount your tent. Very common. If all of your gear fits, great. Look ahead though. As the kids grow older, more gear will sure to accumulate.

I had a popup- Starcraft 11RT, which had a bathroom/shower. I am the only male, so the women loved it. LOTS of wife-friendly points. Not sure what your situation is. Popups are nice, but setting them up gets to be a pain. We don't stay at a place for more than 2 nights, so there is a lot of set up and tear down.

I sold mine because I sold my 80 and had no TV. Now, I do, but am strongly leaning towards a trailer where I can use my RTT.

Another thing, I see you are in AZ. Another question to ask yourself is if you camp in the summer. I'm in TX, and camping in 100+ degrees is not gonna happen with my family without AC. This may help you decide.

Holler if you have more questions on popups.

Cheers,
Jason
 
MoGas

MoGas

Central Scrutinizer
arcteryx said:
........ I am the only male, so the women loved it. LOTS of wife-friendly points. Not sure what your situation is...........
Click to expand...

The dog and I are the only males and she had both of us "fixed" I didn't know we were broken though.

arcteryx said:
Another thing, I see you are in AZ. Another question to ask yourself is if you camp in the summer. I'm in TX, and camping in 100+ degrees is not gonna happen with my family without AC. This may help you decide.
Click to expand...

Most of our Summer camping is in Colorado. Maybe Moab this coming May.
 
Bergger

Bergger

Explorer
It really depends on the type of camping you want to do. We had a popup for 6 years and it was really nice for the type of camping we did. It was all established camp grounds and some national forest back roads. We just sold it last month because we have come to realize we no longer enjoy the established camp grounds and the popup just did not go where we wanted to camp. So if you don't want to go beyond the gravel roads then you'll get a lot of enjoyment from a popup. They are very comfortable and have tons of amenities. However if you do want to get into the back country then I'd either keep the set up you have, possibly modify the trailer to make it even better, or go with a king kamper type set up or an Adventure trailer with an Eezi Awn 2200 tent.
 
IZZYDUSIT

IZZYDUSIT

Adventurer
Keep your m416 and you will be happy you did!
nothing beats the original beauty and ruggedness of a truly military trailer! you can build one to look like it but never can say it's a piece of history-right?
I have one which I modified to fit my needs -took a long time but I'm close...I employed the spare carrier under the trailer and loving it. thank g-d no swamps in AZ.
pm me your email and I'll send you some picks..btw I'm from phx and have not found the need yet for ac or heater-
camping in the summer up your neck of the woods takes care of the cooling part and for heat I put the lantern it the RTT for 5 minutes befor I check in for the night.
 
slosurfer

slosurfer

Adventurer
Keep the m416! You can check out my slow build as I am in a similar situation (soon to be 2 kids, wife, dog, and me) and I have much the same gear as you. Most the stuff in my build has been on a budget and has all been done to make the trailer more useful to us camping while at the same time I can easily switch vehicles with it and use it for work. You can see my build by clicking the link in my sig.

A warning mine is still really ugly as I have big plans for it someday and don't want to mess with painting and repainting everytime I change it, but it is solidly built and works perfectly.

( I say "soon to be 2 kids" because we are actually timing contractions right now for this 2nd one to get here)
 
revor

revor

Explorer
Yup keep your 416... I started with a 416 tube and the cheap lowbuck build up (besides tent) is a boom for the family!! I'll post pics soon..
 
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