Texas4rnr M101 Trailer Build

[texas4rnr]

Hello! I've been around for a little bit but I thought I'd start a thread for our saga of converting this M101A2 trailer for our adventures. We found it on Facebook Marketplace locally. We paid less than the asking price.

The day we drove it home...

From there we got rid of the uprights and commissioned a professional welder to create a platform for the tent with multiple heights (low, medium, high) on gas struts. The supports were installed inside the trailer supports where the canvas was. We also modified the axle and swapped out the axle, putting new hubs on to match our Toyota tire pattern. I had a few extra used tires that matched my vehicle and bought some black wheels online.

Original Axle. For some reason the guy we bought of from painted literally EVERYTHING. Next, the Frame and Axle Swap took flight.



Our first outing with it was a success! We were able to use our Annex with it in the high position.



Next we have plans for onboard hot water and a kitchen slide, these have been our most recent projects and let me tell you, planning the slide out has been a challenge!

 

[texas4rnr]

We used one of the tether points to run a gravity fill dish and used metal strap to secure a water tank underneath the trailer. I will cover the hole made inside the trailer with a military medical box, just so the tube isn't exposed. I haven't done that yet.

 

[texas4rnr]

The custom kitchen slide/storage box has been a bit of a headache. I spent more than a month looking for a prefab door that would work for the size I wanted. The opening of the door itself is never what the actual opening is. The company I ordered from ASSURED me I was getting 16x16 doors or rather that the door itself was 16x16 not including the flange or other parts which were around 18x18. This was not the case. The door was more like less than 14x14 and we needed to move on so door modifications occurred. It came out surprisingly well considering!

Original Door with huge flange, wouldn't fit in the front panel of the trailer, flange needed to be cut (planned) but the door was too small to fit the slide through. The original door opening width was 14". The new opening is 16"
Modifications



Next I make the kitchen slide and paint. Stay tuned!

 

[texas4rnr]

We decided to use Raptor Liner for the paint because we liked the texture of it. We chose Olive Green and orange topography. We have become pros at masking, unmasking, masking, unmasking. We think it came out nicely. The topography is eh, but it's passable. The texture is a hard thing to do a stencil over.

 

[texas4rnr]

Finished Product and.... on to the kitchen slide make/install!

 

[texas4rnr]

We continue with the kitchen slide. Not pictured are a few extra plans we have to add lights just under the countertop tucked up under the top of the box. The roundover on the bottom will help keep it all in place and have a nice "nook" to be in. The fire design in the slide glows in the dark.

I attached a magnet to hold the faucet on the back side of the box and the 2 drawers are big enough for most of our stuff. The front steel thing is a paper towel holder and I intend to buy a telescoping pole for a light at some point. I also plan on buying a small soap dispenser holder to put our soap on the countertop with a magnet (so it doesn't blow off in wind). I used some highly figured Hawaiian Monkeypod for the top and a mixture of black metal sheeting, frp, and vinyl to accomplish the black bottom.

First run this weekend!

 

[texas4rnr]

Continued. Test fitment, Sand, Route, Finish, Install pics all here.

 

[nfloyd77]

Very nice!

 

[gatorgrizz27]

Nice build! Make sure your kitchen slide doesn’t get left out in the rain, unfortunately that plywood will delaminate with moisture. If you build anything else out of wood, this stuff uses exterior rated glue and is still relatively smooth/flat, though heavier.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/23-32-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Cabinet-Grade-Plywood-Panel-Actual-0-688-in-x-48-in-x-96-in-1077486/302610611

 

[texas4rnr]

Nice build! Make sure your kitchen slide doesn’t get left out in the rain, unfortunately that plywood will delaminate with moisture. If you build anything else out of wood, this stuff uses exterior rated glue and is still relatively smooth/flat, though heavier.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/23-32-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Cabinet-Grade-Plywood-Panel-Actual-0-688-in-x-48-in-x-96-in-1077486/302610611

I took that into consideration. I lacquered it and also have a waterproof "machine cover" for it. Time will tell!

 

[RagnarD]

Nice build. I did an simple build on a 101A2 for another Texan a few years ago. I will see if I can dig up a pic.