Custom 4x4 Prospecting/Camping Trailer Build


Recommended Posts

I'm in the middle of a project building a trailer to tow behind my Jeep. I found the guts of a 1952 M101 Dump trailer on Craigslist. I picked the dump tailer because the axle has heavy duty hand brakes that lock the thing down like a bunker and it's a 3/4 ton.

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb436/arizonaoverland/CoolRock031800x600.jpg

I started out by chopping it down and getting rid of the dump tongue and old pintle style hitch. A lot of guys are still running the pintle hitches but they can bind up easy when really jackknifed, trust me I tested it.

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb436/arizonaoverland/Tailerphotos001800x600.jpg

Saving the parking brakes and axle have been a bit of a challenge and alot of extra work. The two peice wheels I have mixed feelings about, I had a good friend growing up who's grandfather had two hooks for hands because of a two part wheels! :o But alot of guys still run them for remote expedition trailers and vehicles because you can often replace the tube and get of the the backcountry with just hand tools and a small air compressor without hauling the weight of one or more spare tires. I would have dumped the wheels if I could at first but no one makes a 5x6.75 lug bolt pattern wheel anymore. Plus I like the fact that the wheels, axle and hand brakes give it some level of historical authenticity. I got ALOT of hours into it already and it's just starting to take shape.

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb436/arizonaoverland/trailerproject012800x600.jpg

Here are a few of the plans before I started....

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb436/arizonaoverland/001800x600.jpg

She will be getting a top that can be used as a table and what I think is a very cool tailgate with a galley cabinet, all custom made by yours truly... B)

I sure would like to hear any ideas or suggestions. I know some of you guys have some great ideas. Now I am at the stage to add custom ideas. Right now that list includes...

Dual battery tray under the main box and behind the axle line.

35 watt solar panels on the lid.

12 volt waterpump and heater

Anyhow thanks for looking.....AzOverland

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 53
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I'm in the middle of a project building a trailer to tow behind my Jeep. I found the guts of a 1952 M101 Dump trailer on Craigslist. I picked the dump tailer because the axle has heavy duty hand brakes that lock the thing down like a bunker and it's a 3/4 ton.

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb436/arizonaoverland/CoolRock031800x600.jpg

I started out by chopping it down and getting rid of the dump tongue and old pintle style hitch. A lot of guys are still running the pintle hitches but they can bind up easy when really jackknifed, trust me I tested it.

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb436/arizonaoverland/Tailerphotos001800x600.jpg

Saving the parking brakes and axle have been a bit of a challenge and alot of extra work. The two peice wheels I have mixed feelings about, I had a good friend growing up who's grandfather had two hooks for hands because of a two part wheels! :o But alot of guys still run them for remote expedition trailers and vehicles because you can often replace the tube and get of the the backcountry with just hand tools and a small air compressor without hauling the weight of one or more spare tires. I would have dumped the wheels if I could at first but no one makes a 5x6.75 lug bolt pattern wheel anymore. Plus I like the fact that the wheels, axle and hand brakes give it some level of historical authenticity. I got ALOT of hours into it already and it's just starting to take shape.

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb436/arizonaoverland/trailerproject012800x600.jpg

Here are a few of the plans before I started....

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb436/arizonaoverland/001800x600.jpg

She will be getting a top that can be used as a table and what I think is a very cool tailgate with a galley cabinet, all custom made by yours truly... B)

I sure would like to hear any ideas or suggestions. I know some of you guys have some great ideas. Now I am at the stage to add custom ideas. Right now that list includes...

Dual battery tray under the main box and behind the axle line.

35 watt solar panels on the lid.

12 volt waterpump and heater

Anyhow thanks for looking.....AzOverland

Nice job on the trailer!

Im going to be working on the trailer for Quadzimoto here pretty soon.

Quadzi just doesnt seem to fit very well in the back of a 4runner.

Its great to be able to do things like that yourself.

Save a lot of money and it gives you somthing to think about

when your laying in bed and suppose to be sleeping :)

Keep up the good work...you will enjoy it!

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AzOverland,

Trailer is looking real good, keep going with your ideas, it will be nice.

Concerning those *&^**!@#@@ rims, by all means get rid of them. There are plenty of rims out there

that you can use tubes with if you desire, and they will work just as well. You know someone that paid

dearly for the inherently dangerousness-(a word?) of those types of rims, and I can relate my experience

with them.

In the mid 70's, while working construction, the boss told my co-worker and myself to take the truck to

a tire shop and have the spare and two on the truck replaced. The shop was busy, so we had to wait our turn.

While standing around the truck waiting for our turn, and watching the workers taking care of business, one

of them was working on a pepsi truck that had those kind of rims, and he had this big cage that he lowered over

the rim after banging the ring back on with a sledge. It looked good to inflate, so he did.

Good thing he had the cage over it because when it was almost fully inflated, the ring broke and "blew" in several pieces. If the cage hadn't contained the pieces, no telling who would of been hurt, maimed or killed, not to mention the damage to nearby vehicles or the building. I think you'll be happier without that style of rim.

Again, good luck with your build, it is turning out nice.

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AzOverland,

Trailer is looking real good, keep going with your ideas, it will be nice.

Concerning those *&^**!@#@@ rims, by all means get rid of them. There are plenty of rims out there

that you can use tubes with if you desire, and they will work just as well. You know someone that paid

dearly for the inherently dangerousness-(a word?) of those types of rims, and I can relate my experience

with them.

In the mid 70's, while working construction, the boss told my co-worker and myself to take the truck to

a tire shop and have the spare and two on the truck replaced. The shop was busy, so we had to wait our turn.

While standing around the truck waiting for our turn, and watching the workers taking care of business, one

of them was working on a pepsi truck that had those kind of rims, and he had this big cage that he lowered over

the rim after banging the ring back on with a sledge. It looked good to inflate, so he did.

Good thing he had the cage over it because when it was almost fully inflated, the ring broke and "blew" in several pieces. If the cage hadn't contained the pieces, no telling who would of been hurt, maimed or killed, not to mention the damage to nearby vehicles or the building. I think you'll be happier without that style of rim.

Again, good luck with your build, it is turning out nice.

Greg

WOW! I have not heard of the ring blowing apart!

I hear you loud and clear but the truth of the matter is I can't find the wheels and I have spent many hours searching. The lug bolt holes are .5 inch and the bolt pattern is 5x6.75 with a 5 inch bore. I can't find a one peice wheel to those specs and an adaptor plate won't work because the bore size only comes in a 8 lug pattern. So I had to decide to ditch and whole axle and hand brakes or keep the wheels. But yes you are right if that ring comes off it does so with force and authority, it'll cut a man in half. When you seat the tire you better be behind a cage or far away. Once the wheel is set it'll stay in place but when servicing the tire/wheel one needs to be safe and smart. A few tricks include lowering the axle of the vehicle down on the wheel and using a long screw on air line when you set the bead. With any luck I will never have to do it in the feild but if I had to I have a good understanding of how to do it with a reasonable amount of safety.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AzOverland,try Stockton wheel Phone 800-395-9433. They should have the wheel you need Bob

Good call Bob - they don't have one but can make it. And a 1/3 of an oz of gold would pay for both :wacko: ........Thanks - you wouldn't believe the searching I had done. Don't know why they didn't get a Google hit?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good call Bob - they don't have one but can make it. And a 1/3 of an oz of gold would pay for both :wacko: ........Thanks - you wouldn't believe the searching I had done. Don't know why they didn't get a Google hit?

I dont know the width of your trailer but....heres what ive done in the past.

I work on old cars and like to upgrade the rear end to newer ones.

I go to the junk yard and get an axle that is the right width.

Cut the spring mounts off and shock mounts off.

Measure the old car axle mounts and weld them to specs on the junkyard axle.

You can get them really cheap from U pull it junk yards like Ecology auto.

Ask them when thier next half price day is. They usually have them in the summer cuz its so stinking hot!

That way you have a common wheel and tire on your trailer.

It may be a tad heavier due to the differential.

One thing if you do go this route...pull the differential cover at the junk yard and inspect the ring and pinion

gears for damage.

Heck, you could even get really fancy and put a electo/hydraulic brake cylinder on it and have trailer brakes! :)

Something to think about when your suppose to be sleeping :P

Hope this helps.

Tom H.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AzOverland,

After a little searching, it seems that there are rims out there to update yours, but I don't know if you will be able to find them, it seems that the military had one piece rims made to update the older rims, the rims were made "...in 2007 by GKN Land Systems in the USA for the Military...", I found this info on a forum and the posting is around a year old.

Here's a link to the thread even if it's just for your info, don't know if it will help you find a set or not.

http://www.g741.org/PHPBB/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3299

Maybe you can find a set via a surplus supply company, or if you're lucky by contacting GKN Land Systems??

http://www.gknlandsystems.com/

Skip

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks ALOT for the info on the wheels. When I saw the post and pictures on the other forum I got my hopes up and will keep looking but the guy is sold out and GNK does not have any and only sells in large numbers. I checked more out on Stockton wheel and they seem to have a pretty bad rep, one guy did have the same wheel modified into one piece but alot of guys out there say they sent wheels into Stockton and never got them back..... :(:(

So it looks like I'll be keeping the WINDOW MAKERS for some time at least.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sweet!

Its coming along great.

With that clearence you wont have to worry about dragging the rear end. :)

How do you keep your garage so clean?

Mine turns into a disaster when I build stuff.

Tom H.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL.....As soon as I could get the wheels on I rolled it out and spent an hour cleaning the garage....close to painting the undercarrage and needed to clean up a bit to put down and plastic. We have been rolling around in grease and metal shavings since last week.

The departure angle is CRAZY - alot better then the Jeep. The tires are 3 feet tall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks ALOT for the info on the wheels. When I saw the post and pictures on the other forum I got my hopes up and will keep looking but the guy is sold out and GNK does not have any and only sells in large numbers. I checked more out on Stockton wheel and they seem to have a pretty bad rep, one guy did have the same wheel modified into one piece but alot of guys out there say they sent wheels into Stockton and never got them back..... :(:(

So it looks like I'll be keeping the WINDOW MAKERS for some time at least.

Too bad the guy was sold out of them, I figured he would be. :girl:

Doing the searching the other day I ran across another forum that the guys were replacing the whole axle on M101s with I believe it was with a M101A axle, it seems that the M101A has 8 lugs and Chrysler,and Humvee 1 piece rims would work with that axle, one of the guy was saying he found an M101A axle for around $125 at a military surplus yard.

If you need me to try and find the forum/thread again on that topic, let me know.

The trailer is looking good and should be able to handle some rugged terrain!!!

Skip

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Too bad the guy was sold out of them, I figured he would be. :girl:

Doing the searching the other day I ran across another forum that the guys were replacing the whole axle on M101s with I believe it was with a M101A axle, it seems that the M101A has 8 lugs and Chrysler,and Humvee 1 piece rims would work with that axle, one of the guy was saying he found an M101A axle for around $125 at a military surplus yard.

If you need me to try and find the forum/thread again on that topic, let me know.

The trailer is looking good and should be able to handle some rugged terrain!!!

Skip

Hey Skip, I ended up a at place called Jack's Surplus in Tucson over the weekend and learned alot. The M101 trailer has a 3/4 ton axle where as the M101A is a 1/4 ton. He had alot of parts for the M101 axle. He didn't have a problem with the wheels, He's been throwing them around for the last 35 years and never had a problem. So we picked up two used tires and then had them mounted at a truck stop. The guy at the truck stop told us the wheels were in really good shape with no rust on the inside at all. The split wheels on the trailer are not the same as the "widow maker" wheel on the old Fords. I would still prefer a one piece wheel because the radial tires are easier to patch with a plug to get out of the woods. But when all is said in done we will have to get by on the split rim for hopefully a few years now. If you do see anymore of those one piece wheels pop up I would be greatful to know about it all the same. Thanks - Jason

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Little more progress...

I made a collar for the rear hitch, the rounded hitch tube runs the whole length of the trailer. This adds alot of expense so you won't see this in trailers you can buy but gives the trailer a very stout core.

TrailerGate002800x600.jpg

Also found and added this 2000 lb. pull action latch to the rear tailgate, it locks up like a vault. You will also notice I filled the seems with an automotive metal caulk. It will make the tub water/weather proof and has helped to reduce the little "oil can" effect and rattles in the side panels. Sounds like a drum now.

TrailerGate004800x600.jpg

I chose to add a pipe mount side handle 2500 lb. jack to the tounge. I went with this style because the jack can be removed from the trailer and put to use on the trail or around the campsite. I'm really not sure what use that will be - if any - but I do like the versatility if needed. The jack has a max lift of 15 inches and max height of 31 inches from center mount to base.

TrailerGate007800x600.jpg

Hoping to get this thing on the trails and into the gold feilds in 2-3 weeks....just as it starts to cool back down B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice build! i have the same jeep and 101a and mine is a 3/4! still in original shape with paint stencil from 1956. I got it from herlong depot for 250 bucks. It hauls one hell of a load of lodgepole! Even the wiring has the old military plug still. Kinda dont want to cut this one up though. I'll put a pic up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice build! i have the same jeep and 101a and mine is a 3/4! still in original shape with paint stencil from 1956. I got it from herlong depot for 250 bucks. It hauls one hell of a load of lodgepole! Even the wiring has the old military plug still. Kinda dont want to cut this one up though. I'll put a pic up.

Does your 101a have the 5x6.75 bolt pattern and hand brakes?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.