Basically any mods made to this trailer will have to be bolt-on, as I do not want to destroy this trailer in any way. It is in VERY good condition for a M416 as usually they are cut or destroyed in some way, whether it be a crunched floor or sides, or missing parts. Mine is only missing the lunette and blackout lights.
The first thing after the top bows and tarp it will be receiving is a kayak rack, but I plan on making a cross bar system capable of holding a trailer top tent of some sort. I do not want to spend $1k so I may make my own out of canvas and a hard roof of some kind.
Here are the initial pictures...
I forgot to take pics of the top bows, but they are PVC and I got the Idea from Boyink.
Here are the pics of the canvas top though.
What the bows look like... The Bantam is Boyinks'
I actually like the look of the domed canvas, I wonder if I could fiberglass over the canvas to make a lid in some way?
Well I lost the ebay auction I was bidding on with the rack and 2 sets of J bars... but on the upside I will get off even cheaper because through Ski patrol I got a huge discount on a rack for the trailer, and there will be no modifying :woot:. I just have to try to find a set of Thule J bars...
In this pic it shows the rack setting in place, as well as the PVC bow supports.
Yeah they just clamp on, almost like they were made for the trailer. The rack is a Thule rack, got a helluva deal on it. I just burned he box, The paper work says it is for racks 751, 754, and 756... I am not sure which one this is though.
Well finally got my J bars, hopefully if I get a spring bonus next year I will buy the tent top unit to turn it into a camper.... I need to get some trays for the bikes, I think I could squeeze them in. Need to finish the YJ so I could maybe use the danged thing. :sonicjay: I should just sell it for a stocker/mild lift YJ.
Yes I know the load bars are 'supposed' to be 24" apart. I think this will be fine though.
And the build is now started. I got in on a group buy of CVT (Cascadia Vehicle Tents) and the quality seems to be really nice. Mine was damaged in shipment, but I had already planned a trip with the family for my sons first camping trip and Cascadia Tents told me to use it and we can work it out later.
I am on the road a lot for work, so currently Jeepaholic is working on plans for the lid/lift that will allow the tent to be raised to the minimum 6.5' height needed to use the annex room. We have some ideas, and I will post some of them below.
Here it is mounted on the H3. We definitely want to get it mounted on the trailer so we can set up camp and still have use of the truck/rig that is towing it.
After that was sketched out, I found this on the web.
I also found this in my stockpile of rarely used stuff and plan to work it into the build, maybe with solar panels and a battery eventually.
Wonder how long I could run a refrigerator like you had in a dorm...
I was sent some pictures today, the weather cooled a bit and Jeepaholic got started on my lid!
I was planning some solar and batteries... but batteries and this may be a better option, just found it at the local pawn shop :teehee: With this and some batteries + the invertor I might be able to run a fridge and the microwave, just so long as they are not both on the generator or both on the invertor.
Microwave that will be a part of the trailer. I found this at a garage sale YEARS ago (about 12). I think it is about 1 cu ft. I forgot I had it until I started working on this build. I had it hidden in my bedroom when I was in HS.
It is 750 Watt, so it is right at the edge of what my generator can do, same as my invertor. It wouldn't be used often though.
The glass bottom is in the dishes waiting to be washed.
Cool Build. I am watching this one. Thanks for the help over on Expo. Getting ready to start the tear down of my M416 next weekend. Debating on whether or not to get mine sand blasted.
That will eventually happen to mine. I just want to try to get it sorted out. When I get a house with a garage and barn then I can tear it apart and make it pretty.
The Coleman outlet was having a truckload sale and I ended up dropping some coin there today in preparation for the trailer and our trip.
Picked up 2 of these for inside of the lid when at camp. They may get used elsewhere, but I thought they may be good for that.
Picked this up because the wife wanted it for the trailer.
Sand blasting these trailers is a good idea but, not as simple as it sounds. The one that I did was a lot of work. The military paint was some tough stuff and many layers thick.
I was useing a commercial walk in sand blaster with steel shot. The paint came off so slowly that it was faster to use paint stipper and a scraper taking off one to two layers at a time. Then I blasted it afterwards.
Yeah the CARC is tough stuff. Mine is flaking off in areas, yet seems rather solid in others. You have to be careful with this stuff if you grind on it, sand it, or strip it. It is pretty toxic and can cause silicosis (sp). Full respirator is a must. If stripping it, the remnants should be disposed of properly. I have heard others using aircraft stripper covered with wet newspaper/saran wrap and letting it sit. I guess this process works well as the newspaper will keep the stripper from evaporating to quickly. I may give it a try. I am sure it will make quite a toxic mess though.
Marine pull switch, first position turns on the invertor, second position turns on the battery meter and invertor
AC Connection/charger connection
Removable tail light pigtail
Tail light boxes
it will be a knee catcher, but it works.
Painted the front preparing for the box. Most of the old paint was in decent shape so I knocked off the loose stuff then primed. Messing with the CARC or whatever it is called is not on my agenda anytime soon.
It was about this point we realized the fender had gotten bent.
I cut it loose, and Adam will get it welded back up, there will be diamond plate on the top as a step
Some pics with the box setting in place
Also trying to figure out where to mount the spare since the back will have a kitchen area... I may just mount it and get a portable kitchen.
I like your corner jack idea, but I would have mouted the light box vertical. Then angled the little rail from the fender in to the light box.
That knee knocker will also catch on passing trees, stumps and brush. Angled in, it would be less likely to do so.
Just my 2 cents.
I wanted to maximize the step/shelf space. I am also being realistic, this is Michigan. The only real trails this trailer might make it on are some two-tracks and maybe some tight stuff. It was a trade off, but I think it will be a good one considering this may only go west a couple times in its lifetime.
Since the lights will be routed into the box to charge the battery, I got this to route them out and still retain the reverse lights, better than a grommet as I can remove the box if need be without cutting the harness.
Something to consider concerning the tongue jack / stabilizer you've mounted. I used basically the same thing on my teardrop that I built. I thought it was good and secure. However, once you crawl in it it's surprising how much play there really is. The thing moves a bunch when you roll over. You'll have the same problem with your RTT mounted.
If I did it all over again, I would consider something like these as they would remove any play from the trailer. They can be found cheaper but this was the first that came up when I googled it. They mount underneath without really taking up any clearance and deploy easily without having the knee banger issue. http://www.amazon.com/BAL-23025-Sta...344305578&sr=8-2&keywords=rv+stabilizer+jacks
On the other hand, leaving the trailer hooked to the vehicle pretty much removes all movement when you sleep in it anyway. Generally, I just quickly hook back up if the trailer was disconnected and go to bed.
Wait until you see the lift mech, the play in those jacks will be the least of my worries :teehee:
I am hoping it isn't too bad, but I will find out in a couple weeks. I'm hoping Adam gets the lift mechanism mostly done this week/next week so we can try to work the kinks out before our trip.
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