Another M101 Build (1 Viewer)

[70sguy]

Wanted to build up something custom originally but after seeing GregB's M101 perform behind his BJ74 on Whipsaw trail, I was sold.
I managed to pick up this extra clean Canadian Military M101.
And of course only 30 days until we leave for
Surf & Turf at Pismo beach. The trailer HAD to come.
So panic mode on.
Eric Leblanc still had an aluminum lid available so that was perfect, saved me having to deal with that.
Put some canopy foam on the aluminum to seal it on the trailer and dropped it on, with the hinges Eric recommended.. no fuss. Nice product Eric!

Once the lid was installed on the trailer I took it to Strutwise and had em set it up with a couple of struts
Ended up with a pair charged to 250lbs each and some misc mounting brackets
Sorry, not too many progress shots as it was all about just getting it done.

 

[70sguy]

The trailer now affectionately known as G.G.E.R.P
(Greendale Grub Expedition/Roadtrip Platform)

Eezi Awn 2200 Family RTT installed.

Mudrak's back yard, Sonoma CA

 

[70sguy]

Tent deployed and lid open.
Strut mount geometry and likely pressure needs adjustment.
In the current configuration 2x 250 lb Struts is not enough to
hold the lid with stowed RTT up. When RTT is open I have to keep the lid latched to prevent the
lid from poping up on it's own.
I quickly screwed together some wood to create a bit of counter space for meal prep etc.

 

[70sguy]

First trip with a pintle/lunette set up.
With the trailer loaded correctly there was no
major clunking or rattling.
Very pleased with it.
I was originally planning on a tail gate but have reconsidered for
structural strength reasons.
If I do anything back there it will be a drawer system below the mid gate square tube.

Canopy tape will have to be replaced with some type of closed cell or
bulb sealing tape. In some heavy rain through WA state some moisture managed to pump
it's way through the foam.
Aside from the little bit of moisture, the lid and seal did a terrific job, nice to not have your gear stinky and covered with soot.

 

[70sguy]

Really impressed by the way the 101 tows and handles. The shocks really make for a nice composed ride.
The trailer tracks behind the 80 nicely. There was a lot of REALLY narrow windy stretches of Hwy 1 between Santa Cruz and San Simeon. Nice to not be constantly looking in the mirror or worrying about dropping a wheel off the road or hooking a barrier.
You can feel the weight back there but the trailer isn't having it's way with you which is nice.

 

[lx450landcruiser]

Hey nice looking trailer! Good to see you on the board, thanks again for the tail light. If you want to do a tailgate in your m101 Ill be fabricating one for a friends in the next couple of weeks. Ill make sure i take pics for ya.

cheers
Mike

 

[Brentbba]

Nice to see you grabbed that last lid from Eric! Which specific latches did you go with. Got the numbers on them?

 

[70sguy]

Ya, Greg and I snapped up the last two lids he had.

I went with a couple of SeaDog latches (#23354) from the local Marine shop. They did fine for the trip but I will have to find something more durable. The pins in the latch were already working their way loose by the end of the trip. Just not built for the pressure and vibrations involved.

EDIT!! Upgraded latches to a pair of McMaster Carr 13435A61 Draw latches. Much better now.
Also replaced lid seal from canopy tape to Mcmaster closed cell foam tape.

 

[70sguy]

Hey nice looking trailer! Good to see you on the board, thanks again for the tail light. If you want to do a tailgate in your m101 Ill be fabricating one for a friends in the next couple of weeks. Ill make sure i take pics for ya.

cheers
Mike

For sure. I don't think I am going to cut the rear end for a gate. I think it will compromise strength
and sealing ability. If I do anything back there I think it will be a drawer built into the lower half of the rear gate, and the upper part of the rear panel left in tact.

Do post some pics of the gate though.. I am interested in seeing more of your work.

 

[70sguy]

Used Seadog 23314 2" Stainless hinges X4
They appear to be holding up much better than the
latches.

 

[d0ubledown]

nice setup! those lids eric had look great. got a P/N for the lift struts he or you used? the pair im using for mine barely holds mine up now...but of course its not an aluminum lid. a gate does sacrifice a bit of structural rigidity. dont cut all the way to the top & you should be ok...they definitely come in handy though, especially with an RTT. good way to access the cargo area without having to disturb the RTT. on the latches, look at the HD draw latches from mcmaster. i used something similar, since the draw latches i got from home depot were nowhere heavy duty enough to withstand the rigors of off road trailering.


lx's m101 build is fantastic. his fab skills have transformed his m101 to something that rivals or betters the AT's. looks like your trailer sits a lil tongue high with the 80? if it still does that unloaded, you might want to put the lunette ring on the top mounting hole to level things out...

how was the drive to SNT? id love to drive to socal with the trailer in the next couple years. take the 5 down and the coast up. did you just camp along the way...or were you driving straight through?

 

[eleblanc]

The position of the struts is the whole secret, on my buddy M101 the 2 struts were too strong, it wasn't easy to pull down the cover to close it, even with the RTT on.

 

[eleblanc]

Search part # 13435A61 on mcmaster-carr those are the latch i use
I'll try to search mcmaster-carr equivalent of what i used for the struts.

 

[70sguy]

Sorry, don't have a part number. Simplest is to just take your trailer over to Strutwise in Surrey
StrutWise sells,repairs,refurnbishes,custom designs gas struts in US,Canada,worldwide. and
Frank can measure up, pick out your brackets and he will charge your struts to whatever pressure required to do the job. Mine will take up to 500lbs charge each.
IIRC I paid $150 for the pair all in with brackets.

I have to rework my strut configuration. I like where they are at as far as being tucked out of the way, but the geometry makes it just too hard to set em up.
I am going to move em to a position where in the lid open position the angle of the strut is close to 90 degrees to the lid. The goal is full pound for pound mechanical advantage in the lid open position,
and when moved toward the closed position the mechanical advantage tips in favor of the lid...and the lid won't self open, even with the RTT opened up.
I would recommend you do same, especially if you are metal lid and planning for RTT.

 

[70sguy]

The position of the struts is the whole secret, on my buddy M101 the 2 struts were too strong, it wasn't easy to pull down the cover to close it, even with the RTT on.

Absolutely, and when you have the largest, heaviest RTT that Eezi Awn makes it really makes it a bit of a trick to get things set up.
We are lucky that we have a strut guy out here that can adjust the gas charge to fine tune things, and make adjustments as the lid load changes with mods down the road.

 

[70sguy]

Search part # 13435A61 on mcmaster-carr those are the latch i use
I'll try to search mcmaster-carr equivalent of what i used for the struts.

Frank at Strutwise told me that that the charge cylinder should be at the top for long strut life.

 

[70sguy]

nice setup! those lids eric had look great. got a P/N for the lift struts he or you used? the pair im using for mine barely holds mine up now...but of course its not an aluminum lid. a gate does sacrifice a bit of structural rigidity. dont cut all the way to the top & you should be ok...they definitely come in handy though, especially with an RTT. good way to access the cargo area without having to disturb the RTT. on the latches, look at the HD draw latches from mcmaster. i used something similar, since the draw latches i got from home depot were nowhere heavy duty enough to withstand the rigors of off road trailering.


lx's m101 build is fantastic. his fab skills have transformed his m101 to something that rivals or betters the AT's. looks like your trailer sits a lil tongue high with the 80? if it still does that unloaded, you might want to put the lunette ring on the top mounting hole to level things out...

how was the drive to SNT? id love to drive to socal with the trailer in the next couple years. take the 5 down and the coast up. did you just camp along the way...or were you driving straight through?

It would definitely be nice to be able to have some access to the trailer after the kids have gone to bed.
I am still considering the options for some type of gate or rear drawer.
Yup, slightly tongue high, once everyone gets in the truck it flattens out a bit. I will have to play with it a little yet.

S&T is a good 22hrs driving time from Vancouver area if you take the I5 almost all the way. We opted to not do straight shots like GregB and I did for S&T 2006. Would not make for happy wife and kids. I had 12 days off this time so it was a lot more relaxed trip. We had 5 days to make it down to San Luis Obispo so we I5'd to Redding and then cut West over the 299 to Arcata/Eureka, then took the 101 and Hwy 1 South to Pismo. I have relatives in Portland and Redding, so RTT camping started from Sonoma south.
Can be hit and miss for camping as many state camp grounds are closed by Nov. There are no facility camp spots but they are Motor Home only (self contained) and the rangers kick you out.

Checked out the military forts at Golden Gate bridge and then Golden Gate park. Elephant seal sanctuary.
Did a tour of Hearst Castle on the way down. Fantastic trip, I highly recommend it. Fall is beautiful on Cali coast.
Now if only I could get all the Pismo sand out of everything.

 

[Splittilps]

Looks good!! I did the same thing this summer! We decided to go down to Olympic and Mt. Rainier National parks for about 3 weeks. (6500km round trip) So I found a trailer and had about a month to get it ready. With 2 kids and all the stuff it was a life saver. How do you like the RTT? Do you find it has allot of room. Right now we have an 8 man Big Agnes tent witch is great for a base camp but I would like to have a RTT for just the 1 nighters.

Truck and Trailer: I didn't have time to paint the lid before we left.

Trailer:

Cheers

 

[eleblanc]

Frank at Strutwise told me that that the charge cylinder should be at the top for long strut life.

Then you put spacer so that the cylinder housing doesn't touch lid, he is probably right about strut life, but seriously, it ain't going to open has much has a rear car door!

 

[lx450landcruiser]

For sure. I don't think I am going to cut the rear end for a gate. I think it will compromise strength
and sealing ability. .

you see how thick these things are?