Dawson's M-416 Build (1 Viewer)

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Lid

I had the day off and I chose to take advantage of the beautiful weather! I picked up the lid from the metal shop first thing this morning. I spent most of the morning riveting the bottom tubing on.
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I then cut the rest of the tubing and riveted it. I still need to find someone with a TIG who can put some stitch welds on it to make it a little more stable. I laid down on it and it feels really sturdy! Tomorrow I'll be finishing the paint prep and installing the hinges on the trailer. I've already got the latches so I'll install them too. I hope to hit it with some primer in the AM. Depending on the weather, which is supposed to be a breezy 74 degrees (God I love Texas), I might be able to get coat number one on in the afternoon.

Here are the rest on the pics:

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D
 
Well the build is slowly coming to a close. I spent most of the weekend painting! Very tiring but I'm very pleased with the final result.
I bought a cheap paint gun at Northern Tool and it made the paint job look really nice. It didn't atomize as fine as I would have liked but the texture ended up looking really good. I used Rustoleum primer and a black and red enamel (gloss). The red enamel actually matches the Jeep perfectly, which was nice since i didn't have an option to tint it. Sorry for the crappy night shots, I'll take some more tomorrow! I'll put the RTT on tomorrow too and take some final shots of it behind the Jeep.
I'll start making plans for the guts of the trailer this week.
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SWEET FRIGGIN' JOB JACK!!!!!!!!!

I cant believe how well the paint matches the Jeep:eek: Lid looks great and so does the tailgate.

OK...now stop foolin' around and get the inside stuff done for crying out loud !!:lol::flipoff2::clap:

Good job Bro! :beer:
 
Couple of questions:

1st, how much did the lid run you...roughly speaking?
2nd, do you have a cadd file of the design? Mind sharing it?
3rd, That is very nicely done! Are you going to use gas struts to lift the lid?

Cheers!
 
Couple of questions:

1st, how much did the lid run you...roughly speaking?
2nd, do you have a cadd file of the design? Mind sharing it?
3rd, That is very nicely done! Are you going to use gas struts to lift the lid?

Cheers!
1) The aluminum sheet is 5052 .090 grade 60"Wx74 1/4"L and it was $186 out the door. I used .062 wall'd 1"x1" aluminum tubing. I got 2-21' lengths for about 25 bucks a piece. I had a metal shop bend it and weld the ends on for about zero dollars (that helped the cost a lot!) I then riveted the rest myself so i guess i spent about $250-$260 on it.

2)CAD, no problem post up or PM me your e-mail address.

3) Two gas struts 250lb each.

D
 
I went ahead and put the RTT on after work. I am so pleased with the way it turned out! I can't wait to take it out again. I wonder if I can convince Alli to go camping for Valentines day?

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It is still pretty light but I'm definitely gonna need those struts soon. It's good to see that I can lift the lid with he tent extended if I needed access to the front of the trailer.
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Easy as...
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1...
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2...
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3...
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D
 
That looks great, nice job on the color scheme, love the way it matches your Jeep!
 
Well I made a few changes since I've last posted up. I've added 2-250lb. gas springs to aide with lifting and to hold the lid up.
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I fab'd up a couple brackets for the struts as well. I ended up riveting the brackets to the inside of the lid. It isn't the prettiest job in the world but it is super sturdy.
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I also added a High-lift bracket to the back and moved the tent forward on the trailer.
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I also replaced the cover for it. The brown one had a defective zipper so Mombasa sent me a replacement. They inadvertently send me a gray one (the gray one is supposed to go with the original Expedition Series tent, and the brown with the Expedition Series Plus) It ended up being a blessing in disguise. I like the look of the gray cover much better than the brown. I think it goes with the trailer as well.
Brown:
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Gray:
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I also added the original M416 data plates to the front.
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I've taken the trailer out three times and have really enjoyed it each time. We camped at Tyler State Park a few weeks ago. It was a really nice park with some pretty challenging biking trails.
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I also used it in Oklahoma while helping to develop a trail systm for a new park in Daisy, OK (coming soon!). It was 22 degrees, very windy, and the tent held up perfectly. I'm glad I brought my 0 degree bag that trip! This month is going to offer a lot of action for the trailer. Alli and I are going to Fossil Rim this coming weekend, BMRA for the Election Run the weekend after that, and back to Daisy the last weekend of this month.

I've already got the water tank and Shurflo pump plumbed and ready to roll. I just need to figure out how I'm going to mount it and where. The tank is a ten gallon and will weight about 80 lbs full. I dont think putting it at the front of the trailer is a good idea. It's going to add too much weight there. So the only other place to put it would be over the axle to one side. I can put my battery bank on the other side to balance it out.

Any thoughts/suggestions?
 
I didnt see if you added a wheel jack to the front of your trailer, but if you did, 80lbs won't affect moving the trailer around that much (by hand), not sure how sensitive your suspension is on your tow rig.

I am placing mine in front of the axle under the trailer, with an aluminum skid plate. i wanted the 80lbs as low and center as possible, and thats what i came up with. hope it helps

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