My back ain't getting any younger, and my jeep trailer ain't getting any lighter, so I figured what was needed was wheeled landing gear to take the load off.
Ordered an 8" swivel caster assembly, and my son and I fabricated a bracket to mate it to the landing gear.
Flat-Free Caster — 8in., Swivel Caster | Up to 299 Lbs. | Northern Tool + Equipment
We actually set this up a while back, but the first time it was tested the original wheel collapsed, despite being rated for 299 lbs. The thin sheetmetal of the rim assembly could not take any side loading whatsoever.
I found a replacement wheel made from solid dense plastic at Harbor Freight that was rated for some ridiculous amount, and fitted it in place of the original wheel. The rolling surface was narrow and plastic, so I machined the ends of the hub to take the bearings from the original wheel.
Finally got around to bolting it all together today. It works well. In fact so well that I'm glad the M100 trailer has a hand brake.
So why cobble this up instead of using a commercial landing gear assembly?
I had one on a trailer made from a half ton pickup, and was not impressed with it. The wheels are too hard and too small in diameter. So it kept hanging up and dragging on gravel. These only work OK on paved surfaces. What's needed is a softer tread, and a much larger diameter to roll over the gravel. Width should be a minimum of two inches. The whole assembly was wobbly and got worse every time it was shocked by the wheel coming to a sudden halt.
Note that the length of this assembly reflects that my trailer had a springover done on it, and that my pintle on my FJ40 sits 25.5" off the ground. The bottom of the lunette on my trailer now sits 22" off the ground. You don't want the landing gear to put the lunette at the same height as the pintle or else you won't be able to swing the landing up. This gives me enough clearance for rough terrain. The assembly can be shorted by two inches, putting the lunette at 20" off the ground, but that's as far as it will go without a redesign. And like I said, this works on a springover. It will require a redesign for a non-springover. Probably by moving the swivel caster forward and up.
Also, this is heavier than the original landing gear. The M100 assembly is pretty robust, but I don't know if the earlier WWII landing gear would have an issue or not with the weight. To prevent off road conditions from using the landing gear as a hammer against the casting, I plan to make a loop on it so a chain can support it.
This was an experiment. I don't know if I'll run this as a permanent design or not. Aside from the flimsy original wheel rim, the ball bearings are completely exposed. There is a grease nipple, but even so the grease itself will be exposed. At some point the elements will render it useless.
Not sure what I'd like to do for a permanent setup, but this will suffice in the meantime while I work on a better solution. Posting this to give people ideas or for feedback.
