kilos SLOW build

[kilo]

I got my M416 about 13 months ago now and have been doing a little here and there.. I don't have a shop just a small garage packed with other year around junk in and don't always have the right tools but I have managed. Due to piss poor planning(which my DI in bootcamp told me would get me nowhere) has made this build somewhat discourageing. I'm not a hard core offroader but do love to get out and camp/fish/hunt. This trailer is mainly for the coast down on PINS. Would like to have some water, RTT, propane, cooking area. Nothing to fancy? I take trips to my grandmothers ranch down in Mexico and this would come in handy for me down there as well. Thanks to AIRLAIRD for finding this for me and ALL of your guys help with all of the ideas! Here we go with some pics...

This is how I found it. He had 2 of them along with the one with round fenders which was in better shape, but decided for the 416 look, piss poor planning again.

The tongue had been rusted off with alot of rust here and there. I was able to go back an pick up another tongue from him at no extra charge, did't have any tools the first time. She had been wrecked in the back drivers side that I didn't notice(piss poor planning) that has caused some extra work for me. Had to straighten the back portion of the frame and cut and replace the rear cross beam that is now much stronger.

I have sand blasted the entire thing and had some of it powder coated to prevent anymore rust. Not thinking about having to grind and do some welding on it I just have to redo the damn thing again? Again piss poor planning. The guy I used didn't do a good job on the powder coating, I now have some rust leaking through in some areas so I guess I'll POR-15 or something? Due to the wreck they replaced a leaf pack that didn't match, one side had 8 and the other 10. So I ordered a new set with C-shackles. Had a hard time finding the same hub pattern on my Tacoma so I ordered a new axle. It was a bit wider and should have left it alone for stability BUT i cut 4" out of it and now have it back close to original with 255/75-16 MAXXIS Bighorns that I will be putting on the truck as well to match all around.

I'll get some more pics of what I have done here soon. Again guys thanks for all of the ideas!!

 

[titanpat57]

Patience is for pussies...throw that thing together and go camping...lol!!

Anyway..looks like you got your hands full but your on the right track. Fix the things that you can and go have fun with it...unless your crippled with the details like me...hey, what's a little OCD between trailer nutz?

Good Luck, Pat

 

[kilo]

Patience is for pussies...throw that thing together and go camping...lol!!
Good Luck, Pat

I'm about there!!
Here is the axle cutting 4" out of it and welding back and having to cut off the axle perch and rewelding....

 

[OlympiaFJ60]

Like Pat said, get out and use it. You'll decide you'll want to change things after the first use no matter what you do now

 

[kilo]

This is the stage that I'm at....

Got the new tongue stand in and mounted. I plan on extending the tongue at least a foot so the stand will sit a bit further back from the lunette. I ran a bolt where the original stand was attached along with my safety cables.

 

[kilo]

It's still slow going but I'm getting there. I found some scrap rubber that came off a street sweeper that we rent at work and made some mud flaps. Took it over to a metal fab guy in Greenville, TX this past weekend and had him make the lid. The lid isn't 100% perfect, but with the black and white pics and my verbal description of what I wanted, and no exact measurements, I think it came out pretty damn good. I think he got the idea of what I wanted and ran with it. I liked what SWAMPMAN did with his but wanted a little more height out of mine. Only reason for that was to get the RTT higher. So it sits a little taller and will probably make the rack a little taller as well for added height. Still have some more small stuff to do and should be able to do all of that myself here at the house. Most of the ideas are from you guys, what do you thank?

 

[REZARF]

Looks great, keep it up!

Drew

 

[swampman]

looking good man... now get er done !!!

 

[john101477]

I like this build. I have been going back and forth about what i wanna do for places I go that are base camp style stuff. really back and forth on it though

 

[1loudLX]

this is gonna be purty

 

[swampman]

yup looks really good kilo.. im just wondering though.. with the 416's rolled edge have you thought about adding some kind of lip at the front to address any water and crap leaking in .. with tire spray of the tow vehicle you might get some leakage in there .it looks like you folded the edge in at the lip like mine for what its worth i just put some weater stripping in there and havnt had any issues at all ..

 

[kilo]

yup looks really good kilo.. im just wondering though.. with the 416's rolled edge have you thought about adding some kind of lip at the front to address any water and crap leaking in .. with tire spray of the tow vehicle you might get some leakage in there .it looks like you folded the edge in at the lip like mine for what its worth i just put some weater stripping in there and havnt had any issues at all ..

Yup, I thought about that before I had it built, just wasn't sure how to do it. I planned on using weather strip and or maybe rivet some kind of plastic flap strip all the way from one side to the other? Not sure just yet? But the weather strip is a must. Thanks!

 

[TRDparts4u]

Nice Izzy!


Jacque

 

[kilo]

Is there a formula or a rule of thumb on where to mount the gas struts for a lid? I have an idea of where I want the lid to open at it's max. Is it as easy as setting the lid at that position and marking the struts?

 

[REZARF]

Is there a formula or a rule of thumb on where to mount the gas struts for a lid? I have an idea of where I want the lid to open at it's max. Is it as easy as setting the lid at that position and marking the struts?

Its a bit more involved than that. There is a information reference sheet at mcmaster.com under gas struts... you may have to hunt around for it as it isn't obvious at first. But it will guide you to how strong of a strut you need and where to place it. I have found that you need to add 20% strength to their equation to make sure your setup lifts properly.

 

[kilo]

Its a bit more involved than that. I have found that you need to add 20% strength to their equation to make sure your setup lifts properly.

Thanks Drew. To bad I have purchased the struts already at 150# each and think that is the minimum I should have, so the 20% is out unless I buy some more? I may be OK still? My thinking was that if I mount them closer to the hinge of the lid, the less they are lifting? There info on that site helps and explains a lot. I should be able to figure it out from there. I did start out with a pair of 90# struts, and didn't know, that where given to me at work and will not work for me, so if any body can use them let me know. You can have them just PM your info and I'll send them.(struts alone) Thanks again!

 

[swampman]

im sure you have seen the pics of my lid.... the strut placement is gonna be different for every trailer almost.. its gonna depend on how much weight you have on top and if that weight is front loaded or more towards the back.. i really had to play with mine to get it right.. i drilled like 5 holes till i got it right... now with 2 150# struts my lid will , once moving will open on its own and takes very little effort to close again.. i would suggest that once you find the sweet spot that you re-enforce it a little ..

i could measure mine , but i dont know if it would do you much good.. i will tell you that a matter of inches seems to make a huge difference.....

 

[kilo]

Well I got a little more done this past Saturday before the rains came in. I had some solid round stock laying around and made some handles. The struts were not that bad. I did end up with 3 extra holes that I can weld
up. But I think it came out OK. May have to adjust because of the rack that I will be welding on. Don't think it will add that much more weight?

 

[sirenmoses]

looks great!

how are you planning to handle water/ fuel storage?

in yr first post, photo #4 shows some clamp looking things on the inside of the frame. Anybody know what original purpose was? Might be a neat way to store awning poles, tho PVC would keep em cleaner.

 

[kilo]

looks great!

how are you planning to handle water/ fuel storage?

in yr first post, photo #4 shows some clamp looking things on the inside of the frame. Anybody know what original purpose was? Might be a neat way to store awning poles, tho PVC would keep em cleaner.

I have been thinking maybe a water tank below the trailer close to the tongue and jerry cans on the sides? I still would like to extend the tongue and mount a box for batteries and pump? May mount the water tank inside up front? I just don't know what I'm doing anymore?

As far as the clamps they are for the wiring.