Lunette ring for M416: Can it be replaced?

[cbmontgo]

I am looking at possibly buying this M416. I am not very knowledgeable about these...can this lunette be replaced and repaired? I want the pintle setup on my 60 for a trailer. Some jackazz torched the one off of this trailer and I would like to put a new one on.

Thanks,

cbmontgo

 

[Brian in Oregon]

I'm in a similar boat. Except my trailer is missing the entire lunette assembly. All I have are the two frame rails.

Any dealers for these parts?

 

[nuclearlemon]

http://www.buyersproducts.com/dispatch?cmd=fwd&fwdfile=catalog2t.jsp?id=10080021

all kinds of stuff here, from various drawbar assy's to lunette eyes that you can weld on.

 

[Exiled]

I used to see various M416 parts on Ebay, including lunettes and lunette assemblies. You can also cruise the military vehicle websites for dealers, the lunette and assembly for the M416 is the same as for a 1/4 generator trailer and those are much less desirable, some dealers parted them out.

 

[jonb96150]

They are out there but are getting harder to come by. One option is to convert the lunette/pintle into a ball hitch. The lunette makes a lot of noise and also shoves the tow rig with each bang on rocky trails. I have towed 416's many times into Rubicon Springs and the constant banging and clanging can get old. People camping in the Springs can hear me coming down Cadillac long before I arrive.

I have seen some trick set-ups using the lunette shaft with a ball hitch so the trailer can still rotate along the lunette axis (trailers with rotating lunettes roll over much easier, I have rolled 2, and been present at 3 other trailer flops. So keep that in mind.) but not have the banging and pushing. There is about an inch of free play between the lunette ring and the pintle hitch, so each time the tow rig accelerates/decelerates the ring smashes into the pintle. On tight rocky downhill sections it can give the tow rig a pretty good shove that can be un-nerving at first.

 

[Othr_Brother]

I got mine from ebay.

 

[Degnol]

http://www.midwestmil.com/trailerparts.html


http://tnjmurray.com/m151.htm Scroll about half way down a huge list


http://www.mullinsjeepparts.com/BMJPtrailer.html



Plenty of sources out there


GL

Ed

 

[cbmontgo]

Great info guys; thanks.

I guess my other question is this: does that lunette just uncrew from the trailer neck assembly? I noticed some lunettes for sale on Ebay that had a castle nut and it looked like they can be swapped out by unscrewing them. Is this possible?

Thanks--

 

[nuclearlemon]

they mount in a variety of ways. do you have pics of your setup?

 

[Walldog]

...I have seen some trick set-ups using the lunette shaft with a ball hitch so the trailer can still rotate along the lunette axis (trailers with rotating lunettes roll over much easier.....

Here's a link for such set up.

http://vegasauto.net/m416.html

Since the ring itself is already hacked off, that might be a bad option. Or just wait 'til one shows up on Ebay or somewhere else for a good price.

W

 

[Exiled]

There is about an inch of free play between the lunette ring and the pintle hitch, so each time the tow rig accelerates/decelerates the ring smashes into the pintle. On tight rocky downhill sections it can give the tow rig a pretty good shove that can be un-nerving at first.

I think that varies depending on the pintle hook, mine's OEM Toyota and it doesn't have nearly that much freeplay! In fact, I don't get a lot of noise from mine. I'll see if I can take a pic of mine tomorrow.

 

[photogod]

Great info guys; thanks.

I guess my other question is this: does that lunette just uncrew from the trailer neck assembly? I noticed some lunettes for sale on Ebay that had a castle nut and it looked like they can be swapped out by unscrewing them. Is this possible?

Thanks--

All of the millitary stuff has a castle nut, washer and spring to reduce the bumping and grinding on stops and starts. The springs are the exact size used in a 350 small block for the valve lifters. They can be unscrewed and removed with ease. There are different sizes of lunettes for the M100 and the 416. That is that the tapered part of the lunette that fits into the yoke assy are different angles so don't get an M100 lunette for a 416 yoke. M100 trailers were Korean war dated.
http://www.film.queensu.ca/CJ3B/HubbardTrailers/Bantam.html. good info here.

 

[cbmontgo]

All of the millitary stuff has a castle nut, washer and spring to reduce the bumping and grinding on stops and starts. The springs are the exact size used in a 350 small block for the valve lifters. They can be unscrewed and removed with ease. There are different sizes of lunettes for the M100 and the 416. That is that the tapered part of the lunette that fits into the yoke assy are different angles so don't get an M100 lunette for a 416 yoke. M100 trailers were Korean war dated.
http://www.film.queensu.ca/CJ3B/HubbardTrailers/Bantam.html. good info here.

Thanks, photogod. I am glad to hear it just unscrews.

This trailer will need a lot of work, but I may buy it if I can get it for the right price.

 

[cbmontgo]

Well, I was not able to get the trailer for a decent price. I guess the search continues...

Thanks for your help.

 

[photogod]

What was "a decent price'??? Just curious.

 

[cbmontgo]

It sold for almost $ 600, and needed new tires, wiring, and had rust holes throughout. It would probably have cost another $ 1000 to properly restore it, and I could buy one that is much nicer and restored for probably $ 800-1200.

I wanted to get it for $ 300-400.

 

[loquito]

Don't know if this will help but have you looked at the Canadian M101's. Seems like I remember reading about some down in Texas. Basicaly the same trailer as the USA M416 just newer and easyer to locate.

 

[cbmontgo]

Yeah, I have looked at the Canadian ones. I really like those, but the ones in Texas are pretty expensive because the ones I've seen all have to be shipped from MN, NJ, NY, or Canada.