I have an M101CDN2 trailer. My plans are to clean it up & use for camping & utility purposes. I want to know what your thoughts are regarding separating the tub from the frame for restoration. My thinking is that the frame & tub would be easier to handle and I plan to mod a tailgate into the tub. I'd appreciate any feedback.
I have an M101CDN2 trailer. My plans are to clean it up & use for camping & utility purposes. I want to know what your thoughts are regarding separating the tub from the frame for restoration. My thinking is that the frame & tub would be easier to handle and I plan to mod a tailgate into the tub. I'd appreciate any feedback.
Q,
I did not separate the frame from the tub when I had mine blasted and painted. In fact, IIRC they are welded together, so you're talking major surgery.
I'm a one-man shop here -- and due to my back sometimes not too good a man at that. So what I did after getting the trailer back from the blaster [he got most of the underside down to bare metal, but not quite all] was to set it up on a couple of jackstands under the axle, wheels off. That way I was able to use a come-along to lift the tongue as far as possible, The trailer was still stable. I was able to do a pretty good job of painting it that way so that the front edges and bottom of everything got the best paint to help resist road splash best. The backside was a little hard to get to, especially near the back of the trailer, but I lowered the tongue all the way to the ground then and came in from behind.
For Canadian duty, probably best to flip the thing over and get the very best shot at it.