M416 purchase (1 Viewer)

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

So, I pulled the trigger and bought an m416 trailer. I bought it from a gentleman that bought it directly from the military in 1996. He said he used it for a couple of years, then parked it in the back of the garage. He gave me all the documentation on the trailer and it looks to be pretty original. The numbers on the trailer match the numbers on all the documentation. Pretty cool.

The one spot it has damage is the corner. All the spots are pretty much surface rust. It came from the barstow military base, so it has always been in a dry climate, luckily. So the rust is very superficial.

My question for the M416 guru guys here is, would I be messing up by restoring it? I want to strip it down paint it. Rhino line the bed. Possible cut in a tailgate. Before I do this should I consider trading it for one that has already been chopped up?

 

[Gretsch]

I wouldn't cut it up too much. These trailers are perfect the way they are IMHO. I would get the rust stopped and paint it. Depends on your use I guess. They are very useful little trailers. I have never understood the need for a tailgate on these. The trailer box gets it strength from being just that, a box. Cutting the rear has the sides free-floating in space, which they are not really designed to do. Without the back supporting them they are extremely weak without significantly fortifying them. What would you do with a tailgate anyway? Have you ever checked out the CIVVY versions of these trailers? I don't think they made a civvy version of the Stevens trailer like you have but they did for the older Bantam WWII M100 type trailer. I posted a photo of mine in your other purchase thread. These had a tailgate from the factory, no cutting needed, and had wings to fortify the trailer sides. Turns out I never even use the tailgate FWIW. Also had some nice stake pockets built into it. No parking brakes though:

Mine had already had some mods done by the PO, none of which were good but which made me a little bit less hesitant to doing my own. But the price was right and after paint and powdercoat its working for me. Keep yours the way it is. My 2 cents. HTH.

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

Thanks for responding. I appreciate your advice. I am leaning towards repainting it and leaving it alone. Maybe some racks for a roof top tent later

 

[NMBruce]

If it was mine, I would do what I wanted to it. I would definitely restore it, fix the rusted and damaged stuff, paint it the color I like or colors it was.
As for a tail gate, what are you using it for? Would a tailgate make it better for your needs or can you do without?

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

I was thinking for my sons little 50 quad. Bit I have another flat trailer for that. I was just thinking of the convenience vs ruining the sealed cargo. I will mainly use it for camping trips. The first trip I have planned we will cross water, so cutting it might be a mistake.

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

Just curious, are there wheels that will fit these little trailers? I have heard CJ wheels fit, with tapered lug nuts? Also, is it easy to put the leaf's above the axle for more clearance? If I did that would it affect the manner in which it tows?

 

[Exiled]

I don't think your son's 50 quad will fit through the tailgate you'd be able to cut through it and still maintain strong integrity of the box.

I did an expedition trailer conversion on an M416 back in the late 90s early 2000s and loved it, towed that thing all over the country and it followed my old FJ62 *everywhere*. No qualms about cutting it/modifying it as at the time I bought mine they were just being de-mobbed and were cheap (I paid like $300 for mine and the surplus dealer had more than 100 of them at the time, I got the pick of the litter). Since then, they've become a little more rare and definitely gone up in value. You can go hog-wild on them or keep them relatively close to stock, but what doesn't change is how practical they are, easy to tow, maintain, etc.. I always loved that mine (which was sprung-over) would tilt and sit on the back rail of the frame, which allowed us to keep it inside a garage with my wife's car parked against it. I sold mine in 2008 as life caught up with me, now I regret selling it. Life, right?

 

[Gretsch]

Just curious, are there wheels that will fit these little trailers? I have heard CJ wheels fit, with tapered lug nuts? Also, is it easy to put the leaf's above the axle for more clearance? If I did that would it affect the manner in which it tows?

5X5.5 bolt pattern. So the CJ5 wheels should fit. I am not sure on the clearance of the brakes though in terms of backspacing/offset clearance. Mine does not have brakes and has the original Willys wheels. I think the M416 wheels are hub centric wheels so if running the CJ5 wheels they might fit but might not be hub-centric. I think the center hole for the CJ5 wheels is larger as to not have the the wheel centered on the hub, hence the need for the tapered lugnuts to help center it. I also think the Stevens trailers still used both left and right hand thread lug/nuts at one point in time but cannot confirm that reliably now. I replaced all mine with Right hands to make replacement easier. Don't know about SOA conversions. These trailers tend to be a bit tippy to begin with so an SOA might make them even moreso. Maybe a bit more work with the brake setup but prolly not too big a deal. I however have not looked into that. Its your trailer but I wouldn't change a thing. HTH.

 

[Exiled]

I sprung over mine and never had any issues with the trailer dumping, but I also ran bigger and wider tires on it (to match the Cruiser). I replaced the stock axle with an axle that matched the width of my FJ62, so I didn't have to carry extra spares.

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

I sprung over mine and never had any issues with the trailer dumping, but I also ran bigger and wider tires on it (to match the Cruiser). I replaced the stock axle with an axle that matched the width of my FJ62, so I didn't have to carry extra spares. View attachment 2582468

Wow I really like what you did with your trailer. Super

5X5.5 bolt pattern. So the CJ5 wheels should fit. I am not sure on the clearance of the brakes though in terms of backspacing/offset clearance. Mine does not have brakes and has the original Willys wheels. I think the M416 wheels are hub centric wheels so if running the CJ5 wheels they might fit but might not be hub-centric. I think the center hole for the CJ5 wheels is larger as to not have the the wheel centered on the hub, hence the need for the tapered lugnuts to help center it. I also think the Stevens trailers still used both left and right hand thread lug/nuts at one point in time but cannot confirm that reliably now. I replaced all mine with Right hands to make replacement easier. Don't know about SOA conversions. These trailers tend to be a bit tippy to begin with so an SOA might make them even moreso. Maybe a bit more work with the brake setup but prolly not too big a deal. I however have not looked into that. Its your trailer but I wouldn't change a thing. HTH.

Are left hand lug nuts like reverse thread nuts?

 

[Gretsch]

Are left hand lug nuts like reverse thread nuts?

Yes. On the older WWII era trailers, various models came with reverse or Left-hand lugs/nuts on the left side of the axle, and right-hand or standard on the right side of the axle. Maybe to remind you what side of the trailer you are on? I found that to be silly and was replacing my lugs/hubs anyway so just got a set of rights for the left side of the axle. No thinking about it now. I have found evidence they did this into the 60's but am not sure what models had this and for how long they did it for. I kinda thought it was a WWII thing but have seen some posts that even the Stevens trailers did this for awhile. So not totally sure on that. Maybe check out yours and see which way they go. HTH.

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

Yes. On the older WWII era trailers, various models came with reverse or Left-hand lugs/nuts on the left side of the axle, and right-hand or standard on the right side of the axle. Maybe to remind you what side of the trailer you are on? I found that to be silly and was replacing my lugs/hubs anyway so just got a set of rights for the left side of the axle. No thinking about it now. I have found evidence they did this into the 60's but am not sure what models had this and for how long they did it for. I kinda thought it was a WWII thing but have seen some posts that even the Stevens trailers did this for awhile. So not totally sure on that. Maybe check out yours and see which way they go. HTH.

Thank you for the info. Much appreciation.

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

Starting the restoration. I dont want surface rust to become body rot

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

I started the restoration project.

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

I started the restoration project.

View attachment 2627843

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

More pics

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

More pics

View attachment 2627847

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

I'll post some pictures when I get the rest finished

 

[Living in the Past]

View attachment 2627850

Where did you pick up the brake handle? Really the only thing where with mine is knob on the end of the handle. Only mod I've done to mine is remove the tall NATO tail lights and install the smaller olds one with Goma Goat lenses. I also install a 60 series spare tire carrier which only required drilling two holes to the bottom of the frame to install. May be a little but need to be careful stripping the paint. Believe what the military used on these is pretty nasty stuff. Think my is a 65 Johnson Furnace. Would have to check have a 68 M101A1 too. Also have a 43 MBT made by Willys. That was is made of pot metal. Tried using some magnetic tail lights temperally while I ran permanent wiring. Wouldn't stick to the box. I was blaming HB for the poor quality when it was the low amount of carbon steel in the box that was the problem. Haven't removed the wheels in a while but pretty sure sides are clockwise threads. Other two trailers left side is CCW threads.

 

[SoCaBabyRubicon]

Where did you pick up the brake handle? Really the only thing where with mine is knob on the end of the handle. Only mod I've done to mine is remove the tall NATO tail lights and install the smaller olds one with Goma Goat lenses. I also install a 60 series spare tire carrier which only required drilling two holes to the bottom of the frame to install. May be a little but need to be careful stripping the paint. Believe what the military used on these is pretty nasty stuff. Think my is a 65 Johnson Furnace. Would have to check have a 68 M101A1 too. Also have a 43 MBT made by Willys. That was is made of pot metal. Tried using some magnetic tail lights temperally while I ran permanent wiring. Wouldn't stick to the box. I was blaming HB for the poor quality when it was the low amount of carbon steel in the box that was the problem. Haven't removed the wheels in a while but pretty sure sides are clockwise threads. Other two trailers left side is CCW threads.

The handle was already on it. I just took a orbital sander and took it down to bare metal and then coated it with some clear to maintain a patina look. Masking tape and clear coat. These things are fun to play with and customize.