Military trailer options & the FZJ80 (1 Viewer)

[jjdeneen918]

To keep this FJ80 specific:
LC width is 76.0”

The M1101 & M1102 trailers are 85.6” wide.

Does anyone tow one of these trailers behind their 80?
It looks like it would stick out about 5” on each side of the vehicle.
Does this create noticeable drag while towing at speed, does the trailer look ridiculous behind an 80?

I don’t not intend to do any real trail off-roading with this set-up, mostly just to haul 4 kids worth of tents, sleeping bags, bikes, camping food & supplies several time a year. 10-12 hour freeway trips to reach destinations.

Has anyone ever narrowed one of the trailers? I figure if I cut 10-12” from the center & have it re-welded by someone I’d get it to match the dimensions of the LC.

Anyone with this trailer can take a look & see if there would be complications with doing that?
Would the axel be able to be shortened too?
Does the axle have torsion bars inside like a VW IFS rear end?
If a civilian axel was necessary, are there similar axel suspensions available, or would I need to fabricate spring hangers?

I really like the look of these trailers. I really like that they are aluminum (no rust).

 

[Tools R Us]

They work well, durable, about bomb proof. A little wide, but that makes them stable, don't fall over like some tend to. Check the tire age, at this point about all of them are aged out, have had them come apart, even ones that look new.

 

[JeepinPete]

I own one, and tow it behind my 80. For your stated purposes, it if far too big. They are aluminum, and a built using rivets and huck bolts for the most part. The design would not lend itself to sectioning as you describe.

It is wider than the 80, but not terribly so. I do not find wind drag to be an issue at all. They have a 7500lb axle in them, and do tend to bounce if you do not have quite a bit of weight in them.

I use mine for hauling home coal for home heating, two tons at a time. The trailer is not stressed in the slightest.

 

[ZackR]

Freeway trips for camping etc.... sounds a military trailer is way overkill for that. I just picked up a "regular" 5x10 utility trailer and it tows easily, likely perfect for your needs.

 

[mingles]

Ditto to what @JeepinPete stated above. I use mine for the same purposes and the trailer has a lot more capacity than the 80 .

 

[inkpot]

A bunch of those pix are me hauling a couple of tons of rock/material for trail repair. This trailer is 1400# empty. Way more than you need for your application. Look at some of the smaller military trailers at government surplus auctions.

 

[Box Rocket]

Those are too big for any real trail use IMO. I know there are plenty that use those trailers but I just think it's much simpler with a slightly smaller trailer. If you stick to formal campgrounds you'll be fine since those places need to accomodate camp trailers and RVs. I prefer the size of the M416 trailers if you're sticking to military ones. Or look at other options of similar size. I built my own back in 2009 and have put thousands of trail miles on it in the past 10 years. The main box is 4x6' and the 18" tall to the rail. Little more space under the lid.

The nice thing is that you can have a trailer axle built to your specs for quite cheap (under $150). I had mine built to match the track width of the 80.

I also have 4 kids and they are the reason I built the trailer in the first place since you can run out of room quickly in the truck with 6 people and gear.

IMG_2338 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_2483 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Overkill for your use as stated above get a utility trailer

 

[inkpot]

I built an offroad camp hauler type trailer by cutting up an 85 mini truck. Chopped the frame at the firewall and tossed the cab. Tucked the front section of frame and built in a custom swivel hitch. Left the lift springs on it so with 43s it rides about level behind my rig. But I am hoping to score some 315s to raise it up a bit more. Squats pretty bad with 3500# on it, but usually I use it for trail cleanups and minor repairs work.

 

[80t0ylc]

I just returned from a 2500 mi trip including off road trails with my (2000 lb loaded) trailer in tow which sounds like it's around the same weight as these (1400 lbs empty per @inkpot ). I agree with most here - to find something lighter for your intentions. I'm running 35s with 5.29 gears and a stock '94 1FZ engine. It does well except the longer grades on passes. I can leave OD engaged most of the time on the highway. Also ECT (power) mode selected with the tranny. But if you're running stock gears with larger tires for long stretches of highway with a trailer that heavy, you don't want to do that. I have to say, though, that not having all the gear crammed (packed) into the Land Cruiser is really nice.

 

[jjdeneen918]

Yeah, I’ve looked for the smaller 1/4-ton M416 & M100cdn trailers. The 90’s Canadian trailers are a good compromise, but also unobtainable.

The 416’s are beat to hell or cost a fortune.
I cant believe nobody sells replicas of those trailers.
There is a company out there making fiberglass tubs, but I think I’d break it.

I still like the overbiltness of the military trailers. I’d like to be able to blast down desert roads full of firewood to friends cabins.
A utility trailer would ‘work’, but painfully slow.
I’d like to be able to drive trails to old quarries & collect granite & stuff too.

 

[ZackR]

I still like the overbiltness of the military trailers. I’d like to be able to blast down desert roads full of firewood to friends cabins.

Not sure how many loads of firewood you've trailered with the 80. I've done many and there's definitely no "blasting" down any of the roads, even if you had a burly trailer

 

[way out west]

You might also look at the M101 (A1,A2,A3) , pre 11xx series, still big, solid, steel and heavy duty. While I dont have a 80 series yet, I have 101A1 that I use as a utility trailer with my Gen 5 4Runner. Good size trailer, easy to tow, almost too big.

A1 you would want to swap axles for modern hubs and match them to your 80.

If you find a 416 or 100 .. Dinoot makes replacement tubs.. Scott is a nice guy, friendly and helpful.

 

[jjdeneen918]

M101’s are a good size for width, about 73-74” to our 76” LC’s.
A little longer than I’d need, but doable for the right price.

M101A2 & A3’s have surge brakes & compatible with 8-lug civilian truck wheels.

They are hard to find too. Those predated the M1101 & M1102.

The m105’s are cheap, plentiful, but are HUGE. too big. Worthless, probably why they are all available.

 

[Rifleman]

Tools R Us, Sorry this is off topic, but where in Arizona was this photo taken, and did you, or the US forest service ever catch whoever was responsible for all that ugly Griffith.

 

[Tools R Us]

Tools R Us, Sorry this is off topic, but where in Arizona was this photo taken, and did you, or the US forest service ever catch whoever was responsible for all that ugly Griffith.
View attachment 1989663

We are OHV activist volunteers, promote outdoor recreation, most of us are friends with the LEOs, but attempt to stay out of enforcement. The exception is things that threaten recreation, cutting trail, going into closed areas, etc. So, in this case, yes we documented and shared all of the evidence we found.

Knowing who they are is one thing, successfully prosecuting is another matter. An amazing number sign with their social media tag! Hear that one of the "gentleman" from this day is from back east, and according to his social media, was here during the time frame when this happened. This was the third site that we cleaned that day, collected ~12 tags, don't know if any of them were successfully prosecuted.

This is Squeeze Rock at Sycamore, a very popular area.

 

[Tools R Us]

Yeah, I’ve looked for the smaller 1/4-ton M416 & M100cdn trailers. The 90’s Canadian trailers are a good compromise, but also unobtainable.

The 416’s are beat to hell or cost a fortune.
I cant believe nobody sells replicas of those trailers.
There is a company out there making fiberglass tubs, but I think I’d break it.

I still like the overbiltness of the military trailers. I’d like to be able to blast down desert roads full of firewood to friends cabins.
A utility trailer would ‘work’, but painfully slow.
I’d like to be able to drive trails to old quarries & collect granite & stuff too.

I'm not a trailer fan, don't drag them, pretty much dread trailer days. Blasting down desert roads is a relative term, everything with trailers is slower and more work. Have put Adventure trailers on their side, top, had disabling failures, like suspension, etc. The Jeep M416 & M100 type trailers also like to nap on their sides. Most commercial trailers are frail, easily broken off road, and don't wheel for .

One of our uses for them is trail repairs, often in closed areas, working to restore, open them. Like after fires, the area is likely to have been closed for years, we are the first to run the trails, so tons of down lumber, lots of new growth, huge washouts, etc, not "normal" wheeling. Among the trailers that we have tried, the Hummer trailers are the most capable by a large margin. Others are frequently shocked at where we take them. They are way robust, look under one and compare to anything, they soak up tons of abuse without failure.

It depends on your need, and for sure our use differs from most. You wont get any cred from the overland lifestyle crowd, but for utility and the price, not likely to find anything more capable or durable.

 

[Conundrum]

I like the 101 size. If you can find an A1, you don’t have to deal with surge brakes. I bought mine for $600, got a matching width axle with electric brakes and an 80 hole pattern for about $300, switched at the wiring and put 12v lights on it and it works great. Mine is a little rusty but it takes a beating.

 

[jjdeneen918]

Anybody know anything about these trailers?
What size/equivalent they are?
Not sure if they are M105 or M101 sized.
There are plenty of these out west available.
It looks like the front half has a “lid” that if removed, could box in the front side pretty easily.

I couldn’t find any info on these searching.

 

[jjdeneen918]

I googled all the different numbers on the identification plate. The only thing that popped up was the actual auction only.