New to me M101 (1 Viewer)

[tgreening]

This is the 101 I picked up via Govliquidation.com. It's in great shape, sits perfect behind my Wagoneer (yeah yeah, I know) and it is rock solid while towing. I was pretty surprised at how stable it is. It's a bit portly coming in and 1300# & change but it's NOTHING like the ammo trailer I bought. I'll get some pictures of that beast when I get around to off-loading it from my equipment trailer.

I'll need to paint it of course and I'll probably go ahead and replace the side racks. There in good shape but it's still a bit dry rotted.

Color I'll have to think over. I intend to pull this mostly with my J-truck which is kind of a silver-ish blue, but I also want to drag it behind my Unimog which will probably be a matte black.

More than happy to hear suggestions, and provide pics of the tow vehicles for reference. I don't have an artistic bone in my body so color combinations are an alien concept to me.

 

[greentruck]

The biggest question with these is whether to convert the hubs to something a little more "civilian" or not. If you're planning on using it behind several different tow vehicles, that complicates things, but depends on what you'll be towing it with when you're farthest out in the boonies.

It sure is a big honkin' trailer.

 

[titanpat57]

The first thing I think I'd do is throw a new axle on there too, say 3500# with lug pattern to match something....perphaps something with electric brakes also? Those trailers are abit on the heavy side.

I'm thinking of doing that and then get the bolt pattern to match my 4Runner. My trailer came through with a surge brake on the front, but I think eliminating all that will make life much easier. I just hope the the axle diameters will be close.

Best of luck with it...looks to be fun, and will handle anything you can throw at it!!

Pat

PS...nice old Wagoneer BTW!

 

[tgreening]

I don't see any reason to change the out the axle. I'll probably hunt down a spare and call it good. For some reason I'm kind of fond of the military rim style and tend to leave them be. Electric brakes would be nice, but not so nice as to motivate me to buy a new axle, along with the new tires and rims that would necessitate.

 

[Panzer]

I like it. Matches the Wagon nicely.

 

[tgreening]

Anyone know why my original post suddenly has a slew of google ads attached to it? If it's an ih8mud thing fine, I just want to make sure I didn't screw something up.

 

[tgreening]

Just a note for people looking to buy one of these. They are commonly described as a "dump" trailer and that is not the case. While it is probably possible to dump certain types of loads, in reality it is not a very practical operation. The tongue is meant to be disconnected UNDER the trailer and not at the brackets at the front of the box. This allows the tongue to be rotated vertical just in front of the box and make for a more compact package for transport.

If you try to use it as a dump and disconnect the brackets at the front of the box you run into a number of problems.

1) The box is loaded front heavy and it just won't dump, or...

2) It's loaded tail heavy and dumps with force the instant you get the last bracket disconnected which is problematic anyway since...

3) No matter which way it's loaded you end up with so much pressure on the front mounting bracket bolts that you are unlikely to get them out anyway, and if you do and try to dump you're going to...

4) Rip out the wiring for your lighting because of the way it's mounted to the tongue and box.


Basically, this is not a dump trailer and it is impractical to try to use it as such.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

900x16 military NDT tires are incredibly tough, and so are these axles and hubs. Unless you need to install trailer brakes, I'd suggest leaving them alone if the rubber is in good condition.

And nice score. I need one of those to tow behind my 1951 Dodge M37.

 

[e9999]

I've been tempted as those are pretty cheap around here, cuz they're too big for most people, but it's a bit big for me too... Not too practical for camping for me, but as utility around town, oh yea...

 

[uglyoinker]

I just picked up one of these trailers today from a co-worker. I think it's perfect in many ways! I intend to use it for firewood retrieval duties and general utility and trail duty when needed. My pull vehicle is a 55. I'm very excited to start using this monster trailer.
Jake

 

[JPK2]

How to Dump

Just a note for people looking to buy one of these. They are commonly described as a "dump" trailer and that is not the case. While it is probably possible to dump certain types of loads, in reality it is not a very practical operation. The tongue is meant to be disconnected UNDER the trailer and not at the brackets at the front of the box. This allows the tongue to be rotated vertical just in front of the box and make for a more compact package for transport.

If you try to use it as a dump and disconnect the brackets at the front of the box you run into a number of problems.

1) The box is loaded front heavy and it just won't dump, or...

2) It's loaded tail heavy and dumps with force the instant you get the last bracket disconnected which is problematic anyway since...

3) No matter which way it's loaded you end up with so much pressure on the front mounting bracket bolts that you are unlikely to get them out anyway, and if you do and try to dump you're going to...

4) Rip out the wiring for your lighting because of the way it's mounted to the tongue and box.


Basically, this is not a dump trailer and it is impractical to try to use it as such.

There are a couple of tricks to making these dump. A fellow walked me through it and it works. First is the load, which needs to be a forward enough as you noted. Make sure the gate is open, then set the two hand brakes, next knock out the pins. Back the Jeep or truck up to make the trailer hinge at the pivot points under the box. This will elevate the front of the box, dumping the load.

Hope this helps. BTW, the wiring on mine runs along the frame from the front to beyond the axle.

JPK