ntsqd
technerd
Could use a snap-line like used in construction to get long, straight lines.
Trailer advice for an idiot!?? (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter EOE_overland
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #62
Ok, if able to pin it down with a magnet it should work. I'm trying to figure out a good way to mark a good cut line down the inside of the sides and across the floor all at once. The floor has a very small wave to it and I'm not sure my 24" square will cut it. If needed, guess I could measure a square vert line up from the floor from both directions and split any difference.
- Thread starter
- #63
- Thread starter
- #64
One more 
Yeah man, looks perfect for what I want! SOA on 37s with tundra brakes and a big motor. Should be able to stop and go easily and look good doing it, even with a load.
You should be able to cut it down and make it work well for you too. My only suggestion is to make it at least big enough to fit a sheet of plywood laying down inside the bed.
You should be able to cut it down and make it work well for you too. My only suggestion is to make it at least big enough to fit a sheet of plywood laying down inside the bed.
- Thread starter
- #66
Go yes, stop with anything in it....eh. I have tundra brakes on my tundra and the hour drive home from Newport News wasnt pleasant. If you got one cheap at auction and swapped the axle for something with electric brakes it could work- as noted earlier by others, the trailer has massive (read massively heavy) air surge brakes. So you'll be getting no help from the rear. And at 2500lbs empty, you wont enjoy the slide, I mean ride
. To do it all over again, I wouldve been more careful to end up with an M101A(x) trailer. Same look as the 105 and it comes equipped with the mil spec 37s you already have on your truck. Plus you can put 1k lbs of gear in it and be almost exactly at the bigger trailers empty weight.
Repeat after me, "I will learn from Matt's mistakes, I will learn from Matt's mistakes..."
Go yes, stop with anything in it....eh. I have tundra brakes on my tundra and the hour drive home from Newport News wasnt pleasant. If you got one cheap at auction and swapped the axle for something with electric brakes it could work- as noted earlier by others, the trailer has massive (read massively heavy) air surge brakes. So you'll be getting no help from the rear. And at 2500lbs empty, you wont enjoy the slide, I mean ride
To do it all over again, I wouldve been more careful to end up with an M101A(x) trailer. Same look as the 105 and it comes equipped with the mil spec 37s you already have on your truck. Plus you can put 1k lbs of gear in it and be almost exactly at the bigger trailers empty weight.
Repeat after me, "I will learn from Matt's mistakes, I will learn from Matt's mistakes..."
I didn't realize how heavy that SOB is! That's ridiculous.
I know I'm derailing your thread hardcore, so I apologize for that, but why are you going through the effort of cutting up and modifying the M105 instead of selling it and getting into a 101 or something even smaller? That thing looks to be in real good shape.
ntsqd
technerd
What I've been asking.
Probably won't be able to hold a snap-line with a magnet, but I've seen perfectly able helpers in some of the pics. Need to be able to pull the string tight and then 'pluck' it to get the chalk mark.
Probably won't be able to hold a snap-line with a magnet, but I've seen perfectly able helpers in some of the pics. Need to be able to pull the string tight and then 'pluck' it to get the chalk mark.
- Thread starter
- #69
Man, you are such a drive by poster! No wonder you've got 10k posts, you dont even read the threads :-D
Readers digest recap of reasons:
1) its here now; to sell this one and buy a decent 101 I'll probably lose a grand give or take. The 101s I've seen on CL dont seem to be in as good shape, so I will probably have to add in work on that as well. Theyre also a little wide for my taste to haul long distance behind a 60 series.
2) I think I've finally figured out a decent way to mod it that I can do with a little less effort than a fresh build, and I can do it here in my yard with minimal equipment. In fact, I have a mig welder to pick up this week to borrow from a friend. So if it works out, I can get to what I want with the trailer I have plus some welding and grinding consumables.
3) Last has evolved over the course of the thread- if this turns into a turd, all I'll lose is the low market value of the trailer plus a large, but recoverable sense of dignity. And I'll have a chance to practice some metal fab skills that could use refreshing.
If it does work without a disasterous amount of work, then it may give a useful option to guys who want a decent trailer and can get started with a model that can be found anywhere for almost scrap value. Original 416s are probably going to achieve extremely rare status soon...meanwhile you can find more M105s for sale on your local CL than Cheby small blocks.
Understood. Not sure I agree about cost ( I just found a decent 101 on my local craigslist for $500 OBO ) but I'll shut up about the reasoning now and try to provide advice about the trailer build, I promise
So for making straight lines, I think you're on to something with the laser level. It can project a straight line for a good distance that you can trace over with a sharpie or piece of chalk. Might have to be done at night to easily see the laser, but that's going to be the most error-free way to get a straight line.
The chalk line is a bit more difficult but doesn't require that you have a laser level. Measure your distance at both ends and have someone hold the chalk at the other end. Snap a line and you're good to go.
I'd go so far as to recommend that you just cut 12" or however much you need out of the middle of the bed and just move the wheel wells closer together to reduce the amount of fabrication needed. I don't think you'd lose too much cargo room if you made it 5' wide and it'd still fit nicely behind the cruiser.
- Thread starter
- #71
I know, I know
. Dont worry, I'll be sure to allow plenty of opportunities for I told you so's and gloating if it all goes south. I have a chalk line, but its not too efficient with a two yr old on the other end
. I'm off to the hardware store now anyway, so I'll see what looks good.
- Thread starter
- #72
Bam, I can set this on one rail and mark down the sides and a good portion of the floor. Can mark a nice clean line from the back all the way up the floor and the fwd bulkhead. $30. Will get plenty of use out of it in the house too.
It's bright enough to see from the poin of the laser down 6" or so in outside bright daylight. Will be perfect to use outside within an hr or so of sunset.
It's bright enough to see from the poin of the laser down 6" or so in outside bright daylight. Will be perfect to use outside within an hr or so of sunset.
I say, go for it! That's what this hobby is all about. doing it the way you want and having fun along the journey.
Let me add, if you screw up this one, I have two 105's waiting for some fun.
Let me add, if you screw up this one, I have two 105's waiting for some fun.
- Thread starter
- #74
I say, go for it! That's what this hobby is all about. doing it the way you want and having fun along the journey.
Let me add, if you screw up this one, I have two 105's waiting for some fun.
That's what I'm talkin about! You, my friend, are an enabler
. It's like the opposite of the old VW line, "take home two, they're small."
ntsqd
technerd
It's not that I'm against this project, I just see it as the "stuffing it's ass with bricks method of killing the cat". My friends can all tell y'all about my own "Special Olympics" projects. Some border on being legendary.....
- Thread starter
- #76
No worries, if I didn't want advice from all angles I wouldn't have asked for it.
If you google M105s you'll find a hundred threads with a question about "can I tow this behind my Wrangler" and a few answers that all begin with no. Then one thread where a guy bought one already cut down to a nice size. He loves it and prefers it over his 101a2. But, no build thread.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how this turns out, I was stupid enough to buy a 105, thinking it was a 101a2. So I bypassed the should I buy portion of this experiment.
Now I like the dang thing. I haven't slept in it naked or anything...but its been pretty cold lately
Now, interested viewers may have a third choice: a weird, quirky, though slightly boring thread where an idiot buys the wrong trailer, then in an attempt to rescue his manhood trys to modify it and eventually falls in love. At the end of the rainbow, there will either be a boxy, camo pot of gold...or a cold shivering idiot crying over a pile of cut up steel.
- Thread starter
- #77
Man, where was that idea last summer before we moved when our neighbors thought feeding 40-50 stray cats was "humane."
Hey now, I haven't tried sleeping in one naked! 
For all the party poopers out there here is a great blog on a 105 build.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/79542-Patchwork-Hauler
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/79542-Patchwork-Hauler
- Thread starter
- #80
Thanks again Mark, I linked his thread from FJC forum earlier too. I don't think he did the mod work himself, I think he bought it post-welding sorcery. Which makes it hard to get a lot of info about that phase. From zooming in close on the pics, it looks like the PO cut a foot or more out of the center and at a section of at least that much fore and aft of the wheels. That would be reeeeeeaaaaaaaalllll tricky for someone with my skill level
. I'm thinking I may have a better shot taking the sides off, cutting the excess size out of the floor, then putting shortened sides/bulkhead back on. Otherwise, rewelding the floor means welding the sheet metal plus heavy channel every 9". Yikes. Only difference Bw his final product and mine is that I would like to push the arches out of the box like a 416 and preserve the full interior space of the box.
I was very encouraged by the fact that he likes pulling it more than his 101a2.
I moved the trailer next to the house so it can stare at me thru the window
. Even now as I sit inside recovering from the stomach flu, I can see it whimpering for attention . Bought a new face shield and leather gloves for all the grinder work to come.
Any advice on phase 1 of the project, other than measure 40x, mark, and cut a little oversize?
