ZZ's M416 style trailer build (1 Viewer)

[Zane]

The story of this trailer build started 11+ years ago by a friend and local Landcruiser club member "Degnol". He did an amazing job building a solid foundation of an awesome custom built M416 style trailer. Link to his original write up can be found here. I have been wanting to build a trailer for a long time. Like many of you guys I am tired of having to find 3 friends to lift my RTT up on my 80 and I really like the idea of being able to just hook up and go. So, 3 weeks ago I had posted on Facebook asking any local friends if they knew of a good local fab shop that would cut and bend up sheet metal for me to make my own M416 trailer. Degnol sent me a PM and said he would sell me his trailer if interested. After taking a look at his build in person, I couldn't pass it up. It had been tucked away in the back of his garage for the past 11 years and it was exactly what I was wanting to build. With a solid foundation it allowed me to jump into the fun stuff vs. starting from scratch. So, I'm starting a new thread to document phase 2 of this trailer build and what it will become. A few shots of the trailer the day I brought it home.

 

[Zane]

Last night I started to build a lid that will ultimately support a rack that will hold my RTT. Picked up some sticks of 1 1/2" square tubing and went to work. I am hoping to skin the top with aluminum sheet but the trailer & lid is 50" wide outside to outside making a simple 48"x 96" sheet too small. I will need to work something out.

 

[spotcruiser]

Not to walk on your thread too much, it's a good starting point by the way, but how is Ed doing? I've been wondering about him for the past several years.

 

[Zane]

Not to walk on your thread too much, it's a good starting point by the way, but how is Ed doing? I've been wondering about him for the past several years.

I had not seen Ed in a long time as well. In the short time I was with him he seems to be doing great as far as I can tell.

 

[Zane]

Completed welding up the lid framing and adding the mounting points for the rack set up I’m going to tackle next.

 

[mookamatook]

Completed welding up the lid framing and adding the mounting points for the rack set up I’m going to tackle next.
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Subscribed! Almost exactly what I was thinking of doing next weekend : )

 

[mookamatook]

Last night I started to build a lid that will ultimately support a rack that will hold my RTT. Picked up some sticks of 1 1/2" square tubing and went to work. I am hoping to skin the top with aluminum sheet but the trailer & lid is 50" wide outside to outside making a simple 48"x 96" sheet too small. I will need to work something out.

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Very nice trailer! I was wondering about the 4x8 aluminum sheet for the lid as well. I may wind up seaming it along one of the horizontal rails when I get to this stage. I was wondering about putting the RTT directly on top of a lid in one iteration of the design so that the access to the mounting bolts for the tent are not accessible without unlocking and opening the lid. I'm concerned that someone is going to try to run off with the tent so it's a priority for me to make that thing look like a bunker : )
Keep it coming! Given all of the other awesome stuff you have built, I'm looking forward to this one too!

 

[Zane]

Worked on the removable rack a bit this morning. Ran out of steel so I had to quit for the day but getting close. I plan to have 1 1/2 square tube connecting the front and back ends of the rack. Not that it needs it, but I think it will looks cleaner and will give me mounting points on the front and back of the rack once the tent is mounted. BTW this is not my design. I saw this set up online that someone someone did on their trailer.

 

[Zane]

Was able to pick up two small sticks of steel today so I could finish up my lid frame and removable rack. burned everything in with out warping anything so a very big win for me.

I was most worried about aligning my bullet hinges. I took a 2” flat bar and clamped it along the edge of the trailer for a straight line to rest the hinges on. I placed a small nut on each corner between the lid frame and the trailer as a spacer for the rubber seal and once I got the hinge in a place I tacked them in place.

After fully burning them in I was really worried that the hinges would bind but are smooth. In fact they are so straight that it is super easy to slide them off. I wanted to be able to remove the entire lid if I wanted to so I place the hinges in the same direction so I could slide the lid off its hinges if I wanted. Now I’m worried that if I break really hard they may slide off. There will be clamps holding the lid in place on the other side but this still concerns me.

Anyone set there’s up like this and find a way to keep the hinge in place for safety?

 

[mookamatook]

Was able to pick up two small sticks of steel today so I could finish up my lid frame and removable rack. burned everything in with out warping anything so a very big win for me.

I was most worried about aligning my bullet hinges. I took a 2” flat bar and clamped it along the edge of the trailer for a straight line to rest the hinges on. I placed a small nut on each corner between the lid frame and the trailer as a spacer for the rubber seal and once I got the hinge in a place I tacked them in place.

After fully burning them in I was really worried that the hinges would bind but are smooth. In fact they are so straight that it is super easy to slide them off. I wanted to be able to remove the entire lid if I wanted to so I place the hinges in the same direction so I could slide the lid off its hinges if I wanted. Now I’m worried that if I break really hard they may slide off. There will be clamps holding the lid in place on the other side but this still concerns me.

Anyone set there’s up like this and find a way to keep the hinge in place for safety?

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Looking good! So you are planning to pivot the lid from one of the long sides. I've been trying to figure out how I could have little cubby openings that could access the tub without opening the whole lid (especially if the tent is deployed on the rack). How are you planning to access and lock the lid? Your build for the rear tire has those uclamps from mcmaster carr that look super solid. I was thinking just using those to keep the lid down and then a few welded 3/4" ubolts to have a padlock to lock it down. Ideas?

 

[Zane]

@mookamatook You are correct, I will be using 2 of the same McMaster Carr latches I used on my tire carrier project to keep the lid closed on the opposite side of the hinges obviously. I know I will want to be able to lock the lid somehow with a recessed locking latch or some thing. Haven’t put much thought into that yet.

I will have my tent open up on the hinged side of the trailer. That way I can still open the lid while the tent is up if needed. Seen it done several times. See example.

I like your idea for a smaller access hatch. You could do something between the front or back lid supports with a piano hinge for the lighter little hatch. Hmmmm you got me thinking...

 

[Zane]

Here is the lid on the trailer to better show the hinge set up.

 

[mookamatook]

Here is the lid on the trailer to better show the hinge set up. View attachment 2398939

I like it! Clean and heavy duty hinges. Are those Mcmaster Carr? What's the part #? The hard part is going to be waterproofing the smaller hatches... you don't want water getting in there and the more seams, the harder its going to be to seal up. I was even thinking maybe just sliding tops that were gasketed?

Was thinking about doing a rear opening vs. side opening lid so the entire thing opened up but then have 2 hatches that opened without struts from each side. I don't have a tailgate going on mine so need to figure out some access options... What are your thoughts on that?
I'm also wondering about bikes on this thing. I am thinking of mounting a 2" receiver hitch to the rear of the trailer and just having my 2 bike rack there. Maybe some additional backing plates and just weld/bolt the receiver through the cross member? Has anyone done this on Mudd before? I'm sure.

 

[Zane]

Had some garage time over the past few days. Cleaned up some of the tub welds and removed the rear gate hinges and re welded them so the gate opens more smoothly.

I had removed the fenders to also adjust them as well. Have a bit of time to figure that out. Theyhad been welded in place but I think I will be bolting them on once I find their final placement.

 

[Zane]

I had purchased a trailer jack from harbor freight but wasn’t satisfied with the quality. I was given a original m416 trailer tongue jack with the trailer and wanted to figure a way to use it. I cut the pintle hook portion off so I could have a starting point to build a bracket to mount it on the trailer.

 

[Zane]

Framed out a bracket and welded it to the original jack so I can mount to the frame. Fitment to the trailer frame is not final but clamped it on just show as a reference for the picture.

I will be adding an extension between the foot and the arm to accommodate the height of the trailer.

 

[Zane]

Question:
What latches are you all using for your lids? I purchased some that I have used before on other projects from McMaster Carr but before I install them I wanted to see if you guys have any better alternatives. If I use these I would weld in some additional steel for a solid mounting point on the tub. 

I know these will be strong enough, just not sure I like how bulky these are. Would like to find a solid lower profile option.

 

[Zane]

After several hours of searching I couldn’t find how those that use bullet hinges that face the same way so they can remove their lid are keeping the lid from sliding off with hard breaking or any other jolting stop of the trailer I know the lid latches will hold the opposite end of the lid in place but I often tend to over engineer things.

So I came up with a solution using a little bit of thick high quality high density plastic (kind of like very thick cutting board) and some plate steel.

 

[Zane]

Bent and welded up some Tail light brackets.

 

[cc93cruiser]

Nice work man! Keep it up..