HELP! What military trailer did I just buy??

[kentonjl]

Hi all, I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. For years I've been coming to this site for research and inspiration, and finally have taken the plunge and purchased my first trailer. I've always felt limited to couple day excursions in my XJ Cherokee - me, the wife, and our 80lb pitbull take up the seats, and then there's little room for gear, food, water, firewood, etc. I figured a trailer was the answer and so I've been keeping my eyes out for months for a trailer platform that's small, lightweight, and off-road capable to pull behind the Jeep. Most of my efforts have gone into finding an M416/M100 variant, but finding one at a "reasonable" price has proven challenging. Then I came across what would become my new-to-me trailer, but despite much research, I haven't been able to determine what it is (or started as).

I know it's somewhat of a frankentrailer, but I'd love more info on it, as well as what is factory and what modifications have been made by previous owners (of which there are more than a few). I'm good with tools and see this as a viable starting place, but I know there's still a lot of work that needs to be done to make me feel 100% comfortable in this trailer's reliability (some of the mods done by PO's leave something to be desired).

- Most likely originally equipped with a lunette ring, but that has since been changed to a standard ball hitch receiver
- Has a tubular drawbar and what looks like a mount for a tongue stand
- The leaf hangers look like they've been transplanted and grafted on from something else, or at least moved
- Has a 3"- 4" drop axle with 6 lug hubs equipped with brakes (currently non-functioning and have't dug into them yet to determine the type)
- Four shocks are mounted, along with what looks to be some sort of independent swaybar (one per side)
- The front spare mount appears original but I'm not sure
- The stake bed/stake bed pockets appear original as well
- Rear 2" receiver
- Tub Dimensions: approx 57" wide x 66" long x 17" deep

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Boston90]

Nice. Planning a rtt for the trailer or strictly added storage?

Could it be an old pickup bed that was modified? When I was looking for an M416 or Bantam a while back I came across a few trailers that had a similar look - flared bed rails, tailgate - and were thought to have been modified pu beds.

If the Expo members aren’t able to ID the trailer you might want to post over at g503.org in the 1/4 ton section.

 

[Tennmogger]

Your trailer looks functional and will probably serve you well but there's not much there to indicate a military origin, IMHO. The axle was a steering axle until 'immobilized' with those welded-on round bars. The round tubular front hitch frame is the type used on commercial trailers. The tub is similar to the M-100 trailers of the early 1950's but those had no tailgate. Some people added tailgates though. The round fenders were found on early, post WWII knockoffs. The tarp tiedowns are not of the military type. Not trying to sound negative, just voicing an opinion to help you resolve what you have. I would not worry about it, just use it, modify to your hearts content, and enjoy it.

 

[old_CWO]

What you have there is mid 1930s IHC pickup box. They are very similar to the same era Dodge and REO but the tailgate gives it away as a corn binder. It's been converted (poorly) into a trailer.

 

[kentonjl]

Nice. Planning a rtt for the trailer or strictly added storage?

Could it be an old pickup bed that was modified? When I was looking for an M416 or Bantam a while back I came across a few trailers that had a similar look - flared bed rails, tailgate - and were thought to have been modified pu beds.

If the Expo members aren’t able to ID the trailer you might want to post over at g503.org in the 1/4 ton section.

Yes, I have a Smittybuilt XL RTT that I'm planning on installing on a rack, as well as adding some gear organization and possibly a water tank and house battery down the line.

Your trailer looks functional and will probably serve you well but there's not much there to indicate a military origin, IMHO. The axle was a steering axle until 'immobilized' with those welded-on round bars. The round tubular front hitch frame is the type used on commercial trailers. The tub is similar to the M-100 trailers of the early 1950's but those had no tailgate. Some people added tailgates though. The round fenders were found on early, post WWII knockoffs. The tarp tiedowns are not of the military type. Not trying to sound negative, just voicing an opinion to help you resolve what you have. I would not worry about it, just use it, modify to your hearts content, and enjoy it.

No negativity taken! I knew going into it it may not be exactly what I thought it might be. Thanks for your keen observations, particularly with the "immobilization" of that steer axle... I hadn't picked up on that (also explains the brakes). Looks like I'll be having a proper trailer axle made up soon. And yeah, I think I'll be able to suit it to my needs just fine.

What you have there is mid 1930s IHC pickup box. They are very similar to the same era Dodge and REO but the tailgate gives it away as a corn binder. It's been converted (poorly) into a trailer.

That's it! Makes sense why I couldn't find any "trailers" that looked the same. Yeah, there's definitely a lot of work that needs to be done.

 

[old_CWO]

The box is very cool and looks to be in good shape for it's age. I bet a brand new chassis to go underneath would make that into a fine adventure trailer.

 

[old_CWO]

Okay I looked through some vintage Chilton truck repair manuals, I believe that axle is front (obviously) from an early to mid 50s Chevy half ton truck.

At the risk of being a little direct, I recommend you think long and hard about using that trailer as-is. There's a lot of sketchy farmer engineering going on under there, especially the steering arms welded to the cast axle and the spring mount butchery.

The box and rack have a lot of potential but the chassis, axle and suspension are all suspect at best in my opinion. If you have a title, VIN and the price was right, flip that thing over and start cutting. A lot.

Building a proper chassis for it is pretty simple and you will have the peace of mind that it's safe, sturdy, and tailored to your needs. I have built a couple of trailers using vintage step side truck beds and they do turn out top notch when you're done.

Good luck

 

[tatanka48]

WOW that's the first trailer i ever saw w/ 3 full sets/pairs of shock absorbers

i suspect the lever action set dates back w/ the steering axle

T

 

[kentonjl]

Okay I looked through some vintage Chilton truck repair manuals, I believe that axle is front (obviously) from an early to mid 50s Chevy half ton truck.

At the risk of being a little direct, I recommend you think long and hard about using that trailer as-is. There's a lot of sketchy farmer engineering going on under there, especially the steering arms welded to the cast axle and the spring mount butchery.

The box and rack have a lot of potential but the chassis, axle and suspension are all suspect at best in my opinion. If you have a title, VIN and the price was right, flip that thing over and start cutting. A lot.

Building a proper chassis for it is pretty simple and you will have the peace of mind that it's safe, sturdy, and tailored to your needs. I have built a couple of trailers using vintage step side truck beds and they do turn out top notch when you're done.

Good luck

No, I'm not planning to. The last thing I want is to be traveling down the freeway at 60 mph and have one of the wheels break free and decide it wants to go another direction. I was wanting to change to a straight axle and change to a 5x4.5 lug pattern anyway. Also, I'm sketched out with the leaf hangers as they are - I assume those too are cast and they're welded on.

I'm going to pull the box off and see exactly what my situation is. My eventual goal is to build a new frame for it, but I'm going to see if what's there is passable for the meantime. There appears to be a lot of redundant gusseting (at least looking at it from the underside), so hopefully I'll be able to cut off/remove what isn't necessary, reinforce the places that look unsafe, either find a suitable width axle or have one made up, and rehang the leafs on better hangers.

WOW that's the first trailer i ever saw w/ 3 full sets/pairs of shock absorbers

i suspect the lever action set dates back w/ the steering axle

T

Me too! Whoever installed all those must have been convinced they needed more dampening...

Best part is those levers are rebuildable !

I might be inclined to rebuild them if I knew exactly what they were, but then again I doubt it's worth the time and investment when I could just install a pair of $40 shocks with a lifetime warranty

 

[kentonjl]

Well for those interested, here's a little update on the trailer:

I always forget to take progress pics, but I managed to get a couple. On the next build I'm definitely going to start from scratch, but for what it started out as and the limited time/funds I was allocating it, I think it turned out decent. It's still a work in progress so don't judge too hard.



I started by removing the rack, tub, fenders, and "suspension" - here it is halfway through the cutting/grinding:





Rehung the leafs with new hangers under the frame, installed new leaf bushings, put a new 3500lb axle under it and mounted some 31x10.50x15 tires on some 5x4.5 wheels:





Primed and painted the frame, lengthened the tongue a few inches and converted it to a receiver, added shocks, and welded on some square tube to mount the outrigger jacks:





Remounted the tub, fenders, and tongue rack, and hacked up the existing stakebed rack and added some square tube for the tent rack





Painted the tub, installed a tongue jack, and rewired with a 7 pin connector and junction box:





Mounted the tent and loaded it up for it's maiden voyage!





First stop was Zion National Park. It pulled great on the 500 mile trip and set up was a breeze:





Afterwards we headed off to Alstrom Point off Lake Powell... this is really what I built the trailer for - remote camping off the beaten path. 25 miles of fire roads and another 5 miles of bumpy trails got us here. It was a little noisy due to the pintle hitch, but the trailer tracked great and handled like a champ. This was my first time off road with a trailer, and while the trail wasn't too demanding, I was impressed with how well it did:





After Alstrom we stopped by the Grand Canyon for a couple nights. The whole 7 day, 1500 mile trip went off without a hitch, and I'm definitely now a fan of the added capacity that the trailer has that makes these longer trips possible. It was also my first time sleeping in an RTT and it beats sleeping on the ground hands down.

Anyways, there's the update. Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions! There's a few more things I want to add/change, and I'm always open to observations and ideas!

 

[old_CWO]

Nicely done.

I'm sure that's as handy as it looks and guessing it was a fraction of the cost a true military surplus trailer in similar condition would have run.

The two padlocks on the tailgate and short rack/cage were a clever way to keep the big pelican case from walking away.

 

[Boston90]

Looks great. I like the dual stability jack setup.

I’m jealous that your trailer has a tailgate. Makes it so much more usable. For times both camping and for general use.

 

[chasdb]

Good work on getting the trailer redone. This is similar to how I started, like the capabilities of the XJ but needed more room with the 2nd Labrador and gear. Works great to set up a base camp and go exploring. NAXJA So Cal is having a run in Big Bear 5/18-19. You should come out. I think you'll have a good time and there is a pretty good raffle too. We will have multiple groups running difficult, moderate and easy scenic trails