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Bought a project - M101A3 Trailer

I've been looking for a way to get gravel from the quarry to our land, and stumbled upon the venerable M101 military trailer. The lane from the road to the land is too narrow to get a standard dump truck in, so I was looking for a different way of doing it, and the M101 trailer has a facility that allows it to dump. The A frame detaches from the tub at the front, and then hinges on a pair of pins further back. Purists apparently say that this is intended as a storage feature rather than a true dump capability, but it works. Engage the handbrakes, remove the pins, back up the truck, and the bed lifts. Win.

I found one on a government auction site, and bid on it. This one's an M101A3, which is both good and bad. Good because it has wider-set wheel wells, allowing a full sheet of plywood to fit in. Bad because it has HMMWV wheels, which are frankly enormous for such a trailer. The bed is 8' long, and 5'6" wide. Much larger than a Sankey Landrover trailer - similar in size, but different shape, to an Arrows Bedford trailer.

This particular one was at Camp Lejeune and is ex-USMC. I won the auction, and cabbied over there Wednesday night. Picked it up yesterday and dragged it back 450 miles to home. The structure is in good order, and it towed very well. Paint is shagged, as are the side rails, but a) I would have painted it anyway and b) I don't want the rails for the gravel job. Might keep the rail supports and replace the original slats at some point with wood. Some light rust, but nothing a sandblast won't fix.

My biggest question to myself is what color to paint it! Anyways, here's a couple of pics of my very own Trailer of Knowledge :)

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IMG_2830.JPG
 
I've been looking for a way to get gravel from the quarry to our land, and stumbled upon the venerable M101 military trailer. The lane from the road to the land is too narrow to get a standard dump truck in, so I was looking for a different way of doing it, and the M101 trailer has a facility that allows it to dump. The A frame detaches from the tub at the front, and then hinges on a pair of pins further back. Purists apparently say that this is intended as a storage feature rather than a true dump capability, but it works. Engage the handbrakes, remove the pins, back up the truck, and the bed lifts. Win.

I found one on a government auction site, and bid on it. This one's an M101A3, which is both good and bad. Good because it has wider-set wheel wells, allowing a full sheet of plywood to fit in. Bad because it has HMMWV wheels, which are frankly enormous for such a trailer. The bed is 8' long, and 5'6" wide. Much larger than a Sankey Landrover trailer - similar in size, but different shape, to an Arrows Bedford trailer.

This particular one was at Camp Lejeune and is ex-USMC. I won the auction, and cabbied over there Wednesday night. Picked it up yesterday and dragged it back 450 miles to home. The structure is in good order, and it towed very well. Paint is shagged, as are the side rails, but a) I would have painted it anyway and b) I don't want the rails for the gravel job. Might keep the rail supports and replace the original slats at some point with wood. Some light rust, but nothing a sandblast won't fix.

My biggest question to myself is what color to paint it! Anyways, here's a couple of pics of my very own Trailer of Knowledge :)

View attachment 290143

View attachment 290144

View attachment 290145


That's your garden? Bloody hell, it''s bigger than my Granda's farm was in Ireland.

As it's yours. any bloody colour you want!
 
Which State are you residing in these days Roadster?

Tennessee. Now and forever, unless something goes awry.

@GrumpyWasTooCheerful - we're living at my Mother-In-Law's while our house is built, so that's her "garden". Actually I've turned it into an MT yard. There's 7 trailers out there now :) Take a boat out to the right on the lake in the background about half a mile and our land is there. About a mile by road, but the lane to our plot has a narrow gate. For now, anyway.
 
One State that I have never got round to visiting - I've always fancied visiting the Cherokee National forest to do so serious wildlife watching and walk the 150 stretch of the Appalachian Trail...

We're just to the north of the Great Smoky Mountains national park. We drove through the Cherokee national Forest on I-40 the last couple of days to fetch the trailer back. Obviously the view from the road is crap compared to being out in the forest proper, but it was still pretty impressive.
 
Tennessee. Now and forever, unless something goes awry.

@GrumpyWasTooCheerful - we're living at my Mother-In-Law's while our house is built, so that's her "garden". Actually I've turned it into an MT yard. There's 7 trailers out there now :) Take a boat out to the right on the lake in the background about half a mile and our land is there. About a mile by road, but the lane to our plot has a narrow gate. For now, anyway.

I hope you're loving every minute of it, mucker. Live it! :)
 
Tennessee. Now and forever, unless something goes awry.

@GrumpyWasTooCheerful - we're living at my Mother-In-Law's while our house is built, so that's her "garden". Actually I've turned it into an MT yard. There's 7 trailers out there now :) Take a boat out to the right on the lake in the background about half a mile and our land is there. About a mile by road, but the lane to our plot has a narrow gate. For now, anyway.
Stunning plot of land that.
 
Any thoughts from the collective on what shade to paint it?

I don't really want a dark shade, because it gets flipping hot here. 35C here today. Nor white because it'll look like a UN peacekeeping mission. Had enough of them, thank you :)

Yet it's a mil trailer. So it'd look bloody stupid metallic ice blue or something.

Current frontrunner is a dark red-brown-russet frame and a cream tub, get a bit of the 1940s Woody look going, especially if I do the side slats in wood. Probably overthinking this one.

Or just allover grey, maybe. Dunno. Thoughts?
 
Any thoughts from the collective on what shade to paint it?

I don't really want a dark shade, because it gets flipping hot here. 35C here today. Nor white because it'll look like a UN peacekeeping mission. Had enough of them, thank you :)

Yet it's a mil trailer. So it'd look bloody stupid metallic ice blue or something.

Current frontrunner is a dark red-brown-russet frame and a cream tub, get a bit of the 1940s Woody look going, especially if I do the side slats in wood. Probably overthinking this one.

Or just allover grey, maybe. Dunno. Thoughts?

You're right, you are... ;)

What colour is your towing vehicle?
 
Why not paint your new trailer black to match? Remember what Henry Ford said about the Ford Model T... ;)

Cos it gets a tad warm here! Anyway, I will have the trailer longer than the truck, so in a few years' time, the trailer will no longer match the truck.

The very newest ones were built in the 80s, so it's already 30 years old or possibly up to 50. Apparently they were like Trigger's broom and rebuilt on several different contracts to suit the prime mover of the day. Hence why mine has HMMWV wheels, but none were originally built with them, or the offset axle to match the height of the Hummer.
 
Any thoughts from the collective on what shade to paint it?

I don't really want a dark shade, because it gets flipping hot here. 35C here today. Nor white because it'll look like a UN peacekeeping mission. Had enough of them, thank you :)

Yet it's a mil trailer. So it'd look bloody stupid metallic ice blue or something.

Current frontrunner is a dark red-brown-russet frame and a cream tub, get a bit of the 1940s Woody look going, especially if I do the side slats in wood. Probably overthinking this one.

Or just allover grey, maybe. Dunno. Thoughts?

I was thinking grey too. A light grey should make it look cleaner but even when scratched a bit won't make it look crap as it may do if you gone for a more primary colour.
 

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