2011 m1101

[maxtor]

I just brought home our M1101 trailer. I did some research and took two steel plates and clamps to put on the back corner braces for our $10 harbor freight magnetic lights. It worked great. Our trailer is a 2011 and looks great. The tires are brand new. Our plans are to lower the trailer with smaller tires, and modify the trailer to connect to a regular ball hitch. I have been reading about changing the light bulbs to 12v. I want to install a camper top and carry fuel, water, camping supplies etc. behind our Jeep Rubicon on mountain and desert exploring trips. Our Jeep is rated to pull 3500 lbs., so no problem there.

Do you guys have any other suggestions?

 

[Coffey1]

Max need pics

 

[3dAngus]

Yes, the M101A2 8 lug wheels will fit on there perfect and lower it.
On the hitch, you can just order the Reese 74280 from Lowes or any auto parts store for between $20-30 and it will fit on there perfect replacing the hydraulic operated reservoir and pintle. You can then sell your pintle and hydraulic reservoir, if proven to be in good working condition, for about $200 to defer some of your costs.
The problem with doing this is you lose out on brakes. It is a two inch ball attachment only without any brake components, but bolts on perfectly the 3" metal brace. Easiest mod ever. Patracy showed me his last week and I could not believe it.
Not so sure you need any steel clamps though. I managed to mount my magnetic lamps on the back of those tubular frame steel in the back where it just protrudes beyond the tailgate. There is not much room there, but with the long 12" tie wraps from Harbor Freight, you can secure them down without issue. I use one tie wrap to make a ring around the base, then another to go through the ring, and to underneath the frame tube and back up again. This technique gives you something secure to get a holding tie wrap around the lamp securely. Otherwise, it will just slip off. Congrats on your buy.
If you ever need a front mounting leg, it is just a Bulldog leg, for $45, available at Tractor Supply. They have cheaper ones, even cheaper by Bulldog, but you need the length and the weight carrying capacity so it is best to buy the upgrade for the $45.

 

[maxtor]

Thanks for the good ideas.
Using the steel plates and clamps worked perfectly, but I think if I purchase another trailer I will drill one hole in each plate and bolt the plates to the existing threaded bolt holes in the trailer body. I will take pictures and also measure the size of the threaded bolt holes and post that information.

Ken, I will take some pictures just as soon as it stops raining. No rain here for four months, but the day after I bring the trailer home, it pours. I am still amazed as to the size of the tires on this trailer.

 

[maxtor]

The threaded bolt holes on the corners are 3/8 inch. So a 3/8x1 inch bolt would work perfectly to secure the steel plate on the back two corners for the magnetic tail lights.
You just need to drill a 3/8 inch hole in each steel plate.

 

[Amer-team]

Angus when you were talking about the front mounting leg, did you mean the pivoting hand crank like on the M1101, or an actual pivoting leg with no crank like on the M101 trailers? Thank you for the tip on this.

 

[3dAngus]

The front leg I referred to, made by bulldog, is a form, fit, and function replacement.
The only difference is it is silver and needs be painted ODGreen or Desert Tan, whichever is appropriate.

 

[Amer-team]

Thank you for the tip on that. I fixed one with Bulldog replacement parts and the gears they sent were smaller than the originals, so i used the handle with the existing gears and had to bore out the gear and bushings a little bit. Works like a champ again. Was also looking to install a similar one on the M101 trailer. makes it a lot easier to pick up the tongue when you are by yourself.

 

[maxtor]

One issue I will have is that to move the trailer around by hand, it is very heavy at the penal ring. On our trailer, it has stabilizer feet on the front and back. I have not had time to see how they work. "still raining". I might put something on my tractor to lift the penal ring and move the trailer around. The front foot, that you can crank up and down, has a wheel at the bottom, but I might need to grease it, because I don't think the wheel is rotating as easy as it should. With the rain, the ground is soft, so that trailer is not going anywhere until the ground hardens up.

 

[Coffey1]

There's a joke in there somewhere (penal ,soft hard grease ) but I won't go there.

 

[Amer-team]

I had a damaged front crank, before it got fixed. So used a high lift jack to get it off the truck, with no blocking on the wheels and a small incline. Recommendation, use tire chocks if there is any question. These are really nice trailers and a lot heavier than the 1/4 ton jeep trailers. You are right that you won't be doing a lot of moving by hand, by yourself. A couple friends were by the house and with the 2 of them and me, and a hard surface, the trailer moved well, but I have it parked on soft ground and can't move it at all, except by hitching it up.

 

[maxtor]

If I spelled pintle hitch correctly, there would be less of a joke. lol

The wheel is not rotating, therefore it needs grease.

 

[maxtor]

I had a damaged front crank, before it got fixed. So used a high lift jack to get it off the truck, with no blocking on the wheels and a small incline. Recommendation, use tire chocks if there is any question. These are really nice trailers and a lot heavier than the 1/4 ton jeep trailers. You are right that you won't be doing a lot of moving by hand, by yourself. A couple friends were by the house and with the 2 of them and me, and a hard surface, the trailer moved well, but I have it parked on soft ground and can't move it at all, except by hitching it up.

Ours has individual brake locking levers. So if the trailer is on a slope, you can set the brake on one or both of the wheels.

You are sure right, our trailer is not moving by hand, at least by my hands. I can barely lift the front wheel off the ground. The back wheels are positioned behind the center of the bed of the trailer. It would be better if they were more forward.
I can now see why the military rates the trailers load capacity by what vehicle is pulling it. The tongue weight will be heavier than a standard trailer. Most of the bed area is in front of the rear wheels. One temporary solution to lessening the weight on the PINTLE ring so you can move it around by hand is to add a car carrier on the back of the trailer, and put some weight in it.
When I pull the trailer with our truck, it does not matter how I load the trailer, but when pulling with our Jeep, I will need to load the heavier items behind the rear wheels.

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/cargo/500-lb-aluminum-cargo-carrier-69688.html