A tongue box for my 101A2

[harleyhouse]

I wanted a place to store the little extras on my trailer.
trailer jack, receiver tubes, hitch pins, propane hose, and a spot for a battery.

Being cheap and not wanting to spend $160.00 on a tongue box, I set out on making my own. I mocked up a design that was a good size.

Matched the angle of the tongue and made it a few inches wider.
I used Diamond plate I got for free. Rough but it was getting painted anyway.

Sheared the sheet down and welded it together with a spool gun. I need on of those! The result is a strong box big enough for my needs and it didn't break the bank.

I plan on using a Jeep hood latch to hold the lid closed and seal the inside seams with silicone.

 

[indy4x4fab]

I like it, very well done. What are the 2'' resever tubs for under the trailer in front of the tires?

 

[harleyhouse]

The receiver tubes on the front of the tub are used for my camp kitchen counter
and the rear one is for an off set umbrella. They work great!

 

[indy4x4fab]

Where did you get the off set umbrella for a 2'' resever? If you dant mind me asking.

 

[harleyhouse]

I bought a 9' offset patio umbrella on ebay.
cut the original stand tube off and welded it to a piece of 2" square tube.
"Fish mouth the tube so the round umbrella base sits flush"

It works great and the whole family can sit in the shade.
I used an offset umbrella because I am going to mount a roof top tent on the trailer.

 

[Cleptomaniac]

Look good!!

 

[ENTRAIL]

What did you paint your trailer with. Any trouble going over the CARC paint. Looks nice

 

[harleyhouse]

Hot Rod Red!

I used Matthews HOT ROD RED paint and mixed it myself.
I work at a large sign company so it supplies were on hand.
base, hardener, catalyst, were all added.

I used my Harbor Freight 12.99 HVLP gun and painted it in the back yard.
5 pots and 6 coats of paint and it looked good and matched the truck.

Prep work on the tub was fast due to it being good condition.
I cleaned the tub with soap and water, let it dry then wiped any residue or painted numbers with lacquer thinner and shot the paint.

This is my build blog:

Just purchased a Military trailer to build a family hauler

 

[Ressoldier]

quit getting in my head

Love your build and seems we have a lot of the same ideas. I finally picked up my trailer and will eventually get to work on it. I will continue to watch your work and possibly use some of your ideas on mine. I can't say you stole my ideas since mine are just in my head and yours are getting on the trailer.

Fantastic job and build so far...keep it up.

 

[ENTRAIL]

Thanks for the reply about the paint. Read your build thread, lot's better than watching TV.

 

[koolex11]

You should do a TV show Mark.

 

[quickfarms]

Nice work

 

[kweb434]

Nice set up

 

[Fudge0514]

Just when I thought you were done, more cool mods! Box looks great. Gonna put a lock on it or anything?

 

[number9]

I like that umbrella idea. Where do you store it when in transport?

....

 

[harleyhouse]

It gets thrown in the bed now, I plan on making some sort of rack that mounts inside.
Many more ideas for the trailer.

I took it on a 500 mile trip this weekend used it as a base camp for cooking and storage.
Set up a table under the umbrella and enjoyed grilled dinner on a 75 degree day in Erie.
The trailer tows very nice and you don't know it is behind the truck Great road manners and
the matching look draws a lot of attention.

Sure puts the Lowes trailers to shame!

 

[rfischba1]

Man that is one good looking M101 trailer!
Nice work.

 

[harleyhouse]

A place to cook

I made a cooking counter that mounts in the receivers to hold my
vintage Griswold three burner stove. It is held up with aluminum angle slid in the tubes the cook shelf is aluminum diamond plate with a 2" lip welded around the edge. Works well and looks good.

I mounted a hood hold down on the tongue box to keep it closed.
There is foam weatherstrip underneath to seal out the water.
All the extras are painted gloss black to match

 

[Swamp Hanger]

I hope to catch up with you soon. But I've got some body rust to deal with first. You have some great ideas. Could you show a full pic of counter top? I was thinking of making mine fold down.

 

[koolex11]

Looking good Mark. That counter will serve lots of good purposes, playing cards and games, coffee table, even just keeping stuff off the ground during rain.

Any plans to restore the stove? Or will you be leaving it in "antiques road show" condition to maintain the value?