Buying from GovPlanet walkthrough/review.

[Cook4794]

I know I'm new to this forum, but not forums in general online. I had read a lot of rumors on various forums/websites regarding buying from a gov auction or auction house dealing with gov items.

I first started my search for a M1101 trailer. My buddy picked up a M101A3 Locally for 1800 bucks, it was reworked by VSE. His came with a ND Title and over all looks pretty good. It had GREEN CARC redone with no rust. There was a section on his bed that it flaked, no paint underneath with no rust. We feathered it and spot painted it. So far its in year 2 of being "fixed" with no issues.

Ever since he purchased his trailer we have used it for literally everything. Hauling sand for a sandbox, wood, garbage, camping gear. Very versatile trailer and I wanted one..BAD. His setup is a lifted duramax with massive tires and it just looks fantastic, My setup is a stock duramax, without so big tires.

I started looking locally for the guy who had the trailers, He had two for sale a few months ago, Both were in OK shape, and He wanted 2k for them. I didn't want to pay 2k for a trailer that wasn't reworked and I knew I could get cheaper someplace else.

I started looking online and found GOV Liquidation and GOV Planet. I also have the ability to purchase through a state/federal surplus if the item is used for work. We have the ability to sell the items through a auction, but I wouldn't be able to bid due to conflicts with interest and all that jazz.

I kept my eye open on gov liquidation and I couldn't find anything reasonably close to where i'm from. We have two major air bases in our state, but It seems that they do not sell very often from either of them.

After about a year I found a few on GOV Planet in Colorado and Kansas. I started my process of setting up a account which actually was very very simple.

I placed a few bids in Colorado and Kansas on 2009 Silver Eagles. I was outbid pretty quick in Colorado, the trailers went from 1200-1500.

I missed the auction on the one in Kansas and missed a trailer by 200 bucks. I decided to keep waiting and see what came up. A week or so later a auction in Minnesota came up. This auction was literally 8 hours away from where I live, Very do able as far as driving to pick it up as I have family in the area also.

I placed a bid on a 2009 Raytheon and a 2009 Schutt. About two days later I cam across a M101a3 locally. I talked with the owner for a few hours and ended up taking the trailer home for free. It had a toolbox and Military Space heater in it. The trailer is in great shape for being FREE! I started my project to rework it and repaint.

I then remembered I had a bid on a trailer online. I contacted gov planet and got information regarding the demil codes. The trailer I was bidding on didn't require a EUC and was at storage facility off base.

The customer service was fantastic as far as answering questions regarding the auction and the process.

Here came auction day. I will admit. I wanted the m1101 bad. I got in a bit of a bidding war and ended up getting the trailer. I did get the trailer for a pretty decent price at 1200. I may have overpaid, but considering all the other auctions I was bidding on they went for around the same price.

Checkout was simple. I'm not a guy who likes to just wire money so I opted for the credit card/debit card checkout. They also give a option of choosing your paperwork. You can get a bill of sale, sf97 or a title for the trailer. I opted for the title just to make things simple. Prices are respectfully 25-50-and 100.

I checked out and set my date when I will pick up the trailer. Again the customer service was fantastic and very user friendly. At one point we were disconnected and immediately she called me back, I think her name was andrea. I was expecting a chaotic phone tag game for the next hour. NOPE! Simple and great.

I'm still waiting to pick up the trailer. I'll post pics of my m101a3 and the M1101.

I'll also update the experience of picking up the trailer when I get it!!

I would suggest in purchasing a 24-12 volt harness to get the trailer home, If you plan to rewire it or leave it original. Ive purchased one from a online military surplus store, and it works great on my M101A3.





On another note, Anyone know about these space heaters? It appears to be multifuel and mine has 106 hours on the clock. Seems brand new, no dirt or grime. I have not fired it up yet, not knowing what the heck i'm doing!

 

[Jwade]

I am glad that our customer service was on point. I am pretty confident it was Amanda that helped you and I will make sure her supervisor gets the positive feedback. I hope that your pickup experience goes just as well!

 

[Cook4794]

I am glad that our customer service was on point. I am pretty confident it was Amanda that helped you and I will make sure her supervisor gets the positive feedback. I hope that your pickup experience goes just as well!

Great! It was pretty user friendly and super easy. Amanda AKA Andrea (HAHA) was fantastic and deserves at least 5 gold stars for the day.

 

[acesneights1]

FYI Harbor Frieght sells magnetic trailer lights for 20$ . That is what I used to get mine home except I bought their bigger magnets for 4$ and upgraded.

 

[swbradley1]

FYI Harbor Frieght sells magnetic trailer lights for 20$ . That is what I used to get mine home except I bought their bigger magnets for 4$ and upgraded.

They are on sale all the time for $9.95.

(Well, almost all the time.)

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,
Just a note.
The M1101 trailers are all aluminum, bring zip ties if your doing other lights. I see you have a 12v civi to 24v mil connector. Just be prepared when things do not work and you do not have all your tools and stuff. wires might be clipped, bulbs out etc... Since you are aware of the pintle hitch and height, you might have seen the different receiver mounts for gaining a inch or so from your trucks receiver hitch. Be wary about pulling unknown trailers long distance. You do not know if the trailer has tons of miles on it, and the bearings have never been greased. Always go prepared for the worst, and you will enjoy it more when you don't have to use anything.
Good Luck

 

[Cook4794]

Howdy,
Just a note.
The M1101 trailers are all aluminum, bring zip ties if your doing other lights. I see you have a 12v civi to 24v mil connector. Just be prepared when things do not work and you do not have all your tools and stuff. wires might be clipped, bulbs out etc... Since you are aware of the pintle hitch and height, you might have seen the different receiver mounts for gaining a inch or so from your trucks receiver hitch. Be wary about pulling unknown trailers long distance. You do not know if the trailer has tons of miles on it, and the bearings have never been greased. Always go prepared for the worst, and you will enjoy it more when you don't have to use anything.
Good Luck

I've always been a wing it type of guy.

I have a topper full of tools and a jack/all the necessary stuff in case something goes wrong.

 

[FloridaAKM]

Sounds like you did well on your recovery of the M-1101. If you are using the Harbor Fright lights, they will stick on the landing leg stubs on the rear of the trailer as the stubs are steel. Be sure to tie wrap them for safety & not loose them on a bump or something. Also you can lower the tailgate to give you better rearward vision of what is behind you depending on your tow truck height. Last summer, most of the M-1101 & 1102 series trailers were brand new with the nubs still on the tires, so lots of miles on them was not a problem, but you should rotate (roll) the tires to make sure you don't have tight bearings or a dragging brake shoe. A floor jack works well, or you can just install both landing legs in the rear & raise the wheels off the ground with the front tongue jack to see if the tires spin freely. The trailers are great for doing just about anything you can think of in work or recreation. I pulled three of them out of Georgia, one from Ft Stewart & the other two from Atlanta with a Toyota Tacoma 4wd truck with zero problems. Carry on!

 

[91W350]

GovPlanet has been excellent with our operation. They are so much easier to work with than the previous outlet. Craig Knight is the contact person for Fort Riley, when we went over to talk to him prior to getting into our contract, he was wonderful to do business with and that has not changed. We have no trouble getting our trucks loaded, which is a huge improvement! We are looking forward to continuing to do business with them as long as they are disposing of vehicles we can work with. Thanks for putting up with the wild crew that hauls iron for Bohm!

 

[painter paul]

Ditto Glen, Craig has been doing a good job for us as well. No muss, no fuss!!

 

[Landbarger]

Cook - Congrats on the M1101! I've got a similar setup and love it. Dozens of those guys in seemingly unused condition have sold from Fort Bragg in the past couple of months. Bummed I haven't been able to pull the trigger on one yet. How much weight do you think you and/or your buddy have put in them so far? (I assume the 4200lb GVW number is an off-road rating, and like 5 tons they should double their payload on pavement.)

Jwade - On Customer Service, I have corresponded with Amanda and she was excellent help. Add another star to her performance report.

 

[Cook4794]

Well I picked up my trailer! I did notice that one of the tires was mounted backwards on the rim. So that was a bummer. Other than that the tread on the tires was brand new. Trailer looked brand new. And I know the landing gear was never used. I found the manual behind one of the feet! So all in all this was a great buy. Towing it home the 300+ Miles was ok. It sat fine, but had a bonce issue at certain speeds. I played with the air pressure from 30 psi down to 15 and found a happy medium at 25. I got home and found both wheels had excessive amounts of wheel weights on them. From what I know its very hard to balance the humvee wheels.

I sad eff it, and punched off all the weights and whaalaaa, the bounce went away! I'll post pics of my trip soon!




Landbarger-

I'm not sure on the m1101. Our m101A3s I know I have probably put around 1-1.5 tons of wet dirt in it. It hauled fine with no issues. Tires were a little squatted but they are civilian truck tires, not really rated for the weight. Mine is a hybrid also, it has a m116 trailer frame If im correct.

 

[Jwade]

GovPlanet has been excellent with our operation. They are so much easier to work with than the previous outlet. Craig Knight is the contact person for Fort Riley, when we went over to talk to him prior to getting into our contract, he was wonderful to do business with and that has not changed. We have no trouble getting our trucks loaded, which is a huge improvement! We are looking forward to continuing to do business with them as long as they are disposing of vehicles we can work with. Thanks for putting up with the wild crew that hauls iron for Bohm!

Glen I assure you it is mutual, I am the office contact for you guys now and I can tell you it has been some of my easiest transactions! Just keep moving them as I have to clear that yard by the end of they year!!

 

[OilfieldRoughneck]

Any rough figures on how many more 5 tons you have for Fort Riley or Hill?

 

[Jwade]

Any rough figures on how many more 5 tons you have for Fort Riley or Hill?

I have several hundred at Riley most of them are pretty beat up and Glen takes most of those. Riley has been the graveyard for sure. Its tough to sort through and find the gems. I am not sure at Hill, not enough that has had me concerned of getting rid of them.

 

[gerrykan]

Jwade,
I guess it is part of your job, but thanks for answering all the Gov Planet questions.