My M101A3...new to MV

[therealsundance]

BTW, the chains will never reach your receiver hitch.

 

[ptrjason]

Ah, your truck is heavy duty enough and won't fall apar...Wait, you said it's a Ford, good buy.

Very true lol. But Ford is one make I have not had huge problems with. I am not one to say one truck is better then another but after having a lemon of a S-10 Blazer that would be 3k in repairs every 3-6 months for about 8 years, THAT CHEVY SUCKS!!!! It is still sitting in my yard. If I ever get a M923 or variant, I would love to see the Blazer crushed by it.

I have been in other chevys that a solid as rocks.

But I LOVE Ford, through and through. I had an 06 F-150 I bought with 5 miles on the OD. And at work I have driven Crown Vics with 500 miles to 300,000 miles, and never had as many problems as that one blazer lol. I also was a tribal cop and we had Dodge Rams, that we ran 24/7. And I mean 24/7, at slow speeds, 95% off road, and we never had one break down, ever, in the 3 years I was there.

Now at the same place, we had got two 4x4 Colorados on a GSA Lease, and within the first 6 months of having them, one ended up with a bent frame that took it out of service for 3 months. The Gov't was not happy with us.

But I love my Expedition, she is an 05, with 64k, and is a former Federal vehicle. But I still am scared of breaking her. But I do love to off road.

 

[ptrjason]

BTW, the chains will never reach your receiver hitch.

Do you have any recommendations for a good type of chain to use for extension?

 

[quickfarms]

Do you have any recommendations for a good type of chain to use for extension?

I use a set of shackles off of an old trailer attached to the hitch to extend the chains

 

[therealsundance]

I use a set of shackles off of an old trailer attached to the hitch to extend the chains

I use a couple of shackles attached to each other for each side.

 

[ptrjason]

Well I am looking at the auctions that are at Barstow right now, and trailers with dents and dings are going for what mine went for. One with rust and major damage are going to same or less, and ones that look like mine are going for like a hundered more what I got mine for. Ones with rails are going for double.

I am really happy that I got my trailer for what I did, but I think part of the prices on that round were due to the holidays and people having to spend funds on other things. I am just amazed at the prices on this round. But I guess it is normal, I am just still new to it all.

 

[therealsundance]

It's hard to say, sometime a lot is over looked and goes for cheap, while others get into bidding wars. I always talk to the GL guy and he laughs at what some lots go for while better ones go for much less.

 

[juanprado]

I just used a quick link on the receiver bolted to the frame for the chain extension. M101a2 on a dodge durango. I can't imagine your set up would be much longer. Maybe buy 4 quick links 2 per side? I think mine are rated 3000lb+ each.

You can register the trailer in Maine with just a bill of sale and are not required to live in the state. I have registered all my m101 & m105 in Maine. Simple 5 min paperwork all done via email and a credit card. Plate in 5-7 days. Save me the sf97 fees and all the hassles of bureaucracy. I am in the other LA and sometimes feel I am in CA with our civil servants.

 

[ptrjason]

I would do Maine reg, but CA is only 20 bucks for 5 years. Plus if you are a resident, you have 10 days to register your vehicle in the state. So having an out of state plate would not fly very long.

I am going to try to get a length of chain and then some of those rated links.

 

[ptrjason]

Still waiting on my EUC, I knew this was going to be long but it is torture, just evil.


So I did a few things to make a smoother ride.

-I plan on leaving the hitch combo on the Expedition 24/7, locked to the receiver. Just like a review said on eTrailers, it rattles a little in the receiver, and you can move it around a little. So I took it and wrapped a few layers of electrical tape around the shank. It helped a lot, so much that I had to take a rubber mallet and hammer it all the way in.

-I also took the tape and wrapped a few layers around the bottom portion of the ball where the ring would hit, to cushion it even more when pulling. It does not hit the top part of the ball, so it would not effect a civy trailer being locked onto the ball.

It is probably fruitless effort, I know, but hey I was bored and if it keeps the ride smoother and quieter, then I am all for trying it out.

And if anyone wanted to steal my hitch, even if they cut off the receiver lock, or have a key, they would need to hook it to their truck to pull it out of my receiver, it took me about 3 minutes of very hard whacking to get it in. I am sure it will loosen up once it is put under load, since it is a cushioned shank, with a buffer in the shank, so it will move about 3/4 each way to soften loads.

 

[SteveKuhn]

Safety chain seems to be the same on 101 and 105 trailers, probably more to do with interchangeability and costs of scale. I bought 1/2" Grade 40 logging chain which seems to match what's on the trailer. Specs (lbs) are:

...................Working Load...........Ultimate load

1/2"​

9200​

27600​

I've only heard of one guy who actually had a civilian trailer come loose and the chains come in to play. They were typical you'd see at UHaul, worked fine and he wasn't going 20 mph. When you consider that F = ma, a 101 at max offroad weight blows right through 3000 lbs pretty quickly. If you really want them to hold, I'd go with heavier components throughout.

Then there are those who argue that the chains are there for the letter of the law and the last thing they want at highway speeds if things go awry is a trailer playing crack the whip with the tow vehicle because the chains held.

BTW, you stole that trailer. Congratulations.

Steve

EDIT: I did the math. A 3000 lb trailer going 55 mph converts to 7552 lbs. Now add the crack-the-whip forces and . . .
Just sayin'.

 

[o1951]

I helped drag off the road about a 1,500 pound trailer where the receiver latch did not hold, and let go while he was slowly going over railroad tracks in the center of town. The chains held. It was downhill. As the driver stopped, the trailer receiver smashed into the truck, redesigning the bumper, tailgate, taillights and rear crossmember.

Apparently, first the hitch smashed into the lower tailgate and bumper, busting off the trailer leg crank handle, which stayed on top of the newly recessed center of the bumper. Then the hitch hit the crossmember, submarining under it and allowing the front of the trailer to smash into the back of the truck, while bending back the trailer leg. We jacked up the back of the Chevy to get the trailer frame and bent up leg loose, and hooked a chain to my truck to drag the trailer off the road.

I don't tow much, but can tell you, after seeing that, I am checking the receiver real good before hooking up. If those chains had let loose, 1,500 pounds of trailer going down hill in the center of town could have been a real problem.

FYI, I take the hitch out of the receiver on my Expedition and tie it under the third row. It is a real pain when you are loading the back and your shin hits it.

 

[ironjedi]

Got my EUC approved on the 7th, picked up my trailer on the 10th. Was going to say hello if I saw anyone around lot 8109 (which I think was yours?) I picked up lot 8101 and paid double what u paid. It is in great shape though, My biggest complaint is getting the dried duct tape residue off of the reflectors. Good luck to you and you'll have your trailer before you know it.

 

[ptrjason]

Got my EUC approved on the 7th, picked up my trailer on the 10th. Was going to say hello if I saw anyone around lot 8109 (which I think was yours?) I picked up lot 8101 and paid double what u paid. It is in great shape though, My biggest complaint is getting the dried duct tape residue off of the reflectors. Good luck to you and you'll have your trailer before you know it.

Welcome to the site. I take it that this was not your first EUC? Yours cleared really fast if it was your first! And yes mine was 8109. Was yours from the 12/27 lot?

 

[ptrjason]

Also, since you JUST got yours, how did they let you pick it up? Take you to it, let you do what you had to do? Or did they forklift it to your truck. Did they hurry you along, or not care? I assume since you said you were looking around 8109, that you went out to the trailers.

Just asking because I have seen photos on here where they have forklifted the trailers to buys and even set them down on the pintles. Every site is different and ways change.

 

[MWMULES]

Got my EUC approved on the 7th, picked up my trailer on the 10th. Was going to say hello if I saw anyone around lot 8109 (which I think was yours?) I picked up lot 8101 and paid double what u paid. It is in great shape though, My biggest complaint is getting the dried duct tape residue off of the reflectors. Good luck to you and you'll have your trailer before you know it.

[h=1]Goo Gone works good and won't melt the plastic lens[/h]

 

[ptrjason]

The madness continues. Got this in the mail today.

They are New Old Stock, NOS, Grote LED brake lights. Got a good price on them on the bay, and he has more, different colors, with or without buckets.

I got mine without buckets, and these things are freaking bright!!!! They are also printed on the back 10-34 VDC, so it is multi-volt. I do not have my trailer yet, so I used a converter and played with them while watching tv sitting on the couch, .

I just went wire to wire and played around with it, I hit the tail light wire first, and thought it was the brake light, it was that bright. When I found the brake wire, it was too bright to look straight into.

I kinda want to hook the black out tail to the regular tail and make it kinda a DOT light in a way. Might as well put them to use some how since it will never be used in actual service again.

The brake light is the darker pic, it was too bright to focus on, but it was taken with the house lights on, just like the tail light pic, which is the lighter pic with the red lit.

 

[boostjunky]

Does anyone know how to contact an administrator for help recovering my username and password. I also have an M101A3 and love it.
Thanks in advance for any help. I really do apprecciate it.
Thank you ,
John 720-261-1224

 

[ptrjason]

Just got my Paid in Full invoice email. So happy!!!!

 

[ptrjason]

I called and left a message at GL Barstow, I was hoping she would answer so I could maybe set an appt for tomorrow to get it. Hope she calls back today. I am all giddy now lol.