New to me M101A2

[DangerMouse]

Hello all,

New to the forum and new to trailer ownership. Found my way over here from Expedition Portal. Currently wading through past 101 threads but thought I would start a new one as well.

I recently purchased an M101A2 to be used for camping. It will be towed by a 2015 4 door Wrangler which I believe can tow up to 3500. I've read plenty of accounts stating that it "doesn't feel like the trailer is back there," but I could definitely tell. Perhaps I'm used to towing my super light weight Harbor Freight trailer, or I'm not used to a pintel set up, but she was definitely back there. Tracking fine but felt heavy. The surge brakes were not working, and I'm not sure why at the moment. Seller said that they had been disabled but after reading the TM it didn't appear that they were, at least purposely.

Another reason for that "not so light" feeling may be the tongue weight and height of the trailer compared to the Jeep. Perhaps if the trailer was level things would feel better.

So anyway, while the dry weight is supposedly 1300, and there is no way I would ever load this thing up anywhere close to 3500, I'm pondering swapping out the axle and adding electronic brakes. The axle will be switched regardless. I want to be able to use the same wheels/tires as the tow vehicle, which are a 5 on 5 pattern. Electronic brakes overkill you think?

Would taking off the old wheels, brakes, surge brake stuff on the tongue, axle, and replacing them with a 3500 axle with Jeep rims and tires lighten the load? Or would it be a wash?

Is there a market for the stuff I take off? I don't know what is wrong with the brake system. It could be something as simple as no hydraulic fluid. But I'm not sure how beneficial taking the time to trouble shoot it would be if it isn't worth selling it to anybody.

Anyway I thank you for any replies and advice. And thank you ahead of time for my impending divorce due to expensive new hobby. As of now she want's to help me with this project....but who knows how long that can last

 

[TrailLifeBill]

Welcome to the asylum!! Your question has been discussed on many threads, and there are much more knowledgeable folks on here than I - but since I own 2 trailers similar to yours, I'm gonna toss in my 2 cents. My tow vehicle (until I can convince my wife how necessary an M35 really is) is a 2001 Ford Expedition, and although both of my trailers track really well behind it - you definitely know they're back there. My flatbed generator trailer has the original 16.5 inch military tires replaced with lower profile 16 in tires with civy rims - and it lowered the deck substantially, as well as eliminated quite a bit of mass from the run-flat tires originally on it. My M101a3 still has the 16.5 HMMVW run flat tires on it, and although I don't have any trouble pulling it at all - I have just about convinced myself that I would be happier with smaller / lighter tires on that one as well. I will keep my original axles on both, since I don't care about matching my tow rig's wheel style (although having the same spare size has its merits as well).
There are plenty of TM's on here for troubleshooting - but I think I'd just advertise and sell as-is, or part it out. There are always folks looking for parking brake cables, levers, etc.
My wife has been getting the "tiny house fever" - I have shown her how really reasonable you can get a surplus tow vehicle, and trailers to use for the core of a house/camper build. Neither of us are to the point to dare the other to go for it yet, but it's fun looking, learning, and dreaming.
Keep us posted about your build!

 

[McGuyver]

I am in the middle of converting my M101A1 to an M101A2 configuration. Don't know how many other people find the surge brake desirable, but I really wanted to keep the stock parking brake feature (one of my favorite features of the trailer), so that kind of drove me to get an A2 axles and as a result, the surge brake direction. At the time I didn't know that Dexter makes an electric brake version with parking brake, else I might have considered going that route. On the other hand, I read you can get more braking power with hydraulic brakes, but you won't get the response you get from electric brakes, so I guess it's a matter of which you want more. I had thought about doing an electric over hydraulic setup in order to get the best of both worlds, but the EOH actuator proved to be too expensive.
There may be some other guys on this board with M101A1s that might want your axle and surge brake if you decide to go electric.

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[DangerMouse]

Thanks for the replies. How much of a difference do the shocks make? If I do switch I'm curious as to whether it would be beneficial to have the new axle welded for them, or just leave them off.

Another option, I think, is to keep the old axle, adapt it to the correct bolt pattern, and swap out the surge for electric (I think I read you could do that.). Not sure if that would be more cost effective. Not sure if the old axle is much heavier than a new one. I would think, like you said, that much of the weight is in the wheels/tires.

so many "not sure."

Some times I think that there is so much past material to sift through that it can be quite debilitating!

 

[McGuyver]

You might be able to go electric by swapping out the brakes and hub/drums. You'll have to make sure you get hubs with the right size bearings, because as I recall, when I looked at it, the outboard bearing had a slightly larger ID than what is typical. 1.312" outboard, 1.750" inboard IIRC.
I think the more common #42(?) spindle uses a 1.250" outboard bearing ID

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[DeadParrot]

One advantage of the surge brakes is they don't need any special controller in the tow vehicle. Just hook up and go. If you think a military tow vehicle is somewhere in your future, keep in mind most are 24V so you would then be faced with purchasing a 24V to 12V converter for the electric brakes. Might be worth spending a bit of time trouble shooting the existing brakes. Might be a simple low cost fix.

I think you can special order a Dexter axle with park brakes. Extra cost of course. And most civilian axles won't have shock mounts. Parking brakes on a camp trailer seem like a good idea. Many camp sites aren't level.

Do verify the tow rating on your vehicle of choice. Some change by engine installed. I have an 09 Ford Escape that if ordered with a 4 cyl had a max tow of 1500. A V6 bumps that to 3500.

I have one of the HF fold up trailers and they pretty much define "Don't feel them back there." especially when empty.

 

[swiss]

Have you taken apart the wheel bearings yet and checked and served them. The 101 trailers tow like they are invisible. I would not modify the trailer, but then again I own a few of them and they are my favorite trailer.

Start with the basics before tearing it apart.

 

[Tinstar]

I love the surge brakes and use my M101A2's several times a week. Have to use one tomorrow actually.
For me, they are perfect in stock form.
Once you service the brakes and bearings, etc. they will be trouble free for quite a while.

I did buy the Dexter Free-Back brake assembly's w/parking brake. Bolts right up. No fabrication.
Allows a fully loaded trailer to be backed up on any terrain without the brakes applying. No more having to lock out the surge actuator.

You can also buy either a 2" or 2-5/16" ball coupler that will replace only the pintle.
Exact fit/Direct replacement.
Rest of assembly is not changed or affected. Made by same manufacturer.
Croft trailer has them.

You do need shocks and also recommend brakes.

Have fun and post pics

 

[McGuyver]

I love the surge brakes and use my M101A2's several times a week. Have to use one tomorrow actually.
For me, they are perfect in stock form.
Once you service the brakes and bearings, etc. they will be trouble free for quite a while.

I did buy the Dexter Free-Back brake assembly's w/parking brake. Bolts right up. No fabrication.
Allows a fully loaded trailer to be backed up on any terrain without the brakes applying. No more having to lock out the surge actuator.

You can also buy either a 2" or 2-5/16" ball coupler that will replace only the pintle. Exact fit. Rest of. assembly is not changed or affected. Made by same manufacturer.
Cross trailer has them.

You do need shocks and also recommend brakes.

Have fun and post pics

Where did you buy your free backing brakes with parking brakes?

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[rosco]

One can pick & choose different trailer features, but overall, I'm like swiss (above), the M101A2 has it mostly. My only modification are LED lights that allow going from Deuce to Toyota.... just hitch & go. Uncle Sam put a lot of thought into it - keep the shocks. Sounds like general maintenance is about what yours needs. Green Iron often suffers from deferred maintenance. A general caution is in order about the difference between DOT 3 & 5 - don't mix them.

 

[Tinstar]

Where did you buy your free backing brakes with parking brakes?

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eBay
Least expensive
Brand new takeoffs.
Normally over $300 each.

Last set still listed.

I posted pics on another thread and can't find it now.

 

[Tinstar]

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?166816-M101A3-mods-for-Jeep-off-road/page3

Found it.
Pics will show what the new assembly's look like.

 

[McGuyver]

Where did you buy your free backing brakes with parking brakes?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk[/QUOTE

eBay
Least expensive
Brand new takeoffs.
Normally over $300 each.

Last set still listed.

I posted pics on another thread and can't find it now.

Yes, I noticed buying new from Dexter, they are VERY expensive. I'll have to keep an eye out on ebay for them. Thanks.

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[McGuyver]

.

 

[DangerMouse]

So what's this now? A way to put electric brakes on the original axle?


Ive asked a couple custom trailer shops here for pricing on a 3500lb axle with 5 on 5 hub and electric brakes with e-brakes and was told it would be about 300-450.

that seems cheaper that getting all that stuff from a place like etrailer. I'm not sure we were comparing apples to apples...

 

[McGuyver]

Sure. Just buy the right brake assembly, and hub/drum, and you're set. You would of course have to make sure the hub/drum you get had bearings the right size to fit over the spindle on the A2 axle tube. I haven't researched that, so I couldn't help you with it...
Edit: you might be right. After buying all those parts, it might be cheaper to buy a whole axle.
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[harleyhouse]

If running stock jeep wheels you will need 2" spacers to clear the hubs.
There are lots of axle swaps in blogs on Expo too.
Keep the shocks and use a 3" axle You can adapt the original shock mounts or fab up new ones.
This is a M101A1 build but has good info on an axle swap.

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/117096-1953-M101A1-RESURRECTION

 

[harleyhouse]

My build I removed my non working surge brake assembly.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?82301-Rebuilding-MY-m101a2-BY-harleyhouse&highlight=

 

[DangerMouse]

Looks like that first link has some important measurements that I'll need to keep in mind, thanks. Seems 2" wheel spacers will run me around $80...around $400 for the axle, hubs and brakes, around $300 for wheels and tires....roughly $800... plus $600 for the trailer, minus whatever I get for the old stuff. So around $1,100 to start using this bad boy? That's about what I was thinking. I wanted this to initially cost about as much as a roof rack system would cost. Family in the front. Dawg in the cargo area, camping stuff in the trailer, inlaws on the roof. I think I've covered all my bases.

Anything I missed?

 

[DangerMouse]

Harleyhouse I waded through your build on the portal and am thinking of stealing some of your ideas. Thanks for the abridged version here btw. I like that you're able to switch between ball and pintel. I want to extend the tongue to eventually throw a rather large and heavy kayak on a rack (Hobie Tandem Island). I also like how you added receivers to the side for a grill table. That was genius. I was thinking two before the wheel and two after to allow for two smaller tables, one large table, or maybe a table and one of those trailer hitch grills.

Here is a "before" picture