School me...

[Mistaare]

Brand new to this site. I have been reading as much as possible for the past 2 days. I have been looking for a trailer to take into the woods (on some pretty undesireable roads), load with fire wood, and drive home on the highway 40-50 miles. So I started looking for m416's and they are hard to find, so I expanded my search to M101's and found this a couple hours from my house.

It is a 1968 Case Master 3/4 ton military trailer,w/full canvas.Has new spare tire mounted inside. Has 12 Volt light system,with 7pin round plug. Also has two hand brakes for locking in place (does that mean it has surge brakes also?). with a PA titled for $1000. Would a 1968 casemaster be considered a M101 A1? A2?

After my somewhat limited knowledge, it seems like M101's would be ok, but the M105's would be way to big. I would be using a '09 Tacoma with 6500lb tow rating. I actually do NOT want to get anywhere near the upper limits, but 2500-3500 lbs. I am figuring that the trailer would weigh about 1500 lb, 1/2 cord of green wood can weigh upwards of 2000 lbs, that would put be in the ballpark of 3500.

Actually just wondering what you guys think of;
1. towing a m101 with Tacoma
2. what to look for when shopping? Any known weak area's?
3. how difficult would it be work or have work done and/or source parts for these?
4. how difficult it is to insure?
5. what do you think of the one I found?

 

[swbradley1]

If it is a M101 and in perfect condition it might be worth $1,000. The hand brakes are on M101A1s and M101A2s. Surge brakes are on the A2s along with GM 8 bolt rims.

A 101 can be filled to the top of racks with wood and still towed. The Tacoma should have no problem.

 

[jedawson1]

What swbradley1 said, its well suited to the task at hand, and for your Tacoma.
Price seems fair if its in good shape.
If you take care of the trailer you could even have a good resale value especially if you keep the bows and canvas in good shape.
trailer is pretty simple, shouldn't need much other than a tire every now and then.
Insurance is not an issue, a trailer is a trail is a trailer.

Best of luck.

 

[maddawg308]

A word of caution: lots of guys call these trailers "dump trailers", because you can pull out the two forward cargo body pins and dump the trailer contents. THERE IS NO WHERE IN THE MILITARY MANUAL THAT TELLS ABOUT A "DUMP" FEATURE ON THE M101 TRAILER. While you can do this, the "dump" feature is more of a flaw in the design of the trailer, not a feature for its use. Many have used this faux "dump" feature with no ill effects, but a few here have destroyed the frame of their trailers by doing this.

If you are hauling a lot of firewood, sorry to say, but it would be best if you unload by hand.

 

[Gunzy]

You might consider the M1101 trailers to. There seem to be a lot of them coming onto the market. Do some research first though. I know someone here in Utah that has 8 of them and is selling.

 

[Mistaare]

Thanks for all the responses. This is just the type of info I was looking for.

- maddawg - Definetly will not be using it as a dump. Thanks for reconfirming what I have read. I knew it was bad but didn't know that it could result in the frame bending.

- swbradley - if I filled it to the top with fire wood my truck would be p*ssed! I have to watch not to overload.

- jedawson - resale value? if its as durable as Im reading I will end up keeping this for a L O O O N G time. but I will definitely keep the tarp and bows in good shape.

 

[harleyhouse]

A M101A2 would be my first choice.
It is a great trailer and not as wide as the 1102.
One with a Pa. title is worth more and an A2 has surge brakes and 8 bolt wheels.
If you find one cheap without registration get a Maine registration. http://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/registration/pstlbfrd.htm

a toyota owner with an A2 http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182050

What part of Pa are you from?

 

[Mistaare]

Harleyhouse - I am in Pgh. I think I contacted you on CL, did you have a red cammo trailer for sale a couple months ago? I also think that I have seen you on Expedition Portal?

I dont know if its an A1 or A2, I am hoping for a A2 for the surge brakes.

That taco and M101 looks like a good match up. Thanks for the link, I didnt even think about looking on ttora.

 

[Warthog]

The M101A1 will have a 5-lug rim and the M101A2 will have a 8-lug rim. Any pictures?

 

[Mistaare]

Its 5-lug. So assuming its 101A1 without surge brakes?

Its on Craigslist, so I dont have any pictures. I posted the link to the ad on CL but I guess its against the rules.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Correct, the link is against the rules. Nothing prohibits you from uploading a pic of it here.

 

[harleyhouse]

This one is by the airport.

Search CL for MILITARY TRAILER.
$500.00 4 pin plug with 12 volt lights
bows, sides, cover.

No title but willing to get one for extra $$

 

[Mistaare]

need to figure out how to up load pics...

 

[swbradley1]

Click insert image in the quick reply box and follow the buttons on the popup box.

 

[harleyhouse]

The one you are looking at is a 101a1.

The seller wants too much.

 

[harleyhouse]

I paid $500.00 for mine.

 

[swbradley1]

Yes and you would not like the tire/wheel combination either.

 

[Mistaare]

I was hoping to get him down to $800.

I didn't know anything about the tire/wheel combo, just found out that its a split rim and not many tire places want to mess with them.

Is it hard to find rims with that bolt pattern?
Can you run regular tires on those rims?

Thanks a ton for all the information.

 

[m16ty]

To find M101a1 wheel isn't that hard but you'll have a hard time finding a match on the civilian market. They are M37 wheels. You can run "regular" civilian tires on the stock wheel but they'll have to be 16" tube type.

You should be able to find a A2 for the kind of money you're talking about for the A1 (like the one harleyhouse posted). A A2 is much better because you'll have standard GM 8-lug tubeless wheels and surge brakes.

 

[harleyhouse]

Stockton wheel could make you custom rims for the trailer.

http://www.stocktonwheel.com/heavy_duty.html