Soon to own M101 A2

[Ressoldier]

Ressoldier M101 A2 slow Expo/ Bse Camp trailer build.

Well I just won a M101 A2 on GL from Nellis. This is my first MV purchase and finding out that it may take a while before I can pick it up with EUC etc.

Anyways I plan on pulling this as an off-road camp trailer being pulled behind my 4x4. I am familiar with the trailers from military experience. Some of my ideas are to swap the axle for a regular 3500lb trailer axle with 10x2.25 electric brakes and matching lug pattern to my truck. Repainting the main body and Line-Xing the bed. I have a few ideas to keep it utilitarian for cargo use, but also making either a sleep platform or reinforce the bows to mount a Roof top tent. Hoping to stay away from a single use trailer.

Well just wanted to make a initial post and see if there was any input on my ideas or if others have modified their trailers.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Welcome aboard and congrats on the purchase. Any mil parts you take off will probably find a willing adopter here on Steel Soldiers

 

[amaverick88]

Welcome aboard as well. I thought gl did away with the euc for the 101s.

 

[Ressoldier]

Here are the pictures from the auction. Oh and I won with bid of $210.

 

[Ripcord01]

Welcome from Maryland!

 

[Ressoldier]

Should I expect it to take the 60 days for the EUC to clear since it is my first one? I am crossing my fingers that it will be faster since I am headed to Nellis in September for business and would like to pick it up then instead of having to schedule a seperate trip. Also do you think it would be possible for me to put some tow lights on and tow it home or should I plan on bringing a car hauler.

 

[Ripcord01]

Put some cheapo tow lights for transport.You can get them for about 15 bucks at HArbor Freight. The Euc is up to the goobs. I would plan on at least 30 days. If you look around you can find some info on wiring the lights .

 

[KsM715]

Do a search for "M101 and camper" or "m101 and topper" and you'll get hours worth of reading and ideas on what you can do with that little trailer.

As for the EUC, expect it to take several weeks but be prepared for it to clear next week.

 

[strycnine]

Welcome!

 

[bob95065]

I bought a M101A3 from Barstow the end of May. No EUC and I picked it up the first week in June. I was expecting to wait 2 months and had to scramble to pick it up.

The trailer had new brakes, new bearings, new tires and shocks. It pulled like new. For reference the winning bid was $596. You got a great deal at $210.

I found a thread on this board that showed what connector pins ran to the stop and marker lights. I used bullet connectors at the thread instructed to connect to a 4-flat connector. I changed the bulbs the thread called out to 12v bulbs. I did all this in less than an hour on base when I picked up the trailer. It was very easy. Later I sold the connector to a member here and hard-wired the 4-flat connector to the trailer for a permanent installation. I soldered the connections and used shrink tubing.

Let me know if you can't find the thread. I have it bookmarked at work.

Bob

 

[bob95065]

OK. I remembered that I made a binder before I went down with the two threads that I used to wire my trailer. If I were you I would print these out and take them with you:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/trailers/69398-four-pin-plug-11-pin-plug-pic.html
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/trailers/31824-civy-truck-mil-trailer-wiring-info.html

In the second thread the= first photo is a wiring diagram with a diagram that has a pin map. Print this out. I also printed the first two photos in the first thread. I labeled the correct pins with the wire colors of the 4-flat civy connector on the wiring diagram. This helped thing go quickly on base.

I used 1157 bulbs for the stop lights and 97 bulbs for the marker lights. You can get these bulbs at any auto parts store.

IMHO the threads I mentioned in this thread should be stickies. They worked perfectly for me and saved me the expense of temporary lights I'll never use again. I wired the trailer temporarily to get home and once I made it home I used the same connector for a permanent installation. BTW I bought a 6 foot 4-flat extender at Home Depot and cut the vehicle end off for splicing to the OEM trailer connector using the bullet ends.

Also the surge brakes on my trailer work perfectly. I had it loaded with a cord of firewood and the truck stopped like the trailer wasn't there. I am not sure if I would call electric brakes and upgrade.

I tried to click your pics to see full-size photos and couldn't. Can you re-post the pictures so we can get a closer look?

Again, nice trailer, great price. I hope all this helps,

Bob

 

[Ressoldier]

Bob,
Thanks for the information. Yeah Barstow would be my closest one but I have been watching these off and on for a few months. I then saw this one at Nellis and figured if I could get it a little cheaper it would be worth the drive. I think the ones that were at Barstow this same auction went for the pricing you paid and seems to be the norm. Even in the 500-600 range these trailers are a deal. I have been pulling them for over 20 years in the service. I have had many civilian trailers that were far more expensive that are not of the same quality sa these.

 

[bob95065]

I agree. A friend went with me to pick up the trailer. He was skeptical about the price I paid sight unseen. The whole ride home he looked back and said, "You got a good deal!"

My trailer had brand new brakes, brand new tires and bearings. The fluid in the master cylinder was so clear I could see the bottom of the reservoir. It came with the bows and canvas too. It looks like it went through a major service and was put on the auction block.

I hauled 7 cords of split eucalyptus with it so far this year. At the going rate of split firewood it probably paid for itself.

I watched the trailers at Nellis too. The early auctions seemed to have trailers in better shape than mine. Vegas is farther than I wanted to drive. Barstow was far enough. For $210 you can't go wrong. I don't know where you can find a trailer of this quality for 10x that amount. Heck, the government paid almost 20x what you did. I know I would have paid a lot more for a trailer that could handle a cord of wood. I am very pleased with my purchase.

Bob

Bob

 

[Ressoldier]

Ok try these pictures. Also did you tow it all the way home without a plate or temporary permit? That is the one thing I am concerned about is trying to tow it home without having it registered. Since they don't issue a SF97 until you remove it from the property according to GL. Also you said you didn't need a EUC and had to scramble to pick it up?

 

[Ressoldier]

Also the reason for wanting electric over the surge is I plan on pulling this off road on some difficult trails. The surge brakes will be constantly activating while going over rock steps and not always at the correct time. The electric brakes will be better suited for this type of terrain. If I were going to pull on the highway or regular roads I would keep the surge brakes as they work well for that.

 

[texican]

I picked up my first M101-A2, back in April, and discovered to my surprise, that the tires were brand new.... still had the 'tire titties' on them, and the tires were the same size as my F-350, and the rims were the same. So, I bought two more, and they both had brand new tires. All 3 averaged out to $240 each. Two new tires cost more than the trailers, so I figure the trailer's were actually free (as I needed two new tires for my truck).

 

[Tayenfabrication]

I just won my first M101A2 from Forte MEad. EUC sent to GOV. and waiting on answer. I am also going to use it as an off road camper, family and I have great stuff planned. One question to anyone who may know. I would assume it has CARC paint. Is CARC safe as a paint or does it give off fumes that are unsafe? I know about the sandind/grinding/welding, I dont mean that. I mean if my family is in the trailer is the paint safe? THanks for your help.

 

[bob95065]

Also the reason for wanting electric over the surge is I plan on pulling this off road on some difficult trails. The surge brakes will be constantly activating while going over rock steps and not always at the correct time. The electric brakes will be better suited for this type of terrain. If I were going to pull on the highway or regular roads I would keep the surge brakes as they work well for that.

Before you change the brakes you should consider that the military designed these trailers to be towed off-road. I have had mine off-road with the brakes it came with and didn't have a problem.

There is a brake lock-out hole in the tongue that will disable the surge brakes if you need to. I bought a 3/8" hitch pin from Tractor Suply in Bakersfield on the way down to Barstow because I didn't know the condition of the trailer before I bought it. I keep it in the truck in case I want to lock out the brakes. The second phot in this thread shows the pin: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/trailers/67010-surge-brake-lockout-safety-tip.html I work on equipment like trailers and have replaced lots of trailer brakes over the years. I don't think electric brakes work as well as the surge brakes on these trailers. If I were you I would try using the trailer for at least one trip before I modified the brake system.

I went to the DMV before I drove down to Barstow to get the traioler. I brought print outs of the auction page, blown up pictures from the auction page and a copy of my bill of sale. They had me pay $50 towards registration and gave me a temporary sticker for FREE! I didn't think anything was free at the DMV. I wound up not putting the sticker on the trailer at all for fear I wouldn't abe able to get it off or take some of the paint off trying. I drove from Barstow to Santa Cruz with no plate or temporary plate with no problem. I had a CHP office following me for a long way up I-5. I figured he was following me but he eventually exited the highway.

When I went to get the plates they gave it to me and said I would get a $30 refund in the mail because I overpaid. I think I am the first person in history to have a pleasant experience at the CA DMV. Also I didn't need a SF97 or EUC.

If you do a search through my subscribed threads I described my recovery preparation, recovery and trailer registration in detail.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Bob

 

[Ressoldier]

Bob,
I have towed these trailers and just about every other one the military has in current inventory on highway and off-road over the past 22 years to include overseas. The plan for mods will come later on after a couple of trips and will see how it performs and which direction I really want to take. I may find that it is to big for my truck to pull off-road and that I should have gone the route of most other Wheelers with the M416 or Canadian 101. Trails I am thinking of taking on are Gold Mountain, John Bull, Holcomb Creek, and the Rubicon. All have long rock gardens/ boulder fields.

The DMV story is good news for me as I had planned to do the same thing of trying to get a temporary move permit from the Bill of Sale. The other otpion was to get my CO to type a Memorandum saying I was moving it from one base to another. I am heading to Nellis to visit one of our other Units and hoping the timing works out for pick-up of the trailer. As far as the EUC goes, I notice that some of the trailers listed show they need one and others show they don't in the same auction and location. This is very confusing and doesnt make sense to have two different standards for same type equipment.

 

[bob95065]

I thought sure I woudl need a EUC and was shocked when I got the completed invoice. I expected to get the trailer two months later than I did and had to scramble to get time off work and plan the trip. I rounded up the materials to wire the lights for 12v, a pintle hitch and adapter, located a place to camp the night before, loaded camping supplies and tools and picked up a friend and drove down.

I couldn't find the hitch locally so I called Tractor Supply in Bakersfield on Rosedale highway and had them hold the hitch and two adapter plates for me along with the hitch pin. I bought them on the way down and returned what I didn't use on the way home. My frantic planning worked well. The only detail I missed was the pin that held the hitch to the reciever. I bought one at Wal-Mart in Barstow before I went on base.

If you go to the DMV for a temporary plate bring all the info you can. Once they saw the completed invoice and auction page getting the sticker was easy. I didn't need it in the end.

I use my trailer for hauling firewood. I have had it off-road in rugged fields and it performs flawlessly. It can go places my trauck cannot. My truck has 265/75 R16 tires and the trailer has Humvee 37" tires. It has double the ground clearance compared to the truck.

Let me know if you need more info.