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- Location
- Davis County, UT
Valence's 1968 M101A1 Trailer
On Saturday, February 25th, 2017 I drove to Nephi, UT and purchased this 1968 M101A1. No manufacturer was listed on the data plates (body or frame). It's very complete with side boards, bows, corners, and split swinging rear gates, and even the original front rack which was replaced with fiberglass . However, its missing some pins for the racks, and all the wood is rotted with a couple of the metal pieces bent, but not beyond usable/salvageable.
There's a little rust and moss growing, but not bad! The original owners said they bought it at auction in Kentucky in 2008 and pulled it fully loaded to Utah last November. I'm surprised the passenger tire survived, it was in sorry shape but I decided to pull it anyway (I had a spare 9.00-16 in the truck bed that was from my 1960 Pioneer Tool Trailer)
I didn't have any problems with the trailer in the 105 mile return trip.
Even under emergency braking and maneuvering at 60-70 MPH on I-15.
The story is: Some aggressive driver on my way back home caused an accident right in front of me. They passed me earlier in big hurry. I'm not sure what happened, but I assume they changed lanes quickly, but caught a car on rear of their truck and then was sideways in front of me at 70 MPH, smoke and debris flying. Then the truck was facing mine, straddling a lane divider. Looking back, I wonder what my reaction time was? Probably slow. I stood on my brakes, squealing my tires the whole way. (I'm glad whoever was behind me had enough space and didn't hit me). Still, I could tell I wasn't going to stop in time but the thought came to me "You can still steer". I glanced at the next lane and blessedly it was clear and I was able to use part of it to avoid him. I could smell my brakes and tires after that. The good news is the M101 and raised pintle hitch handled great, though the weight of the trailer surely did increase my stopping distance. I think electric brakes on this M101A1 (especially when loaded) might be the way to go. And a dash camera (for all vehicles).
I thought it was interesting on the data plate that the Model was stamped backwards as "1A101M".
On Saturday, February 25th, 2017 I drove to Nephi, UT and purchased this 1968 M101A1. No manufacturer was listed on the data plates (body or frame). It's very complete with side boards, bows, corners, and split swinging rear gates, and even the original front rack which was replaced with fiberglass . However, its missing some pins for the racks, and all the wood is rotted with a couple of the metal pieces bent, but not beyond usable/salvageable.
There's a little rust and moss growing, but not bad! The original owners said they bought it at auction in Kentucky in 2008 and pulled it fully loaded to Utah last November. I'm surprised the passenger tire survived, it was in sorry shape but I decided to pull it anyway (I had a spare 9.00-16 in the truck bed that was from my 1960 Pioneer Tool Trailer)
I didn't have any problems with the trailer in the 105 mile return trip.
Even under emergency braking and maneuvering at 60-70 MPH on I-15.
The story is: Some aggressive driver on my way back home caused an accident right in front of me. They passed me earlier in big hurry. I'm not sure what happened, but I assume they changed lanes quickly, but caught a car on rear of their truck and then was sideways in front of me at 70 MPH, smoke and debris flying. Then the truck was facing mine, straddling a lane divider. Looking back, I wonder what my reaction time was? Probably slow. I stood on my brakes, squealing my tires the whole way. (I'm glad whoever was behind me had enough space and didn't hit me). Still, I could tell I wasn't going to stop in time but the thought came to me "You can still steer". I glanced at the next lane and blessedly it was clear and I was able to use part of it to avoid him. I could smell my brakes and tires after that. The good news is the M101 and raised pintle hitch handled great, though the weight of the trailer surely did increase my stopping distance. I think electric brakes on this M101A1 (especially when loaded) might be the way to go. And a dash camera (for all vehicles).
I thought it was interesting on the data plate that the Model was stamped backwards as "1A101M".
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