Bought an M416 Trailer - Slow minimal mods to come

[Shuksan]

So after breaking my back this winter and having another kid my wife didn't really want my climbing around 8 ft up on top of the land cruiser closing up the RTT. Additionally, the ability to setup a base camp and more room for kid stuffs were all selling points. I have been watching trailers for a couple years now going back and forth between a utility style trailer, an off road teardrop, or a somewhat capable pop up camper. Just to keep it as cheap as possible we decided to go with a small M416 style trailer. I found this one up in Boulder for a decent price. Also looked at the Ruger trailers, which are beutiful, but I am in about $5-6K less and 10-12 weeks earlier, so it can be used this summer.

It is in pretty decent shape but certainly isn't pristine. Minimal visible rust. It was built in 1967. The rubber is almost new (still has nubbies) KO2's 33 x 10.5 x 15. It is a little too bad that they are 15's. Since they are so new I don't think I will be converting to 100 series wheels early on - again trying to keep this cheap, but willing to spend a little where necessary.

It has two options for towing. A standard 2" ball hitch adapter and an articulating hitch of sorts. What is a bit odd about the articulating hitch is that you have to put the square tube straight into the tow vehicle receiver. I haven't hooked it up yet to check height, but my LC is pretty close in hieght to the jeep this guy had. Supposedly just a pain to get it in. We'll see.

The can-back is adapted from a tacoma, so it is a little janky and sewed together in the middle to narrow it up a little. It leaked a little during a thunderstorm last night. Anyone have suggestions on how to best treat the canvas? My buddy suggested flex seal spray for the seams.

 

[Shuksan]

There are some yakima gutter mount towers, with risers and bars. I think I will move these forward to put the RTT on. I am still debating on if I need some reinforcements for this.

Presumably tons of folks out there are running RTTs on two yakima load bars and gutter mounts. The can-back is attached to a thick L-brackets. I will take some pics under the canvas this afternoon.

 

[Shuksan]

Only other "essential" first mods are a propane tank (5 or 11#) mount and a rear stabilized jack or two. Any recommendations on getting a couple stabilizer jacks mounted on?

 

[Shuksan]

Only other "essential" first mods are a propane tank (5 or 11#) mount and a rear stabilized jack or two. Any recommendations on getting a couple stabilizer jacks mounted on?

I am thinking about a coupe of these: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Ja...9_bC8q5V0AlGCAoY1ej1mhr5YzP2GwMwaAsGhEALw_wcB

 

[nakman]

cool! My suggestion on the yakima bars would be to try to gusset them somehow, or see if you can add a third. Think of all the torque those mounts are getting when you slam that trailer up and over obstacles, and the weight of the tent all pushes forward/back on those mounts. Not sure what's holding them down but from your pics that looks like the fatigue point of the system, if there is one.

On the hitch, so that thing sticking up in the air is the other option? What kind of hinge does that have where it connects to the trailer tongue? seems kind of clunky to have both on there, hard to see it working without interference but I guess it does... the upgrade there would be a max coupler, or Lock & Roll style... around $250 for a full Lock & Roll setup but it would likely be a substantial upgrade, you'd just need to remove the old/weld on the new on the trailer side to install.

And for stabilizer jacks it's cool to weld stuff on to the trailer but is it really necessary? I've gotten by with jack stands on all my trailer the setups, which works super well and is easy to set up. Simple procedure is dig a hole for the higher side tire (safer than shimming the low side), unhook the trailer, then lower the tongue too low, put jack stands in the back up to the frame. then crank up the tongue to beyond level- put a third jack stand under the front of the trailer (or log, etc.) and lower the trailer onto it. Now you have weight on your jack stands, have a tire in a hole, that thing isn't moving. Set up the RTT and get busy.

 

[Shuksan]

cool! My suggestion on the yakima bars would be to try to gusset them somehow, or see if you can add a third. Think of all the torque those mounts are getting when you slam that trailer up and over obstacles, and the weight of the tent all pushes forward/back on those mounts. Not sure what's holding them down but from your pics that looks like the fatigue point of the system, if there is one.

On the hitch, so that thing sticking up in the air is the other option? What kind of hinge does that have where it connects to the trailer tongue? seems kind of clunky to have both on there, hard to see it working without interference but I guess it does... the upgrade there would be a max coupler, or Lock & Roll style... around $250 for a full Lock & Roll setup but it would likely be a substantial upgrade, you'd just need to remove the old/weld on the new on the trailer side to install.

And for stabilizer jacks it's cool to weld stuff on to the trailer but is it really necessary? I've gotten by with jack stands on all my trailer the setups, which works super well and is easy to set up. Simple procedure is dig a hole for the higher side tire (safer than shimming the low side), unhook the trailer, then lower the tongue too low, put jack stands in the back up to the frame. then crank up the tongue to beyond level- put a third jack stand under the front of the trailer (or log, etc.) and lower the trailer onto it. Now you have weight on your jack stands, have a tire in a hole, that thing isn't moving. Set up the RTT and get busy.

Adding another bar (or two since most people sell 4 towers at once) is something I am considering. Also a good idea about gusseting the frame under the can-back. It is pretty solid, but a handful of reinforcements would probably sturdy the system up.

I have thought about jack stands too. and that sounds like a pretty efficient protocol. Might try that before attaching stabilizer jacks. Gotta see if my jack stands reach the frame.

I definitely think upgrading to a lock n roll will be the most likely solution. I kinda want to see how clunky this system is first. I will post some pics of the system when I get home.

 

[Shuksan]

To help support the RTT and give me peace of mind I added two additional Yakima load bars. @Squishy! also put some angled supports to strengthen the canback system.

Also had stabilizer jacks and mounts welded on and mounted a 5 lb propane tank to the side. Took it out this weekend for a shakedown run and a little camping trip. Everything worked simply and great. Taking the ball hitch off allows you to use a lock-&-roll type system. It is a little odd as you have to get the steel tube lined up into the receiver hitch and put a pin in, but man was it nice to have off road. It tracked great over all sorts of mild obstacles.

 

[Squishy!]

Nice! looks good!

 

[maxpowerzz]

Cool setup, great find. I've been wondering how to stabilize the rear of my m416 as well, I like your solution. For those looking for these trailers I lucked out and picked up a Korean War era trailer at the government gsa auction pretty affordably.

 

[Shuksan]

Cool setup, great find. I've been wondering how to stabilize the rear of my m416 as well, I like your solution. For those looking for these trailers I lucked out and picked up a Korean War era trailer at the government gsa auction pretty affordably.

Yeah, mine was so high I had to make sure I found jacks with enough length and the mount high up. They fit beautifully with the tail hitch

 

[AlpineAccess]

Nice setup!

What's the issue with the stitching you mentioned on the can bak? Curious how they modified the cover to get it to fit.

 

[Shuksan]

Nice setup!

What's the issue with the stitching you mentioned on the can bak? Curious how they modified the cover to get it to fit.

Water just puddles on the canvas and then leaks. Its not much, but would it be better if it didn't - yes. My guess is that it is dirty from just being around awhile. A buddy of mine use flex seal spray on his seems which seemed to help.

 

[Squishy!]

Water just puddles on the canvas and then leaks. Its not much, but would it be better if it didn't - yes. My guess is that it is dirty from just being around awhile. A buddy of mine use flex seal spray on his seems which seemed to help.

Reach out to the folks at Adventure Tool Company. They might be able to give you waterproofing tips. I would not recommend Flex Seal. It will ruin the cover.

 

[Shuksan]

Reach out to the folks at Adventure Tool Company. They might be able to give you waterproofing tips. I would not recommend Flex Seal. It will ruin the cover.

Thanks, maybe I will try waxing it. (https://adventuretoolcompany.com/cleaning-atc-gear)

 

[AlpineAccess]

Thanks, maybe I will try waxing it. (https://adventuretoolcompany.com/cleaning-atc-gear)

I might caution that just for now until you've confirmed the material. My Soft Topper was a totally different fabric than the ATC products.

The CanBak, Soft Topper, Best Topper, etc. products are in my understanding a synthetic variation (polyester usually) product like Sharkskin or a vinyl like Sunbrella.

There are impregnating sealers and surface sealers that are pretty much the same waterproofing agent (one with flammable solvents to allow for soak through). For seam sealing I would think its most likely you're going to find a Silicone sealant for that and then an impregnating sealer for the bulk of the material.

 

[Shuksan]

Ok I haven't added anything to this in awhile, but I have done a few little things.

1) Added some tie downs:
<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=shuksan-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B07V1J1971&asins=B07V1J1971&linkId=cb0c4c7aa770d25bb4925bd3cfe0ee57&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

2) Cut off the giant old box. It was great for trash and extra stuff, but I want to have a battery on board sometime in the future and to lighten up the tongue a bit. If you are interested in this box, let me know. At minimum it is a decent amount of scrap metal. Replacing with a HF one.


3) I also modified the trailer hitch. I will do another post on that.

4) Added two more stabilizer jacks (@Stuckinthe80s ). Is it overkill? maybe, but we often are camping on uneven ground, and 4 points of leveling just sounds awesome. Was originally gonna buy some from etrailer but they yanked me around and I wasn't too happy with their customer service. So for just a couple bucks more I bought these on amazon:
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